Dr. Michael Benoit is an assistant professor within the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and is one of the 2026 honourees named in the list curated by the Financial Post.
Research led by PhD student Kaveeshan Thurairaj and Dr. Zhao Pan has won an Ig Nobel Physics Prize for their splash-free urinal designs.
Dr. Norman Zhou, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, has partnered with Dr. George Shaker in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering on research that has created low-powered sensors that can use an existing 5G network and satellite-enabled networks to send critical information, activated only by their environment, making it accessible in rural areas.
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.
Gupta received the Silver Combustion Medal from The Combustion Institute for research showing that chemically enhanced water mist is more effective than water alone at suppressing large fires.
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.
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.
Professor Mary Robinson received an award in the educator category at the 2026 Kitchener Waterloo Oktoberfest BMO Women of the Year Awards for her commitment to student-centred learning and innovation in engineering education.
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.
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.