MIE Researchers Awarded Four NSERC Strategic Project Grants
Four MIE researchers, as Principal Investigators, have won an NSERC Strategic Project Grant for the duration of three years. In this round of the NSERC Strategic Grant Competition, MIE has achieved an 80% success rate, while the NSERC overall success rate is 26%.

Ridha Ben Mrad
Title: Development of direct fuel injection technology based on piezoceramic actuation
Co-applicants: A. Sinclair (MIE), S. He (Ryerson), F. Golnaraghi (SFU), M. Zheng (Windsor)
Amount: $324,000

Andreas Mandelis
Title: The photoacoustic radar: photothermoacoustic scanning tomography (PHAST) for early detection of breast cancer
Co-applicants: A. Vitkin (Department of Medical Biophysics)
Amount: $396,976

Jim Wallace
Title: Gas composition sensor for biogas fueled engines
Co-applicant: L. Qian (ECE)
Amount: $233,310

Jean Zu
Title: Development of a novel, highly efficient variable transmission for wind power generation
Co-applicants: R. Ben Mrad (MIE), M. Paraschivoiu (Concordia)
Amount: $569,600

 

HFIG Inter-university Workshop a Success

The 10th Annual Human Factors Engineering Inter-University Workshop 2009, held on Saturday November 7, was a great success. There were about 70 attendees, mostly grad students, a few undergrads, and several professors. The attendees were primarily from UofT and Waterloo, however delegations of varying sizes from SUNY Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, McMaster U, Trent U, and the University of Michigan (plus one speaker from RIM) attended.

The day began with a keynote address by Kim Vicente, followed by 3 technical sessions comprising uniformly high quality presentations, and a poster session, all carefully coordinated and executed by Kevin Trinh. People stayed for the day, asking lots of questions, and making the most of this networking opporunity.

The HFIG would like to thank the MIE Department for its generous sponsorship. They are also very proud of the dedicated grad students who, under the leadership of Kevin Trinh and his executive, put on a high quality event!

 

FCRC-NRC Colloquium on Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies
Location: University of Waterloo
Date: December 8, 2009
Objective: To provide a forum for presenters and attendees to learn and exchange valuable experiences.

Please click here for details.

 

MIE Alunmus, Som Seif (9T9 IND) Receives Faculty 7T6 Early Career Award

Som Seif is an outstanding engineer-turned-financier with strong leadership in every facet of his life. President and CEO of Claymore Investments Inc., Som made his company a leader in the North American Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) product market. Managing over 20 ETFs, additional financial products, and an asset value of $3.2 billion, Claymore has become Canada's No. 2 ETF service provider and one of Canada's fastest growing asset management firms. Claymore was the only fund firm to post net positive sales every month in 2008 - a challenging year for the financial services and investment fund industry.

Som's role as a strong and inspirational leader extends across many volunteer endeavours, including co-chair of the Art Gallery of Ontario Massive Party Fundraiser and volunteer head coach of U of T's varsity men's water polo team with five provincial championships over the past seven years. Som is also very involved with a number of student organizations, acting as a speaker and sponsor for many university programs including Rotman MBA Finance, Engineers in Finance, LIVE Conference, York MBA program, and much more. Other accomplishments include:

• Big Brothers of Metropolitan Toronto, 1997-2001
• Team captain of the Toronto Jets Water Polo Club and competitor in the 2006 World FINA Masters Aquatics Championships
• U of T Arbor Award, 2007
• Fundraising volunteer for Sunnybrook Hospital Cancer Research Foundation, 2008 to present

The Class of 7T6 annually presents the 7T6 Early Career Award to a member of a class celebrating 10 years since graduation. The Award is presented to an individual who is distinguished in their profession, community, university and other related fields.

MIE Alumnus, Michelle Chen (1T2 Mech), Received Faculty 5T6 Award of Merit
A second year student in Mechanical Engineering, Michelle is active in life at Skule and in her community. Michelle plays the saxophone as a member of the Hart House Symphonic Band, performing concerts at the end of each semester and for various charities. She is also actively involved in Kids Help Phone Canada as an executive member of the Youth Council. As a Student Ambassador, Michelle visits schools presenting to students on a variety of topics including bullying, violence and peer pressure. As well as visiting schools in the Greater Vancouver Area, Michelle is also the groups Events Director, leading a team of students to organize, plan and deliver fundraising events for the organization.

Here at Skule, Michelle has been involved in numerous activities, including Conference Director for Engineers Without Boarders, organizing the groups first-ever Engineers Without Boarders High School Conference at U of T. This event is a day dedicated to educating high school students about the role and responsibilities of engineers in society and how they can contribute to creating positive change.

Michelle's other Skule activities include:

• University of Toronto Saturday Program as a volunteer tutor
• Engineering First Response volunteer at special events to provide first aid assistance if necessary
• Hi-Skule Committee volunteer
• TrackOne Committee volunteer
• Engineering Society Executive

The Class of 5T6 Award of Merit recognizes outstanding students who successfully complete first year of any undergraduate engineering program.

 

AMIGAS Halloween Coffee Break

The AMIGAS held their annual Halloween Coffee Break on Friday, October 30. Graduate students, staff, and faculty were invited to dress up and feast on treats, while visiting with friends and colleagues. There was also a trivia and costume contest.

Click here to see all the pictures.

 

Ph.D. Qualifying Exam
Jonathan Li will present Robust and Model-Driven Optimization: Derivative Pricing and Hedging via Convex Optimization
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: R.D. Venter Room, MB101, Mining Building
Exam Committee: Professor R.H. Kwon (supervisor and exam chair), Professor S. Jaimungal and Professor Y. Lawryshyn.

 

Ph.D. Qualifying Exam
Corey Kiassat will present Integrating Human Reliability into Maintenance Optimization Strategies
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Clarice Chalmers Conference Room, MC331, Mechanical Engineering Building
Exam Committee: Professor A.K.S. Jardine(supervisor), Professor M. Chignell (exam chair), Professor A. Armstrong and Dr. D. Banjevic.

 

JDE 1000H Ethics in Graduate Research Seminar
The Ethics in Graduate Research Seminar (JDE 1000H) for the winter term has been scheduled for Friday, November 20, 2009 from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. All MA.Sc. and Ph.D. students who have not attended this seminar are advised to register as soon as possible. Students will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Please click here for detailed information on the location, and how to register for the seminar.

 

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 registered full-time from the beginning of their programs 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.

Please click here for details.

 

Doctoral Thesis Completion Grant for 2009-2010
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. The application form is available on the SGS website .

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

Please click here for details.

 

MIE Dinner Dance

The annual MIE Dinner Dance was a huge success this year, with 350 guests - more than ever before! Members of the faculty provided a helping hand in deciding the winners for the Las Vegas themed lottery, before the dancing started off. Indy and Mech student clubs would love to see more members of the faculty at next year's event!

Ace the Interview

On Wednesday November 11, 2009 the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow held the 3rd annual Ace the Interview Event. Almost 60 undergraduate students registered to attend the event, where they had the opportunity to participate in a series of mock interviews run by 14 of our MIE Alumni. The students received a lot of great feedback on how to improve their interview performance, and the alumni thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the current generation of students in a meaningful way.

Thanks to all who participated. For those who missed out we look forward to having you join us for next year's event!

 

MIE Scholars and Leaders Reception
All MIE Faculty Members are invited to attend a reception on Thursday, November 19th honouring our undergraduate scholars and leaders. Students who received scholarships for the past academic year, as well as our current student leaders will be present. Come join us for some light refreshments while we toast their success. Faculty members who currently teach undergraduate courses are particularly encouraged to attend.

Event Details:
Date: Thursday November 19, 2009
Location: Galbraith Building, Room 202
Time: 5:30 - 7:30 PM

RSVP: Please RSVP to Shannon Osborne by Tuesday, November 17th.

Please Note: If you will be attending the MIE Soccer Event that evening, please join us for the first half of the Scholars and Leaders Reception.

 

USRA Research Opportunity
Research Area(s): Education & Outreach, Intern Opportunities

Description: The NASA Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP) is seeking candidates for the Summer 2010 internship session. The NASA USRP program is a mentored internship for undergraduate students offered at all 12 NASA Centers and research support facilities across the United States. Students majoring in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics will have the opportunity to gain hands-on technical research experiences. Undergraduate students will have the opportunity to participate and work with a NASA mentor on a research project from NASA's core workforce competency needs. USRP research projects are premier research and development projects that are aligned with NASA's research focus areas.

In order to qualify students must be enrolled at a university and in their sophomore, junior or senior year. Students also must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and be a U.S. Citizen.

Summer 2010 Deadline - January 22, 2010

To apply and learn more, log on to the USRP web site.

USRA Contact:
Anthony Zippay
NASA USRP Co-Project Administrator
Telephone: 281-483-2509

 

Position: Mechanical Engineers
Organization: Hatch
Details: Hatch is a global engineering, procurement, construction, and management company with more than 9,000 people in 65 offices on six continents. The company is planning to acquire some top mechanical engineers from the graduating class of 2010. Ph.D., MA.Sc. and undergrad 4th year students who are interested in working at Hatch are welcome to submit their resumes with transcripts to Jennifer Chorney in Hatch's HR group.

 

Professor Consens Away
Professor Mariano Consens will be away November 12 to 19 to give an invited seminar at the Engineering Faculty, at the Universidad of the Republic of Uruguay.

 

Professor Milgram Away
Professor Paul Milgram will be away next week, to attend the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST 2009), in Kyoto, Japan. He will give an invited keynote address titled, A taxonomy of (real and virtual world) display and control interactions.
Click here for more information on this conference.