Engineering professors were awarded the lion’s share of U of T’s Canada Research Chairs, announced on November 24 in Toronto at a two-day conference to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Canada Research Chairs program.
Three Engineering profs were awarded new chairs, and another two had their chairs renewed. A total of nine new chairs were awarded to U of T, with 29 chairs renewed.
“The Harper government is continuing its longstanding commitment to invest in science and technology to create jobs, strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life of Canadians,” said Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, at the conference Thinking Ahead for a Strong Future.
Clement announced a total investment of $275.6 million to fund 310 new or renewed chairs at 53 universities. U of T has 249 chairs, the largest number at any university in the country.
“For the past 10 years, the Canada Research Chairs program has brought breakthroughs in clean energy, the control of infectious disease, business management and digital technologies,” said Clement. “This funding will help strengthen Canada’s capacity for leading-edge research while, at the same time, building economic opportunities for Canadians.”
Canada Research Chairs are divided into two tiers. Tier I chairs are world leaders in their fields of study, according to their peers. This type of chair is awarded for a seven-year period and may be renewed at the discretion of the university. Tier I chairs receive $1.4 million over seven years.
Tier II chairs have the potential to become world leaders in their fields. They are awarded $500,000 for five years and may be renewed once at the discretion of their university.
The new U of T Engineering Tier I chairs are Professor Zheng-Hong Lu, Materials Science & Engineering, CRC in Organic Optoelectronics; Professor Ted Sargent, Electrical & Computer Engineering, CRC in Nanotechnology; and Professor Peter Zandstra, Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, CRC in Stem Cell Bioengineering.
In Tier II, the renewed chairs are Professor Hani Naguib, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering, CRC in Smart and Functional Materials; and Professor Craig Simmons (MIE), Dentistry, CRC in Mechanobiology.
“The awarding of these Canada Research Chairs to five of our faculty illustrates our exceptional strength in engineering research,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “We are grateful for this recognition and proud that our professors received such a significant proportion of the CRC Chairs, which will assist us in furthering Canada’s research and innovation agenda.”
For a complete list of U of T’s Canada Research Chairs, click here.
Professors J. Stewart Aitchison (ECE) and Harry Ruda (MSE) were inducted as Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada at a ceremony at the National Gallery of Canada on Saturday, November 27. The RSC is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists. It comprises nearly 2,000 Fellows, who are selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, the arts and the humanities.
Currently serving as the Faculty’s Vice-Dean, Research, Stewart Aitchison is a world leader in the field of nonlinear optics, and considered the leading researcher in the area of spatial optical solitons. His research has resulted in 214 journal publications, which have been cited over 4,800 times, and more than 250 conference publications. In addition, he has seven patents which have led to the creation and growth of four new companies. From 2004-2007, he was Director of the Emerging Communications Technology Institute, where he worked towards the establishment of open access micro- and nano-fabrication facilities. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (London) and the Optical Society of America.
Harry Ruda is an international leader in the synthesis and understanding of the behaviour of semiconductor nanostructures, with seminal contributions dating back to the early 1980s. These contributions are represented in 215 articles in leading journals, 125 papers in international conference proceedings, contributions to nine books, 15 patents and more than 2,000 citations. Professor Ruda is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Advanced Nanotechnology, Canada’s first such centre and internationally renowned for its innovative and leading-edge work on semiconductor nanostructures. He also co-founded the National Centre of Excellence in Photonics, which supports the research of 90 of Canada’s top professors at 20 universities.
“Professors Aitchison and Ruda are acknowledged as groundbreaking leaders in their fields, not just in Canada but on a global level,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “They are most deserving of this honour, and we are delighted that the RSC has recognized their extraordinary achievements.”
Industry, academics and media alike came out to the Civil Engineering’s Structural Testing Facilities laboratory recently to witness a half-million pounds of force testing a yielding brace system designed to protect buildings from earthquakes.
This was the first full-scale dynamic test of the “Scorpion” yielding brace system (YBS), and it went off without a hitch in a matter of seconds. A full-scale one-storey frame, laid horizontally, received the impact of the seismic loading; trembling, and with slight moaning, the frame and YBS remained intact, while undergoing significant deformations that allowed the YBS to absorb the seismic energy.
“This is the culmination of five years of work, so it’s nice to see it all come together,” said Professor Constantin Christopoulos, who supervised the project along with Professor Jeffrey Packer, both of CivE’s steel-castings research group. “To hear the industry feedback and see the excitement makes it all worth while.”
The novel, high-performance cast-steel Scorpion YBS was designed to withstand earthquake and blast loading, and is shaped like a giant wrench, placed diagonally across the frame. It is intended for use in new buildings as well as in the retrofit of older ones.
Development work on the Scorpion formed part of Michael Gray’s doctoral research, and it is now in its final stage of validation with testing on a second casting expected to be completed this month.
The Scorpion is being commercialized by Cast ConneX — an Engineering start-up firm led by alumnus Carlos de Oliveira — which plans to start marketing it immediately. The YBS can be added and removed like a fuse in existing buildings, de Oliveira explained, and it has already piqued the interest of the Canadian government—among other potential clients — for use in the fortification of embassy buildings in earthquake-prone regions such as the Indian subcontinent. Following completion of testing, a line of the Scorpion YBS will be developed for various sizes of buildings and seismic hazards.
The full-scale dynamic test on November 19th was the third for the Scorpion YBS; the previous two also simulated major earthquakes.
“Traditional seismic resistant systems are usually designed to barely survive one major earthquake, but the YBS system has undergone the equivalent of three,” said Professor Christopoulos. That there was still no cracking of the YBS’s teeth demonstrated the resilience of this new system.
The success of the first full-scale real-time dynamic test was “really exciting,” Gray remarked afterward. “It makes it worthwhile to see that my research has some practical application.”
Follow the link to read the brief in Canadian Consulting Engineer.
Vincent Cheung (ECE), a PhD candidate, continued his winning streak this month in adding a global title to his local, regional and national entrepreneurial awards.
Cheung was named Global Graduate Student Entrepreneur of the Year, a specialized category within the 2010 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), a program of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. The competition is for university students taking a full course load while running a revenue-generating business.
The electrical and computer engineering PhD student is the owner and creator of Shape Collage Inc. (www.shapecollage.com), a digital media software company. His product can take hundreds of photos and in just seconds, automatically arrange them into a photo collage in any form, such as a shape, word or logo. With the help of U of T’s Innovations and Partnerships Office, he is in the process of obtaining a patent for his work.
In addition to the creative merits of his product, Cheung’s company has been cash-flow positive since day one and generates six-figures in annual revenues.
For the latest round of the entrepreneur competition, Cheung was flown to Kansas City, Missouri, where he presented his business to a panel of entrepreneurs, journalists and others. His impressive achievements and excellent presentation led to the global award.
“It’s amazing to receive such a prestigious award, especially for doing something that I love,” said Cheung. “I get to make cool and fun things, impact the lives of millions of people around the world, and make money doing it.”
“We are tremendously proud of Vincent’s achievements,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “His company, Shape Collage, emerges from a strong entrepreneurial spirit that demonstrates his commitment to engineering innovation.”
Six members of the U of T Engineering community were honoured by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Professional Engineers Ontario at the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards Gala at the International Centre in Mississauga on Saturday, November 20. Professor Mansoor Barati (MSE) received the Young Engineer Medal; Professor Jeffrey Packer (CivE) received a Research and Development medal; Professor Andrew Goldenberg (MIE) and Professor Emeritus Joseph Paradi (ChemE) were both awarded Entrepreneurship Medals; and ELITE program instructor Stephen Armstrong and alumna Deborah Goodings (CivE 7T5) received Engineering Excellence Medals.
Presented since 1947, the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards recognize outstanding individuals for engineering excellence and community service.
Mansoor Barati’s research is focused on high temperature materials processing; specifically novel and advanced processes for extracting and refining metals and alloys with high performance at low cost. His work has the potential to create innovative solutions for energy efficiency, higher quality materials and environmentally responsible materials processing. He has supervised 16 undergraduate theses, seven master’s students and three doctoral students. His research has resulted in over 40 publications in leading technical journals and conference proceedings, two patent applications and invited presentations at several international meetings.
Jeffrey Packer’s 30-year research career on tubular steel structures has resulted in recognition as one of the world’s foremost experts in this field. He has published more than 200 refereed articles and 14 books, including the Design Guide for Hollow Structural Section Connections; the world’s most popular reference publication on all aspects of hollow section steel connections. Professor Packer is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the U.K. and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nottingham, U.K. He holds a Bahen/Tanenbaum Endowed Chair.
As the Founder and Director of the Robotics & Automation Laboratory, Andrew Goldenberg’s research in robotics and automation has resulted in 33 patents, more than 125 peer-reviewed journal papers, more than 280 conference papers and 12 chapters in books. Professor Goldenberg is the founder and President of two successful spin-off companies; Engineering Services Inc., a high-technology company which develops robotics-based automation technologies and Anviv Mechatronics Inc., which is involved in the development of state-of-the-art mechatronics products. He is a Fellow of ASME, EIC, and IEEE.
Joseph Paradi is Chair in Information Engineering and Executive Director of UofT’s Centre for Management of Technology and Entrepreneurship (CMTE), which he founded. As a business leader, Professor Paradi founded or provided substantial guidance to 11 companies. As an educator, he has taught 13 undergraduate courses and five graduate courses on topics including entrepreneurship and technology management. Professor Paradi has supervised 13 PhD candidates, 42 MASc candidates, seven MEng candidates and 159 BASc theses. He is a Fellow of CAE and won a 2005 NSERC Synergy Award with the CMTE’s industrial sponsors.
Stephen Armstrong is founder and CEO of AMGI, an international strategic management consultancy. He is the author of Engineering and Product Development Management – The Holistic Approach, and has led many of the world’s top aerospace companies to successfully implement this system. His clients include deHavilland Aircraft, Lockheed Martin and Bombardier Aerospace. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, U.K. and currently serves as Vice-Chair of its International Strategy Board. Mr. Armstrong teaches the ELITE course “Management of Innovation in Engineering.”
Deborah Goodings is Dewberry Chair Professor and Chair of the Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering Department at George Mason University in Virginia. Her research in geotechnical engineering has focused on extreme geotechnics and the use of sustainable materials in soil stabilization. Her career accomplishments have been recognized with the U.S. Universities Council on Geotechnical Engineering Research Distinguished Service Award, and the creation in her honour of the Deborah J. Goodings Professorship in Engineering for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland.
“For six members of our community to receive these prestigious awards is both an honour and a testament of the strength of our Faculty,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “I am grateful to OPSE and PEO for recognizing their outstanding contributions.”
There are conflicting theories on what caused a powerful blast that tore through a lounge in a busy Playa del Carmen resort on Nov. 14, killing seven people including five Canadians.
From the start, Mexico’s state prosecutor and local officials said trapped gases from a nearby swamp ignited and blew up. However, on Nov. 16, investigators said they had found a ruptured sewer pipe about 10 metres from the site of the blast at the 676-room Grand Riviera Princess resort. They added that it was too early to definitively state the cause of the explosion.
University of Toronto Professor Emeritus Olev Trass (ChemE) told CBC News that the swamp gas scenario was likely.
Swamp gas, also known as marsh gas or landfill gas, is a biogas that is produced when organic material like dead vegetation rots in an oxygen-starved environment such as a swamp, marsh or peat bog.
“It is fairly likely indeed because it can collect underneath the hotel,” Trass said. “As any vegetable matter decays under conditions [where no air is present], they generate methane gas and that has to go somewhere.
“Normally it would go out into the atmosphere and nobody would be bothered by it, and you might see the occasional little bubble coming through the water and nothing else. But if you block off that access to the atmosphere, then it builds up and it simply builds up pressure … all you needed was a tiny spark and the whole thing would go up.”
Follow the link to read the full article on the CBC News website.