Waterloo Engineering

🌊 Think of it as a weather forecast for Ontario’s rivers and lakes.

Mike Harris, Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources and MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga, was on campus October 30 to announce $540,000 in funding for Dr. Bryan Tolson, professor of civil and environmental engineering. The funding expands a long-running partnership that helps the province predict floods and droughts and manage water across its lakes and rivers.

“We are taking proactive steps to be better prepared, so that when flooding happens, we can reduce its impacts,” said Harris.

Through his first agreement with the ministry, Tolson’s team built the Ontario Hydrologic Modelling System, which tracks how rain and snow move through soil, wetlands, rivers and lakes across the entire province. Along the way, they mapped Ontario’s lake and river network (more than 80,000 lakes!) and estimated how thousands of dams affect streamflow.

Now they’re building version 2.0. The team will adapt the system to forecast floods and help guide decisions on how much water to hold back or release, starting with the heavily managed Muskoka watershed.

“Better models and improved forecasts of floods can give communities more time to prepare and help the province manage its dams to balance competing demands on Ontario’s rivers and lakes,” says Tolson.

Read the full story in the bio!

🍎🥦 Fruit and Veg Market happening tomorrow‼️Open to all students and employees.

📢 The Community Well-being Fruits and Veg Market returns tomorrow! Fresh produce, right on campus. No grocery run. No hassle. Just bags of seasonal fruit and veggies at prices 30–50% less than what you’d pay at a store. Grab one between classes and you’re set for the week.

🗓 When: Wednesday, October 28 | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM (or while supplies last -come early if you can!)

📍 Where:

• PSE (E7) 1st Floor (by the Robohub)

• SLC Marketplace

• Environment 3

💳 Cash, debit, or credit accepted.

💡Tip: Bring a cooler/thermal bag and ice pack to help keep your produce fresh!

For more details: https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering-wellness-program/events/community-well-being-fruits-and-veg-market

🚀 How do you fix electronics in space, where there’s no gravity?

The Waterloo Space Soldering Team, a Waterloo Engineering student design team, was one of only four teams across Canada selected for this year’s Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge. Aboard a microgravity research flight, they tested their solution to a tricky problem. In microgravity, gas bubbles stay trapped in melted solder and weaken the joints. The team’s automated device solders inside a spinning centrifuge that mimics gravity, which gives the bubbles a way out.

Over 16 parabolas, the team collected 35 samples. Now they’ll analyze them to see whether spinning produces stronger joints. It’s one step toward spacecraft that can repair themselves. 🛰️

“Imagine being at the peak of a rollercoaster, right before the drop — that’s what it felt like, but continuously for 20 seconds each parabola,” says Shamanthi Rajagopal, the team’s electrical lead.

Read the full story: https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering/news/students-go-weightless-test-space-electronics-repair