Howard Armitage will become the new Special Advisor, Entrepreneurship, on September 1, 2013. Armitage is founding director of the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology program at the University of Waterloo, and the former director of the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre.
A million electric cars could be on roads across North America before the end of the decade with the help of research by a team that includes Zhongwei Chen, a Waterloo chemical engineering professor, the United States Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Chen is part of a team led by the Los Alamos National Laboratory looking to develop non-precious materials to replace the expensive platinum catalysts in fuel cells.
School of Architecture students won major awards at this year's Steel Structure Education Foundation (SSEF) student design competition entitled Pop Up. The Award of Excellence went to Gabriella den Elzen and James Clarke-Hicks and the Award of Merit went to Jim Shi and Logan Steele.The students' projects were a required submission for Arch 113 and Arch 173.
On June 15, 1,358 Waterloo Engineering graduates received degrees in two convocation ceremonies. Among the award recipients were Duane Cronin of mechanical and mechatronics engineering who was honoured with a Distinguished Teacher Award, and Jonathan Eyolfson of electrical and computer engineering who received the Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student. The Alumni Gold Medal was awarded to Zachary Robert Gowanlock and the Governor General's Silver Medal went to Steven Derek Yang.
A first in Canada, The Engineer of the Future Trust will provide a pool of student support, bridge financing and discretionary micro-seed funding for budding entrepreneurs at Waterloo Engineering.
Says Dean Pearl Sullivan: “Our students are driven to succeed, with a strong entrepreneurial tenacity and an innate desire to make a difference in the world. The Engineer of the Future Trust addresses the challenge to incubate student success in a fast evolving global economy. Our students can pivot faster with fewer entanglements – if they have the resources.”
Two Waterloo Engineering professors have been appointed to senior university positions. Flora Ng, a chemical engineering professor and a University Professor, became chair of the University Appointments Review Committee as of June 1, 2013. Her appointment is for a three-year term. Beth Jewkes, a management sciences professor and a past chair of the management sciences department, will become the university's associate provost, resources as of August 1, 2013.
Bill Anderson of chemical engineering has been reappointed as director of admissions for Waterloo Engineering. Anderson, who has been in the role since 2007, will begin his next term as director on January 1, 2014. Philippe Bezaire, associate director of admissions, will serve as acting director of admissions from July 1 to December 31, 2013 while Anderson is on sabbatical. In a memo announcing the reappointment engineering dean Pearl Sullivan says that the value of Anderson's contributions is seen in the new cohort of students the Faculty welcomes each fall.
Anik Islam grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a city of millions, with a mother whose fame meant every time they left their home, they were swarmed by her adoring fans. On June 15, it will be Islam’s turn to be on stage when he graduates on the dean's honour list from Waterloo's electrical engineering program. His number-one fan in the crowd will be his mother — renowned Bangladeshi film superstar, Babita.
The University of Waterloo Robotics team came within a hair's breadth of successfully completing the Level 1 of the Sample Return Robot Challenge, a part of NASA's Centennial Challenges prize program.
The event, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute from June 5-7 in Worcester, Mass., drew robotics teams from the United States, Canada and Estonia to compete for a total of $1.5 million in NASA prize money.