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October 9, 2009 Vol. 01 // No. 14
Chair's Office

Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!
We wish everyone an enjoyable and relaxing long weekend.

 

Mechanical Engineering Building Banner Contest
banner The MIE Department is holding a contest to design a banner for the Mechanical Engineering Building. The banners will be judged by the following committee:

  • Kate Brand
  • Shannon Osborne
  • Anna Vanek
  • Joe Baptista
  • Dionne Aleman
  • Goldie Nejat
  • Jason Bazylak
  • Jean Zu (Chair)
The winner will receive $500 and will get to see their design hung outside the building year round.

Click here for more information.

 

Email Contact for Newsletter
In the future, please send all correspondance and entries regarding the MIE Newsletter to newsletter@mie.utoronto.ca.
Thank you.

 

Research Activities

Automation Rendez-vous Conference 2009
The Automation Rendez-vous Conference takes place on October 20 and 21 within the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show in the Direct Energy Centre. Discover new technologies for real-life industrial applications, exchange ideas, gain a new perspective and learn ways to better use the systems you already have.

Participate in 24 comprehensive technical sessions, demonstrating automated solutions to increase productivity and efficiency for today and tomorrow. Sessions include controls, programming, Integrated System Communications, and much more. This conference will provide opportunities to meet with the following vendors: Centerline, Windsor Ltd., Corporation SPG Data 3D, Konnexio Inc., Proax Technologies, Radix Controls and WAT Solutions.

Click here for a full list of presentations.
Click here to register.
Conference registration includes free access to the Rendez-vous Resource Centre.

 

Seminars

MIE Seminar Series
Prof. Robert D. Howe from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University will present a Distinguished Lecture, titled Fixing the Beating Heart: Ultrasound Guidance for Robotic for Robotic Intracardiac Surgery.Coffee and cookies will be served and everyone is invited to attend.

Click here for more information.

 

Engineering Entrepreneurship Series
If you have ever thought of starting your own business, here's a chance to learn from the experts. The Engineering Entrepreneurship Series brings successful entrepreneurs to Skule to share their stories, and students are invited to the next talk on October 15th, followed by an informal dinner with the speaker.

Please RSVP to Susan Grant if you wish to attend the dinner, as spaces are limited. An RSVP is not needed to attend the talk.

Speaker: Cameron Serles
Title: I Wasn't Smart Enough to do a PhD, so I Started a Business Instead
Date: October 15th
Time: 5 PM
Location: SF1101, Sandford Flemming Building, 10 Kings College Road

Twenty Years ago, Cameron Serles was married, had an 11 month old son, a big mortgage, no savings, no experience selling, no finance training, no management experience, no business plan, no product idea, no intellectual property. In short, it was a GREAT time to start a business! So, he left the safety and comfort of working for a large multinational to create his own company. This is his story.

Cameron Serles is Founder, President and CEO of Xiris Automation Inc., a manufacturer of "machines that can see" defects in manufactured goods for several niche global manufacturing industries such as optical disc (CDs, DVDs), Photo Voltaics and metal fabrication. He founded Xiris Automation in 1989 and was their first (and probably worst) software developer. Today, he is involved in strategic planning, sales development and corporate management at Xiris. He also advises several other small companies on technology and R&D issues and sits on the board of some not-for-profit organizations.

Prior to establishing Xiris, Cameron Serles worked in manufacturing automation for Northern Telecom and process automation in the oil industry for Schlumberger Ltd. He holds a Bachelor's of Applied Science and Master's of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Awards & Recognition

Professional Engineers Awards
Congratulations to Professor Javad Mostaghimi and Professor Chul B. Park, who have been awarded engineering medals for Research and Development at the 2009 Ontario Professional Engineers (PEO) Awards! The Awards Gala will be held on November 21, 2009 at the Toronto Congress Centre to celebrate the awards and support the engineering community. The Professional Engineers Awards Program was created in 1947 to recognize excellence across a broad range of engineering endeavors, including innovation, professional leadership, and entrepreneurship. It also showcases some of the ways Ontario engineers contribute to the economy and improve our quality of life.

 

Graduate Studies

Ph.D. Final Oral Exam
Ivey Ka-Yee Chiu Forrest will present Quantifying Effects of Oppositely and Similarly Related Semantic Stimuli On Design Concept Creativity
Date: Friday, October 16, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Room 303, 63 St. George Street
Examination Committee: Professor A. Bonner, Professor L.H. Shu, Professor G. A. Jamieson, Professor H. Naguib, Professor M. Gruninger and Professor C. Chambers.
External Examiner: Professor Yong Zeng (Concordia University).

 

OGS Application Deadlines
Deadline to apply for Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) - Monday, October 13, 2009
OGS applications should be submitted to the MIE Graduate Studies office, RS214.
Applications for postdoctoral fellowships are submitted directly to NSERC.

 

Registration 2009/2010 deadlines
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 January, 2010 - Application deadline: January 30th 2010.

Please click here for details.

 

 

Student Affairs

M.A.Sc. and Ph.D Opportunities in Biological Engineering
There are several openings for graduate students in the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre at the University of Guelph, leading to M.A.Sc. and Ph.D degrees in Biological Engineering.

Please click here for a list of research areas and further details.

 

Announcements

Thanksgiving Holiday
Please note that on Friday, October 9th, the MIE Machine Shop will be closing at 2:00 PM, and the Administration Offices will be closing at 3:00 PM for the Thanksgiving Holiday, reopening for regular business hours on Tuesday, October 13. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

 

Vacations

Teresa Lai-Ho, Research Accounts: October 1st to 30th
Osmond Sargeant, Undergrad Lab Technologist: October 12th to 16th
Tom Bernreiter, Lab Manager: October 16th and 19th
Geoffrey Chow, Financial Administrator: October 26th to 30th

 

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