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Two Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology members will receive a total of almost $185,000 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.

Researchers are using computer models to simulate COVID-19 infections on a cellular level – the basic structural level of the human body.

The models allow for virtual trials of drugs and vaccines, opening the possibility of pre-assessment for drug and vaccine efficacy against the virus.

A WIN member was recently honoured by the National Academy of Sciences of America for research involving a gel-like robot, inspired by sea slugs and snails, that is steerable by light.

Hamed Shahsavan, who joined Waterloo as a professor of chemical engineering last year, was lead author of a paper chosen as a finalist for a Cozzarelli Prize recognizing the top work published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in 2020.

To a scientist, trial and error are common in laboratories to refine new tests and methods and look for potential problems on the small scale. But what happens when these techniques are meant for human tissues, such as for surgeries, medical tests, and treatments, where multiple different trials are not possible?

Researchers studying two-dimensional crystalline materials have observed an electromagnetic effect, called the nonlinear anomalous Hall effect, of unprecedented size. Their finding opens the door to exploring other quantum materials using their techniques and hints at promising applications in spintronic devices.

Impressing a venture capitalist with their business pitches earned a senior-year nanotechnology engineering team $50,000 in financial backing.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo are developing a new COVID-19 test that can be administered at home using saliva, aiming to deliver a positive or negative result in less than 20 minutes.

It’s a possible solution to the current delays in receiving test results and a much more pleasant option for those requiring frequent tests, researchers said. They hope the tests will become available over the counter at pharmacies across Canada.

“The use of paper devices coated with nanoparticles for COVID detection is a game changer.

A medical startup company founded by two Nanotechnology Engineering graduates has raised US $2.65 million to continue its growth.

The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) at the University of Waterloo (UWaterloo) and the economic development agency of Brainport Eindhoven in the Netherlands have taken another step towards bringing Waterloo’s top nanotechnology innovations to the EU market. 

What is nanotechnology, and how does it help us everyday?

To answer this question, the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) partnered with the Games Institute (GI) to create a playful online education app. This project aims to explore and explain how nanotechnology is used in our everyday lives using digital visual storytelling and game technology.