Dr. Carolyn Ren, a professor in our department, leads the Waterloo Microfluidics Laboratory, a place where students at all levels can contribute to the research and development of innovative technologies that improve lives.
The annual Esch Competition put on by the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship had no shortage of inventive projects, and among them were several Mechatronics Engineering Capstone Design Teams showcasing their senior projects, vying for esteemed prize money. Our teams definitely delivered amazing pitches for their inventive solutions.
Jordan Lin (BASc ‘22, mechanical engineering) had a goal in mind and was determined to pursue it. During his undergrad, Lin was a research associate for Access to Energy Institute (A2EI), a non-profit institution, during his co-op term. This experience sparked his interest in sustainability – a journey he had yet to realize he would continue.
Team VitalRest, consisting of Sonja Bakowsky, Olivia Paauw and Anika Mankotia, placed first in the Health Tech Innovation Challenge hosted by the Pearl Sullivan Engineering IDEAs Clinic. The challenge’s purpose was to test their design skills within a realistic scenario, and the team of first-year MME students displayed their exceptional ability in problem-solving and creative thinking, resulting in their success.
Congratulations to Shanaya Barretto for being selected to participate in the prestigious program – the Brooke Owens Fellowship! This achievement highlights Barretto’s accomplishments throughout her undergrad career, being named one of the recipients out of 400 promising candidates who applied globally.
Two students in MME are celebrating their hard work with an award from the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST) for the 2025 Jerry Silver Award. This award was based on their research, "Effect of Dewpoint on the Evolving Radiative Properties of Advanced High-Strength Steel During Intercritical Annealing," by Fatima Suleiman, PhD candidate and Nishant Narayanan, a PhD student, along with their Supervisor Kyle Daun, in the WATLit Lab.
The International Network of Sustainable Nanotechnology (N4SNano) is a global force for industry, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations to champion nanotechnology solutions for sustainable futures, and Dr. Sushanta Mitra is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and the Executive Director of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN), which also happens to be a founding partner of this network. Together, Mitra and the team in N2SNano are working together to bring the brightest minds in environmental preservation for a conference on sustainability that benefits communities all over the world.
Dr. Mihaela Vlasea’s exemplary work in the manufacturing landscape highlights success earned from determination and an open mind. This mentality also proved to be fruitful during her transition from her academic to professional career.
In cognizance for their contributions, Dr. Clovis Raimundo Maliska is awarded the Alumni Achievement Medal for Professional Achievement and Dr. Gamal Refai-Ahmed the Alumni Achievement Medal for Academic Excellence. Their work introduces improved technological advancements and revolutionary research, fostering innovation and transformative action that will continue to benefit their respective industries.
Connor Pryce, a 4A MME student, led the research that won the Student Poster Competition at the 2024 American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics (APS-DFD) conference, the largest international event in Fluid Mechanics—held in Salt Lake City, Utah.