News

Systems design engineering professor Keith Hipel has received the 2012 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Eminent Scientist Award. The award is Japan's highest research prize for international scientists and is granted to researchers "who possess a record of excellent research achievements and who are mentors and leaders in their respective fields." This is the first time this prize has been awarded to a Canadian academic. [DB article]

Two recent civil engineering master's students have won the top 2012 American Water Works Association Academic Achievement Awards for their master's theses.  Ryan Snider placed first for his thesis entitled "Impact of Design and Operational Parameters on Rapid, Deep Bed Biological Filtration of Drinking Water." El-Hadidy, now a civil engineering doctoral candidate, took second place for his work entitled “Removal of Enteric Viruses by Ultrafiltration.” The prestigious awards that recognize academic excellence in the field of public water supply will be presented at the AWWA’s annual confere

Mark Spanjers, a civil engineering doctoral candidate, was the recipient of the 2012 Philip Jones Award for his presentation entitled “Comparison of 4 media types for traditional and biofiltration treatment goals: Assessment of rough engineered media and implications for filter media choice.” His work was presented February 21 at the 47th Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research. A major goal of the Canadian Association on Water Quality is to showcase the talents of students who conduct water quality research. The Philip Jones Award was created as a memorial to Philip H.

Engineering students placed third in two competitions at the 27th annual Canadian Engineering Competition held March 8-11, 2012 at UBC Robson Square in Vancouver. Fourth-year electrical engineering students Dhananja Jayalath, Neil Olij, Chris Wiebe and Ryan Mann won third place in the innovative design contest for their muscle activation detection suit. Third-year chemical engineering student Erin Matheson also came third in the engineering communications competition for her presentation entitled Developing techniques for surgical treatment of brain aneurysms.

Waterloo's Clean Snowmobile Team earned the International Engineering and Manufacturing Award for Best Acceleration in its four-stroke sled by achieving a speed of 72 mph in 500 feet at the 2012 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, which wrapped up March 10 at Michigan Technological University. The team also received the HB Performance Systems Award for having the best implementation of the HB Trail Trac system. Over 20 teams competed in the challenge that requires students to take a stock snowmobile and reduce its emissions and noise and increase fuel efficiency.

A March 9 Globe and Mail editorial features Karim Karim, a Waterloo electrical and computer engineering professor, who is developing a $1,000 X-ray machine using digital-imaging technology to test for tuberculosis in third world countries and elsewhere. Karim was one of 15 recipients of a recent $100,000 grant from the Grand Challenges Canada program. 

The top two prizes in this year's University of Waterloo Nicol Entrepreneurial Award Competition were won by Waterloo Engineering undergraduate students. First place and $5,000 went to Philip La, a chemical engineering student, for Kingpin, a time saving service for single men that provides pre-ordered grooming and personal care items through an online subscription-based store. Emily Peat, a civil engineering student, won second place and $2,000 for ItsMyEcoPlace, an online community connecting people to local businesses that provide products and services for sustainable gardening, landscap

John Yeow's research made headlines in both the March 2 special engineering supplement of the Toronto Star and the paper's front page. One of Yeow's main research interests is inventing and developing tools for locating, examining and targeting micro-organisms inside the body. Yeow, a systems design engineering professor and the first Canada chair in micro and nanodevices, and his team of researchers have developed a miniaturized catheter that can  provide medical practitioners with precise internal body imaging.The catheter will likely assist in the early detection of cancer and other dise

Three Waterloo chemical engineering students beat out teams from across the country to win the first  Walmart Green Student Challenge on February 29 at the TMX Broadcast Centre in Toronto.

Yelda Turkan, a civil engineering doctoral candidate, is a recipient of a 2012 FIATECH student scholarship. Turkan, who does research in the area of automation in construction using 3D sensing technologies, has received a number of other honours, including the Irene Marguerite McLeod scholarship last year.