Early Monday morning, students walking through the Bahen Centre lobby were greeted by a 20-foot tall T-Rex skeleton. The skeleton, made out of large pieces of plywood, was just one of an array of art installations at the second annual Skule ™ Arts Festival (SAF).
The week-long festival, which ran from February 13-17, gave U of T Engineering students a chance to showcase their artistic talents, from photography, to painting, to singing.
“This year is particularly exciting,” said Catherine Phillips-Smith (ChemE 1T3), SAF Chair. “To start, we’re excited to have an installation by Eyes of Hope in the Bahen Centre lobby. They’re a student outreach group that uses art to connect with at-risk youths. They’ve painted several umbrellas to represent shelter from the elements.”
Also located in the Bahen Centre was a series of photos by the Engineering Photography Club that portray a day in Toronto. Across the street, at the Sanford Fleming atrium, students found three more installations by Skule ™ ’s Blue & Gold committee.
Events such as SAF are not only an opportunity for students to work together to express themselves, they highlight the artistic side students need in order to be an engineer. “Art is important for engineers, as engineers must innovate,” said Phillips-Smith. “After all, what is a new car if not a different type of art. By doing art, any type, an engineer can utilize and exercise their creativity, which would help them when they want to design the next big thing.”
The students have spoken and the new officers who will lead the Engineering Society, U of T Engineering’s undergraduate student government, have been identified.
The elections determine who will serve as officers who manage the day-to-day affairs of the Society. Following a three-week campaign, voting ended on Friday, February 10.
The individuals elected to serve for the 2012-13 term are:
President: Rishi Maharaj (EngSci 1T2+PEY)
Vice-President Finance: Pierre Harfouche (EngSci 1T4)
Vice-President Communications: Yerusha Nuh (ElecE 1T4)
Vice-President Student Life: Nikola Radovanovic (MechE 1T3+1)
Vice-President External: Anton Klunko (IndE 1T2+PEY)
Vice-President Academic: Matthew Lattavo (CivE 1T4)
This year saw a total of 1,337 votes cast, which at approximately 28% of eligible voters, is a record turnout.
The new officers will begin their terms in April, however the current officers will begin meeting with their newly elected counterpart this week to facilitate the transition.
U of T Engineering research with its direct impact on improving life on Earth – and the planet itself — got a huge boost with on February 13 with more than $3.2-million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
The funding comes through NSERC’s Strategic Project Grants (SPG) program, which is designed to enhance Canada’s economy, society and environment in the next 10 years.
The grants encourage collaboration among academic researchers and industry and government partners and are in line with four target areas: environmental science and technologies; information and communications technologies; manufacturing; and natural resources and energy.
“Our researchers have the talent and ingenuity to help global society deal with so many challenges. But they need the financial support so they can take their research further. The Strategic Project Grants program is perfect for this kind of applied investigation. We are extremely grateful to the Government of Canada and NSERC for this important investment,” said Professor Paul Young (CivE), U of T’s Vice President (research).
The U of T Engineering faculty and projects supported through the SPG are:
Uwe Erb, Materials Science & Engineering
This project addresses needs of Canadian manufacturing industries in the area of new material systems for corrosion/wear/erosion-resistant coatings. It is expected that this technology can be transitioned to generate revolutionary new coating solutions for parts used in automotive, aerospace, electrical, electronics, energy, forestry, green technology, construction, consumer products and many other applications.
Amr Helmy, Electrical & Computing Engineering
This project focuses on the development of a new class of coherent sources of light that can make present-day computers nearly 1,000-times faster.
Glenn Hibbard, Materials Science & Engineering
This project will use manufacturing breakthroughs from the Canadian nanotechnology sector to create a new class of ultra-lightweight nanomaterials that will permit a significant decrease in the weight of structural components in aerospace vehicles. This innovation will, in turn, allow for larger payloads and/or smaller launch vehicles, creating an important strategic advantage for the Canadian aerospace sector.
Olivera Kesler, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Professor Kesler is working on overcoming some of the barriers to creating bigger solid oxide fuel cells and designing manufacturing processes that can be scaled up. Solid oxide fuel cells are potentially a low-emission, efficient source of power.
Alexander McLean, Materials Science & Engineering
This project will focus on making the raw materials that are used to manufacture solar cells less expensive, thereby making solar energy a more viable and cost-effective alternative.
Andreas Moshovos, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Smartphones have moved far past their original voice calling function and now offer features such as image-based searching, speech recognition and translation. Moshovos, Natalie Enright Jerger of ECE and Kyros Kutulakos of Computer Science will identify the opportunities that exist for creating next generation smartphones and tablets with a primary target of applications that acquire, manipulate and use images and video.
Chul B. Park, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
This project will develop plastics technology that will lead to lightweight automotive parts, building products with excellent thermal insulation and environmentally-friendly packaging.
Yu Sun, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
The project will develop technologies for characterizing electrical and mechanical properties of nanomaterials and using nanomaterials to construct high performance devices.
A partnership between the University of Toronto and semiconductor developer Sendyne Corporation aims to create the next generation of batteries technology.
Led by Professor Aleksandar Prodic (ECE), the objective is to create highly efficient battery storage systems and electronics for Electric Vehicles (EV) and utility scale battery packs by applying state-of-the-art technology and silicon design.
Energy storage is a critically important aspect of enabling the broad use of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. While existing systems have the potential to reduce global energy consumption of fossil fuels, their high cost to performance ratio have prevented them from being widely adopted. Through their research, Professor Prodic and his team will seek to improve battery storage system productivity and affordability.
The research will be conducted at U of T Engineering’s Laboratory for Low-Power Management and Integrated Switch-Mode Power Supplies, a facility founded by Professor Prodic in 2004. New York-based Sendyne, will contribute its patented technology, intellectual property, development tools and scientific expertise to support the project.
For more information about the Laboratory for Low-Power Management and Integrated Switch-Mode Power Supplies, click here.
Losing a limb can be devastating enough, but the high cost of a prosthetic limb makes them unavailable to many in the developing world.
Professor Jan Andrysek, a scientist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, has tackled that challenge. His solution was to develop an inexpensive artificial leg that is based on a novel control mechanism that is able to mimic the function of leg muscles. It steadies the leg when weight is placed on it without adversely inhibiting the natural patterns of walking. The price tag: $50.
“Overall, the work is expected to provide important new insights into the appropriateness and effectiveness of the technology in mitigating the disabling effects of amputations, and thus a foundation for improving rehabilitation outcomes globally,” said Professor Andrysek.
He is one of two researchers affiliated with U of T Engineering whose work was recognized today with $100,000 Rising Stars in Global Health grants by Grand Challenges Canada.
“Funding from Grand Challenges Canada will make it possible for us to work with a number of key partners around the world to clinically evaluate the new technology, and initiate steps toward making it accessible to those in need,” Professor Andrysek explained.
Dr. Lu Chen, a post-doctoral fellow in The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, was also awarded a Grand Challenges Canada grant. Chen is working with Professor Stewart Aitchison and PhD Candidate James Dou on developing an inexpensive and portable HIV monitoring device for developing nations.
“A hand-held, mobile blood analyzer will allow caregivers or health workers to carry it to rural or under-served areas for HIV monitoring. Globally, the health of the HIV-positive population can be greatly improved by access to such a portable, low-cost monitoring system. Also, with our new platform technology, it will be possible to test for CD4 counts as well as malaria parasites in red blood cells,” said Chen.
Chen explained that grant will allow him to access to additional resources and facilitate field tests. “Both aspects are important to expedite our development, which will make our device available sooner for the benefit of the global community,” he said, adding, “We are pleased to see Grand Challenges Canada’s confidence in our work and appreciate their commitment to innovation.”
They are among the 15 grants announced today by Grand Challenges Canada, which is an independent not-for-profit organization. It is dedicated to improving the health and well being of people in developing countries by integrating scientific, technological, business and social innovation.
“When you look at the range of innovations and the potential those creative ideas have to make a difference, Canadians can’t help but be proud of our country’s contribution to the health and well-being of the international community,” said Dr. Peter A. Singer, CEO of Grand Challenges Canada. “Bold Canadian ideas with big impact can save lives.”
To better understand the current challenges in expanding Toronto’s transit system,The Toronto Star recently took a closer look at its history, with insight from Professor Eric Miller (CivE), Director of the Cities Centre at U of T.
In 1959, it had been five years since the original Yonge line from Union to Eglinton had opened and Toronto was eager – and able – to get building again, even without provincial funding.
How can the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) expand today? It comes back to the relationship between land use and transit and the need to reconnect mutually supportive forces in order to make costly infrastructure pay and keep expansion going.
Professor Miller said that “we’ve been fooling ourselves for decades” with the idea that development and urbanization will automatically follow subways in places first developed around the car.
“It was always a well-crafted myth that the TTC and others generated,” said Miller. “Building heavy rail is a necessary but not sufficient condition to generate high density in the suburbs.
“We have to get really serious about ensuring that density, walkability and rich mixes of land uses happen, and we can’t waste time.”
To read the full article, visit The Toronto Star.