A licensed engineer for nearly four decades, Murray Gamble has shaped the region's institutions through his dedicated volunteer service
The iron ring is small, sized to fit the little finger of an engineer’s working hand. Today it is more often made from stainless steel than iron. Though it doesn’t weigh much physically, it carries enormous symbolic weight, acting as a reminder to Canadian-trained professional engineers of the oath they took to do good, safe work that advances society.
Friendlier, a local startup tackling Canada’s single-use plastic problem head-on, recently closed a $4.5 million dollar funding round. The company, founded in 2019 by University of Waterloo alumni Jacqueline Hanton (BASc ’20) and Kayli Smith (BASc ’20), has raised a total of $10 million and kept almost 3.7 million food and beverage containers out of landfills.
For 100 years, Canadian-trained engineers have participated in The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, an annual event at which they take an oath to uphold their profession’s values and in return, receive an iron ring—a small but mighty symbol of their solemn commitment to serve society.
For University of Waterloo alum Stephanie Thompson (BASc ’01), the ring is a unifier, reminding all who wear it to do work that pays attention to technical excellence but also, crucially, to how the work they do impacts people’s lives.
Waterloo graduate Kiyoumars Zarshenas (PhD ’23) has been named a winner of the Science Exposed 2024 Jury Prize sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) with a striking image captured with a scanning electron microscope.
The Science Exposed contest highlights photos of Canadian research to foster interest and curiosity in the sciences. Each year, 20 images are selected as finalists for the English contest and showcased by various means, including exhibitions.
Rehnuma Tasneem (BASc ‘24) did not always want to become an engineer. Growing up she pictured herself as a nurse or a doctor, pursuing a career that held prominence in her Bangladeshi family and community — no one she knew was an engineer.
Tasneem moved to Canada with her parents when she was in high school. Her interest in the sciences grew with a particular enjoyment for subjects like physics and math. Shifting her focus to these fields, Tasneem researched other areas of impactful work outside of health care and discovered engineering.
Most people don’t leave the cinema commenting on the picture’s colour contrast, saturation and brightness levels. Yet, the look of the movie can influence our enjoyment of it, and how well it does on the cinema circuit.
University of Waterloo alum Mike Perkins (BASc, '90), a principal product developer at local audio-visual solutions company Christie, led the development of a digital projector that takes movie-watching to a whole new level — illuminating the theatre screen with darker darks, brighter brights and colours not seen before in the cinema.
Waterloo-based deep tech startup AdHawk Microsystems recently launched MindLink Air™, everyday glasses that can read its wearer’s eye health and cognitive state using research-grade, camera-free eye-tracking technology. Its real-time insights help the wearer adjust their daily routine to improve productivity and avoid mental fatigue.
Driven by its founders’ desire to help people, AdHawk is a local success story that exemplifies Waterloo’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The Waterloo Engineering community came together to celebrate the exceptional achievements of four alumni and an industry supporter of the Faculty at this year’s Engineering Awards Dinner.
Hosted by Dr. Mary Wells, dean of engineering, the event recognized an advocate of applied biotechnology research, a tech business leader, an expert in novel medical devices and stem cell therapy, a globally renowned luthier and a valued friend of the Faculty.
The recipients of this year’s awards are:
Baoling Chen — Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal
Having weathered the COVID-19 pandemic far from home, Waterloo Engineering alum and Muay Thai instructor, Qianshu Wang (BASc ‘19, Nanotechnology Engineering) is back in Waterloo figuring out his next move.