The Microelectronics Heat Transfer Laboratory, MHTL, was established in 1984 in response to the needs of the Canadian microelectronics and telecommunications industries. The MHTL is a financially self-sustaining facility located within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo.

Experimental equipment, computing hardware and offices are located within a modern facility, forming an integral part of the Heavy Labs Wing of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Over the past ten years, the MHTL has established a reputation for high quality research in developing heat transfer and contact resistance models for a variety of application associated with leading edge technologies.

The University of Waterloo is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, part of South-Western Ontario's technology triangle, consisting of the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, and Cambridge. Waterloo is centrally located between the major centers of Toronto, Buffalo and Detroit/Windsor, and Pearson International Airport in Toronto is less than an hours drive away.