News

Willem Petersen, a Waterloo systems design engineering doctoral candidate, won the best presentation award at the recent 2012 International Society for Terrain-Vehicle Systems conference held in Pretoria, South Africa. Petersen presented the work he's collaborated on with John McPhee, his doctoral supervisor, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). They have developed advanced models for planetary rovers and wheels on soft (Martian) soils to help the CSA design, control, and plan for future rover missions.

A new Engineering Ambassador Team has been introduced to help future students find what undergraduate program is the best fit for their interests and skills. Recently launched, the team is comprised of current undergraduate students representing all 13 Waterloo Engineering undergraduate programs. Their goal is to share their unique experiences in the Faculty and at the University of Waterloo. Ambassadors will also be the hosts for the Grade 11 and 12 shadow program. A new website has been designed as a starting point for our future students.

Anwar Hasan, an electrical and computer engineering professor, has been appointed associate dean, research and external partnerships. His three-year term begins January 1, 2013. Hasan will succeed Rick Culham who has served in the role for the past four years. 

"I am extremely grateful to Rick for his dedicated service to Engineering and want to thank him for his significant efforts in developing new opportunities and raising our profile during his term as Associate Dean," said Engineering Dean Pearl Sullivan in a memo to engineering staff and faculty.

Winners of the 2012 Waterloo Engineering awards were celebrated at  the annual Faculty of Engineering dinner held October 4.

Sanjeev Bedi of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, Mark Pritzker of chemical engineering, and Mark Smucker of management sciences received the Faculty's Teaching Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding teaching and commitment to the enrichment of Waterloo Engineering education.

Two engineering students will be honoured with the university's  Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Studies Designation at fall convocation on October 20.  One of three of the designations for a master's student will be awarded to Mohammad Rostami of electrical and computer engineering. Thomasz Glawdel of mechanical and mechatronics engineering will receive one of the three designations for a PhD student.

Sergey Bogdanov, a Waterloo mechanical engineering doctoral candidate, won the best poster presentation at the International Conference on Fatigue Damage of Structural Materials IX held September 16-21 in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The conference was attended by almost 200 experts from 58 countries. Bogdanov's work will be published in the form of a full-length paper in the International Journal of Fatigue Journal.

Mark Smucker of management sciences and Charlie Clarke of computer science have been honoured with the best paper award by the ACM Special Interest Group on Information Retrieval at its annual conference, considered to be the premier one in the field of information retrieval. The University of Waterloo professors' winning paper is entitled "Time-Based Calibration of Effectiveness Measures."

Canada's ninth annual National Biotechnology Week, from September 14 to 21, celebrates national biotechnology excellence. Canada's bio-economy is estimated to be worth more than $87 billion and involves a wide variety of sectors including pharmaceutical manufacturing, health, and medicine, agriculture and food bioprocessing, and organic chemical manufacturing.

Claudio Cañizares has received one of Canada's highest academic honours by being named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

The electrical and computer engineering professor is among the recipients of 11 medals and awards, which recognize outstanding achievements in several fields of research and scholarship.

As students return to school, Waterloo Collegiate Institute's Janelle Tam was featured in the September 4 edition of Premier Dalton McGuinty's blog. Janelle is the daughter of Dr. Michael Tam, a faculty member in Waterloo's Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.