University of Waterloo

Rodon Fraser is a professor in the mechanical and mechatronics engineering department at the University of Waterloo. From 1998 to 2019, Fraser served nine times (18 years) as an elected PEO councillor and served on many PEO committees, including the Academic Review Committee from 1998 to 2022. Fraser supervises the University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT), which competes internationally in the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC).

Derek Rayside is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Director of Software Engineering and is cross-appointed to the School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. He is also the Faculty Advisor for Watonomous, the autonomous vehicle student design team in the SAE AutoDrive Challenge, and the Software Engineering (SE) Capstone Coordinator. 

Hilary Bergsieker is an Associate Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Waterloo where she leads the Diversity and Intergroup Relations Lab and serves on the Equity Data Advisory Committee of the EDI-R Office. She co-directs Project RISE within the Engendering Success in STEM Research Consortium (ESS; SuccessinSTEM.ca), funded by the federal government and industry partners, such as GM and Engineers Canada. She has expertise in trust formation, bias reduction, diversity climate assessment, and network science, with recent work on implicit bias and inclusion in STEM workplace teams (published 2021 in PNAS). Bergsieker co-directs a multi-year project that implements and assesses evidence-based trainings in STEM workplaces to reduce gender/racial bias and increase inclusion.

Jaden (Heong Joo) Yoo received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in the University of Waterloo and is currently working towards his master's degree in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics engineering in University of Waterloo. During his undergraduate degree, he was the aerodynamics lead of the University of Waterloo Formula Motorsports team, dedicating his whole undergraduate career to the team. He enjoys playing golf, weightlifting, and almost all outdoor activities. In the future, Jaden wants to start a business that will influence people's everyday lives.

Khizar Mir is currently enrolled in the MBA program at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Khizar has worked in various industries including, automobile / property & casualty insurance, banking, government, and the entertainment industry. He is especially passionate about the development of technology, and he strives to spend his career contributing his skills towards the advancement of society.

Jacob Burnell, often goes by Jake, is currently enrolled in the MBA program at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Jacob is former a PhD candidate in geography, focused on Indigenous-led conservation strategies in Northern Canada.  He is joining UWAFT as one of the two communications managers to gain real world business experience.

Jessica is one of the DEI managers of the UWAFT team. She is a social psychology student in the first year of her PhD, studying interventions to increase allyship. She hopes to help ensure the UWAFT team is a space of inclusion and belonging for everyone. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading, and hanging out with her cat – Sebastian.

Pamela is one of the DEI managers for UWAFT. She is a social psychology PhD student interested in identity and intergroup relations, specifically how to improve interracial interactions. Her research interests are in social inequalities, power dynamics, and social change. She uses research as a tool to think about and propose solutions to social issues. Outside of academia, you can find her cooking, hanging out with a dog, or thrifting. 

Anthony McAffee, often goes by Ant. During his undergrad, he studied electrical engineering at the University of New Brunswick. As the most recent grad student brought onto the team, he is excited to learn and share what he can.

John is a Mechatronics Engineering MASc. graduate student whose interests lie in leveraging data and artificial intelligence to optimize the control of dynamic systems. He completed his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering along with a minor in Computer Science at Concordia University while simultaneously serving with the Canadian Forces. Looking to apply his interdisciplinary knowledge and leadership capabilities to lead UWAFT to great success in the EcoCAR EV Challenge.

Sachin is currently pursuing his Masters studies at the University of Waterloo after completing a Bachelors in Systems Design Engineering. As the CAVs Lead for UWAFT he loves getting to work at the intersection of sensor hardware and algorithm development in software. Here is a picture of Sachin stressing over a broken relay box at Year 4 of the previous competition. Good times...