News

Waterloo Engineering is mourning the loss of Professor Emeritus Bruce Hutchinson, a respected teacher and early builder of the Faculty’s civil engineering program. Hutchinson passed away on December 23, 2025, at the age of 91.

Born in Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia, Prof. Hutchinson grew up in a family that prized work ethic, ambition and adventure. He graduated from Canterbury Boys’ High School and earned his civil engineering degree from the University of Sydney in 1956. 

Dr. Mary Wells, the Dean of Waterloo Engineering, urged the Canadian government in a memo not to allow anyone under 18 years of age to interact with artificial intelligence (AI) companion models “that attempt to develop an emotional bond or have been designed to be manipulative or addictive in nature.”

Wells submitted that recommendation and others after being appointed last year to an AI strategy task force by Federal AI Minister Evan Solomon, who is expected to publish a new government AI strategy as early as next month based in part on input from the expert panel.

Construction tech company Brickeye has raised $10 million to further develop its monitoring and risk mitigation platform, expand into health-care and data-centre facility construction and grow its market share locally and abroad.

Brickeye was co-founded in 2014 by Waterloo Engineering alumni Richard Liang (BASc ’12, MASc ’14), Hamid Alemohammad (PhD ’10), Amir Azhari (PhD ’17), Alex Fuentes (BASc ’00), all Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering grads. The company's services platform catches expensive, on-site issues like an overnight water line burst, before they escalate.

A company launched in 2024 by three Waterloo Engineering graduates has secured US $50 million in backing to help drive a move away from residential gas furnaces to its all-electric, smart heat pumps.

Vancouver-based Jetson, which was started by experienced technology entrepreneurs Stephen Lake, Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant (all BASc ’12, mechatronics engineering), announced the funding infusion this week as it sets its sights on transforming the home heating and cooling industry in North America.

A health-technology company that grew out a fourth-year design project at Waterloo Engineering continues to gain traction after earning a key approval from Health Canada this fall.

Vena Medical was launched at Velocity, the flagship startup incubator at the University of Waterloo, after classmates Michael Phillips and Phillip Cooper (both BASc ’18, mechanical engineering) won early commercialization funding through entrepreneurship programs.

Biotech company HeadFirst is improving how concussions are screened in contact sports with a simple spit test.

The company was co-founded in 2022 by University of Waterloo alum Andrew Cordssen-David (BSc ’22, MBET ’23) and Dr. Shazia Tanvir, a professor in Waterloo’s chemical engineering department. The HeadFirst device analyzes biomarkers in saliva that indicate brain injury and delivers results in real-time.

Robotics company 3E8 Robotics designs and builds autonomous indoor delivery robots for condos, hotels and hospitals with deployment slated for early this year.

Co-founded in 2025 by Waterloo Engineering alumni David Feldt (BASc ’24, mechatronics engineering) and Ari Wasch (BASc ’25, computer engineering) with Sajeel Purewal, 3E8 Robotics has developed technology that enables their robots to interact with elevators in the same way humans do — by activating a button.

Researchers at Waterloo Engineering have created a green alternative to absorbent materials now used in personal hygiene products such as diapers, menstrual pads and tampons.

The new, natural hydrogel breaks down harmlessly in soil within three months, unlike existing synthetic materials that are expected to take centuries to degrade and greatly contribute to the waste in landfill sites.

A Waterloo Engineering professor was among a select group of experts recognized this year with one of the most prestigious honours in the electrical and computing fields, an award reserved for fewer than one-tenth of one per cent of eligible members worldwide.

Dr. David Clausi was elevated to the grade of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow for his contributions to computer vision and machine learning for automated interpretation of remote sensing imagery.

A systems design engineering professor at Waterloo was elected as a new fellow of an international society that recognizes leaders improving the quality and impact of software worldwide.

Dr. Alexander Wong was named a Fellow of the Institution of Analysts and Programmers (IAP), an honour that acknowledges individuals who advance software practices that benefit industry and communities. He joins a global network of professionals committed to strengthening how software serves society.