Thomas Willett, PhD, PEng (He/Him)

Professor Willett’s research interests concern the mechanics and materials science of bone (also known as bone tissue quality research) and the engineering of biomedical materials to repair bone and reconstruct the skeleton.

He specializes in:

1) Bone Tissue Quality Research - developing improved understanding of the mechanisms that determine the mechanical performance and failure of bone and how collagen modifications due to ageing, disease, irradiation, and other causes alter these mechanisms and the mechanical behaviour of the tissue.

2) Engineering of bone-inspired materials for skeletal reconstruction – development of 3D printable biomedical polymer nanocomposites for bone repair.

• Biomedical Engineering

• Health Technologies

• Mechanics of Biomedical and Biological Materials (Biomaterials and Tissues)

• Bone Mechanics, especially Fracture Mechanics

• Bone Tissue Quality and Fragility

• Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering

• Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing

• Mechanical testing

• Fracture mechanics

• Collagen

Professor Willett’s research interests concern the mechanics and materials science of bone (also known as bone tissue quality research) and the engineering of biomedical materials to repair bone and reconstruct the skeleton.

He specializes in:

1) Bone Tissue Quality Research - developing improved understanding of the mechanisms that determine the mechanical performance and failure of bone and how collagen modifications due to ageing, disease, irradiation, and other causes alter these mechanisms and the mechanical behaviour of the tissue.

2) Engineering of bone-inspired materials for skeletal reconstruction – development of 3D printable biomedical polymer nanocomposites for bone repair.

Prof. Willett regularly partners with Canadian companies. New opportunities are welcome.

• 2008, Doctorate (PhD), Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Canada

• 2003, Master's, Mechanical Engineering, Queen's University, Canada

• 2001, Bachelor's, Mechanical Engineering, Queen's University, Canada

• 2024 Excellence in Graduate Supervision Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

• 2024 Distinguished Performance Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

• 2022 Outstanding Performance Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

• 2019 Outstanding Performance Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

• 2016 Distinguished Performance Award, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo

• 2026 - Interim Chair, Systems Design Engineering

• President (Elect, Current, Past), Canadian Biomaterials Society, 2020-2023

• Treasurer, Canadian Biomaterials Society, 2022 - 2024

• Conference Chair, 36th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Biomaterials Society, 2021

• High School Rugby Coach

• BME 181 - Physics 1: Statics
  • Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024
• BME 261 - Prototyping, Simulation and Design
  • Taught in 2023
• BME 461 - Biomedical Engineering Design Workshop 2
  • Taught in 2021
• BME 462 - Biomedical Engineering Design Workshop 3
  • Taught in 2021, 2022
• BME 488 - Special Topics in Biomechanics
  • Taught in 2021
• BME 553 - Introductory Mechanics of Biomedical and Biological Materials
  • Taught in 2026
• BME 588 - Special Topics in Biomechanics
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023
• SYDE 181 - Physics 1: Statics
  • Taught in 2024
• SYDE 740 - Selected Topics in Human Systems
  • Taught in 2024
• SYDE 780 - Selected Topics in Engineering Sciences
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023

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

• Mondal, D; Diederichs, E; Willett, TL (2022), Enhanced Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Nanocomposites Composed of Functionalized Plant-Derived Biopolymers and Calcium-Deficient Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles, Frontiers in Materials, Volume 9, 833065.

• Mondal, D; Willett, TL (2022), Enhanced Mechanical Performance of mSLA-Printed Biopolymer Nanocomposites Due to Phase Functionalization, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, Volume 135, 105450.

• Iranmanesh, F; Willett, TL (2022), A Linear Systems Model of the Hydrothermal Isometric Tension Test for Assessing Collagenous Tissue Quality, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, Volume 125, 104916.

• Dapaah, D; Montesano, J; Willett, TL (2022), The importance of rate-dependent effects in modelling the micro-damage process zone in cortical bone fracture, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, Volume 264, 108351.

• Dapaah, D; Martel, D; Laing, A; Willett, TL (2022), The impact of fall-related loading rate on the formation of micro-damage in human cortical bone fracture, Journal of Biomechanics, Volume 142, 111254.

• Seelemann, C; Willett, TL (2022), Empirical Evidence That Bone Collagen Molecules Denature as a Result of Bone Fracture, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, Volume 131, 105220.

• Willett, TL; Voziyan, P; Nyman, JS (2022), Causative or Associative: A Critical Review of the Role of Advanced Glycation End-products in Bone Fragility, Bone - Special Issue on “AGEs in Bone”, Volume 2022, 116485.

• Hashemi, S; Mondal, D; Montesano, J; Willett, TL (2022), Effects of Biopolymer Functionalization and Nanohydroxyapatite Heat Treatment on the Tensile and Thermomechanical Properties of Bone-Inspired 3D Printable Nanocomposite Biomaterials, Materials & Design, Volume 2023, 111587.

• Dapaah, D; Willett, TL (2022), A critical evaluation of cortical bone fracture toughness testing methods, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, Volume 134, 105419.

• Willett, TL; Dapaah, D; Tupy, J; Uppuganti, S; Nyman, J, N-ε-(Carboxymethyl)Lysine Correlates With The Degradation of Human Cortical Bone Fracture Resistance, Orthopaedic Research Society, Tampa, 2022.

• Reshaping bone repair with 3D printing
• Research team develops new material for bone grafts