A Spotlight on Healthcare Engineering Centre
The Centre for Research in Healthcare Engineering (CRHE) was launched in January 2008 by the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. It has been estimated that 30% of the cost of healthcare is wasted, and CRHE is a response to the immediate and compelling desire for sustainable efficiency and quality improvement in the Canadian healthcare system. The Centre provides both theoretical and practical advice and support for many of today’s most pressing problems. CRHE research is focused on the application of industrial/systems engineering methods to create quantitative decision support tools to help policy makers and industry leaders make better informed decisions. The vision is to be the centre of excellence for healthcare engineering in Canada.

Contributing faculty members are D. Aleman, B. Balcioglu, C. Beck, M. Carter, T. Chan, M. Chignell, M. Consens., D. Frances and P. Milgram.
Industry members involved are Hamilton Health Sciences, Cancer Care Ontario, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care: Health System Strategy Division and the Health Human Resources Strategy Division...
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Human Factors Interest Group Seminar
On Tuesday, July 21st, the Human Factors Interest Group hosted a seminar by Prof. Alex Mihailidis, a member of the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at UofT (and a MIE Alumnus), where for the past 12 years he has been conducting research in the field of pervasive computing and intelligent systems in health.

Prof. Mihailidis informed a large group of graduate students and faculty members about his research on the development of intelligent systems and smart homes, to support the wellness of older adults and aging-in-place, in a talk entitled Technology Applications to Assist Persons with Dementia. In particular, he described COACH, an intelligent prompting system to help guide older adults with dementia through common self-care activities. It uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to monitor the progress of a user during an activity, and to make decisions as to the type and level of assistance that is required. The second project described was HELPER, an intelligent emergency response and health monitoring system. Using computer vision and speech recognition, this system monitors the activity levels of an older adult, including the occurrence of spontaneous adverse events, such as falls. In the case of an adverse event, the system automatically decides on the level of response that is appropriate based on a simple exchange of yes/no answers and questions with the user.

Funded Reasearch
Prof. Yu Sun of MIE and Prof. David Bazett-Jones of Hospital for Sick Children were awarded a grant entitled “Nanomanipulation and high-resolution in situ gene mapping”, for $100,000/year for three years. The funding program was ‘CIHR Catalyst Grant: Invention and High-Risk, High-Benefit Research’ with a funding rate of 9.9%.

MIE Professor Featured on Canadianmanufacturing.com
Professor Andrew Jardine was recently featured on YouTube for the Canadian Manufacturing Week 2008, discussing cost efficiency through maintenance with canadianmanufacturing.com editor Michael Ouellette. Click here to watch the interview.

Staff Member Passes CMA Entrance Exam
Pierre Lee, Research and Purchasing Manager, has successfully passed the Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA) Entrance Exam, which he wrote this past June. Pierre will now begin the two-year CMA Strategic Leadership Program, awarding him the CMA designation once completed. Details of the CMA can be found here.

Ph.D. Final Oral Exam
Stephen J. Stoyan will present, Advances in Portfolio Selection under Discrete Choice Constraints: A Mixed-Integer Programming Approach and Heuristics.
Date: Thursday, August 6, 2009
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Room 303, 63 St. George Street, School of Graduate Studies
Exam Committee: Professor A. Bonner (Exam Chair, Department of Computer Science), Professor R. Kwon (Supervisor), Professor C-G. Lee, Professor D.M. Frances and Professor H. Naguib.
External Appraiser: Professor Miguel F. Anjos (University of Waterloo).

Registration 2009/2010
The deadline for payment of tuition fees or to submit a Request for Fee Arrangement Form to the MIE Graduate Office is August 28th The deadline for registration and submission of Enrolment Forms to the MIE Graduate Office is September 11th. Click here for Registration information. The Fall 2009 Graduate Course Schedule is coming soon; please check the MIE Graduate website regularly for information.

November 2009 Convocation: M.A.Sc. and M.Eng. Students
M.A.Sc. and M.Eng. students who are planning to graduate in November, 2009 must complete all degree requirements by Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Please send your graduation request to Brenda Fung by Wednesday, September 23, 2009. For details, click here.

PhD students who are planning to graduate in November, 2009 must complete all degree requirements by October 2, 2009. For details, click here.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Doctoral Prizes
SGS invites graduate departments to nominate their most outstanding Ph.D. candidate for the NSERC Doctoral Prizes 2010 Competition. Every year, NSERC offers Doctoral Prizes in recognition of excellence in student research. There are four prizes to be awarded, two from each of the following categories: natural sciences and engineering; and computer science. Each recipient will receive a framed citation, a silver medal, $10,000 and an invitation to an awards ceremony hosted by NSERC. Eligibility Criteria:

• Candidates must have successfully defended their doctoral thesis between September 6, 2008 and September 5, 2009;
• Candidates must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada at the time of nomination.

Please contact the MIE Graduate Office regarding documents required for the competition. Nomination materials must be submitted to the office by Monday, August 24, 2009. For more information, please click here.

Leaders of Tomorrow Workshop
MIE Leaders of Tomorrow would like to invite all MIE undergraduate summer students to an exciting workshop with the Engineering Career Centre on Wednesday August 5th, 2009. It is a professional development workshop called Start Now: Career Planning for the 2009-2010 school year, is facilitated by Sheri Browne-Howe, Career Counselor for the Engineering Career Centre, and Flo Zeng, Program administrator for the Engineering Career Centre.
Benefits of attending:

• Upgrade your resume and cover letter
• Learn how to effectively sell your experiences to potential employers
• Hear more about eSIP and PEY
• Learn to emphasize the skills your undergraduate work has provided you with
• 4th yr students - get prepared for the transition from full-time student to full-time work
• Hear professional advice about obtaining full, part-time or summer jobs
• Get your future on track!

Date: Wednesday August 5th, 2009
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Location: Mining Building 101
Please RSVP by Tuesday August 4th to shannon@mie.utoronto.ca if you would like to attend. A light lunch will be served.

Improvements in Undergraduate Computer Access

Computing services is in the process of implementing software within the RS303 undergraduate lab, which will allow the instructor's screen (active window only) to be displayed on the student's computers. This will resolve any issues regarding students being unable to see the projector images from the back of the room. New WSXGA+ flat panel monitors will be installed on students’ desks for a widescreen display. A computer will be installed within the undergraduate office's external waiting area for student ROSI access during office hours.

MIE Students Chosen to Join Conference on Higher Education
MIE is proud to be represented by Nikita Andreev (3rd-year IE student) and Shane Wanniwat Lersnimitthum (OT8+PEY) at an upcoming week-long conference on International Mobility and Higher Education, taking place in the Czech Republic from August 28th to September 5th, 2009. A joint effort between BEST (Board of European Students of Technology) and CFES (Canadian Federation of Engineering Students), the conference aims to create meaningful discourse and flow of ideas as Universities face increasingly global standards and demands. Top-level student participation will comprise of a specially selected pool of 22 European and 11 Canadian student delegates-these representatives will be joined by Professors, Deans, and industry professionals from both sides of the Atlantic in a discussion that will include the issues of teaching methods, technology, and research & innovation. 4th-year Industrial Engineering student Nikita Andreev will be representing the MIE Department as one of the Canadian student delegates. MIE is pleased to partially fund the two students attending this event.

Early Closure for Holiday
A civic holiday will be celebrated on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 and the University is closed.
Please note that the MIE Administrative and Technical offices will close at 3:00 pm on Friday, July 31st, 2009 for the long weekend, and will re-open the morning of Tuesday, August 4th. Have a safe and happy holiday.

Machine Shop Website
The MC-78 Machine Shop has launched a new website that provides more information about the shop's services, equipment, how to submit a job (including Job Request forms), frequently asked questions, and info on the Student Shop. Please visit http://mc-78.machineshop.utoronto.ca.