News

Nfinite, a nanotechnology startup led by MME alums Chee Hau Teoh (MASc '20), Jhi Yong Loke (MASc '21), and MME professor Dr. Kevin Musselman, have developed an ultra-thin, flexible, clear, and sustainable alternative for food packaging that can be recycled. Current food packaging is not very recyclable. Nfinite Nanotech is using its funding round to commercialize a new coating for cardboard and paper to help provide a sustainable alternative to current food packaging that can’t be recycled or composted. 

Forcen, a robotics sensing company, has received Pre-A $8.5-million funding round as it scales operations for its prototype production facility to support more customers and to continue developing its research and development for its force sensing technology for robots. 

Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering grads Nima Zamani (BASc '14, MASc' 16) and Dr. Tim Lasswell (BASc '14, MASc '17) introduced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Honourable Marci Ien and the Honourable Dan Vandal to Codi™️, an AI-powered robotics system can perform ultrasounds. The team met the officials at Saskatoon's Virtual Health Hub, and the hub will receive $21 million to develop, adopt, and deliver health care services to remote communities, of which the startup that invented the robot, Cobionix, will have its share.  

The startup builds autonomous medical robots that can make health care more accessible, and is based out of Velocity in downtown Kitchener.  

The company aims to offer fully autonomous ultrasounds, where the robot will undertake all parts of the ultrasound procedure without the need for technician supervision across the prairies and eventually across North America.  

Get the full story in Velocity News.  

Congratulations to alum Martin Basiri (MASc ‘13, mechanical and mechatronics engineering), who has been named on Maclean’s 2024 Power List in Tech as CEO and founder of Passage and Co-Founder and former CEO of ApplyBoard. 

Teams from Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering had great success at this year's 2024 Norman Esch Competition for Entrepreneurship Award for Capstone Design, presented by the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business. Twelve of this year's Capstone Design teams pitched their innovative ideas to a team of industry leaders for their share of investment funding.   

After much deliberation and encouragement from the audience, keep reading to find out how MME teams fared in the pitch competition. 

On March 25th, we held our annual Mechatronics Engineering Fourth-Year Design Symposium Capstone event, and wow, there was a lot to see! Keep reading to check out some of this year’s projects. 

From cookie dough to accessibility innovations, there was certainly a lot to see at this year’s Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Symposium. On March 20th, students showed off their fourth-year design projects, and there was no shortage of the “wow factor.”

We had the chance to chat with some of the students to learn more about their inspiration for their projects and how certain classes in their Mechanical Engineering degrees helped them devise innovative solutions to problems around the world.

Stefanie Burinsma, a Mechanical Engineering alumna (BASc' 15), has introduced a platform designed to empower women when it comes to car maintenance. The platform connects women needing vehicle repairs or advice with a network of trusted experts and educators to help reduce instances of fraud and discrimination.

While finishing up their undergraduate degrees, two Waterloo Engineering students, Michael Phillips and Phillip Cooper (BASc ’17, mechanical engineering), developed a tiny camera – just one-third of a millimetre in diameter, to diagnose stroke patients as part of their fourth-year design project. This invention also marked the founding of Vena Medical.

Mary Wells, Dean of Waterloo Engineering and professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering has been named one of Canada’s most powerful women by The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) as a recipient under the Canadian Tire Impact category for her commitment to making the Faculty of Engineering a welcoming community for all by eliminating barriers.

Since becoming dean in 2020, Wells has become a founding partner of the Indigenous & Black Engineering Technology PhD Project, has taken meaningful action towards reconciliation with the creation of a new Elder-in-Residence role, and continues to be a fierce advocate for greater outreach initiatives to encourage equity-deserving groups to pursue their passion for STEM.

The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) is an organization that aims to propel and celebrate the advancement of professional women. The Canadian Tire Community Impact Award celebrates women from many sectors, including education, who bring people together, embrace community outreach, and amplify underrepresented voices.

Learn even more about the prestigious award win by reading the full story.