Jeremy Wang (PhD '23, mechanical and mechatronics engineering) realized that Northern Communities lack access to commercial airlines and airports due to limited infrastructure, so he set out to co-found Ribbit—a pilotless fixed-wing aircraft company.
Dr. Vinny Gupta in mechanical and mechatronics (MME) engineering and Dr. Joshua Pulsipher in chemical engineering were featured on CTV Kitchener for their research on using AI to predict how fires in modern houses behave. The analysis will improve building codes, help emergency responders, and help improve future home evacuation systems.
Artificial intelligence is driving a surge in data centres being built around the world, but what’s embedded in those data centres are the lithium-ion batteries that keep data centres running, and research is being done in MME’s Fire Research Group to keep those centres running.
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.
Jeffrey Lee, a PhD candidate in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, is being celebrated for his tenacity as a teaching assistant and has received the Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student.
Dr. Duane Cronin has received a Safety Engineering Excellence Award from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the 28th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety Vehicles (ESV) in Toronto on May 12, 2026, for his commitment to advancing road safety.
In the Arami Research Lab, researchers are developing next-generation exoskeletons that better align with natural human movement, rather than forcing patients to adapt to the device.
Dr. Sushanta Mitra, a professor in the department, along with two professors in chemical engineering, have been awarded $600,000 by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) through the Call for Proposals on Plastics Science and Innovation for a Cleaner and More Sustainable Future.
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.
A research team led by Dr. Amir Khajepour, professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, has developed a new technology that uses cloud-based autonomous robots for routine tasks, such as moving equipment and supplies in hospitals and long-term care facilities.