Greetings from the Executive Director

It is my absolute pleasure and honor to lead the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) and serve its vibrant WIN members and their graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. WIN is a global leader in discovering and developing smart materials, connected devices, next generation energy systems, therapeutics and theranostics. These discoveries by our scientists and engineers are fundamentally changing our world and helping solve some of humanity's most pressing issues.

Innovation at WIN happens at the intersection of traditional disciplines of natural sciences and engineering. Working closely with the Faculties of Arts, Environment, and Health, WIN leverages diverse perspectives to solve the complex problems of today. This also provides an enriching experience for our researchers and students. We understand that the current challenges are multifaceted and WIN cannot resolve them by working in isolation.

Our focus is on research, education, state of the art facilities and partnerships both domestically and internationally, across Canada and around the world.  We are building critical mass in four key thematic areas: smart materials, connected devices, next generation energy systems, and therapeutics and theranostics. WIN is located in the state-of-the art 285,000 square feet Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC) and has Canada’s largest co-operative nanotechnology engineering undergraduate program.

For over the past decade, WIN has attracted outstanding faculty, students and research personnel. We continue to foster new national and international partnerships to enhance collaboration and research in the frontiers of nanoscience and nanotechnology. We are now embarking on a new ambitious journey.  

WIN is embracing the spirit of the fourth Industrial revolution, where it is uniquely positioned to bridge the entire scale of the nanotechnology map.  Our scientists and engineers are working all the way from the quantum (atomic level) to the device level and incorporating the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). They are solving some of the most urgent global challenges of the twenty-first century in energy, water, public health and many more.

All of this is only possible because WIN has driven innovation and commercialization of technologies built on the strong foundation of science and engineering over the years.  I invite all of you to be part of this exciting journey with WIN and look forward to learning from all of you.

Sushanta K. Mitra
Executive Director
Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology