News

This opinion piece by the University of Waterloo’s Dr. Mary Wells, dean of engineering and Dr. Jochen Koenemann, dean of mathematics, appeared in the Hill Times.

If you are wondering whether a degree in software engineering is still worth pursuing, the answer is yes—not because the field is unchanged, but because it is changing profoundly. 

A study of wildfires by researchers at Waterloo Engineering reveals a risk of costly over-reaction by emergency responders who monitor social media posts.

While posts by the public have been shown to help firefighters spring into action faster, a detailed analysis of wildfires in California suggests social media signals can be a double-edged sword.

A new quantum computing startup co-founded by Waterloo Engineering professor Dr. Christopher Wilson is accelerating toward commercialization with $10.7 million in funding and a public listing just six months after launch.

QuantumCore — spun out of research at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) — is developing an amplifier that boosts read-out signals from superconducting quantum chips operating at near absolute zero temperatures. 

Retired Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor John Shortreed passed away on April 15. Dr. Shortreed joined the University of Waterloo in 1965 as an assistant professor in the Civil Engineering department. He was named associate professor in 1969 and full professor in 1977.

His areas of research included transportation, freeway simulation, risk analysis and assessment, the movement of hazardous goods, and urban transit. He joined the University's transport research group and helped launch the UWaterloo-based Institute for Risk Research.

A professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering has received the University of Waterloo's most prestigious academic honour.

Dr. John McPhee, the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Biomechatronic System Dynamics, was named a University Professor at this week's Board of Governors meeting — a designation recognizing exceptional scholarly achievement and international pre-eminence. Waterloo awards the designation to at most three faculty members each year.

In 2025, Waterloo Engineering’s Outreach programs reached more than 41,500 young people — a 30 per cent increase from 2024 and more than triple the 13,500 participants served in 2017.  

With support from donors, partners and sponsors, the programs are intentionally designed to engage young people who have historically been excluded from STEM — girls, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, Black and Indigenous youth, youth living with disabilities and newcomers to Canada.  

Hyperlume, a deep-tech company based in Ottawa, has been acquired by San Jose-based semiconductor firm Credo Technology Group for $128 million.

Hyperlume was co-founded by University of Waterloo alum Dr. Mohsen Asad (PhD '20, electrical and computer engineering) in 2022. Its technology makes AI data centres faster, cheaper and more energy efficient.

There’s a myth that if you want to build something great, you have to leave Canada.  

University of Waterloo alum Jeff Shiner (BMath ’92), executive chairman of the board at 1Password, and Chris Albinson, co-founder and managing director of True North Fund, make the case for why Waterloo students will do better to build their companies in Canada than in the United States (U.S.). 

Waterloo Engineering is mourning the loss of Dr. Sinnathamby Thambithurai (S.T.) Ariaratnam, one of the earliest members of the Department of Civil Engineering. He passed away on April 2, 2026. He was 92.

Ariaratnam joined the University of Waterloo in September 1962, recruited as one of the institution's first engineering professors when it was only a few years old. He taught in the department for nearly four decades until his retirement in 2001, and was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 2002.

A group of fourth-year mechanical engineering students on the Waterloo Rocketry team designed, built and tested a fully reusable rocket engine for their Capstone Design project.

Called Project Sisyphus, the engine will make test flying rockets significantly easier and more affordable for competitive rocketry teams.