News

A graduate of Waterloo Engineering is a step closer to his “life’s dream” after making the list of finalists to become one of Canada’s next two astronauts.

Jesse Zroback, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Waterloo in 2008, was announced today as one of 17 remaining candidates in a search by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) that began last June with almost 4,000 applicants.

A prominent venture capitalist challenged entrepreneurs to think big this week as he announced the first three startups to receive funding through a three-year, $2-million program to provide guidance and financial support to promising University of Waterloo ventures.

“I’m hoping to find the next global company to emerge from here,” said Lyon Wong, a co-founder and general partner of Spectrum 28, a US $170-million fund based in Silicon Valley.

Elementary school children voted on designs for a new playground structure this week in a novel process involving first-year civil engineering students at the University of Waterloo.

Ten teams of Waterloo Engineering students pitched their ideas for the project during an assembly at Keatsway Public School in Waterloo, with themes ranging from space to under the sea.

The University of Waterloo was named today as one of eight finalists in a North America-wide competition for undergraduate students to develop autonomous passenger vehicles over three years.

Launched by the Society of Automotive and Aerospace Engineers (SAE) International and sponsored by General Motors, the AutoDrive Challenge will involve work by student teams on donated Chevrolet Bolt EV cars starting in the fall.

Mohammed Nassar, an electrical and computer doctoral candidate, is one of four campus wide to receive a 2017 Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student.

A scene from Star Wars and iced coffees from Tim Hortons provided inspiration for one of six winning projects pitched by University of Waterloo engineering students this week at the Norman Esch Capstone Design Awards competition.

A mechatronics engineering student who wrote code that displayed live election results on Facebook during the 2016 presidential race is Waterloo Engineering's co-op student of the year.

Baraa Hamodi's work reached millions of people worldwide during the American election held last November.

Two professors at Waterloo Engineering will be the recipients at convocation ceremonies this spring of awards for exceptional teaching.

Sanjeev Bedi, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, and Dan Davison, an electrical and computer engineering professor, will each be honoured with a Distinguished Teaching Award. The prestigious awards come with $1,500 to pursue teaching excellence.

An endoscope for arteries and a wearable oxygen device are the goals of two Waterloo Engineering student teams that have won $50,000 each to turn their fourth-year design projects into business startups.

"To keep our economic engine running in the face of this imminent shortfall, Canadian industry needs the specialized knowledge and skills of a new kind of engineer — those with advanced degrees." This is the key focus of an editorial published in Policy Options on March 15.