SYDE alumni celebrate milestones at reunion 2025
The Department of Systems Design Engineering (SYDE) welcomed alumni back to campus on June 7, 2025, for a reunion weekend packed with innovation, nostalgia, and milestone celebrations. Graduates spanning five decades gathered to reconnect and explore how the department continues to evolve through hands-on research and design education.
The reunion also marked several major milestones. Most notably, students from the class of 1975 celebrated their 50th year reunion. The classes of 1990 and 2000 gathered in impressive numbers, with 39 alumni from the class of 2000 attending and organizing additional events to reconnect. For some, it was the first time back on campus since graduation.
Alumni enjoyed guided tours through three cutting-edge lab spaces that reflect SYDE’s core focus on experiential learning and human-centred design.
At the Autonomous Vehicle Research and Intelligence Lab (AVRIL), brave guests who passed the motion sickness test took a spin in the WatDrive Driving Simulator. Members of the research team shared about their work in driver assistance systems and human-machine interaction.
Dr. James Tung behind the wheel of the driving simulator with grad student Pete Umpaipant and Dr. Siby Samuel.
Alumni got a demonstration of the WatDrive Driving Simulator
In the Motion Capture Lab, Dr. James Tung gave real-time demonstrations of a brain-computer interface integrated into a sensor-powered autonomous wheelchair. Alumni also had the chance to try out walker prototypes designed to improve load transfer during movement, offering new perspectives on assistive mobility technology.
Dr. James Tung gave a tour of the research in the Motion Capture Lab.
Alumni got to test drive new walker designs.
In the Prototyping Lab, one of SYDE’s main teaching spaces, the alumni explored a collection of student-designed projects showing how current students bring design concepts to life through iterative prototyping.
In addition to tours and social events, the reunion featured a lightning research talk by Dr. Liza-Anastasia DiCecco on Health Futures. Her presentation explored innovations in biomaterials and orthopedic implants, particularly for patients with osteoporosis. Dr. DiCecco's presentation begins in the video at 15 minutes.
SYDE Class of 2000
The department is grateful to the many alumni who made the trip back to campus, and we look forward to welcoming more familiar faces at next year’s reunion weekend on June 6, 2026.