News

It has been 33 years since a gunman shot and killed 14 women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal on December 6, 1989.

Waterloo Engineering alumni Sandra Ketchen (BASc ’92, chemical engineering) and Jodi Menezes (BASc ’13, chemical engineering), and fourth-year chemical engineering student Nusayba Sultana, reflect on what the attack continues to mean for them as women in engineering.

Researchers at Waterloo Engineering are using a natural material derived from seaweed to promote vascular cell growth, prevent blood clots and improve the performance of synthetic vascular grafts used in heart bypass surgery.

The new approach is especially important in cases involving small artificial blood vessels - those less than six millimetres in diameter - which are prone to clots that can develop into full blockages.

 The community at Waterloo Engineering came together for Giving Tuesday on Nov. 29 to generously support two funds that provide our students with a dynamic and diverse learning environment that prepares them for successful careers in a complex world.  

More than 80 donors supported the Engineering Student Teams Fund with over $22,000 in donations. More than 90 donors supported The Equity Fund with a total of $27,000 in donations.

Prestigious federal funding announced this week will help advance research into better ways of fueling space satellites and imaging human tissue to diagnose disease by two doctoral candidates at Waterloo Engineering.

Ahmed Saieed, who is studying mechanical engineering, and Ben Ecclestone, who is pursuing a PhD in systems design engineering, both won Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships with $50,000 in annual support for three years.

Engineering and health experts at the University of Waterloo are collaborating on research that may lead to breakthroughs in preventing a serious, all-too-common injury — broken bones. 

Their findings could prove especially important to elderly people typically more prone to falls and hip fractures. In fact, understanding the mechanics of how bones weaken over time could help serve the needs of the aging population in many parts of today’s developed world. 

I was a recent engineering student graduate from McGill University when 14 women, twelve of whom were engineering students, were murdered at École Polytechnique de Montréal in an antifeminist mass shooting on December 6, 1989.

The engineering field has made progress in the last 33 years but there is still more to be done. While there is not much written on the subject yet, I do believe the entry – and sustained increase – of women into the engineering profession has changed the trajectory of the field forever and for the better.

Students from Waterloo Engineering impressed the audience and judges with their business pitches at this week’s Velocity $5k event for aspiring entrepreneurs held at the Student Life Centre.

Eight teams made three-minute presentations and four were declared the winners, with each winning team taking home $5,000. Three of the four winning teams featured engineering students.

Two projects led by Waterloo Engineering researchers were awarded almost $4.2 million in funding today through a federal program created to tackle climate change by achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Dr. Nandita Basu, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, as well as earth and environmental sciences, will receive $3.7 million through the Climate Action and Awareness Fund for a project called Solutionscapes: Designing climate and water-smart agricultural solutions in complex working landscapes.

Past and present students, donors, faculty and staff gathered to celebrate the exceptional achievements of eight alumni and a long-time supporter of the Faculty.

Hosted by Mary Wells, dean of engineering, this year's event recognized the developer of innovative wearable technology, the founders of a fully integrated and reusable packaging program, two alumni leaders and co-class representatives, an advocate for equity and diversity, a leader of distributed control technology and systems, the CEO of a company that specializes in PVC recycling and waste reduction, and a valued friend of the Faculty.

Painting, poetry, science, curiosity, patience – it all came together in a striking photograph that has earned a Waterloo Engineering researcher national recognition.

Dr. Zhao Pan, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, and Dr. Floriane Weyer, a collaborator from the Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, won one of three jury prizes this week in Science Exposed, an annual contest that showcases images captured by Canadian researchers.