A new study on automated external defibrillators finds that optimizing where they are placed may save more lives.

Professor Timothy Chan (MIE) at the University of Toronto used mathematical modelling techniques as he studied the placement of registered AEDs in Toronto and nearby Peel Region.

These were compared to actual locations where cardiac arrests occurred from January 2006 to November 2009.

There were 1,414 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, and 2,041 AEDs provided coverage within 100 metres for only 16 per cent.

Professor Chan says the average distance to the closest AED was 487 metres, and it would take about five minutes for a bystander to get to it, and then another five  minutes to return to the patient.

Using the model, Professor Chan and his colleagues determined that the top five locations for extra AED placement would have covered an additional 51 cardiac arrests.

Brad Holland of the Heart and Stroke Foundation says the research is important in helping to understand how to improve survival for cardiac arrest patients.

The study was presented today at the American Heart Association conference in Chicago.

A sophisticated counterfeit TTC token obtained by CBC News underscores the challenges faced by the Toronto transit agency as it tries to deal with a problem that is costing it hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

The token, at first glance, looks virtually identical to a regular Toronto Transit Commission token. The two even weigh the same. But a closer examination carried out by the University of Toronto’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering yesterday revealed a number of differences.

A look through an electron microscope revealed that the top of the second “t” in Toronto appeared to be cut off; the ridges found on the outside edges of the fake token aren’t as clearly defined as those on real ones; and the spacing of the letters is not consistent.

Professor Zhirui Wang (MSE), who oversaw the analysis, said the inaccuracies in the lettering and the scratches were probably due to an inferior die used by the counterfeiter.

Professor Wang’s team was also able to determine the composition of the fake token and found that nickel, which is used in the real token to ensure durability, was virtually absent in the fake. Nickel is generally more expensive than metals like zinc or copper, found in abundance in the fake version.

Still, he estimates it may have cost up to $100,000 to produce these tokens, so counterfeiters would have to sell a lot to make a profit.

Follow the links to read the full cbc.ca article, including MSE’s analysis of the tokens, on the CBC News website, on  Digital Journal, or to listen to the CBC Radio news report.

Eight Canadian universities have joined to provide graduate fellowships for top Indian students who wish to pursue a master’s or PhD degree in Canada.

The Globalink Canada-India Graduate Fellowship Program will provide up to 51 awards valued at over $3.5 million for Indian students participating in the MITACS Globalink program in 2010.

The MITACS Globalink program brings Indian undergraduate student to Canada for summer research internships. Participating students undertake a research project with a top Canadian faculty member while building connections with graduate students, researchers and companies.

“The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto looks forward to hosting some of India’s brightest young engineering minds,” said Professor Chris Damaren, Vice-Dean, Graduate Studies, University of Toronto. “This will contribute to our strong desire to educate global engineers.”

Four dozen girls, largely from Toronto’s inner-city Regent Park neighbourhood, converged on Google Canada’s Toronto offices in early November to see its innovative architecture and design, and engage in a “design challenge” with the help of U of T Engineering undergraduate students.

The participating girls, from Grades 7 to 10, came from U of T Engineering’s Girls’ Science & Engineering Saturday Program, and from the United Way’s Pathways to Education program.

The event was initiated by Google Canada, and U of T Engineering was very pleased to be contacted about it, said Dawn Britton, Associate Director of the Student Outreach Office.

“It’s really important for industry partners such as Google to [show] girls there are careers available to them in technology and engineering,” Britton said, adding that these types of events and experiences are exciting for all involved.

The evening began with an introduction to Google’s mission and values, and a tour of Google Toronto’s new offices. Google’s two key workplace values are healthy lifestyles and environmental friendliness, said a Google representative, which was evident in the design of the office: from the polished concrete floors to the inexpensive timberstand walling to the galvanized steel wall frames, and reclaimed seats from the old Montreal Forum.

Meeting rooms were named after cities and parks in Eastern and Western Canada, with a shower room (for employees needing to shower after bicycling to work) named “Niagara Falls.” Google has also partnered with Bullfrog for its energy needs in order to create a net zero carbon footprint, the girls were told.

Later the students were given a “digital quotient quiz” gauging their technology use and proficiency (Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information, a rep said), with questions ranging from whether respondents had more than one e-address to whether they had used an “app” or played a game online in the past week.

The design challenge involved building freestanding structures out of drinking straws (three survived, though only two perfectly upright). A pizza supper and a presentation on Google’s products concluded the evening.

Maymouna Mohamed, a Grade 10 student at Jarvis Collegiate, scored 100% on the digital quotient quiz and appreciated the tour (“This office is wicked!”) and the information segment (“I didn’t know half the stuff that was presented”).

Does Maymouna think she might consider a career in engineering? Technology is “what I do all the time,” she responded. “Engineering sounds good,” especially from “what I’ve seen and learned today.”

The number of women getting into engineering in Canada has been on the decline, despite a decade of efforts to encourage more girls to think of technical careers. Even though women currently make up more than half of the undergraduate populations across Canada, the number of women enrolled in engineering programs dropped from a high of 21 per cent in 2001 to 17 per cent in 2009. The portion of licensed engineers in Canada who are women has grown from 7 per cent in 2000, but the figure still sits at only 10 per cent, according to Ottawa-based Engineers Canada.

“It’s still a difficult place for women to be,” says Kerry Black (CivE, 0T7), who is currently finishing her thesis for her master’s degree in civil engineering at UBC. Black, who completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, said she learned that lesson even before she began studying engineering. It wasn’t until she was connected with a female engineering professor, who became her mentor, that she really felt on track. Without that support, Black said she likely would not have stayed in the field.

Some schools are increasing the number of female faculty to provide more role models that will in turn help attract more young women to the profession. Meanwhile, much of the emphasis of both universities and industry associations is getting out the message that engineering is a helping profession.

University of Toronto and Queen’s University each report modest increases in the number of female engineering students this year. And the number of women registered in Engineer in Training programs across Canada (a mandatory prelicensing phase), is now equal to the number of female engineering graduates.

Follow the link to read the full article, including statistics, on The Globe and Mail website.

After thousands of Ontario riders petitioned GO Transit for better service more than two years ago, the regional transportation service set to work on a passenger charter to deliver customer satisfaction for its thousands of daily riders. A five-point plan was introduced.

“We start a better way to deliver what our customers want, and that is better service,” said Metrolinx president Bruce McCuaig in a news conference at Toronto’s Union Station yesterday.

Point 2 was: “We will always take your safety seriously”
“I think this is to just help people feel more at ease,” says Professor Richard Soberman, a board member for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and the former chair of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. “It’s rare for a transit system to be less safe than driving a car.”

Point 5 was: “We will help you quickly and courteously”
“Transit systems are becoming bigger and customer orientation is a priority for transit companies,” says Professor Soberman.

Follow the link to read the full article on the National Post website.