News

An innovative new program that provides financial support, mentorship and networking to Black and Indigenous PhD students has been chosen to represent the University of Waterloo in a federal competition for bold and potentially game-changing projects to address persistent systemic barriers in the research ecosystem and academia.

The Indigenous Black Engineering Technology (IBET) PhD Project, led by chemical engineering professor Tizazu Mekonnen, is aimed at rapidly increasing the presence of Indigenous and Black academics in engineering and computer science across Canada. Launched only 18 months ago, the program has expanded to 15 universities across Canada with 28 Momentum Fellows in the 2021 and 2022 cohorts.

Rithu Muthalathu gained a lot more than insight into the subject at hand when he recently took part in his first academic research study exploring ammonia as a green energy carrier.

A fourth-year chemical engineering student, Muthalathu also learned that research is a journey with a way of taking you in unexpected directions.

"It was a unique experience as an undergraduate student," he said.

Waterloo Engineering alumnus Sabrina Li (BASc ’15, environmental engineering) has been named as one of Forbes’ 2022 picks for Europe’s Top 30 under 30 list in science and health care.

She is among 300 honourees cited for their accomplishments in 10 categories.

Waterloo Engineering placed three subject areas in the top 20 and a total of six in the top 50 in world rankings released this week by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.

University of Waterloo students may soon be able to order pizza or a burger from a nearby plaza and have it brought to campus by Canada’s first all-weather autonomous delivery robot.

LoopX, a Waterloo Engineering startup company that is developing the technology to do just that, received a $30,000 funding boost recently when it took top prize in the 5G Transportation Challenge sponsored by Rogers and the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network.

A professor at Waterloo Engineering helped develop a map showing which regions and population centres of Western Canada are likely to experience earthquakes induced by underground energy extraction.

The Department of Systems Design Engineering (SYDE) is saddened to announce the passing of Professor Koncay Huseyin on June 2, 2022, at the age of 85.

More than three decades after leaving to make his mark on the world, an alumnus of Waterloo Engineering has been formally honoured by his Ontario hometown for his athletic achievements.

A mural of Taly Williams (BASc ’94, civil engineering), who played for the Waterloo Warriors before suiting up in the Canadian Football League (CFL), was unveiled recently on the wall of the local arena along with other successful athletes from Haliburton.

Students from Waterloo Engineering made a mark again as the Concept 5k pitch event for aspiring entrepreneurs was staged in-person today after COVID-19 forced a move to a virtual format more than two years ago.

Spectators packed the Student Life Centre as teams featuring engineering members took three of the four $5,000 prizes up for grabs when nine finalists gave three-minute presentations to a panel of judges.

Brigette Lau (BASc ’99, computer engineering) is the co-founder of a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, a poker player and mother to three children. She’s also a self-described introvert with deep expertise investing in early-stage technology.

As a teenager in the mid-1990s, Lau was thrilled to get a job at a big-box store and doubted that she ever needed to go to university. Her parents, however, had other ideas: “I grew up as an immigrant in Canada” Lau says.