New initiatives for industrial and international partnerships are enabling Waterloo engineers to develop strategic research collaborations in areas such as wireless communications, the mobile internet, additive manufacturing, advanced robotics, biomedical engineering and sustainable energy.
The Engineering Research Office (ERO) proactively builds relationships with funding agencies, potential sponsors and other stakeholders, pairing the university’s leading engineering researchers with government and industry, to advance new technologies to improve the human condition.
Waterloo Engineering maintains research partnerships with close to 800 Canadian companies and 300 companies internationally, targeting strategic research partnerships with leading global universities.
Several Senate-approved research centres, including the Centre for Advanced Trenchless Technology, the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology form part of Waterloo Engineering’s commitment to research excellence.
Areas of Concentration

Controls and precision tooling, lightweight materials, structural crashworthiness, advanced materials.
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Digital design and fabrication technologies, environmental issues and new material economies, globalization, urbanization.
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Bio-compatibility and in-vitro modelling, human movement, ergonomics, wearable technology.
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Advancing IoT research to connect and exchange data.
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Nano-biosystems, nano-electronics, nano-instrumentation, nano-materials.
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Robotics and machine intelligence, machine learning.
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Human machine interaction, autonomous robotics, rahabilitation and assistive robotics, micro and nano robitics, and sensing and control.
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Transporation networks, smart buildings, smart communities, and sensors and devices.
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News
AI institute partners with chemical company BASF on research
The home of artificial intelligence (AI) at the University of Waterloo is teaming up with chemical company BASF on a three-year research agreement.
The partnership is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and develop advanced AI systems to drive operational excellence, enhance customer value, and streamline processes.
Katherine Sellen to lead design innovation as inaugural George Soulis Chair
Dr. Katherine (Kate) Sellen, a leading design researcher working at the intersection of health innovation and human-centred systems, has been appointed the Faculty of Engineering’s inaugural George Soulis Chair in the Department of Systems Design Engineering (SYDE).
Beginning May 1, 2025, Sellen will bring her practice-based research and strong commitment to community impact into a role that builds on the department’s legacy of interdisciplinary, human-centred design education.
Dean Wells joins national celebration of iron ring centennial
The centennial of Canada’s iconic iron ring ceremony was marked with renewed spirit through the unveiling of a modernized and more inclusive Calling of the Engineer — exactly 100 years after the original event.
Dean Mary Wells represented the University of Waterloo at the first-ever presentation of the updated ceremony, held April 25 at McGill University. In Montreal for the annual spring meeting of Engineering Deans Canada, Wells attended the event alongside fellow engineering deans nationwide.