Canada's Largest Engineering School

Imagine a coat that captures solar energy to keep you cozy on a chilly winter walk, or a shirt that can monitor your heart rate and temperature. Picture clothing athletes can wear to track their performance without the need for bulky battery packs.

A research team led by Dr. Yuning Li, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has developed a smart fabric with the potential to harvest energy, monitor health and track movement. It works by converting body heat and solar energy into electricity, potentially enabling continuous operation with no need for an external power source.

The Waterloo Space Soldering Team (WSST), a team of students from the University of Waterloo’s Faculties of Engineering and Arts, participated in Canada’s first microgravity research competition for students — the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge.

The team won the Overall Excellence Award for researching and successfully conducting a microgravity experiment aboard an aircraft to test whether solder joints can be improved using a centrifuge.

This opinion piece by Dr. Mary Wells, dean of Waterloo Engineering Dr. Donna Strickland, a professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy and Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, an associate professor in the English Language and Literature department, appeared in the Hill Times, a popular news source for Canadian politics and government news.

The Ontario Science Centre closed in June, while New Brunswick lost its centre in February. The loss of these vital bridges is short-sighted, and presents a significant blow to public engagement with science and technology.