News

Elder William (Bill) Woodworth, who played a vital role in advancing Indigenous presence and perspective at the University of Waterloo, passed away unexpectedly June 9, 2025.

A long-time faculty member in the School of Architecture and Elder in Residence for the Faculty of Engineering, Woodworth supported students, faculty and staff by sharing his knowledge, stories and care for community. His calm presence brought people together, encouraged meaningful conversations and helped make the University a more welcoming and respectful place for everyone.

The University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering hosted a lively reunion event welcoming alumni from across generations back to campus to reconnect and relive their student days. 

The engineering grads came together for a full day of activities that included a patio party, the popular back-to-the-classroom lecture with Dr. Larry Smith, drinks at POETS, the iron ring renewal ceremony and a dinner party.

A student design team from the Faculty of Engineering has earned top honours at a national competition focused on advancing drone-based emergency response.

Waterloo’s Aerial Robotics Group (WARG) captured first place at the 2025 National Student Unmanned Aircraft Systems Competition in Medicine Hat, Alberta, with a custom-built autonomous aircraft designed for wildfire surveillance and support. WARG’s system stood out for its comprehensive wildfire response strategy, including real-time decision-making, terrain mapping and autonomous beacon detection.

A student-designed electric race car from the University of Waterloo powered its way to a top-place finish at the Formula Hybrid+Electric competition, a premier international student challenge for hybrid and electric vehicles.

The University of Waterloo’s Formula Electric (UWFE) team earned its podium result at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, competing against 28 other teams from across North America in late April. Hosted by Dartmouth College, the annual event tested student-built vehicles for speed, handling, endurance and energy efficiency.

Since 1925, Canadian-trained engineers have taken their oath to do good work at the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, an annual ceremony at which each engineer receives an iron ring to remind them of their pledge.

Waterloo Engineering alum Stephanie Thompson talks about the iron ring’s impact on her career and its call for all engineers to serve society.

Waterloo Engineering researchers have done something that was previously believed to be impossible – roll a sphere down a totally vertical surface.

The slow rolling motion was unexpectedly recorded by high-speed cameras after months of trial, error and theoretical calculations by two collaborating research teams.

A national engineering society has recognized a Waterloo Engineering professor for his outstanding contributions to civil engineering research, innovation and leadership.

Dr. Hassan Baaj, a civil engineering professor and associate dean of research and external partnerships, was named a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) at the organization’s 2025 annual conference gala in Winnipeg, held May 28 to 30.

An alum of Waterloo Engineering has been recognized by an industry publication as one of the 100 leading women in the North American automotive industry.

Erin Buchanan (BASc ’98, chemical engineering), general manager of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada in Cambridge, made the Automotive News list for 2025 alongside CEOs, engineers, founders, marketers and financiers described as “visionaries, problem-solvers and catalysts for change.”

A Waterloo Engineering professor has received a national award recognizing exceptional contributions in chemical engineering, celebrating innovation in sustainable materials and global research impact.

Dr. Michael Tam, a chemical engineering professor and University Research Chair, has been named the 2025 recipient of the R.S. Jane Memorial Award — the highest honour conferred by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE). He will deliver a plenary lecture at the CSChE Conference on October 8.

Researchers say you may want to think twice about using powerful artificial intelligence (AI) programs such as ChatGPT to self-diagnose health problems. 

A team led by Waterloo Engineering found in a simulated study that ChatGPT-4o, the well-known large language model (LLM) created by OpenAI, answered open-ended diagnostic questions incorrectly nearly two-thirds of the time.