Two companies in a bidding war for Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. and its massive iron ore property in Nunavut have extended their offer deadlines until later this month.
European steelmaker ArcelorMittal is competing with Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Inc. for control of Baffinland and its Mary River project, which contains more than 865 million tonnes of iron ore on northern Baffin Island.
Baffinland’s board of directors is supporting ArcelorMittal’s friendly bid, in which the company is offering $1.40 per share and seeks to acquire 100 per cent of Baffinland. It has extended its offer deadline until Jan. 21. Nunavut Iron, a subsidiary of the U.S. Energy and Minerals Group, has offered $1.45 per share cash for Baffinland in a hostile takeover bid. Its offer is open to acceptance until Jan. 25.
One of Baffinland’s northern shareholders, Nunavut businessman Kenn Harper, has said he wished he had purchased shares when they were less than 20 cents each.
Still, Harper said he will gain some money if either takeover bid succeeds, but he warned that not everyone will benefit. Harper said he is concerned that whoever buys Baffinland may mothball the Mary River project, instead of developing it right away and creating jobs for Nunavummiut.
But John Hadjigeorgiou, Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Chair in Mineral Engineering and Director of the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program at the University of Toronto, said he does not believe the mining project will be shelved.
“There is a need, and one of the bids has been really set up in order to develop the operation, so I think they will go ahead,” Professor Hadjigeorgiou said.
The world’s three biggest iron ore suppliers decided last year to price their contracts on a quarterly basis rather than an annual one, making steel producers more vulnerable to sudden price changes.
InteraXon, a Canadian digital innovations company, was the hit of the recent Consumer Electronics Association tradeshow in Las Vegas this month when it unveiled the latest products incorporating Thought-Controlled Computing: a technology that lets users control a digital interface using simply the power of their concentration. InteraXon’s creations include thought-controlled 3D glasses as well as an iPad game that tests a person’s ability to focus their mind for an extended period of time.
“We’ve developed a simple sensor that sits on your forehead and reads your brainwaves,” InteraXon CEO Ariel Garten told FoxNews.com. “It’s just like a heart monitor that can read your heart rate. And the software translates your brainwave data and uses it to control your virtual world.”
InteraXon has also been working with Peter Carlen, a neurologist from Toronto Western Hospital, and Berj Bardakjian, a biomedical engineering professor at the University of Toronto. They intend to develop BCI technology that can detect seizures in those suffering from epilepsy — and maybe even predict them, too. Carlen believes that the work is merely the tip of the iceberg in what will soon become an industry standard.
Follow the link to read the full article on the Fox News website.
Sudanese Canadians will be casting their ballots in the week-long referendum to decide if South Sudan will separate from the northern half of Sudan and become an independent country.
“The referendum is actually the livelihood of all of us here,” says Thon Simon Kuany, 27, a “Lost Boy” who is a fourth-year student in the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program at the University of Toronto. “It’s something that sums up the history of Sudan.”
“I am going to be the first one through the door (of the polling station),” Kuany says with a grin. “Or if not first, definitely in the top 10!”
He hopes Sunday’s referendum will lead to an independent South Sudan in the wake of a decades-long civil war that forced them from their homes, claimed the lives of kinsmen and friends, and left them alone to rebuild their lives in Canada.
The Lost Boys became international poster children for the civil war in Sudan after thousands of orphans turned up in Kenya, naked and malnourished after trekking thousands of kilometres from Ethiopia.
Read the full article on the Toronto Star website.
Professor Tom Chau (EngSci 9T2) of the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering has been chosen as one of 25 Transformational Canadians.
The Globe and Mail’s Transformational Canadians program celebrates 25 living citizens who have made a difference by immeasurably improving the lives of others. Over several weeks this past autumn, a panel of six judges selected 25 Transformational Canadians from among the nominees.
In the late 1990s, Professor Chau , a biomedical engineer, was making a good living as a technical consultant for IBM. He had recently graduated from the University of Waterloo with a PhD in systems design engineering, and found the job financially and intellectually rewarding.
But the Toronto native kept thinking about his childhood, when he and his four siblings would volunteer with their mother at a local palliative care hospital. “It was always part of our life, and it was something that I was starting to miss,” Professor Chau remembers.
So he quit IBM and called up Toronto’s Bloorview Research Institute. While completing his master’s degree in engineering Professor Chau had collaborated with a scientist at Bloorview, a division of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital that develops assistive technologies and other solutions for disabled children.
Now senior scientist and Canada Research Chair in Paediatric Rehabilitation Engineering at Bloorview, Professor Chau leads a 30-member team that brings together scientists with clinicians such as occupational and musical therapists. Over the past decade, the group has invented several life-changing devices.
One early success was the Virtual Music Instrument (VMI). Designed for children who can’t hold an instrument, this software allows them to play music by sitting in front of a TV screen that translates their movements and gestures into notes. Bloorview has also developed a low-cost prosthetic knee joint and a lightweight, waterproof prosthetic hand for paediatric use.
Read the full article on The Globe and Mail website.
U of T Engineering alumni Jeffrey Skoll (ElecE 8T7) and Thomas Jenkins (MASc ElecE 8T5) have been appointed Officers of the Order of Canada.
The Order of Canada is the country’s highest honour and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, and dedication to community and service.
Of the 66 appointed on December 30, Skoll and Jenkins are among nine U of T alumni celebrated, including former Prime Minister Paul Martin.
Skoll is being honoured for his generous commitment to social causes and for his innovative practice of philanthropy. He was the first President of eBay, and is currently Chair of Participant Media and the Skoll Foundation. Skoll’s gift of $7.5 million to the University of Toronto led to the establishment of the Jeffrey Skoll BASc/MBA Program in 2000, a joint program between the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Rotman School of Management.
Jenkins is the Executive Chair and Chief Strategy Officer for OpenText Corporation, an enterprise software company and leader in enterprise content management. He was recognized for his innovative contributions to the development of the high technology industry in Canada.
“On behalf of the Faculty, I would like to congratulate Jeffrey Skoll and Thomas Jenkins for this tremendous accolade,” said Dean Cristina Amon, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “They have made influential and innovative contributions to Canada and the world. We proudly count them as one of our 50,000 outstanding engineering alumni.”
The new Order of Canada appointees will be formally invested by the Governor General in Ottawa at a future date.
To learn more about U of T faculty members and alumni honoured, visit the U of T website .
In January, Engineering students eager to learn machining skills have the opportunity to receive hands-on training in George Brown College’s extensive and up-to-date machining facilities.
This collaboration between U of T Engineering and George Brown was initially offered to MIE students when it launched five years ago, but was expanded across the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering this fall – with great success. About 230 students enrolled in the machining courses in September, and an additional 65 are partaking in the three machining courses available in January.
“The fundamental idea is that, Engineers need to know, when they are designing, how difficult it is to create their design, and how to make the process easier. If you have a command of these machining skills, it will make you an incredibly powerful Engineer,” said the program’s coordinator, Professor Tony Sinclair (MIE).
There are three short courses available in January:
1) Basic Machining (lathe, mill, drill press)
2) Advanced Machining (prerequisite: the Basic Machining course)*
3) Introduction to Welding
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from students and George Brown instructors. Our students are really eager and enjoy it because everyone is doing work that they value,” he added.