Peter Teertstra, PEng

Peter Teertstra is a Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering as well as the Director of the Student Design Centre at the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Teertstra’s research interests are in conduction and convection modeling for microelectronics and optoelectronics cooling and the experimental measurement of heat transfer in micro- and nano-scale applications using reduced pressure environment testing methods. He is also interested in predicting and modeling air cooling limits for applications in electronics.

Peter Teertstra is the Director of the Sedra Student Design Centre at the University of Waterloo. As well as a Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering.

As Director of the Sedra Student Design Centre, Dr. Teertstra helps new and existing teams access the resources they need, such as equipment and sponsorship, to succeed in their competitions.

• Conduction and Convection Modeling for Microelectronics, Optoelectronics Cooling, Experimental Measurement of Heat Transfer in Micro- and Nano-scale Applications, Predicting and Modeling Air Cooling Limits for electronics applications

• 2003, Doctorate PhD, University of Waterloo, Ontario

• 1992, Master's MASc, University of Waterloo, Ontario

• 1990, Bachelor's BSE, Calvin College, United States

• GENE 199 - Special Topics in First Year Engineering
  • Taught in 2022, 2025
• GENE 499 - Special Topics in Fourth-Year Engineering
  • Taught in 2025
• ME 101 - Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Practice 2
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• ME 201 - Advanced Calculus
  • Taught in 2025
• ME 250 - Thermodynamics 1
  • Taught in 2020
• MTE 201 - Experimental Measurement & Statistical Analysis
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• MTE 204 - Numerical Methods
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
• PD 21 - Engineering Workplace Skills II: Developing Effective Plans
  • Taught in 2020, 2021

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Teertstra, P and Karimi, G and Li, X, Corrigendum to “Measurement of in-plane effective thermal conductivity in PEM fuel cell diffusion media”[Electrochim. Acta 56 (2011) 1670--1675], Electrochimica Acta, 3415, 2011

• Teertstra, P and Karimi, G and Li, X, Measurement of in-plane effective thermal conductivity in PEM fuel cell diffusion media, Electrochimica Acta, 1670, 2011

• Karimi, G and Li, X and Teertstra, P, Measurement of through-plane effective thermal conductivity and contact resistance in PEM fuel cell diffusion media, Electrochimica Acta, 1619, 2010

• Teertstra, Peter M and Yovanovich, M Michael and Culham, J Richard, Conduction shape factor models for hollow cylinders with nonuniform gap spacing, Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, 28, 2009

• Teertstra, Peter M and Yovanovich, M Michael and Culham, J Richard, Modeling of natural convection in electronic enclosures, Journal of electronic packaging, 157, 2006

• Outstanding faculty and staff honoured