News

Dr. John Quilty in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering leads a graduate student research team building artificial intelligence (AI) models that help communities better anticipate and respond to water-related risks. 

The research is supported by the Sinnathamby Professorship in AI for Sustainable Solutions in the Faculty of Engineering, established by University of Waterloo alum Thiru Sinnathamby (BASc ’01, electrical engineering) with an investment of $500,000.

The Tang Family Foundation, a charitable fund within the Philantra Foundation, has invested $500,000 in the University of Waterloo’s Data and Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.AI) to support graduate research in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) through student scholarships.

The inaugural recipients, eight students from the faculties of Engineering and Math, have received $15,000 each to help them focus on their work in embodied intelligence — AI that senses and acts in real environments.

Waterloo Engineering graduate Jarett Dewbury (BASc ’26, biomedical engineering) crossed the stage at convocation this month and is now heading to MIT to do full-time research in advanced AI for health-care applications.

Dewbury is the winner of this year’s Pearl Sullivan Emerging Global Leaders (PS EGL) Award, one of the Faculty of Engineering's highest student honours, in recognition of his work as a student to make advanced AI more accessible in health care and across Waterloo's student community.

Waterloo Engineering's Critical Machine Learning (ML) Lab is developing AI systems that are safer, more efficient and more equitable — with active applications in health care, aviation and climate action.

Dr. Sirisha Rambhatla, a professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering, leads the lab's research. Her team works at the level of ML theory to predict and engineer it — so users can make safer, fairer decisions at lower computing costs and with less waste.

The Vision and Image Processing (VIP) Research Group at Waterloo Engineering is one of Canada's most productive AI research engines — generating more than $12 million in research funding, launching more than 10 spin-off companies and training hundreds of students.

Led by Drs. David Clausi, John Zelek, Paul Fieguth and Alexander Wong in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, VIP applies computer vision and machine learning to real-world challenges in health care, sports, climate monitoring, robotics, smart cities and manufacturing.

Waterloo Engineering researchers have designed smart technology to help industries navigate geopolitical uncertainty, inflation and supply chain issues.

Led by Dr. Luis Ricardez-Sandoval, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, the team has harnessed machine learning (ML) to improve industrial production scheduling. This ability to improve planning helps manufacturers withstand unpredictable market conditions more effectively.

Two Waterloo Engineering faculty members have been appointed to updated Val O’Donovan Chair positions that reflect the Faculty’s strategic focus on advancing artificial intelligence through ethical research, interdisciplinary collaboration and student engagement.

Starting September 1, Dr. Amir-Hossein Karimi will hold the O’Donovan Chair in Trustworthy AI, while Dr. Sirisha Rambhatla will hold the O’Donovan Chair in Efficient, Safe and Adaptive AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology developed at Waterloo Engineering gives baseball scouts a powerful new tool to accurately analyze pitcher performance and biomechanics using low-resolution video.

The system, known as PitcherNet, is the product of a three-year partnership between researchers at the Vision and Image Processing (VIP) Lab and the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB).

 University of Waterloo researchers have developed an AI-powered app that tracks our caloric and nutrient intake while we eat.

Dr. Yuhao Chen, a research assistant professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering’s Vision and Image Processing (VIP) Lab, said the new tech is aimed at tackling malnutrition in aging populations to ensure that older people get the food they need to support a healthy and active lifestyle.

A Waterloo Engineering research team is using augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) to better understand — and maintain — the condition of Canada's critical infrastructure. 

Dr. Chul Min Yeum, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his colleagues have developed a system called the Smart Infrastructure Metaverse that uses AR/VR to allow on-site and off-site inspectors to interact in real-time as they view the real structure and a 3D scanned replica model simultaneously.