News

Transport Canada has asked a team of University of Waterloo experts to study the safety of level crossings across the country saying that the university is the only known institution in North America with the required specialized knowledge and expertise.

Liping Fu, a civil and environmental engineering professor, is leading the rail crossing research at the university, which includes the development of GradeX, a web-based software program that can identify crossings, calculate the risk and then rank the safety level of crossings from high to low.

Samir Elhedhli is the winner of the 2013 Canadian Operations Research Society (CORS) Service Award, which recognizes members of the society who have made outstanding contributions of time and service to it. The Waterloo Management Sciences Professor was President of the society for the 2011-2012 year. He also served as a CORS Councillor from 2007 to 2009, the Education Chair from 2007 to 2010 and as the Program Chair for the 2012 Joint CORS/MOPGP Conference held in Niagara Falls.

Jack Dorsey not only came to campus today to speak to University of Waterloo students, but also to announce that his new company Square will open an office in Waterloo. The co-founder of Twitter made the announcement as part of a speech delivered on campus, saying it was an easy choice to establish a presence in this area, with "its abundant tech sector."

Using a speed-dating format, mechanical and mechatronics fourth-year students will present their design projects to Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) students on September 23. MBET students will then invest their talents in selected projects by developing technology deployment business models as part of the requirements for Entrepreneurial Applications of Technology, a course taught by Conrad Centre Professor Margaret Dalziel.

John McPhee, a systems design engineering professor, and Willem Petersen, a systems design engineering postdoc, captured one of two best paper awards at the recent ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) International Conference on Advanced Vehicle Technologies held in Portland Oregon.

The University of Waterloo will officially open the doors September 13 to CIARS, a new Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems.

Pearl Sullivan, dean of Waterloo Engineering, and professors Frank Gu of chemical engineering and Maud Gorbet of systems design engineering will travel across the country beginning September 25 to promote the Faculty's engineering graduate studies programs and spread the word about the need for specialized trained leaders in engineering.  

The University of Waterloo Student Design Centre will be named to honour Adel Sedra who served as dean of Waterloo Engineering from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2012. Sedra is one of the world’s leading electrical engineers and an engineering educator specializing in the areas of microelectronics and the theory and design of circuits for communication and instrumentation systems.

Jeffrey Azzolin has invented a spring-loaded skate that is designed to improve performance and help prevent injuries. Azzolin, who graduated from mechanical engineering in June, developed Bladetech hockey skates after noticing that some skates on the market boast increased speed due to their lighter construction. He created a new technology in the form of a spring-loaded blade that allows skaters to go even faster and protect against injuries as part of an engineering design project.

Waterloo Engineering scored well in the 2013 QS rankings moving to second place in Canada, up from fourth last year. The ranking of 46, up from 57 in 2012, marks the first time the Faculty has moved ahead of the University of British Columbia and McGill University in these rankings.