News

Student curators launch art exhibition showcasing African and Caribbean cultural heritage

Stephanie Wereley — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:44:00 +0000

A new art exhibition featuring Black artists and curated by a team of Black ��Թ� students is on display at ��Թ�.

Projections: Sankofa, part of the Faculty of Engineering’s Projections art series, officially launched on May 8. It seeks to strengthen the inclusion of underrepresented groups within the Faculty through art and to increase access to art for the entire ��Թ� community.

A promising new way to transplant cells could lead to a better treatment for Type 1 diabetes

Kay Pettigrew — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 13:56:29 +0000

Researchers at ��Թ� and the Research Institute of the ��Թ� Health Center (RI-MUHC) have developed a novel device to transplant insulin-producing cells that integrates directly with existing blood vessels in the body. The technology, which showed promising results in preclinical trials, aims to overcome key challenges of emerging long-term cell-based treatments for Type 1 diabetes. As well as serving as an artificial pancreas, it potentially could be used to replace or support the function of other organs.

��Թ� researchers engineer faster, more effective blood clots

Kay Pettigrew — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:04:25 +0000

Researchers at ��Թ� have developed a rapid way to engineer blood clots that stop severe bleeding and support tissue healing more effectively. Their technique, called “click clotting,” links red blood cell surface proteins through a chemical reaction, resulting in a biocompatible clot that is 13 times more resistant to fracturing and four times more adhesive than natural blood clots. The team said the method could be used to develop life-saving biomaterials to help control severe bleeding, as well as benefit people with clotting disorders.

New teaching award named for former engineering dean

Philip Fine — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:24:26 +0000

Mechanical engineering professor James Forbes regularly attracts glowing reviews from his students, but he says he’ll never forget one negative student evaluation he received early in his teaching career. It changed the way he approaches teaching.

Much of his research has focused on aerospace and robotics systems, and Forbes, a William Dawson Scholar, tended to give students examples from those industries during the classes he taught. “But in one course evaluation, a student said, ‘I don’t know why I have to take this course. It’s only applicable to aerospace and robotics.’”

Non-producing oil and gas wells emit microbial methane at rates 1,000 times higher than previously estimated

Kay Pettigrew — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:19:10 +0000

Microbial methane leaking from non-producing oil and gas wells is being emitted at rates about 1,000 times higher than previously estimated, according to a new study led by ��Թ� researchers.

Facilitating dialogue in the classroom: Insights from Renee Pellissier’s approach to teamwork and student engagement

Areej Zaidi and Maria Orjuela-Laverde — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:38:58 +0000

Creating a classroom environment where students feel comfortable engaging in dialogue—whether in whole class discussions or small group activities—is essential for meaningful learning. Yet, many instructors observe that students often hesitate to participate, unsure of what to say or how to begin.

Making solar power’s land use more efficient

Claire Loewen — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:27:11 +0000

As solar energy rapidly is becoming the world’s largest renewable power source, new research from ��Թ� offers a clearer picture of how much land that growth could require and how smarter choices could mitigate solar energy’s land footprint

��Թ� researchers build the best light-powered, room-temperature computer yet

Claire Loewen — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:39:26 +0000

��Թ� and Queen’s University researchers have built an improved version of a computer that uses light to solve extremely hard problems more quickly and at larger scale than existing systems, without the need for cryogenic cooling.

Launch of the Donald Mordell EUS Teaching Excellence Award

Faculty of Engineering — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 15:28:43 +0000

The Faculty of Engineering is pleased to announce the launch of the Donald Mordell EUS Teaching Excellence Award. Established in 2025 by Don Nilson, the award honours the memory of his father‑in‑law, Professor Donald L. Mordell, who served as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 1957 to 1968.

This annual recognition celebrates a professor, faculty lecturer, or course lecturer who has made an extraordinary contribution to teaching in Engineering, Architecture, and Urban Planning.

��Թ� researchers develop quick test that stands to curb antimicrobial resistance

Claire Loewen — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:13:43 +0000

��Թ� researchers have developed a diagnostic system capable of identifying bacteria –and determining which antibiotics can stop them – in just 36 minutes, a major advance in the global effort to curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Current clinical testing methods typically take 48 to 72 hours, leaving physicians without timely guidance.

The researchers say this innovation arrives at a critical moment due to the urgency of the AMR crisis, which arises from bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics.

��Թ� researchers create shapeshifting materials that could power the next generation of soft robots

Claire Loewen — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:48:25 +0000

��Թ� engineers have developed new ultra-thin materials that can be programmed to move, fold and reshape themselves, much like animated origami. They open the door to softer, safer and more adaptable robots that could be used in medical tools that gently move inside the body, wearable devices that change shape on the skin or smart packaging that reacts to its environment.

��Թ� researchers win prestigious NFRF 2024 grant to transform public engagement with AI

��Թ� Desautels — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 18:43:04 +0000

A team co-led by Prof. Jiangbo Yu, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at ��Թ�, and Prof. Sameer Borwankar, Assistant Professor of the Desautels Faculty of Management, has been awarded the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) 2024 Exploration Grant for an interdisciplinary initiative that will explore how artificial intelligence can transform the way citizens engage in public decision-making.

New light-triggered microneedle patch could make IVF hormone delivery painless and automated

Claire Loewen — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:25:29 +0000

A ��Թ� research team has developed a painless, automated way to deliver in vitro fertilization (IVF) hormones using a light-activated microneedle patch, an innovation that could ease one of the most stressful parts of fertility treatment and open new possibilities for other diseases that require frequent, time-sensitive injections.

IVF patients must inject themselves with hormones daily at specific times in the weeks leading up to egg retrieval, a process that can be physically and emotionally taxing.

��Թ� iGEM win Grand Prize at the 2025 iGEM Jamboree

Faculty of Engineering — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:37:29 +0000

We are thrilled to announce that ��Թ� iGEM has won the 2025 Grand Prize at iGEM Jamboree, the world’s leading student competition in synthetic biology. This marks the second time in just 3 years that the team earns this prestigious distinction, with their project, Cohera—a complete toolkit for multicellular engineering that allows synthetic biologists to access the full potential of cell-cell adhesion—bringing them to first place against 195 participating institutions.

New Faculty Member Fall 2025

Antonella Fratino — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:08:59 +0000

The Faculty of Engineering welcomed a new professor this semester:

F. Albert Liu
Associate Professor
Civil Engineering