Current undergraduate students

Ryan Gariepy (BASc '09, mechatronics engineering, MASc '12, mechanical engineering*) and his co-founders, who are also all mechatronics alumni, established Clearpath Robotics in 2009 at a time when the robotics industry in Canada was still finding its footing, and it wasn't common to see Canadian startups taking technology that involved physical robots from the lab to the global market. Now that's changed, and Gariepy is happy to see it. 

Three incoming mechanical and mechatronics undergraduate students have been awarded Schulich Leader Scholarships as they begin their degrees, supporting exceptional talent.  

A newly minted mechanical engineering alum has received three awards for his academic excellence.  

University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT), a mechanical and mechatronics-focused team, has been selected from among 20 universities across North America and is one of two Canadian universities to compete in the EcoCAR Innovation Challenge on the Stellantis track.  

Capstone team Project Sisyphus designed and built an engine that uses regenerative cooling, circulating fuel through built-in channels to prevent the chamber from melting. The 3D-printed copper parts made through additive manufacturing also help with this.

For over three decades, co-op students like Smita Basak have helped drive innovation at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. 

Every year, students across engineering, including those in MME, culminate their program with a Capstone Design project to develop innovative ideas to advance an area of interest. Students also have the opportunity to take part in the Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Awards for Capstone Design, open to a broad audience, with the chance to win their share of $100,000 in prize money.   

Cristiano Da Silva, a current mechanical engineering undergraduate, was part of the group Dreaming Objects, which won $50,000 at HARD MODE, an invite-only hardware and artificial intelligence hackathon hosted by the MIT Media Lab.   

Rotostitch, founded in 2025, is striving to make a sustainable impact on the apparel industry with garment construction. The company was co-founded by Waterloo Engineering alum Leah McClure (BASc ’24, mechanical engineering) and Anson Tsang.