News Archive

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Western receives critical investment through CFI’s Major Science Initiatives Fund

Funding for WindEEE signals the facility’s importance on the national stage

Western’s wind energy research facilities received nearly $4 million as part of new federal investments in Canada’s research infrastructure.  “WindEEE is at the forefront of innovative research, creating new ways of measuring, testing, and finding engineering solutions for evolving challenges in wind and climate engineering. This support will help us maintain our leadership in climate and wind engineering research,” said WindEEE Research Facility director Girma Bitsuamlak.

Read the full article in Western Engineering News | August 19, 2022

 

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Students’ field work takes them to tornado aftermath 

This summer, student interns at Western’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) had the opportunity to gain a variety of experiences in studying and analyzing tornadoes from across the country. 

NTP hired 10 interns this summer, including two high school students. Each intern was given a project to work on during the summer, with some of them having a chance to work with field teams that go out to survey damage after a tornado hit.  

Read the full article in Western Engineering News | August 12, 2022

 

 

 

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Flood-impact map a Canadian First

Civil Engineering professor, Slobdan Simonovic, has developed the first Canada-wide maps showing how floodplains may become inundated in the next 80 years under various climate change scenarios.

Read the full article in Western Engineering News | November 3, 2021

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PhD student uses grant to empower underrepresented youth in STEM

Environmental engineering PhD candidate Sadaf Mehrabi recently received an NSERC Student Ambassador grant to support the promotion of STEM to Canadian youth. 

Read the full article in Western Engineering News | October 7, 2021

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Engineering professor Ayan Sadhu is developing technology for evaluating the health of bridge infrastructures using artificial intelligence

Sadhu’s team is developing vehicle-mounted sensors that, when driven across a bridge, would simultaneously send valuable signals back to the lab. The lab’s artificial intelligence system would then diagnose whether, and to what extent, cracks or other flaws have developed in the bridge structure.

Read the full article in Western Engineering News | August 11, 2021

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Tornado-proof your roof with this 'relatively simple' method

Dr. Greg Kopp, ImpactWX Research Chair in Severe Storms Engineering, lead researcher with the Northern Tornadoes Project, and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Western University speaks with Mark Robinson, Storm Hunter and a meteorologist at The Weather Network, on the vulnerabilities of homes during twisters and what you can do to tornado-proof your roof. 

View the video on The Weather Network - Tuesday, August 12, 2021

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Expert insights: How to reinforce your house against tornadoes

Hurricane straps keep roofs on houses and can improve safety during tornadoes.  Many people think of a well-built house as one where the walls are strong enough to hold up the roof so it won’t fall on them. This is reinforced by children’s stories like the Three Little Pigs, where the house made of brick is the strongest when the Big Bad Wolf comes to town.

Read the full article in Western Engineering News | July 29, 2021

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El Damatty honoured for excellence in research

Each year, Western Engineering presents a faculty member with the Engineering Award for Excellence in Research to recognize their outstanding research contributions. Civil and Environmental Professor and Department Chair Ashraf El Damatty is this year’s recipient, recognized for his internationally leading expertise in the area of Structural and Wind Engineering. 

Read the full article in Western Engineering News | May 28, 2021 

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Slobodan Simonovic named among world’s top climate scientists

Northern Tornadoes Project verifies 77 tornadoes in Canada for 2020

Despite restrictions due to the global pandemic, Western’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) still managed 409 investigations in 2020, verifying 77 tornadoes across Canada and increasing the verified count by a remarkable 166 per cent using advanced methods. 

Gregory Kopp, ImpactWX Chair in Severe Storms Engineering at Western Engineering, says NTP – like the rest of the world – transitioned swiftly to spartan and often virtual strategies last March relying on a nimble, well-equipped team of experts and investigators (not to mention, some highly engaged citizen scientists) to continue the important work that started when the project launched in 2017.

Read the full article in Western News.

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Professor Nehdi elected Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada

Civil Engineering Professor Moncef Nehdi has been elected a 2021 Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, in recognition of exceptional contributions to engineering and service to the profession and society.

Read the full article in Western Engineering News.

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Royal Society celebrates five Western scholars including our own Professor Slobodan Simonovic

Engineering professor Slobodan Simonovic is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on applying systems analysis to water management. His approach has helped provide decision-makers with tools to support their sustainable management. His main research contributions include modelling risk and resilience of complex systems, for flooding in particular. His work is providing the world with tools for collaborative, industrious and just management of the Earth’s water resources.

His work models everything from the simple – such as the optimal size of drainage pipes under a city street – to the intricate, such as floodplain mapping and flood resiliency for entire regions and countries.  “Models are simplifications of reality,” he said. “However, I think I can brave to say they are useful to understanding the complexities of the real world and possibly improving resiliency in the real world.”

Simonovic, who has been awarded numerous industry accolades, said he is more than honoured to be elected an RSC Fellow and be recognized among the top scientists in the country.

Read the full Western News article Royal Society celebrates five Western scholars

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Professor El Naggar earns top scholar honours

Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Hesham El Naggar has been honoured with a Distinguished University Professorship.

The award acknowledges sustained excellence in scholarship over a substantial career at Western. The award includes a citation, title, public lecture and a $10,000 prize to be used for scholarly activity.

Read the full Western News article here

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Professor El Damatty's research leads to re-design of transmission lines to resist downbursts and tornadoes 

Research conducted by Professor Ashraf El Damatty and his team lead to new guides for the redesign of transmission line structures to resist downbursts and tornadoes.

Read the full Western News article here

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New Homes built upon Western research

A new pilot project looks to increase the resilience of 100 new-build homes against high winds, even tornadoes, in St. Thomas, Ont., putting into practise more than two decades of Western research, company and university officials announced Friday. [Read More]

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 MESc Candidate Robert Kuehnen places 2nd at Western's 3MT Final

MESc Candidate, Robert Kuehnen, supervised by Dr. Maged Youssef, placed second in Western University's 3-Minute Thesis Finals on March 21, 2019. How fast can YOU evacuate a burning buliding? [Read More]

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Ottawa tornado breaks new ground for WindEEE researchers

Deep in the heart of Ontario’s Tornado Alley, London scientists, at Western's WindEEE Research Institute are using the world’s largest tornado simulator to get a better grip on the damage left by a devastating cluster of twisters that struck the national capital region last fall. [Read More]

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 Western Engineering Tobbogan Team places 2nd at Edmonton Race

During the week of January 30 to February 3, 2019, 30 members from the Western Engineering Toboggan Team (WETT) travelled to Edmonton, Alberta to compete in the 45^th annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race with teams of students from across the country. [Read More]

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Ashraf El Damatty wins OPEA 2018 Engineering Medal for Research

On November 17, 2018, The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) and Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) held the annual Ontario Professional Engineers Awards (OPEA) Gala, bringing industry innovators, business leaders and policy makers together to celebrate and be inspired by engineering excellence and achievement. [Read More] 

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Salamander Foundation backs advances in environmental engineering

Supporting the extraordinary work being accomplished by Dr. Nakhla and his team in environmental engineering [Read More] 

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2018 3MT Western Finalists Announced!

Three Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate students, Taryn Fournie, Ainsley Inglis, and Archana Tamang are Top 20 finalists in Western's 3MT competition. [Read More]

PhD student Tarek Omar is the recipient of the 2017 American Concrete Institute (ACI) James Instruments Student Award for Research on non-destructive testing. This award, which recognises original research on NDT, is sponsored by James Instruments, Inc., a Chicago-based manufacturer and distributor of NDT systems, and given by the ACI Committee 228 on Non-destructive Testing. It consists of a cash prize of $US 1,500, a certificate, and free registration in the ACI Spring Convention. The award was received on Tarek’s behalf by his research supervisor, Prof. Moncef L. Nehdi, on March 26, 2018 during the ACI Spring Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. [Read More]

 

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2016-17 Awards & Successes

Congratulations to CEE Faculty, Staff and Students on their Successes in 2016-2017 [Read More]

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CEE ranked # 1 in Canada

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering ranked # 1 in Canada and # 12 worldwide in the ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking for Civil Engineering in 2017 [Read More]

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Professor Tim Newson Takes Prominent Position

Associate Professor Tim Newson has accepted a 4 year position (Vice President for the North America region) on the board of the International Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering society. This was the main reason for his attendance in South Korea. This organisation is the overarching society for all of the geotechnical engineers in the world. The last Canadian to do this job was Dennis Becker 12 years ago. [Read More]

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CEE Researchers Building Resilience Amid the Roiling Waters
Western News | Sept 14, 2017
The hurricane trifecta of Harvey, Irma and Jose have made researchers all the more determined to find ways to reduce the human cost and property loss[Read More]

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CEE Scholars Named Among Nation’s Elite
Western News | Sept 7, 2017
Two CEE researchers have been named Canada Research Chairs (CRC) - Robinson & Bitsuamlak.
[Read More]

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Researchers Break Buildings to Save Them From Hurricanes
CBC London | Sept 6, 2017
A group of Western University engineers are replicating high-wind conditions to learn how to build structures that can withstand the worst windstorms. . .
[Read More]

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Hydromantis Boosts Capabilities of its Dynamic Simulator for Process and Energy Optimization in Wastewater Utilities
Southern Ontario Water Consortium | August 30, 2017
Western CEE professor, Martha Dagnew, is applying her resource recovery expertise to AWT project[Read More]

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Wastewater solutions eyed for Ghana
Western News | January 12, 2017
CEE graduate student Ahmed Abuhussein recently spent five months in the west African country of Ghana where he addressed gaps in applying treated wastewater in agriculture at city level.
[Read More]

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Professor El Damatty inducted as EIC Fellow
Western Engineering News | January 5, 2017
The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) announced recently that Professor Ashraf El Damatty, Chair of the CEE Department has been inducted as an EIC Fellow..

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Climate change tool gets widespread usage in PEI
Western News | January 25, 2016
Moving forward, all municipalities in Prince Edward Island (PEI) developing new subdivisions will now be required to use a tool created by Western professor Slobodan P. Simonovic for incorporating climate change as part of their design and site evaluation processes..
[Read More]

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Western University experts are improving water treatment, protection and management with help from SOWC
Southern Ontario Water Consortium | May 5, 2016
When it comes to problems related to wastewater treatment, water resource management and groundwater remediation, Western University’s researchers are leading the way in finding the answers.
[Read More]

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El Damatty honoured by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
Western Engineering News | June 8, 2016
A professor’s exceptional contributions to the field of civil engineering has earned him recognition by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE). Ashraf El Damatty, Professor and Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the 2016 recipient of the CSCE Horst Leipholz Medal. The CSCE Horst Leipholz Medal is presented annually to a civil engineer who has made exceptional contributions to engineering mechanics research and/or practice in Canada.

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2016 O.H. Ammann Fellowship Winner: Amal Elawady
Western Engineering News | Sept 21, 2016
The Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE is proud to announce the winners of the 2016 O.H. Ammann Research Fellowship. The Ammann Fellowship is bestowed annually to a member(s) for the purpose of encouraging the creation of new knowledge in the field of structural design and construction. Amal Elawady, supervised by Dr. Ashraf El Damatty, was one of this year's recipients.

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Western Engineering Partners with Ontario Science Centre
Western Engineering News | October 5, 2016
Western Engineering has partnered with the Ontario Science Centre in their newest exhibit: Wild Weather.

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CEE professor Hesham El Naggar receives prestigious award
Western Engineering News | November 7, 2016
The Canadian Geotechnical Society recognized Professor Hesham El Naggar, PhD’94, recently by presenting him with the Geosynthetics Award. This award is presented biannually by the Society for outstanding publications in the application of geosynthetics to civil, geotechnical or geoenvironemental engineering.

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Western Engineering professor Greg Kopp has been breaking things in the name of science.
Western Engineering News | November 9, 2016
Engineering professor Greg Kopp has been breaking things in the name of science and, more importantly, the name of safety for the past decade at the Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes. Code and policy changes for better residential and commercial structures have resulted in safer dwellings across the country.

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CEE professor Jason Gerhard receives 2016 R. Mohan Mathur Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Western Engineering News | December 16, 2016
Dean Andrew Hrymak announced recently that the recipient of this year's R. Mohan Mathur Award for Excellence in Teaching is Dr. Jason Gerhard, professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. The R. Mohan Mathur Award is presented annually to an outstanding Western Engineering faculty member to recognize his or her exceptional contributions to university teaching and the promotion of academic excellence amongst our students.

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Hesham El Naggar recognized for excellence in research and development

Western Engineering News | July 15, 2015
The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Professional Engineers Ontario have recognized Hesham El Naggar’s dedication to the engineering profession with the 2015 Ontario Professional Engineers Awards Engineering Medal: Research and Development.

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Professor explores the echoes of nanos

Western News | March 5, 2015
Western Engineering professor Denis O’Carroll is assisting Environment Canada’s policy decisions around the pros and cons on certain engineering nanoparticles. For his work attempting to answer these unknowns, O’Carroll was recently recognized with a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Strategic Project Grants ($510,185/three years) to find answers urgently needed by policy-makers..

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El Damatty receives global engineering recognitions

Western Engineering News | January 29, 2015
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Chair Ashraf El Damatty has recently received national and international recognition by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) and the Wind & Structures: An International Journal.

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Western Engineering Water Research Video

Western Engineering News | November 17, 2014
Watch how Western Engineering researchers are working to create solutions for the management and treatment of water supplies, and the remediation of wastewater.
[Watch the video]

El Damatty named Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering

Western Engineering News | April 28, 2014
Ashraf El Damatty, Civil and Environmental Engineering chair, has been elected a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE). El Damatty will be presented this honour at the CSCE Annual Conference awards banquet, held at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel on May 30.

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2014 Design Competition Results

February 14, 2014 & February 28, 2014
Congratulations to all groups who presented their design concepts at the 2014 CEE Western Engineering Design Day Competition on Friday, February 14, 2014; and the City of London Design Competition on Friday, February 28, 2014. The judges were impressed with the continued high caliber of the designs presented by our students. [Read More]

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Riding the thrill

Western Engineering News| February 26, 2014
They designed. They built. They raced. This month, Western hosted 450 students from Canada's top engineering programs at the 40th annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race.

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New storm patterns require new wind engineering

Thomson Reuters Foundation | October 29, 2013
This week’s hurricane-force winds across the UK and northern Europe, the worst in a decade, have mercifully resulted in only a handful of deaths. However, the disruption and chaos they have caused serves as a warning for the future. [Read More]

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Team looks to steel tower power against storm

Western Engineering News | October 10, 2013
Ashraf El Damatty, along with Engineering professors Eric Savory, Horia Hangan and Girma Bitsuamlak, eight graduate students and two postdocs, have initiated a research program with Hydro One to mitigate future failures of transmission line structures during severe weather strikes.

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Engineering professor builds a cleaner future

Western Engineering News | September 26, 2013
Western Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Ernest Yanful is confident residents of remote African villages will be able one day to pour clean drinking water. The opening of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Institute of Sanitation and Waste Management in Ghana, in which he had a major role, is the first step toward that goal.

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Hanny A. Hassan honoured by Western Engineering for contributions to the engineering profession

Western Engineering News | July 12, 2013
Retirement is not slowing down Hanny Hassan. A consulting engineer by trade, Hanny A. Hassan, C.M., BESc’64 (Civil), is currently managing an independent consulting engineering practice, Alef Consulting Inc., and is a long-time volunteer promoting understanding between cultures and religions. He is also the recipient of the 2013 L.S. Lauchland Engineering Alumni Medal.

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Slobodan Simonovic inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering

Western Engineering News | June 27, 2013
Election to the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) is one of the highest professional honours accorded to an engineer. On June 20, Civil Engineering professor Slobodan Simonovic joined the accomplished list of CAE Fellows at the induction ceremony in Montreal, QC.

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WECCA floats to the top

Western Engineering News | June 18, 2013
Think concrete can’t float? The Western Engineering Concrete Canoe Association (WECCA) has come together to prove you wrong – and build a concrete canoe to compete at various competitions across Canada.

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Western Engineering students place second in Ontario's "Home Sweet Home" Student Challenge

Western Engineering News | June 11, 2013
A group of engineering students from Western University participated in OntarioGreenSpec.ca’s bi-annual Student Challenge to design a hypothetical “Home Sweet Home” for political comedian Rick Mercer to live in

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Western, city bridge project takes top Connections prize

Western News | May 29, 2013
Western Engineering students Rob Volcko, Thomas Zolis, Emily Keyes, Marco Furano and Arthur Gonzales placed first overall in the university category of the Connections Competition at the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Discovery Conference in Toronto this week. The team, who partnered with the City of London, presented their fourth-year design project of a cable-stayed pedestrian bridge at Talbot and Bathurst streets.
[Read More]

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Eighteen students will gain hands-on engineering experience around the world this summer

Western Engineering News | May 2, 2013
Students are traveling to locations such as Africa, China, Germany and more. Some students are traveling with Engineers Without Borders while others are participating in research opportunities, conferences and/or the WE Go Global certificate.

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Still part of the best student experience

Western Engineering News | April 19, 2013
As an undergraduate student, Matt Johnson, BESc’11 (Civil Engineering with Technological Entrepreneurship Certificate) jumped feet first into the best student experience at Western; his feet have remained there ever since.

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Trainor takes top athletic honour

Western Engineering News | April 19, 2013
Western Engineering rugby player Conor Trainor's athletic career was honoured at the 2012-13 Western Mustangs Athletic Awards Banquet at the London Convention Centre.

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WETT wins 2013 GNCTR

Western Engineering News | January 28, 2013
The Western Engineering Toboggan Team (WETT) took home first place at the 2013 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) hosted in Vancouver by the University of British Columbia from Jan. 23-27. 

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Carney reaches new heights in heavy lift engineering

Western Engineering News | January 18, 2013
Mark Carney, BESc’08 (Civil), was part of an extensive team who installed Toronto's Concord Cityplace Skybridge in June 2012.

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WETT Unveils 2013 Concrete Toboggan

What WE have to say | January 8, 2013
The Western Engineering Toboggan Team unveiled their design on Jan. 8 for the 2013 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race to be held in Vancouver Jan. 23-27. The team also team performed three test runs on University College (UC) Hill. The theme for 2013 is WETT Vikings and the team will be sending 30 members to the competition. Western University will host the 2014 race in London at Boler Mountain. For more information on the race, visit www.gnctr2013.com/. 
For photos of unveiling and test run click here.
[Read More] 

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July

Big Beam Competition Success

Congratulations to all of our Big Beam team members for their successful participation in the PCI Engineering Student Design Competition, also known as "The Big Beam Competition".

The 2012 team won two awards: First Place in the international zone Award for a prize of $1000; and Best Video for a prize of $500. (more)

Team Members Left to Right: Muhammad Diab, Mohamed Monir, Jason Daplyn, Eric Morin, Aiham Adawi, Zixiao Wang, Ahmed Elansary, Zach McNeil, and Yamen Elbahy (missing members: Ahmed Musa and Jerad Harnish).

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March

City of London Design Competition

The judges at the 2012 City of London Design Competition continue to be impressed by the calibre of designs that Civil and Environmental Engineering students at Western produce.  After reviewing design briefs and drawings all morning and listening to group presentations in the afternoon our panel of external judges announced their choices for the winners of this year’s competition who will share $3,750 in prize money:  

First place. Sigma Innovations: Jason Speir, Sylvia Broschinski, Codie Crockford, Katheryn Madonia and Phillip Santana for their design of a footbridge at Harrison Park over the Thames River.  

Second place.  RDA Consulting: Tara Chevrier, Joel Donkervoort, Kristopher Mandeville, Lindsey Mitchell and Nemin Zhu for their design of a footbridge at Harrison Park over the Thames River.  

Third place. McENN Inc.: Colin Schmidt, Nicholas Agam, Emanuel Benyamin, Marsha Cooke and Natasha Lee for their design of chemical treat system at Greenway Pollution Control Centre.

( See Photos (Read More)

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February

CEE Western Engineering Design Day

Congratulations to all groups who presented their design concepts at the 2012 CEE Western Engineering Design Day Competition on Friday, February 10, 2012.  The judges were impressed with the continued high caliber of the designs presented by our students.

The first place prize this year was awarded to Sigma Innovations (Jason Speir, Sylvia Broschinski, Codie Crockford, Katheryn Madonia, Phillip Santana) for their design for a pedestrian footbridge at Harrison park over the Thames River.  

Sigma Innovations (L to R): Codie Crockford, Katheryn Madonia, Jason Speir, Philip Santana, Sylvia Broschinski

Second place was awarded to BREWT Consulting (Hendrik Westerink, Samantha Barnes, Kathleen Edwards, Michelle Rivers, Bill Terry) for their design for a VMP Flyover at River Road to serve pedestrians and vehicles.  This group was also awarded the Demarco Green Technologies award for the sustainability aspects of their design.  

Third place was awarded to RDA Consulting (Tara Chevrier, Joel Donkervoort, Kristopher Mandeville, Lindsey Mitchell, Nemin Zhu) for their design for a pedestrian footbridge at Harrison park over the Thames River.  

For descriptions of all the different design projects please visit our website: http://www.eng.uwo.ca/civil/undergraduate_program/CEE441_projects.htm.

 

October

Engineering students and alumnus compete in Pan Am Games

Alexandra Bruce, a student who completed her second year of studies in Civil Engineering at Western before taking a break to prepare for the Pan Am Games, has won a gold medal in women's doubles in badminton. Alex return to Western in 2012 to complete her Civil Engineering degree. Conor Trainor, fourth-year Civil Engineering, and Reid Halpenny, BES'11, will also compete at the games this week. Trainor in Rugby and Halpenny in Volleyball.

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May

CEE International Development Students Embark on their Summer Placements

This year's Civil Engineering and International Development students are making a difference in Zambia and the Gambia this summer.  You can follow their progress and adventures on their blogs:

Spencer Weber: http://spencerweber.wordpress.com/ -
Spencer is working in Zambia from May to August with Engineers Without Borders Canada in the agriculture value chains sector.

John Iezzi: http://johniezzi.wordpress.com/
John is working this summer with the Gambian Ministry of Agriculture with Dan (Hyland) and Danielle (Ahadzie)

Dan Hyland: http://danielhyland.wordpress.com/
Dan is working this summer with the Gambian Ministry of Agriculture with John and Danielle

Danielle Ahadzie:http://gambia2011yena.wordpress.com/
Danielle is working this summer with the Gambian Ministry of Agriculture with John and Dan

For more information about the program and our students please check out their website.

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March

City of London Design Competition Results

Congratulations to all our student teams for a very successful afternoon on March 4, 2011 -- the presentations for the City of London Design Competition were all excellent.  The judges were impressed with the quality of submissions this year.

Special congratulations to our first place and two second place winning teams:

RGL Consulting Engineers

(LtoR)Aaron Mohammed, Philip Spencer, Leanna King, Muhannad Bagajati and Demetrios Vaiopoulos(absent);

 

Six Degrees of FreedomReid Halpenny, Michael Thompson, Karol Chorostecki, Nicholas Jones, Valeriy Tyshchuk, Keith Kraayenbrink

 

Modern Civil Engineering Solutions(LtoR): Lee Santos, Stephen Holt, Matthew Darling and Jovan Draca and Jordan Wilson

 

February

CEE's Western Engineering Design Competition Results

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is pleased announce and congratulate this year's winners of the department's WEDD Competition which was help on Friday, February 18, 2011.

The First Place prize of $600 went to the design group calling themselves Six Degrees of Freedom,for their design of a Sunningdale Road bridge over Medway Creek.  The team includes:Karol Chorostecki, Reid Halpenny, Nicholas Jones, Keith Kraayenbrink, Michael Thompson and Valeriy Tyshchuk

Two second place prizes of $200 went to design teams RGL Consulting Engineers Muhannad Bagajati, Leanna King, Aaron Mohammed Philip Spencerand Demetrios Vaiopoulos for their design for the removal of the Hunt Weir; and SWIFT Consulting Kyle Gilbertson, Bernard Kim, Nathan Madigan, Myles Swift and Kim Van Andel for their design of a pedestrian footbridge over Sunningdale Rd.

 

November

CEE Course Instructors on 2009-2010 USC Teaching Honour Roll

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is pleased announce and extend congratulations to the instructors of 2009-2010 who have received USC Teaching Honour Roll Certificates. 

Instructors of CEE courses who are recipients include:

•  Jason Gerhard
• Frederick J  Keenan

Based on information received from the course and teacher evaluations, this award is presented to the most outstanding teachers on campus.  Professors that receive an accumulated average of 6.3 or higher out of 7 on the first 14 questions of the evaluations are recognized with this award from the University Students' Council.

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September

CEE Hosts WE Distinguished Lecturer

Environment geotechnical engineer Prof. Fred Kulhawy (Cornell University) provided a fascinating journey through the “Past, Present, And Future Use of Underground Space” to a packed audience at Western’s Faculty of Engineering on the afternoon of Thursday, September 23rd. This presentation was part of the 2010 WE Distinguished Lecture Series.

The presentation provided an overview of a very important concept that Dr. Kulhawy stressed needs to be embraced more readily by engineers, architects, geologists, planners, and others concerned with the constructed environment; the creation and development of underground space. His talk began by posing challenges for the future followed by a brief history of how underground space development occurred, citing both the usages and the advances in technology. Examples were shown of worldwide applications over a broad spectrum of human activities.

This light and lively talk was very well received by the audience and posed a number of profound questions for the industry to ponder.

Dr. Fred H. Kulhawy is an internationally-known educator, researcher, and consultant with over 45 years experience in geotechnical engineering. He has lectured and practiced around the world, and his seminal research is widely known and adopted.

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February

City of London Design Competition Results

Congratulations to all our student teams for a very successful evening on February 26th -- the presentations for the City of London Design Competition were all excellent.  The judges were impressed with the quality of submissions this year.

Special congratulations to our winning teams:

Clean Water Solutions:

Left to Right: Andrei Shevchuk, Teresa Brown, Nolan Danard, Amro Miqdadi.

Prestige Worldwide Engineering Enterprises:

Left to Right: Scott Bushell, Clarke Campbell, Matthew Marttila, Matthew Esposito, Rory Doherty.

SkyNet C:

Left to Right: Michelle Hennessy, Abdallah Abu Farah, Shiban Haithem, Andrew Ablenas, (Kyle Rundle Drake - absent)

November

2009 Polar Stick Bridge Competition a Snapping Success

Congratulations to all the students from A.B. Lucas, H.B. Beal, and London Central Secondary Schools who entered their bridges in this annual event hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the student group Western Society of Civil Engineering (WSCE).

The night was full of a polar stick splintering fun and excitement as more that 20 bridges constructed of polar sticks (donated by Nestle Canada), dental floss (donated by the Faculty of Dentistry) and a bottle of white glue were stressed to destruction.

There were a number of good entries, said Civil engineering professor Mike Bartlett, "but the winners put the most thought into their designs and the most care into the construction of their bridges." Win or lose, it's a fun thing to do and a good learning experience, he said.

This year's Best Overall Bridge which held 250kg a weight 262 times its own weight was constructed by Nicole Ginzel of H.B. Beal SS. She also took home the prize for the Best Bridge by an Individual Student. The prize for the Best Bridge by a Student Team went to Hannes Filler, Monan Wang, and Matthew Ng from A.B Lucas SS. Their bridge, Atlas held 200 times its own weight. Sophia Liu and Shirley Yuan's, The Little Boulder, took home the prize for Most Aesthetically Pleasing Bridge.

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CEE Faculty Member Receives Alan H. Yorkdale Memorial Award

Congratulations are extended to our own Dr. Ashraf El Damatty for receiving the Alan H. Yorkdale Memorial Award for his paper titled “Behavior of Partially Grouted Reinforced Masonry Shear Walls – Experimental Study” published earlier this year at the 11th Canadian Masonry Symposium.

The Alan H. Yorkdale Memorial Award is presented not more frequently than once a year to the author or authors of the best paper concerning clay shale, concrete, or sand-lime masonry published in the English language. The award, established in 1987 by Committee C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units, honors Alan H. Yorkdale, , former Secretary of C15, member of Executive Committee of C15, Chairman of C15.02 for 18 years and a leading proponent of the advancement of masonry engineering and research in his 27 years of service with the Brick Institute of America. This award is financed through voluntary contributions by ASTM Committee C15 members and other organizations.

September

CEE Faculty Member Designated Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer (D.WRE)

Congratulations are extended to our own Dr. Slobodan Simonovic for receiving the designation of Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer (D.WRE) from the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE).

The Academy has conferred the Honorary Diplomate (Hon.D.WRE) status to 18 individuals and the D.WRE certification to 500 professional engineers. Each professional engineer has demonstrated the highest level of achievement in water resources engineering through their water resources engineering experience, advanced level of education, and contributions to the engineering profession. These individuals exemplify and embody the very best in the broad field of water resources engineering; from academia, public service, and private practice. AAWRE celebrate these outstanding leaders that have made significant contributions to the field of water resources engineering and leading by example in furthering AAWRE's mission to improve the practice, elevate the standards, and advance the profession of water resources engineering.

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March

City of London Design Competition Results

Left to Right: Kyle Howe, Eric Simon, Tiffany Palmer, Marcin Blazejowski, and Cameron Laffin of Cliffton Engineering; and Ryan Devries, Haider Ahmed, and David Williams (absent: Roman Elazar and Jennifer Francis) of Team Enviro Spirit.

Congratulations to all our student teams for a very successful evening on March 3, 2009 -- the presentations for the City of London Design Competition were all excellent. The judges were impressed with the quality of submissions this year.

Special congratulations to our two first place and second place winning teams: Cliffton Engineering: Marcin Blazejowski, Kyle Howe, Cameron Laffin, Tiffany Palmer, Eric Simon, Team Enviro Spirit: Haider Ahmed, Ryan Devries, Roman Elazar, Jennifer Francis, David Williams, Mifflin-Dunder Engineering and Associates: Alexandra Moore, Travis Parker, Jennifer Simich, Matthew Stead, Michelle Welch.

Left to Right: Alexandra Moore, Matthew Stead, Jennifer Simich, Travis Parker, Michelle Welch of Mifflin-Dunder Engineering and Associates.

Western News

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February

CEE Western Engineering Design Day Completion Results

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering held it's Western Engineering Design Day Competition on Friday, February 13, 2009 in the Great Hall.

Congratulations to our winning teams:

• First Place and overall winner: Telford Engineering: Jeffrey Blaylock, David Hendry, Bradley McKellar, Pauline Sceviour, Corey Voisin. For their CN Bridge-CN4 CPCI girders and RC slab design. Telford Engineering will represent CEE in Western Engineering Design Days – Final Presentations scheduled on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.
• DeMarco Family Green Technologies Award: Right to Water: Taryn Meyers, Tyler Rosen. CEE International Development students with their portable water purification system design.
• Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction Award: Auspicious:Neramith Khamvongsa, Melissa Meems, David Mizzen, Kenneth Shannon, Sarah Stenabaugh
• Acala Engineering: Ali Al-Saady, Alexander Dolson, Terri Janzen, Johnnathan Vargas, Sheryl Sotomil