UBC Engineering

Design and Innovation Day is set for April 9! Will we see you there?

Our students are getting ready to showcase their capstone projects, turning bold ideas into real-world solutions. From hands-on prototypes to industry-ready innovations, these projects highlight the creativity, collaboration and impact of the next generation of engineers.

Join us to explore the projects, see live demonstrations and connect with the student teams.

When the ship MV Ortelius recently traversed the Drake Passage to reach the Antarctic peninsula and cross the Antarctic Circle, it was carrying a number of researchers on various missions… and a critical piece of UBC Applied Science technology.

UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor David Michelson and the UBC Radio Science Lab team deployed a 200-mW transmitter to characterize high-frequency radio propagation in one of the world’s most challenging environments.

The early results are impressive! Our beacon was received by stations nearly 12,000 km away, on less power than an LED nightlight. Results collected throughout the trip show how the radio propagation environment in the Antarctic changes over time.

Why this matters:

• Students in ELEC 411 and UBC Orbit Satellite Design Team will have the ability to analyze this rare and valuable real-world data, providing an incredible opportunity for experiential education.

• Work of this type could help inform Defence Research and Development Canada as they modernize Canada’s High Frequency communications systems for sovereign and Arctic capabilities.

We hope to share our initial findings from this expedition at IEEE CCECE 2026 this May!

📸 Images courtesy of research collaborator Adarsh Verghese.

Meet Natik Aggarwal, Electrical Engineering alum and co-founder of YCJ Venture Studio ⚡️

From building hovercrafts at UBC Engineering - Okanagan to launching global software products like Prompt Genie, he is turning engineering skills into entrepreneurial success. Natik credits his time at UBC with shaping how he tackles problems by first deeply understanding user needs before designing solutions.