News

A shared interest in sports inspired a University of Waterloo professor and an undergraduate student team to launch a company that designed a novel spinal implant for improved neck mobility and reduced surgical complications.
 
Pliantech was co-founded by Jonah Leinwand, a biomedical engineering undergraduate in the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering, and Dr. Stewart McLachlin, an assistant professor in mechanical and mechatronics engineering. 

Please welcome the staff members who joined our team in 2022. This list represents all new, regular staff positions within the Faculty of Engineering between January 1 and December 1, 2022.

Architecture 

Palak Chauhan, Client Support Specialist 
Julie Dring, Advancement Manager 
Sarah Mickelson, Financial Officer 
Rekha Ramachandran, Research Technician Development Coordinator 
Kelsey Richardson, Administrative Assistant 

The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) will induct two Waterloo professors as 2024 EIC fellows.

Dr. David Clausi, director of the Vision and Image Processing Research Lab and Associate Dean of Research and External Partnerships, and Dr. Carolyn Ren, director of Waterloo Microfluidics Laboratory, were recognised for their exceptional contributions to engineering in Canada.

Dr. Jon W. Mark, a prominent researcher and influential mentor who played a leading role in building the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), died on December 7.

Mark joined Waterloo in 1970 and officially retired in 2001, although he remained an active presence in the department as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

Two Waterloo Engineering and computer science students organized a day-long hackathon with more than 50 participants at the Pearl Sullivan Engineering IDEAs Clinic.

Led by Faraz Khoubsirat, a third-year software engineering student, and Bing Hu, a computer science PhD student, the hackathon challenged participants to solve real-world problems using Cohere's powerful AI engines and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) APIs. 

Two Waterloo professors, Dr. Alfred Yu and Dr. John. Yeow, have been selected as fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Yu was recognized for contributions in the field of ultrasound imaging and therapy, Yeow for contributions to the understanding and applications of nanostructures and nanocomposites.

Two Waterloo Engineering students pitched their business ideas at the Velocity Pitch Competition finals and won $5,000 each.

Robert Chlumsky, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Engineering, pitched Blackbird, a rapid web-based flood mapping solution. Jonah Leinwand, an undergraduate student studying biomedical engineering, pitched a new design for spinal implants.

This is an excerpt of an opinion piece by Dr. Mary Wells, dean of Waterloo Engineering, and Dr. Suzanne Kresta, former dean of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, published today in the Toronto Star. 

34 years ago, 14 women lost their lives because a man who had not been accepted into the École Polytechnique de Montréal was convinced that he had the right to kill women who had earned their place. This killing was an act of unprecedented violence against women and our profession. 

We are two deans of engineering faculties and we each have a daughter in engineering; We pause together on December 6 to remember this tragedy, celebrate the present and reflect on the future.  

December 6 marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada.

Each year, the University of Waterloo hosts a ceremony of remembrance to reflect on and respond to the murder of 14 female engineering students who were murdered at École Polytechnique de Montréal (now Polytechnique Montréal) in an act of gender-based violence on this day in 1989. 

An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Waterloo is using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify microplastics faster and more accurately than ever before.

Led by Dr. Wayne Parker, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, the research team’s advanced imaging identification system could help wastewater treatment plants and food production industries make informed decisions to mitigate the potential impact of microplastics on the environment and human health.