News

Six decades after travelling halfway around the world to take a chance on a new university in Canada, a proud alumnus of Waterloo Engineering is helping it grow in a way he would never have imagined possible.

Nityanand Varma was the proverbial immigrant with eight dollars in his pocket when he left his native India in the early 1960s to do a master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo.

Evelyn Yim and Aiping Yu, both chemical engineering professors, have been designated University of Waterloo Research Chairs along with seven other professors across the campus.

Yim, who joined Waterloo Engineering in 2016, is an expert in nanofabrication technologies and is one of the leading researchers studying the use of synthetic materials for altering stem cell behavior and differentiation of stem cell culture.

New artificial intelligence (AI) models developed by researchers at Waterloo Engineering can help doctors prioritize care by predicting which COVID-19 patients are most at risk of dying or developing kidney injuries during hospitalization.

The sophisticated computer software identifies vulnerable patients by learning from previous COVID-19 patient cases with known clinical outcomes.

Dear Colleagues,

It is with the deepest sadness that I share the news of the passing of Oren Zernov, a University of Waterloo second-year Chemical Engineering student, on April 24th, 2022.

He was a diligent student who worked hard with great anticipation for becoming an engineer. Oren’s family has been heartened by the many positive letters and messages that they have received from his friends and fellow students.

School of Architecture student projects that test how building facades of the future can be 3D printed with clay are on display at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery located in downtown Waterloo.

The exhibit, entitled Material Syntax: 3D Printed Masonry Facade Systems, was coordinated by David Correa, a School of Architecture professor.

A longtime professor at Waterloo Engineering has been honoured after supervising well over 150 graduate students.

Claudio Cañizares, a professor of electrical and computer engineering since 1993, is one of three campus-wide winners of the Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision.

A growing startup company that was co-founded by two Waterloo Engineering graduates is in unicorn territory after securing US $100 million in new funding.

Tailscale Inc., which was launched just three years ago and currently has 35 employees, was founded by alumni Avery Pennarun (BASc ’01, computer engineering) and David Carney (BASc ’01, computer engineering) along with David Crawshaw.

A graduate of Waterloo Engineering and his partner are helping co-op students work at non-profit organizations via a donation from a family foundation.

Michael Steele (BASc ’81, civil engineering) was one of the founders in 2007 of The Steele Family Foundation to offer disadvantaged people education, basic humanitarian services and community support on a grassroots level.

Now, Steele and his spouse Stacey have donated $200,000 through the foundation to launch the Feridun Hamdullahpur Change Makers in Co-op program to fund co-op positions at charitable organizations.

A chemical engineering doctoral student will further her climate change research at Waterloo Engineering as a recipient of the Indigenous and Black Engineering and Technology (IBET) Momentum Fellowship.

Public participation in environmental decisions in Ontario declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns the system failed to protect a core value at a time of crisis.

A statistical analysis by engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo showed direct intervention in land use decisions by the provincial government using a tool called Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) soared in the first 10 months after a state of emergency was declared in March 2020.