News

Sometimes, complex physics hides within mundane fixtures of daily life – like a bathroom. Researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering are applying groundbreaking physics to tackle an annoying problem: urinal splashback. They recently published their work developing new urinal designs in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Nexus  (with a few fun puns in the process). The research also collaborated with a team at Weber State University in Utah. Their new technology will allow users to void without voiding their pants.  

A palm-sized device created by researchers within our department detects E. coli in water supplies to reduce illness and save lives.

Co-led by professors Dr. Beth Weckman and Dr. Vinny Gupta, the University of Waterloo Fire Research Facility (UWFRF) is dedicated to fire research and education on safety. The team has been examining how wildfires are evolving and identifying new measures that need to be taken to combat these fires and protect communities.  

Led by mechanical and mechatronics engineering professors, Dr. Ehsan Toyserkani and Dr. Mihaela Vlasea, the Holistic Innovation in Additive Manufacturing (HI-AM 2.0) project, has received $10.9 million in funding from NSERC and Mitacs. This project serves as a continuation of the original network that was established in 2017.

Team SERA, a new collaboration between the Active and Interactive Robotics (AIR) Lab and the Orthopaedic Mechatronics (ORTHOtron) lab, led by Jeffrey Lee (MASc Candidate), Teresa Marotta (MASc Candidate), Dr. Stewart McLachlin, and Dr. Yue Hu from the department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering has been established to combine the expertise of both labs for a new surgical robotics project for the international KUKA Innovation Award 2025 - Medical Robotics Challenge 2.0.

Two professors within the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering have received funding from the federal government in an award that focuses on innovative and bold Canadian-led projects. 

Physics laws that were previously thought to be impossible have been made possible by researchers within the Micro Nano-Scale Transport Lab.

An MME professor was among the recipients of funding from the Early Researcher Awards (ERA) provided by the Government of Ontario to support researchers investigating innovative solutions that benefit Ontario’s communities and workers.  

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.    

Dr. Duane Cronin has recently been awarded $1.4 million in funding for his Tier 1 NSERC Canada Research Chair in Trauma Biomechanics and Injury Prevention. The research focuses on computational human body models that can predict injury and provide critical data on the biomechanics of injuries that happen during crashes.