University of Waterloo
About
The University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) has a longstanding history with Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs), beginning with the Propane Vehicle Challenge in 1995. These competitions push universities to re-engineer consumer vehicles, developing cutting-edge capabilities that lead the automative industry. As the industry shifts towards electrification, UWAFT continues to innovate, focusing on the autonomous vehicle advancements through the EcoCAR Challenge. Today, the team operates out of North America’s largest student team facility and is composed of over 50 members, all dedicated to driving autonomous vehicle development.
In Year 4 of the EcoCAR competition, UWAFT’s vision remains grounded in technological innovation and preparing future automotive leaders through hands-on learning experiences across engineering, marketing and educational initiatives. This year, UWAFT is focused on integrating autonomous vehicle components such as lane centering, automatic cruise control, and automatic intersection navigation and self-parking while ensuring optimal system comfort and energy efficiency of our Cadillac LYRIQ. Moreover, UWAFT aims to encourage interest and skills within the STEM fields and inspire students to pursue careers within the automotive industry, helping them become effective leaders.
Mission
UWAFT’s mission is to build on its legacy of automative engineering excellence while driving electric vehicle innovation. We are dedicated to providing a platform where all students can develop practical skills relevant to the ever-evolving automative industry. Our goal is to offer a supportive space for members to explore their passions, build technical expertise, and provide the skills to confidently enter the workforce.
Goals
This year, UWAFT is focused on four key priorities that drive both competitive success and community impact:
- Achieve a Top-3 Finish at EcoCAR
UWAFT aims to place in the top three at EcoCAR’s end-of-year competition, demonstrating the technical innovation, teamwork, and leadership that define our program.
- Expand Experiential Learning and Industry Connections
We strive to provide students and youth with meaningful hands-on learning and networking opportunities that spark curiosity and prepare them for future careers in the automotive and mobility sectors. These opportunities span disciplines such as computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering, as well as marketing, outreach, and community engagement.
- Ensure Team Longevity Through Recruitment and Mentorship
Beyond short-term results, UWAFT is committed to building for the future. We aim to recruit four new graduate leads and several undergraduate members to ensure strong leadership continuity for upcoming competition years.
Team Members
Roydon Fraser
Lead Faculty Advisor
UWAFT
Derek Rayside
CAV Faculty Advisor
UWAFT
Christopher Nielsen
CAV Faculty Advisor
UWAFT
Frank Kachanoff
Mobility Challenge Faculty Advisor
UWAFT
Skyler Nam-Wong
Mobility Challenge Faculty Advisor
UWAFT
Zahra Yousefi
CAVs Graduate Lead
UWAFT
Abhinav Gupta
CAVs Graduate Lead
UWAFT
Sean Vaserman
PCM Graduate Lead
UWAFT
Muhammad Abdullah
Systems Design Integration Design
UWAFT
Erik Carceros
Mobility Challenge Lead
UWAFT
Kha Vi An Tran
Communications Manager
UWAFT
Team Leader Quotes
Why someone should get involved in EcoCAR
“EcoCAR forces you to face realistic engineering challenges, attempt to solve them in your own creative way, and fail safely. You will have few opportunities to gain such realistic work experience without the pressure of real-world repercussions.”
– Sklyer Nam-Wong, Project Manager
What have they learned from being involved in EcoCAR
“I’ve learned alot about the importance of knowing how to transfer your skills. Since I am coming from a psychology background, I’ve had to learn how to make my knowledge and expertise generalizable across domains, while maintaining value. It’s a great skill I’m glad I’m learning at this stage of my career!”
— Erik Carceros, Mobility Challenge lead
What have they gained from being involved with EcoCAR
“ EcoCAR has given me an opportunity to truly enhance my educational experience. For the first time in my academic career, I’ve felt as though I am working towards a shared goal using the theory that I’ve learned thus far. EcoCAR has provided me with an environment where I can build off of the knowledge that I’d gained in my bachelor’s and expand on it as well as apply it to real world problems, and then finally if that wasn’t enough I also get to implement my learnings onto a real world vehicle as a part of a competition against other universities, making this arguably one of the best professional experiences of my life so far. I have gained leadership and project management experience on top of already enhancing my technical know-how and confidence. EcoCAR has allowed me to gain experience as an engineer, grow as a team-mate, and gain an appreciation for how the theory and real world applications integrate with eachother.”
— Abhinav Gupta
Why someone should get involved in EcoCAR
“ Getting involved in EcoCAR lets you get real world automotive industry experience and hands on work with an actual vehicle. I think anyone who has any interest in the automotive space, or even general engineering interest, should consider getting involved with EcoCAR for the opportunities that it provides.”
—Sean Vaserman
Get Involved
Interested in becoming a member? Come to our meetings:
- General Meetings – First Wednesday of the month (E5 2004, 5pm – 6pm)
- PCM Meeting – Every other Thursday (E5 1011, 7pm-8pm)
- CAVs Meeting – Every other Thursday (E5 1011, 5:30pm – 6:30pm)
- COMMs Meeting – Every Thursday (E5, 1011, 6pm – 7pm)
- SDI Meeting – Every Thursday (E5 1011, 8pm – 9pm)
Interested in Volunteering at our events? Do any of the following:
- Drop by our office and talk to any of the leads for more information
- Email us with the headline “UWAFT – Volunteer Inquiry”
- Message us on Instagram
- Shoot us an email
Contact Information
Address
200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
For any questions or concerns, contact the UWAFT Communications Manager: Kha Vi An Tran at [email protected]
