Professor Axel Guenther (MIE, IBBME) and colleagues have developed a microfluidic platform on which fragile blood vessels can be fixed, allowing the factors that promote and sustain cardiovascular diseases to be studied.
Microvascular structure and function are currently studied using either an isometric approach, where small arteries are mounted on two wires, or an isobaric method, where arteries are drained and filled using glass micropipettes. Both these procedures require manually skilled personnel and are not scalable. Professor Guenter and team have overcome these limitations by developing a microfluidic platform on which to mount arteries, which is scalable, inexpensive and has potential for automation and standardisation. The device could be used to routinely screen drug candidates on viable arteries, potentially speeding up the drug development process and reducing the need for animal experimentation.
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Alumna Julie Payette (ECE MASc 9T0) has been promoted to an officer of the Order of Canada, one of 74 new appointments announced on June 30 by Governor General Michaëlle Jean.
An astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency, Payette was described as “a source of inspiration and an international ambassador for engineering in Canada” in a news release. In 1999 Payette became the first Canadian to visit the International Space Station, travelling on the space shuttle Discovery, and a decade later she met another Canadian in space for the first time. She is the second Canadian woman to fly in outer space.
Payette was one of seven alumni of the University of Toronto honoured in the recent appointments, along with four faculty members. The Order of Canada is the pinnacle of Canada’s honours system and recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Founded in 1967, the Order has three levels of membership: companion, officer and member. Appointments are made on the recommendation of an advisory council chaired by the chief justice of Canada; the governor general is chancellor and principal companion.
Follow the links below to read articles on Julie Payette and the Order of Canada appointments:
Astronaut Julie Payette earns Order of Canada
Childhood dreams sent Payette into orbit
Canadian importers, particularly those of children’s toys and imitation jewellery, should be extra-vigilant when purchasing from China. Lured by China’s intensely fragmented manufacturing sector, where thousands of small operators outbid each other with low per-unit costs, Canadian companies have been faced with recalls when the jewellery they imported was found to have high lead levels.
One study of Chinese-manufactured jewelry indicated it contained recycled lead acid batteries. Professor Doug Perovic (MSE) found high levels of antimony in such jewellery, pointing to a chemical link to car batteries.
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Ontarians can expect more days like Monday, July 5, when a Hydro One breaker burst into flames, leaving 240,000 sweltering Toronto residents without power during a heat wave. Much of the Crown-owned utility’s equipment is nearing the end of its design life, and as the provincial government reins in spending, it is neglecting the aging infrastructure that keeps the air conditioners humming, critics say.
The transmission grid that delivers power to local utilities throughout North America was developed about 50 years ago, Professor Reza Iravani (ECE) told The Globe and Mail. If the system is not refurbished, he said, it will become more prone to power outages.
“When the equipment reaches the end of its lifetime, it has to be replaced,” he noted. “Otherwise, the reliability is jeopardized.”
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David Castelino, a second-year ChemE student, was honoured today with a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award of Achievement alongside 199 other young people from across Canada. On a visit to Canada, the Duke of Edinburgh handed out the awards before leaving Toronto the following day.
Castelino, who was interviewed along with another award winner on CBC Radio One’s Metro Morning on the day the award was received, said he was “very humbled” by the ceremony and by meeting the Duke of Edinburgh in person. The awards recognize youth for their volunteerism, physical activity, developing practical and social skills, participating in an expedition and completing a residential experience in which the recipient engaged in an activity away from home. Earlier this summer, Castelino was named one of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20.
Dean Cristina Amon has been selected for the “Most Important Hispanics in Technology” list for 2010. The honour, from American magazine Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology (HE&IT), was bestowed on the Dean today at an awards dinner in Baltimore, Maryland.
Extensive research was performed on thousands of employees from 100 candidate companies; HE&IT editors then evaluated and ranked the highest-achieving Hispanic executives, technologists and researchers in industry, government and academia in North America. Those chosen were women and men who demonstrated leadership on a broad front, in the workplace and in their communities. Full profiles of the 2010 Most Important Hispanics in Technology were featured in the spring edition ofHE&IT magazine, published in April 2010.