News

An interdisciplinary research project led by the University of Waterloo uses virtual reality (VR) and haptics — a sense of touch — to create an immersive educational experience rooted in restorative justice. 

The Digital Oral Histories for Reconciliation (DOHR) project engages students in bearing witness to historical harm by "bringing to life" the stories of former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, which closed in 1978. Waterloo Engineering professor Dr. Oliver Schneider was part of the research team led by Dr. Kristina Llewellyn, a professor of history.

The University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering Outreach team is on a mission to ignite young people’s interest in the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and encourage them to explore further studies and careers in these fields.

With the support of Actua — a leading Canadian STEM youth outreach organization, individual and industry donors and community partners, Waterloo Engineering Outreach (WEO) delivered 915 programs and engaged over 32,000 youth in 2024. That’s a 110 per cent increase in engagement since 2018.

Faculty members at Waterloo Engineering are helping scale up the electric vehicle (EV) industry in Canada through their work at the Ontario Battery and Electrochemistry Research Centre.

Dr. Michael Pope, a professor of chemical engineering, and Dr. Linda Nazar, a professor of chemistry who is also cross-appointed to two engineering departments at Waterloo, co-lead the centre as it focuses on key challenges in battery technologies.

A small radar device created by researchers at Waterloo Engineering has the potential to provide silent, unseen and unobtrusive heart monitoring almost anywhere people sit down.

"Imagine a future where your car, your couch and even your office chair don't just support your body – they also actively protect your health by serving as early warning systems," said Dr. George Shaker, an adjunct associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. "If widely adopted, this technology has enormous potential to save lives."

A Waterloo-led research project has secured $1 million to improve how scientists measure and control quantum systems, a crucial step in advancing next-generation technologies.

Dr. David Cory, a faculty member at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and professor cross-appointed to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Chemistry, is leading the project. Funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Alliance Quantum grants and the National Research Council of Canada, Cory's research aims to tackle challenges in quantum science and drive innovations in encryption, computing, communications, materials and sensing.

Waterloo Engineering made another strong showing in the 2025 world subject rankings released by global education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

In the broad category of engineering and technology, one of five used by QS to group 55 more specific subject areas, Waterloo maintained a top-50 showing by ranking 47^th in a field of more than 1,500 universities.

From groundbreaking technology to real-world solutions, Waterloo Engineering’s 2025 Capstone Design symposia will highlight the ingenuity of final-year students. Running from March 12 to 26 in Engineering 7 (E7), the annual event offers a glimpse into the future through student-led innovations.

More than 1,500 students from 12 programs will present over 350 meticulously designed projects. New this year, the i-Capstone symposium will close the event on March 26, uniting students from all six Faculties at Waterloo. This interdisciplinary initiative fosters collaboration and reinforces the university’s leadership in work-integrated learning.

A University of Waterloo research team is close to commercializing its health-tech breakthrough — a painless skin patch that continuously monitors blood glucose and ketone levels in patients with Type 1 diabetes.

Leading the research is Dr. Mahla Poudineh, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The patches are smaller than the size of a band-aid and send real-time results to patients’ smartphones or health-care providers. 

A professor at Waterloo Engineering credits the “magic” that can happen when researchers with different expertise team up for the discovery of a new way to test male fertility.

Dr. Sushanta Mitra, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, collaborated with Dr. Veronika Magdanz, a professor of systems design engineering, on the testing project.

For the second year in a row, Waterloo Engineering’s Department of Management Science and Engineering (MSE) has earned a spot among the finalists for a prestigious international award celebrating top-tier student preparation in operations research, management science, and analytics.

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) announced the finalists for the 2025 UPS George D. Smith Prize yesterday, naming the University of Waterloo as one of three recognized programs.