New U of T research by the DREAM laboratory, led by Professor Kevin Golovin (MIE), has developed a coating technique that prevents microplastic fibres (MPFs) from shedding during the wash cycle. These enhanced coatings adhere to synthetic fabrics and offer a solution to prevent 0.19 million tons of MPFs from contaminating the environment and water supplies yearly.

MPFs are primarily released from synthetic apparel, such as polyester or nylon clothing, and frequently end up in the washing machine, where they then drain into freshwater bodies and oceans. Abrasive friction between fabric and washing machine causes damage to individual textile fibres that break off and are released as MPFs. The ability of the coatings to lower the friction of synthetic apparel and prevent further damage is discussed in The DREAM laboratory’s new paper “Liquidlike, Low-Friction Polymer Brushes for Microfibre Release Prevention from Textiles” published in the journal Small.

“Our research shows that when the friction falls below a value around 0.25, microplastic fibres never form on the fabric and damage during washing is prevented,” says Golovin. “This low-friction strategy showed MPF reductions of up to 96% and gave the lab the opportunity to further refine what coatings work best to lower friction for each type of synthetic textile.”

Typically surfaces are lubricated to lower friction, such as with ball bearings or pistons, but the idea of lubricant-soaked clothing is not practical. Dr. Sudip Lahiri, a researcher in the DREAM laboratory and lead author of the study, had the idea to use “liquidlike” molecules, essentially lubricants that can be chemically bonded to fabrics.

“Liquidlike coatings have lower friction and can be strongly bonded to the surface of the fabric,” says Lahiri. “We successfully bonded one liquidlike molecule to nylon fabrics, and we wanted to extend the research to examine more coating options and additional synthetic fabrics, like polyester.”

Polyester and nylon fabrics account for approximately 90% of synthetic apparel produced. Scaling up these coatings has the potential to bring a positive shift in the textile industry and provide options for offering more environmentally friendly and durable materials to consumers.

“Recognizing the many different uses of synthetic fabrics, we expanded our research to provide different coatings that either wick water or repel it, but still drastically reduce the release of MPFs,” Golovin explains. “MPFs are released during washing, so durability to prevent the coating rubbing off in the laundry is essential, and also increases its effectiveness.”

Professor Golovin incorporated a two-layer fabric finishing strategy using a molecular primer and liquidlike molecules to minimize the release of MPFs even after repeated washes. The coated fabrics maintain other important parameters such as their softness and breathability, and some of the more promising ones are being scaled up for industrial adoption. The Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) recently funded an Innovation 2 Ideas grant to do just that.

“We’re currently translating our lab-scale technology to a turnkey solution for the apparel industry thanks to a grant from NSERC, to reduce as many adoption barriers as possible,” explains Golovin. “Our goal is to provide a product that brands can start adopting by the end of 2024.”

-Published on April 22, 2024, by Kendra Hunter

 

Professor Alison Olechowski (MIE, ISTEP) has received the Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award. She is one of four instructors from across the University of Toronto community recognized for their exceptional commitment to student learning, pedagogical engagement, and teaching innovation. 

“This is such an honor,” says Olechowski. “Teaching is hard but deeply satisfying work, and it is so meaningful to be recognized in this way.” 

An instructor in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice, Olechowski recently revamped  MIE459: Organization Design and designed TEP1502: Leadership in Product Design. 

“My teaching philosophy is centered on igniting passion and instilling confidence in all of my students,” says Olechowski, who received the Dean’s Spark Professorship and a Technology Enhanced Active Learning Fellowship in 2018, the MIE Early Career Teaching Award in 2021 and U of T Engineering’s Early Career Teaching Award in 2023.  

“I’m mindful of the fact that the ways we once taught engineering concepts weren’t necessarily accessible to everyone, and I know there are interesting and cool pathways to engage all types of learners.” 

She also credits her mentors, departmental staff, and colleagues from MIE and ISTEP for their support and for helping her become an effective and intentional teacher. 

“I owe a great deal to my teaching assistants and co-instructors. Teaching is a team effort, and I’m grateful to work with each of them,” she says.  

 

Olechowski’s research in engineering education also aligns with her teaching practices.  

She is a frequent presenter at annual conferences for the Canadian Engineering Education Association and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) — twice winning best paper awards from the ASEE. And she is currently collaborating with computer-aided design (CAD) education researchers across the country on initiatives to make CAD education more accessible and inclusive. 

As an expert in engineering design, Olechowski is investigating ways to improve how engineering professionals collaborate and participate in the design process.  

“There is a human side to engineering, and I want all my undergraduate students to consider this,” says Olechowski, who supervises the Spark Design Club and the U of T Aerospace Team, and serves as a mentor for the Girls SySTEM Mentorship program.  

For Olechowski, the best part of being an instructor and mentor is learning more about her students. 

“My students are always asking really cool questions, and I like hearing about the things that interest them: including the hobbies they’re engaged in, the clubs they’re a part of, and the summer jobs they’re taking on,” she says. “At U of T, we attract such smart, interesting, and unique students. It’s a pleasure getting to know them.” 

“At U of T Engineering, one of our key priorities is to ensure we develop 21st-century engineers by creating more inclusive spaces that enable students to sharpen their skills and acquire new knowledge,” says Christopher Yip, Dean of U of T Engineering. 

“Professor Olechowski is helping us live up to this promise. Through her commitment to making engineering education engaging and accessible for all, she is creating space for every student to succeed. On behalf of the entire Faculty, congratulations to Professor Olechowski on this well-deserved honor.” 

 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on April 16, 2024, by Rebecca Cheung.

Professor Aimy Bazylak (MIE) is among this year’s recipients of the Dorothy Killam Fellowship. 

Awarded by the National Research Council, the Dorothy Killam Fellowships enable Canadian scholars of exceptional ability to devote their time to research projects with the potential to make a significant impact in their respective fields.      

“I am tremendously honoured to receive this fellowship,” says Bazylak. “The two years of dedicated time to focus on my research is an invaluable opportunity to move our work forward at a pace that would not otherwise be possible.”  

Bazylak and her research group are advancing clean energy technologies by developing new catalyst-coated membranes to overcome cost and durability challenges of fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and CO2 electrolyzer.   

 

Technologies for electrochemical energy have many layers with costly catalyst-coated membranes or catalyst layers at their core. But currently, there are limited options for catalyst-coated membranes from commercial vendors. Moving forward, Bazylak will design and develop custom layers, accelerating their development for optimal performance and durability.   

“These clean electrochemical energy technologies have phenomenal potential to transform our energy security around the globe. However, now more than ever, the largest challenges lie at the smallest length scales,” says Bazylak, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Clean Energy.     

“If we want to make these technologies affordable and long-lasting, we need to control the design and performance of materials where the electrochemical reactions take place.”  

Bazylak has developed significant expertise aroundthe microscale transport behaviour of gases and liquids around and through the various materials that surround the catalyst-coated membrane.

Bolstered by this knowledge, her team is ready to move to the most challenging length scales and use their understanding of the surrounding materials to transform the technology. By controlling the parameters at the nanoscale, they can design a better performing, more efficient device, which can be used to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions.  

“When powered with renewable energy, polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers produce hydrogen with heat as the only by-product,” she says.  

“This hydrogen can be used to fuel trucks, cars and trains powered by PEM fuel cells with zero-emissions, and CO2 electrolysis can be used to convert carbon dioxide emissions into carbon neutral fuels.”  

“A most heartfelt congratulations to Professor Bazylak on receiving the Dorothy Killam Fellowship,” says U of T Engineering Dean Christopher Yip.

“The research she is leading opens doors to new collaborations, both nationally and globally, and will bring us closer to creating sustainable and thriving global communities.”  

 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on April 2, 2024, by Safa Jinje.

A U of T Engineering team, led by Professor Timothy Chan (MIE), won first place in the 2024 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Research Papers Competition. The paper introduces a new framework designed to level the playing field in dart games.

“Winning this competition, at the world’s most prominent and competitive sports analytics conference, is a testament to the excellence and ingenuity of our students here at the University of Toronto,” says Chan.

With millions of players around the world, including an estimated 17 million in the U.S., according to the National Sporting Goods Association, the game of darts continues to grow in popularity.

“Darts is a great sport because almost anyone can play and it doubles as a fun mental puzzle,” says Rachael Walker (IndE 2T1 + PEY), who is a co-author of the conference paper along with Craig Fernandes (IndE 1T8 + PEY, MIE MASc 2T1, MIE PhD candidate) and Chan. Walker was the lead driver of this research project as this was the topic of her undergraduate thesis in Chan’s lab.

The research focuses on the game of 501 darts, where players start with a score of 501 and take alternating turns throwing darts at the dartboard. Points are then deducted from their total depending on where the darts land and the first player to reach zero wins.

 

“We looked at 501 darts played in recreational and professional settings,” says Fernandes.

“In a recreational setting, the game is often played amongst players that have different skill sets, and when that happens, the stronger player often wins, which can lead to unexciting matches.”

To prevent this imbalance in sports such as golf and darts, a system that gives the less-skilled players an advantage can be introduced, with the aim that all players have an equal chance at winning.

“Our research first proved that the current approach of giving the weaker player a head start doesn’t actually give all players a fair chance at victory,” says Fernandes.

“Instead, we used a Markov decision process to understand the nuances of the game and then come up with a new system that actually leads to mathematical fairness.”

The new framework first determines a player’s skill level by having them throw several darts at the center of the board before the start of a game. Players are assigned a skill level based on where their darts land — players who get most of their darts in the center are determined as higher skilled, while those whose darts are spread out across the board are deemed less-skilled players, who would benefit from an advantage.

The new system gives the lesser skilled player credits that they can cash in at any point in the game. That player can then use credit to claim the outcome of a throw — that is, the region of the board they intend the dart to land in — without actually physically throwing the dart.

The researchers found that credits can create true fairness by using a Markov decision process, a mathematical framework that models scenarios where the outcomes are partly in control of the decision maker and partly random. However, the number of possible decisions and outcomes in darts made the model difficult to implement and solve at scale.

“To accurately model a dart game that assigns an advantage to a single player, we needed to consider over half a million possible game states and hundreds of possible actions at each state,” says Walker.

“In a traditional implementation, you optimize across all states simultaneously, which may require considering billions, or even trillions, of possible outcomes.”

The researchers overcame the challenge of scale by starting simply and slowly adding complexity to the model. The first version did not consider the fact that darts is played in turns of three throws for each player; this helped build intuition and develop implementation tricks that later allowed them to solve the true model.

The first-place finish at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference was affirming for the researchers.

“It was a very strong competition, featuring many major North American sports, such as football, baseball, and basketball; and a lot of research was focused on generative artificial intelligence and machine learning,” says Fernandes, who presented the research at the Sloan conference.

“Winning with our operations research and optimization approach was exciting for us.”

The team is now looking to implement the framework with collaborators, including local dart leagues, to see it work in practice.

“My lab tackles complex decision-making problems in health care and sports using techniques from operations research,” says Chan.

“The tools we develop are general, so the insights we obtain from solving a problem in darts may then be applied towards solutions in patient scheduling or medical decision making.”

 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 26, 2024 by Safa Jinje.

A team of U of T Engineering researchers led by Professors Yu Zou (MSE) and Tobin Filleter (MIE) has received $2.8 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Innovation Fund (CFI-IF) to develop the Toronto Integrated Platform for Materials under Extreme Conditions (TIME).  

This facility will house equipment to test materials in many severe conditions — from temperatures above 1,000 Celsius to a vacuum space empty of matter that replicates outer space — for use across various industries, including space exploration, critical minerals, nuclear energy, zero-emission vehicles and medicine.  

“We’re pushing the limit of material performance to design a new generation of materials and this facility will play a crucial role in achieving this goal,” says Zou, who leads U of T’s first metal additive manufacturing lab, and specializes in designing advanced metal alloys and composites for biomedical, automotive and energy applications. 

TIME will be a shared space equipped with a wide range of cutting-edge machinery that will enable researchers from diverse fields and faculties to test the performance of materials.  

Co-applicants on the CFI-IF proposal include Professors Fae Azhari (CivMin, MIE), Gisele Azimi (ChemE, MSE), Adele Changoor (Surgery, MSE), Thomas Coyle (MSE), Xinyu Liu (MIE), Chandra Singh (MSE) and Ning Yan (ChemE). 

“This facility will help us understand how materials behave and degrade in harsh environments,” says Filleter, who is the principal investigator of the Nanomechanics and Materials Lab. His research focuses on nanostructured material and tribology.  

“It’s particularly important for industries like space exploration and nuclear energy.” 

Developing materials for space applications that can withstand harsh conditions for long periods of time without needing to be serviced is a major challenge. Satellites and space stations need to deploy equipment, such as solar panels, in the vacuum of space, and the materials used in coating these mechanisms and gears need to operate flawlessly to ensure the equipment’s functionality.  

These coatings need to survive extreme temperature fluctuations — from launch conditions on Earth and the mechanical agitations during launch, before ultimately being used in space. “Oil-based lubricants don’t work in a space environment,” says Filleter, “so this facility will allow researchers to design and test solid material coatings that have low friction and low wear over a long time.”   

“Making the materials work at all stages of use is a real challenge. Service is not an option, so the equipment needs to not only work well but last for a very long time, or else you have a million-dollar piece of space junk that doesn’t work properly,” adds Filleter.   

The research conducted in this lab will also have implications in nuclear research, specifically in the construction and operation of small modular reactors (SMRs). 

There is a big push from the Canadian government for SMRs as an option to meet their clean energy goals. However, the working environment for SMRs differs significantly from traditional Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactors, as they operate in extremely corrosive and high-temperature environments.  

With SMRs representing a potential solution for clean energy in the face of climate change, researchers will need to develop and test materials that can endure the radiation, high temperatures and corrosive conditions.  

The TIME platform will also support the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy by developing and testing new tooling materials for the exploration and recycling of critical minerals.   

“Currently, there is no such testing platform where we can verify and test various materials in these extreme conditions,” says Zou.  “Our platform will provide a new and unique capability to conduct these tests.” 

U of T is positioning itself at the centre of materials discovery, development and testing. The Acceleration Consortium is combining material science with advanced computing, artificial intelligence and robotics to rapidly design new materials. Alongside research at the TIME facility focused on testing these materials under real, extreme conditions, the university will be able to work on materials development synergistically.  

Researchers at TIME will also train the next generation of researchers in this field, with plans to support approximately 100 students over the next five years, further contributing to advancements in materials science. The TIME platform will address pressing industry challenges and holds the potential to drive innovation, create a knowledge hub for researchers and foster interdisciplinary synergies across the university. 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 13, 2024 by Selah Katona.

Growing up in a family with strong ties to engineering, Taleen Kutob (Year 2 IndE) had no shortage of examples to inspire her interest in the problem-solving discipline. 

“My father is a mechanical engineer and my mother, who is an architect, has a master’s degree in industrial engineering,” she says.  

“Seeing my three older siblings study industrial engineering at the University of Toronto made me feel like I was a part of their campus community from a young age.”  

There are 14 years between Taleen and her oldest sister, Layan Kutob (IndE 1T2 + PEY, MIE MEng 1T4), who is an associate partner at McKinsey & Company in San Francisco. Despite their age difference, the two sisters are close and even co-moderated a virtual International Women’s Day panel on March 6, with support from the U of T student chapter of Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and the Engineering Alumni Office.  

“I am fortunate that I can always turn to my sisters and brother for advice or help when it comes to my studies or career goals,” says Taleen.  

“But many of my classmates may not have such resources so close to home. This inspired our event, Ask Me Anything: Your Success, Your Way, which was an opportunity to learn about the experiences of accomplished women who graduated from U of T Engineering.  

“Hearing these stories is especially important for women in engineering spaces where they may not feel welcome. We want them to feel less alone in their journey.”   

The event also aimed to provide inspiration for students who may be struggling, adds Layan.  

“Everyone at U of T Engineering arrives as a star student, but we all stumble along the way to our degree and may even lose motivation,” she says. “We wanted to break down the boundaries and give women engineering students an opportunity to see what their careers can look like. We wanted to showcase how individuals have overcome their own setbacks and that success isn’t always linear.”  

Layan, along with brother Kazem Kutob (IndE 1T3 + PEY) and sister Dareen Kutob (IndE 1T7 + PEY, MIE MEng 2T2) have shared their experiences with their youngest sister — not to influence her choices but to provide support and guidance.  

Taleen considers her siblings to be her role models. When she was five years old, she even accompanied Layan to one of her undergraduate classes.  

“Layan was babysitting me at the time and ended up having to bring me with her,” she says. “I remember having drawing books and colouring pencils, and drawing the normal distribution curve because it was right there in front of me.”  

The first of the Kutob siblings to study engineering at university, Layan was initially on the fence between engineering and business when she began applying to schools.

“Ultimately, I choose to enroll in the TrackOne program at U of T Engineering in my first year, and I chose industrial engineering because I wanted to combine engineering with my business interests,” Layan says.

“There was never any family pressure for any of us to pursue engineering. But my siblings and I all enrolled in TrackOne in our first year because we wanted to make informed decisions about our future in engineering.” 

Still, at the end of their first year of undergrad, each of the Kutob siblings landed in industrial engineering, an area often focused on optimizing complex processes and improving the way people interact with systems. Kazem is now a self-service and online sales growth director at GitLab in Los Angeles, while Dareen is a strategy consultant at Accenture in Dubai.  

“I hadn’t planned on pursuing engineering when I was in high school, my ambition was in pharmacy. However, in Grade 12, I began to see the limitations of a pharmacy degree,” says Dareen.  

“Seeing both Layan and Kazem pursue industrial engineering, I saw the potential for broader learnings and longer-term career options. I also realized that even with this shift, there could still be opportunities to explore my interests in the health and the pharmaceutical industry.  

“I ended up doing my thesis and capstone project in the health care field, and I now working in consulting with health and public sector clients.”  

For Layan, consulting was a logical career choice that fit her personality and interests.  

Through McKinsey’s “random walks,” where employees engage in work across different industries, Layan was able to explore health care, insurance and banking, before finding her path in the energy sector — where the work and the people continue to inspire her.  

“I love rolling up my sleeves and working with people to solve complex issues in end-to-end processes and to think about innovative and creative ways to solve them,” says Layan. “I work with my energy clients on operational and digital transformations to reduce costs while increasing productivity, reliability and safety.  

“I’m a firm believer that you need to enjoy what you do. So go find it, go seek it, and that could be through the process of elimination.”  

“Pursuing industrial engineering offers you a great degree and an incredible toolkit that will set you up for success in any path you choose to pursue,” adds Dareen.   

“My advice for girls considering this area of study is to embrace and enjoy all aspects of university life, including extracurricular activities. You will meet great people, create new friendships and develop essential skills that will help you navigate any professional environment.”  

While Taleen doesn’t know where she will end up when she graduates in a few years, she knows an industrial engineering degree will open many doors.  

“The courses I am taking today are tapping into so many exciting areas that I can pursue a career in data science, artificial intelligence and human factors,” she says.   

“But being able to do this great work in a community that inspires me makes it 100 times better.” 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 7, 2024 by Safa Jinje.