Future students

Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, a professor in the School of Architecture, is renowned for his research into the architecture and design of the Nazi concentration camps and gas chambers.  

His research became public when he took the stand as the key expert witness in a notorious British libel trial that pitted British Holocaust denier David Irving against American historian Deborah Lipstadt. His testimony, portrayed in the 2016 film Denial, was a key factor in the verdict clearing Lipstadt of the claim of libel. 

When Dr. Mihaela Vlasea’s (BASc ’08, PhD ’14) high school teacher encouraged her to apply to Waterloo’s inaugural mechatronics program, she didn’t imagine that less than 20 years later, she’d be a renowned expert in additive manufacturing (3D printing). 

“I didn't really know what mechatronics was, and there was nothing to base my enthusiasm around at that time,” she says, “but I was really intrigued that Waterloo had put this together because every time they put a new program together, it skyrockets into success.” 

Global and individual health care is experiencing disruption through a variety of technologies. Building disruptive technologies is at the core of what we do, and since our inception, the University of Waterloo has also been disrupting the boundaries of health. In 2024, the University opened the doors of the Innovation Arena, a new collaboration space within the Health Sciences Campus in downtown Kitchener, to further streamline commercialization pathways for businesses, fast-track delivery of health technologies and drive Canada’s next wave of economic growth.

In the current age of technological disruption, Waterloo students are striving to understand the needs of the business world and tackle the biggest challenges they face. Leveraging the University’s world-class co-op program, students gain valuable experience working at one of more than 8,000 employers connected to Waterloo. 

It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the tragic passing of Shaan Nair this December. Shaan took his own life earlier this month.

Shaan was a dedicated software engineering student in his first year of study here at Waterloo. He was also a resident on campus at Village 1. 

It was Shaan’s dream to get a degree in software engineering from the University of Waterloo, and he worked hard toward his dream.

This past year, students, alumni, researchers and staff made significant strides in addressing global challenges and advancing technology. These top 12 stories of 2024 highlight some of Waterloo’s transformative work shaping the future.

Twenty-two researchers at the University of Waterloo have been awarded more than $10 million to support their research from the Ontario Research Fund (ORF).  

The ORF Research Excellence program provides up to one-third of the total value of a research project with major strategic value to the province.  

Many entrepreneurs build companies to tackle problems they’ve experienced first-hand — and Kurtis McBride (BASc ’04, MASc ’07) is one of them.  

The Waterloo Engineering alum hit upon his startup idea when he was a student on a co-op work placement at a transportation consultancy. The job involved manually counting vehicles, which McBride saw as outdated and inefficient, hindering the urban planning process.  

University of Waterloo student Anson Yu loves a design challenge, particularly one that she can work on with friends. Looking for an extracurricular project that was exciting yet achievable, Yu hit upon the idea of recreating a fun vehicle from pop culture. But which one?