News

A national publication has recognized Waterloo Engineering alumnus Briar Beers (BASc ’07, civil engineering) for her achievements in the construction industry.

Beers was recently named as a rising leader in her field by On-Site Magazine in its annual 40 Under 40 winners edition. The publication recognizes her professional accomplishments that have helped to shape the future of the construction sector in Canada.

Dr. Zhongwei Chen and his research team at Waterloo Engineering continue to advance work on new technology to affordably convert harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels and other valuable chemicals on an industrial scale.

In the fall, the team published a study outlining development of cells that can be stacked to form reactors of any size, enabling a customizable, economically viable solution for installation right on site at factories and other sources of CO2 emissions.

The entrepreneurship ecosystem at Waterloo Engineering nurtures promising ideas into thriving enterprises. In our weekly Founder Fuel series, we look at new ventures and how they have benefited from that crucial early support.

Accrording to Matt McRoberts (BASc ’15, mechanical engineering), drones have huge potential. What holds them back is limited battery power. McRoberts and his teammates tackled this problem with their Capstone project, creating a hybrid power train that gives drones more endurance. 

For most of us, social interactions are taxing, tedious or time well spent. For the 1.5% of Canadian children and youth (five to 17 years of age) who have been diagnosed with autism, they can be inscrutable.  

There is no one defining characteristic of autism. Some of the more typical manifestations of autism relate to emotional awareness. Autistic people can have difficulty recognizing emotional cues in social interactions, affecting how they read body language, tone of voice or facial expressions. This can lead to awkwardness, misunderstandings and even loneliness. It can also affect how some autistic people engage with their own emotions and interests, often causing confusion and withdrawal.

It is with great sadness that the Faculty of Engineering and the University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) share that Michael Herz, laboratory director, mechanical and mechatronics engineering and past UWSA president, passed away on Saturday, January 14.

Michael had a long and impactful career at the University of Waterloo, spanning over 28 years. He was a diligent and dedicated lab director who was kind and welcoming to everyone he met. He forged many friendships on campus with his smile, warmth and caring heart.

The entrepreneurship ecosystem at Waterloo Engineering nurtures promising ideas into thriving enterprises. In our weekly Founder Fuel series, we look at new ventures and how they have benefited from that crucial early support.

In 2010, Tommy Chan and Jason Yeung (both BASc ’12, systems design engineering) saw a worker taking notes of the inventory in the vending machines and then returning with dolly-loads to restock. They immediately saw the opportunity to disrupt the vending machines industry using emerging Internet of Things (IoT) technology for their fourth-year design project.

Jonathan Zhou, mechatronics engineering student at Waterloo University, is a key organizer of an upcoming international robotics contest called Mecha Mayhem. 

More than 120 middle and high school teams will attend the Mecha Mayhem tournament from around the world to compete. Other participants include Canadian tech and robotics companies looking for new talent. 

Mechatronics professor and president emeritus Dr. Feridun Hamdullahpur is being recognized as a member of the Order of Canada.

In a recent news release by the Governor General’s office, Hamdullahpur’s appointment is based on “his groundbreaking research in mechanical and mechatronics engineering and for his visionary leadership in academia”. He is among 99 new appointments to the Order of Canada.

WATOLINK, a student design team at Waterloo Engineering has won an international competition for developing a device that enables people with speech disabilities to communicate much faster than with existing technology.

Co-founded in 2021 by mechatronics engineering students Christopher Samra and Avery Chiu, WATOLINK focuses on developing the potential of non-invasive neurotechnology.

The entrepreneurship ecosystem at Waterloo Engineering nurtures promising ideas into thriving enterprises. In our weekly Founder Fuel series, we look at new ventures and how they have benefited from that crucial early support.

Nicole Howard, Rachel Blanchard, Steven Vilcacundo Molina and Kris Ma (all BASc ’22, chemical engineering) set out to develop a Capstone project that could improve the world. They targeted the mountain of PET water bottles discarded every day, developing a novel thermochemical process to break down that plastic waste and convert it into an important commodity: activated carbon.