MIE - newsletter 12

Pictures from Orientation 2009
Please click here to see the pictures from Orientation Day 2009.

Academic Staff Meeting
The next Academic Staff Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 30 at 12:00 PM.

Renewable Hydrogen National Symposium Call for Papers
The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association and the University of Manitoba, in collaboration with the H2CAN Network, are co-hosting the Renewable Hydrogen National Symposium, January 18 to 19, 2010, in Winnipeg, MB. This symposium will focus on current and emerging renewable hydrogen production and purification technologies in Canada and neighbouring US Border States.

Possible topics include:

Renewable Resources for Hydrogen Production: Wind, solar, thermocatalytic conversion of biomass, biological hydrogen production from biomass and/or waste-waters, and nuclear;
Industry perspective: Current and emerging opportunities for renewable hydrogen production;
Research Directions: New directions to produce hydrogen from renewables

Please prepare abstracts as follows:

12 pt Times New Roman;
No more than 250 words;
Title of Presentation;
Authors and their affiliations;
Description of research objectives, methods, and results.

Please submit abstracts to Dr. David Levin of the University of Manitoba; or Terry Kimmel of the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association by October 15, 2009.

Papers not accepted for oral presentation will qualify for a Poster Session to be held following the January 18th presentations.

VERY IMPORTANT!! Changes to NSERC Application Process
As you prepare to apply to NSERC, please note some very important changes have been made to the way you must submit your application to Research Services.

Click here to read the new rules and regulations.

RIS Forms for Contract and Grant Applications
Please be advised that there is a revised RIS form for researchers submitting contract and grant applications.

Click here to see the revised form.

MIE Seminar Series
Amy Shen, from the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Washington (Seattle), will present the next installement in MIE's Seminar Series on Friday, October 2 at 2:10 PM in MC102. She will present an Invited Lecture titled, Complex Fluids Under Confinement and Flow. Coffee and cookies will be served and everyone is welcome to attend.

Click here for details on this seminar.

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Innovation, Globalization, and the University
The Munk Centre for International Studies presents this groundbreaking panel, which will bring together leading scholars and scientists to discuss the link between innovation, globalization, the role of the university.

Click here for details.

Special Seminar
The department would like to welcome Sinniah Ilanko, from the Department of Engineering, University of Waikato, New Zealand to present a Special Seminar titled, Negative Stiffness for Mass and Modelling Contraints, on Wednesday, September 30 at 2:10 PM in MC331, Mechanical Engineering Building, 5 King's College Road.

Click here for details.

MIE Alumni Receives Arbor Award
Congratulations to MIE Alumnus Anton Davies, who has received an Arbor Award. The Arbor Awards were established 20 years ago to acknowledge University of Toronto Alumni for their outstanding personal service to the University. This year, 10 members of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering received this honour, including MIE Alumnus Anton Davies (MIE 7T2, MASc 7T4, PhD, 7T7). Anton is Vice-President of Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc., a member of the MIE Advisory Board, and a frequent Guest Lecturer in MIE Design Courses. He actively volunteers at student and alumni events within the MIE Department, where he enthusiastically shares his experience with students.

MASc Oral Exam
Neil Maheshchandra Mulji will present Investigating the Mechanisms of Rupture and Dewetting of Quiescent Films
Date: Sept. 28, 2009
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Clarice Chalmers Conference Room (MC331), Mechanical Engineering Building, 5 King's College Road
Exam Committee: Professor S. Chandra(Supervisor and Exam Chair), Professor J. Mostaghimi and Professor A. Guenther.

Ph.D. Final Oral Exam
Oleksandr Shlakhter Acceleration of Iterative Method for Markov Decision Processes
Date: October 2, 2009
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Room 303, School of Graduate Studies, 63 St. George Street.
Exam Committee: Professor Moshe Eizenman (Examination Chair, IBBME), Professor C-G. Lee (Supervisor), Professor D. Krass, Professor R. Kwon, Professor M. Consens and Professor T. Chan.
External Examiner: Professor Eugene A. Feinberg (SUNY at Stony Brook)

NSERC and OGS Application Deadlines
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships (PGS/CGS) - Monday, October 5, 2009
Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) - Monday, October 13, 2009

NSERC and OGS applications are submitted to the MIE Graduate Studies office, RS214.
Applications for postdoctoral fellowships are submitted directly to NSERC.

Registration 2009/2010 deadlines
Last day to add courses: Oct. 5, 2009
Last day to drop courses without academic penalty: Nov. 2, 2009

Master Tuition Bursary for 2009-2010
Tuition fee bursaries are awarded to master's students who still have a small amount of work outstanding. These students will have been registered full-time from the beginning of their program and their minimum period of registration (i.e. program length) will have ended by or before either August or December of the current year. Students receiving tuition fee bursaries will not be eligible for fellowships, scholarships and other awards. Essentially the bursary allows the recipient to pay the part-time fee for one term.

Click here for details.

Doctoral Thesis Completion Grant for 2009-10
The Doctoral Thesis Completion Grant is awarded to domestic and international doctoral students who are registered full-time, paying full-time fees, and currently in their 5th or 6th year of study. Students can receive the grant in both their 5th and 6th year of study and need to apply each year.

Click here for the application form, available on the SGS website.

Enter 5th/6th year of Doctoral Studies in May 2009 - Application deadline: September 30th 2009
Enter 5th/6th year of Doctoral Studies in September 2009 - Application deadline: September 30th 2009
Enter 5th/6th year of Doctoral Studies in January 2010 - Application deadline: January 30th 2010

Please click here for details.

November 2009 Convocation: Ph.D. Students
PhD students planning to graduate in November 2009 must complete all degree requirements by October 2, 2009.

Please click here for details.

Formula SAE Team in Germany and Upcoming Shootout Event
saeteam During the first week of August, U of T�s Formula SAE team attended the Formula Student Germany Competition and competed against the worlds best teams from Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. After a year of the most dramatic rule changes this series has sustained to date, the spectrum of technology seen on the racecars was stunning. Among the contenders, the UofT team performed impressively in events such as the Cost, Business, and Design presentations. In the first series of events, the team performed consistently well and maintained a good standing in the competition. Despite their confidence in the design and improvements made during summer testing, the team's efforts were foiled by an unlikely mishap on the final race day. Halfway into the endurance race, the car�s muffler shield broke free and hit the kill switch as it flew off; immediately shutting down the car�s electrical system. The driver was unable to restart the car from within the cockpit, and so they could not continue. Moving forward since the team�s return to Canada, further research has increased the power on the 2009 engine and the racecar will make its last stand in a competition this coming weekend.

U of T�s Formula SAE team will be hosting their 8th annual Shootout event on Saturday September 26th at Mosport International Raceway. This is the largest student run Formula SAE competition in the world, featuring over 20 teams from all over North America. The team invites faculty, supporters and students to come and cheer them on.

Please send all enquiries to business@fsae.utoronto.ca

Assistant Professor, Tenure-Stream
Organisation: University of Toronto, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry
Location: Toronto
Number of Positions: 1

Click here for details.

Jamieson Birth Announcement
Congratulations to Professor Greg Jamieson, on the birth of his daughter; happy to introduce Yen Linh Jamieson. Induced, but born naturally on the 19th of September, 2009 at 5:12 pm, she weighs 6 lbs 9 oz (3.0 kg) and stands 21" (53.5 cm) tall. She and her mother are in good health.

Skule Idol
Skule Idol is open to all students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. All music genres are now eligible for consideration; rock, jazz, pop, and R&B. The winner will sing a duet with Isabel Bayrakdarian, world-renowned soprano and a graduate of our Faculty, during the concert at Hart House Theatre as part of the Engineering Science 75^th Anniversary Celebration on December 17th.

Skule Idol Judges are:

Isabel Bayrakdarian, world-renowned soprano;
Serouj Kradjian, world-renowned pianist;
Stuart Hamilton, U of T professor, vocal coach and accompanist;
Martin Knelman, Toronto Star entertainment columnist.

The deadline to apply is October 1 and auditions will be help on October 9. Click here to apply.

Pandemic Planning
If you are suffereing from flu-like symptoms, please inform Anna Vanek immediately, as she is tracking and trying to contain the spread of H1N1 to keep everyone as healthy as possible.
It would also be appreciated if principle investigators could alert Anna about absences related to flu-like symptoms for all students, employees, research associates and post-doctoral fellows in their labs.