News

Imagine a coat that captures solar energy to keep you cozy on a chilly winter walk, or a shirt that can monitor your heart rate and temperature. Picture clothing athletes can wear to track their performance without the need for bulky battery packs.

A research team led by Dr. Yuning Li, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has developed a smart fabric with the potential to harvest energy, monitor health and track movement. It works by converting body heat and solar energy into electricity, potentially enabling continuous operation with no need for an external power source.

The Waterloo Space Soldering Team (WSST), a team of students from the University of Waterloo’s Faculties of Engineering and Arts, participated in Canada’s first microgravity research competition for students — the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge.

The team won the Overall Excellence Award for researching and successfully conducting a microgravity experiment aboard an aircraft to test whether solder joints can be improved using a centrifuge.

This opinion piece by Dr. Mary Wells, dean of Waterloo Engineering Dr. Donna Strickland, a professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy and Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, an associate professor in the English Language and Literature department, appeared in the Hill Times, a popular news source for Canadian politics and government news.

The Ontario Science Centre closed in June, while New Brunswick lost its centre in February. The loss of these vital bridges is short-sighted, and presents a significant blow to public engagement with science and technology.

Dean Mary Wells emphasized the significant role the University of Waterloo's engineering program can play in advancing agriculture technology through partnerships and co-op experiences.

Speaking at the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation symposium, Wells highlighted the university’s unique approach, which includes mandatory co-op terms for engineering students, fostering a diverse range of experiences that cultivate global perspectives and creativity.

Two Waterloo Engineering student teams were among the four winning companies that pitched their business ideas at the Spring 2024 Velocity Pitch Competition and won $5,000 each.  

The winning startups — Automax AI and PyroGuard — each delivered a three-minute pitch to a panel of judges in front of a live audience.

A group of international and local researchers gathered at the University of Waterloo for the 2024 NSERC CREATE Training Program for Graduate Students in Scalable 2D-Materials Architectures.  

This interdisciplinary seminar led by Dr. Michael Pope, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, engaged 53 researchers in a collaborative program focused on leveraging 2D materials for advanced manufacturing applications.  

Nicolas Quintana (BASc ‘24, electrical and computer engineering), crossed the stage at convocation this year cheered on by his family of University of Waterloo alumni and ex-faculty.

In this Q&A, Quintana shares highlights from his student experience, and how his family’s close ties to each other and to Waterloo helped set him up for success. 

Waterloo Engineering alumni Philip Toy and Robert Van den Berg launched the Class of 1985 Mechanical Engineering Bursary in 2016 to help first-year students kick off their studies with less financial stress. 

Thanks to them and their classmates' commitment and generosity, Toy and Van den Berg created an endowed bursary that is managed by the University and supports more students each year with a higher award value.

Albert Jiang, a recipient of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship for his research into climate change adaption, will continue his work at the University of Waterloo cross-appointed to the faculties of Engineering and Environment. 

Jiang will work alongside Dr. Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam, a professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering and Dr. Simron Singh, a research chair and professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED).

An international research team’s data analysis model could help California’s strawberry farmers prepare their harvests for adverse conditions caused by warming temperatures. 

The team included postdoctoral fellow Dr. Poornima Unnikrishnan and professor Dr. Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam from the University of Waterloo's Department of Systems Design Engineering and Dr. Fakhri Karray from the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi. Their research presents implications for the availability and cost of produce imported from California to Canada.