News

A Waterloo Engineering professor challenged graduating students to think beyond technical success during this year’s …And One More Thing lecture, sharing her perspective on how prioritizing students’ development as good human beings empowers them to become good engineers.

Dr. Pendar Mahmoudi, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is the recipient of the Faculty of Engineering’s 2025 Boyce Family Teaching Award.  The award was established in 2023 and made possible by generous donation from the Boyce family.

People can collaborate with groups of wheeled robots to create art using an interactive system developed by researchers at Waterloo Engineering.

The robots trail coloured light as they move in response to a piece of music within a fixed area – which serves as the canvas – while a camera records them to produce a “painting,” or visual representation of its emotion.

Student startup Colare makes it easier for an employer to hire the right engineer for the job. The company uses simulation-based assessments to test candidates on real-world engineering tasks, such as CAD modelling and printed circuit board design.

Waterloo Engineering student Nain Abdi, inspired by his own co-op hiring experiences, co-founded Colare in 2025 with Esther Thomas to improve how engineering talent is evaluated.

Faculty and staff in the Faculty of Engineering were recognized for their contributions at the annual faculty and staff awards lunch.

Hosted by Dean Mary Wells, the event brought the Faculty together to celebrate 16 award recipients and to acknowledge the collective work that supported another strong year for Waterloo Engineering.

A team of Waterloo Engineering graduate students, led by Dr. Maricor Arlos from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is tackling the problem of micropollutants in urban water cycles.

The Arlos Research Lab is examining contaminants originating from everyday products — including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and industrial chemicals — and tracking their movements in water, sediment and aquatic life to inform public policy decisions and treatment solutions.

Dr. Mary Wells, dean of Waterloo Engineering, recently marked the 100th anniversary of Canada’s iron ring tradition with alumni in Hong Kong. The ceremony took place at the Canadian Engineering Asia-Pacific Conference, a gathering of academics, business leaders and engineers from across the region and the world.  

The iron ring ceremony remains a defining symbol of Canada’s approach to professional education. It asks new engineers to pledge to do work that is ethical, accountable and socially responsible.  

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.