News

Two recent Waterloo Engineering graduates were named national finalists in a prestigious design contest this week for an idea that began taking shape in a first-year class.

Anneke van Heuven (BASc ’21) and Elias Trouyet (BASc ’21) were just starting the nanotechnology engineering program when they learned that the chemicals in most existing flame retardant materials can cause long-term health effects including cancer.

The findings of a new study highlight a need for widespread use of better face masks and the importance of good ventilation to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 indoors.

Waterloo mechanical engineering researchers performed experiments using a mannequin to simulate a seated person breathing in a large room.

The studies showed a significant buildup over time of aerosol droplets – exhaled droplets so tiny they remain suspended and travel through the air – despite the use of common cloth and blue surgical masks.

A systems design engineering doctoral candidate has used his biomedical engineering background to develop technology to accurately track COVID-19 vaccine doses at clinics. 

Ryan Tennant, who holds undergraduate and master's degrees in systems design engineering from Waterloo, designed an app to "help alleviate the stress of end-of-day doses – to ensure that there are fewer or no doses that go unused.”  

Professor Emeritus Roger Green, who died on August 11, is remembered as an expert in bridge design and a highly engaging instructor with a great sense of humour and an unrivalled level of enthusiasm for his field of expertise.

As wildfires continue to burn across the country this summer, a civil and environmental engineering professor, provides her expert opinion on what causes them and their long-term effects on air quality and the health of Canadians.

Rebecca Saari, who studies the consequences of climate change and climate policy on human health and environmental inequality, responds to common questions about Canadian wildfires and what needs to be done to prevent them from happening. 

Waterloo Engineering alumnus Andrew D’Souza (BASc ’08, systems design engineering) got an early start as an entrepreneur.

He delivered newspapers, mowed lawns and walked dogs for his neighbours as a boy, then moved up to part-time jobs to save for university so he wouldn’t rack up debt.

Flash forward 13 years since he earned his degree and D’Souza, whose family immigrated to Canada from India, is now the co-founder and CEO of Clearco, a Toronto-based company that has invested $2.2 billion in thousands of e-commerce companies.

Five professors at Waterloo Engineering will receive a total of almost $874,000 under a federal program designed to give exceptional researchers the tools and equipment needed to become leaders in their fields.

The recipients are among 21 researchers campus-wide at the University of Waterloo announced today for almost $2.66 million in backing through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund.

Across the country, $77 million will go to support 332 research infrastructure projects at 50 universities.

Music artists can find new creative directions for their songwriting with a real-time system that uses artificial intelligence.

LyricJam was created by members of the University’s Natural Language Processing Lab led by Olga Vechtomova, a Waterloo Engineering professor cross-appointed in Computer Science.

The lab’s initial work led to the creation of a system that learns musical expressions of artists and generates lyrics in their style.

Local architect Roger Farwell (BArch 1977), known as a philanthropist, community builder and champion of the arts, died August 4 in Wellesley Township in a single-vehicle crash.

Just over $400,000 in federal funding was announced today for a cybersecurity project led by a Waterloo Engineering professor.

Sebastian Fischmeister, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, heads a six-member team developing an enhanced cybersecurity system to protect Canada’s energy infrastructure.

The project, which is backed by Natural Resources Canada, also involves Bruce Power and Palitronica Inc., a startup company with roots in Fischmeister’s lab, the Real-time Embedded Software Group.