Within nine buildings hosting more than 40 activities and exhibits, the U of T Engineering 150th Anniversary Open House on October 14 was just as much about celebrating the Faculty’s distinguished past as it was about looking toward its future.
Lectures, demonstrations and the opportunity to tour facilities rarely open to the public attracted more than 700 students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members to the St. George Campus.
From cutting-edge health-care innovations to an air-quality testing car, the event showcased the many ways U of T Engineering researchers and students are making an impact in the world today and designing for the future.
“When you think of an engineer, you might think about someone who builds roads and bridges, but it’s evolved,” says Professor Emily Moore (ISTEP, ChemE), Director of the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead) and one of three keynote speakers in the Bold Ideas Lecture Series at the 150th Anniversary Open House.
“The 21st century engineer is a curious learner — about technology, how the world works and how they can contribute as an individual.”
As part of the lecture series, Moore engaged participants in a thought-provoking seminar on the future of engineering education, Professor Nicole Weckman (ISTEP, ChemE) — the Paul Cadario Chair in Global Engineering — discussed new diagnostic tools for improving global health-care access, and Professor Deepa Kundur, Chair of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, led a session on detecting and mitigating cyberattacks on infrastructure.
Alumni Brian Chui (CompE 0T3) and Winsome Ling (IndE 0T2) brought their children, 14-year-old Kiersten and 10-year-old Mathias, to the open house.
“There’s nostalgia,” says Chui. “I hung out a lot in the pit, working on assignments on many late nights with friends. It felt like we were comrades in arms, battling through tests and exams together.”
“It’s amazing to see the advancements,” says Ling. “Twenty years ago, we used more-basic materials to build structures. Now they are using carbon fibre and the labs are equipped with better technologies to support their work.”
The two future engineers in the group, Kiersten and Mathias, are still undecided about their specialization, but Kiersten says she likes to build houses out of Lego — a good sign for CivMin.
Take a visual tour through a selection of the activities at the U of T Engineering 150th Anniversary Open House. The full event album is available on Flickr.
