News

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have engineered a new 3D‑printable nanocomposite bone graft material designed to precisely match patient anatomy.

Led by Dr. Thomas Willet from the Department of Systems Design Engineering, the team aims to deliver safer and more effective bone repairs through custom‑designed implants.

Three Waterloo Engineering professors have been elected Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), one of the profession’s highest national honours.

Dr. Kankar Bhattacharya, Dr. Shesha Jayaram and Dr. Aiping Yu were among 57 new Fellows named this year, recognized for outstanding contributions to engineering in Canada and internationally. Their election reflects career-long excellence in research, innovation, mentorship and service.

A Waterloo spin-off company is changing Major League Baseball (MLB) with a pitching simulator that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to replicate the experience of batting against a real professional pitcher. 

Trajekt Sports was founded in 2019 by Waterloo Engineering alumni Joshua Pope (BASc ’19) and Rowan Ferrabee (BASc ’19). Today, 30 professional baseball organizations around the world train with the company’s flagship product, the Trajekt Arc.

A startup company co-founded by two Waterloo Engineering graduates has secured US $4 million in seed funding to continue its growth in the construction industry.

Adaptis, launched in 2022 by Sheida Shahi (PhD ’21, civil engineering) and Aida Mollaei (PhD ’24, civil engineering), provides a decision-making platform to help owners, architects and engineers lower building costs, generate more design options, reduce project timelines and optimize operational costs.

Five professors from Waterloo Engineering have received Early Researcher Awards (ERA) from the Government of Ontario to support innovative, homegrown research that benefits Ontario’s workers and communities.

The Early Researcher Awards program supports early-career faculty members by providing funding to build research teams and pursue transformational research. Each recipient is awarded up to $140,000 over five years. The awards were announced as part of a $75 million provincial investment to advance research and innovation across Ontario.

Waterloo-based femtech company CELLECT Laboratories Inc. delivered a winning business pitch and is now $44,000 closer to launching its innovative product that will replace the need for pap smears.

The company is led by two Waterloo Engineering master’s students — CT Murphy (chemical engineering) and Ibukun Elebute (business, entrepreneurship and technology). Its product, a sanitary pad that will collect fluids to screen for diseases such as cervical cancer, already has a waitlist.

Waterloo Engineering professor Dr. Maud Gorbet has established a fund to provide biomedical engineering (BME) undergraduate students with learning opportunities outside the classroom.

The fund will help support the student-led Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the annual BioTEC conference and undergraduate students’ travel costs to present their research at conferences.

A party of Waterloo Engineering alumni, faculty members, students, staff and friends gathered to celebrate the launch of the Faculty’s Ring Road Lager, a special collaboration with Elora Brewing Company to mark 100 years of the iron ring. 

The limited-edition lager received rave reviews. A portion of the beer sales go towards the 100 Years of Canadian Engineering Fund to support future Waterloo Engineering students. 

A professor known for inspiring students to think differently has received the University of Waterloo’s highest honour for teaching excellence.

Dr. Marc Hurwitz, a professor who teaches leadership and entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Engineering’s Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, was named one of four recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Teacher Award. Hurwitz has been a faculty member at the Conrad School since 2014.