News & Events | Western Engineering

November 2012

The Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research @ Western is "officially open for business"

Western Engineering News | November 5, 2012
Officially opened Monday, Nov. 5, the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research @ Western is North America’s latest industry-scale production environment for developing, testing, validating and characterizing new lightweight materials and advanced manufacturing processes.
[See photos]

Driving the future: Western, Fraunhofer partnership answers 'The Why'

Western News | November 1, 2012
What brought Tobias Potyra, Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology manager of operations, and his company to Western, and its Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), will not only be celebrated next week, but hopefully resonate at the university for years to come.
[Read more]

Engineers Without Borders help smash poverty during annual Pumpkin Drop

Western Engineering News | November 1, 2012
Western University's Engineers Without Borders (EWB) student club hosted its 8th annual Pumpkin Drop on Thursday, Nov. 1 on UC Hill.
[See photos] [Watch video]

October 2012

Charpentier among Ontario’s 2012 Green Chemistry and Engineering Award winners

Ministry of the Environment | October 30, 2012
Paul Charpentier, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor, is a recipient of Ontario’s Green Chemistry and Engineering Awards for his nanotechnology research in developing ways to generate electricity from sunlight more cost-effectively and efficiently.
[Read more]

Adawi receives CPCI Ontario Chapter scholarship for research in precast concrete

Western Engineering News | October 18, 2012
Aiham Adawi, PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been awarded a 2012 Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI) Scholarship for his research in precast concrete.
[Read more]

Young women explore the exciting world of engineering at Go ENG Girl

Western Engineering News | October 15, 2012
Western Engineering hosted Go ENG Girl on Saturday, Oct. 13. The program is an exciting opportunity for young women in Grades 7 to 10 to learn about the wonderful world of Engineering - a Caring Profession!
[Read more]

Western University racers: We’re Mustangs, too

Metro London | October 14, 2012
The Western Mustangs are known as football, basketball, and hockey teams. But for 25 years, Western has had a formula racing team of engineering students who design, build, and race a new car each year.
[Read more]

Girma Bitsuamlak named Tier Two Canada Research Chair in Wind Engineering

Western Engineering News | October 12, 2012
Girma Bitsuamlak, associate director, WindEEE Research Institute, has been named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Wind Engineering. His research combines the use of experiments and computer simulations to uncover the impact of hurricanes, tornadoes and downbursts on buildings and energy infrastructure.
[Read more]

Western Engineering welcomes international first-year students

Western Engineering News | October 11, 2012
Western Engineering held an event Oct. 11 to welcome international first-year students to the faculty. The students hail from seven different countries, including Barbados, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tanzania.
[See photos]

Western Engineering student team wins big at Big Beam Competition

Western Engineering News | October 1, 2012
A team of Western Engineering students has taken a top prize in the PCI Engineering Student Design Award “Big Beam Competition.” The student team received first place in the international zone and won best video.
[Read more] [Watch a video]

Novus aligns with the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory

Western Engineering News | October 1, 2012
The Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory at Western University has partnered with Novus Environmental Inc. to offer a full range of building design services to clients, including wind-tunnel modeling.
[Read more]

September 2012

Western Engineering students committed to revitalizing undergraduate labs and facilities

Western Engineering News | September 28, 2012
The Undergraduate Engineering Society recently created a new fund called the Western Engineering Student Endowment Laboratory (WESEL) Fund, in response to a need to revitalize and update our undergraduate labs and facilities.
[Read more]

Western Engineering ranks second on Corporate Knights survey

Western Engineering News | September 25, 2012
Western Engineering ranked second place in the 2012 Corporate Knights Magazine survey, claiming the spot for the second year in a row.
[Read more]

Horsepower

The Gazette | September 19, 2012
This is no go-kart. It’s a Formula racecar. It goes from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in just 3.4 seconds, and it was designed and built by the students of Western’s Formula racing team to compete against other cars designed, built and driven by students from universities around the world.
[Read more]

Year-long project of the arts and engineering faculties at Western University

London Free Press | September 19, 2012
Arts and engineering students aren’t typically known for collaborating. But a Western University bike racks initiative brought the two faculties — one known for right-brain thinkers, the other for left-brain thinkers — together to give a boost to eco-friendly transportation and public art at the same time.
[Read more] [See photos]

James Douglas (J.D.) Hole, BESc’67, to receive 2012 L.S. Lauchland Engineering Alumni Medal

Western Engineering News | September 17, 2012
An active member of the community and a supporter of educational institutions and the arts, James Douglas (J.D.) Hole, BESc ‘ 67, has been selected the recipient of the 2012 L.S. Lauchland Engineering Alumni Medal from Western Engineering.
[Read more]

Unique skills give Moran edge in oil sands industry

Western Engineering News | September 17, 2012
Kevin Moran, BESc’96, has worked in the Canadian oil sands for the past 15 years and is committed to mitigating the environmental impact of one of the world’s largest reservoirs of hydrocarbons.
[Read more]

Sparking changes across Western's campus

Western Engineering News | September 17, 2012
You can see the handiwork of Bob Gordon, BESc’86 (Electrical), all across his alma mater. The president and senior electrical engineer of Chorley + Bisset Ltd., a mechanical and electrical consulting engineering firm based in London, Ont., Gordon has overseen the electrical designs of several Western University buildings.
[Read more]

London, Ontario dome built to explore wind

Daily Commercial News | September 4, 2012
Local storms, like the tornado that devastated Goderich, Ontario last year, are responsible for more than 65 per cent of wind-related damage in North America’s interior, says a Western University engineering professor.
[Read more]

August 2012

Western Engineering students receive startup seed money for mobile app

Western Engineering | August 30, 2012
Three of Western’s engineering students have been recognized by a startup company incubator for their company, Coachd Inc., a mobile app that uses professional athletes to coach users through their workouts.
[Read more]

New surgeons use robots to train

London Free Press | August 29, 2012
Practice makes perfect, even with a robotic arm. Western Engineering professors Dr. Louis Ferreira and Dr. James Johnson, co-directors of St. Joseph's Hand and Upper Limb Centre, expect surgeons-in-training to soon be going at cadavers using surgical simulators and computer-guided tracking systems and robotic arms.
[Read more]

Sanitation: Flushed with pride

The Economist | August 15, 2012
Jason Gerhard, Canada Research Chair in Geoenvironmental Restoration Engineering at Western Engineering, is part of a team of researchers from the University of Toronto who were the third-place recipients of the Reinvent The Toilet Challenge posed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The team designed a toilet that treats urine and feces separately using sand.
[Read more] [The Guardian article] [The Impatient Optimists]

July 2012

Langohr named recipient of Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

Western News | July 23, 2012
Daniel Langohr, biomedical engineering PhD candidate, is a recipient of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, the country’s most prestigious scholarship for doctoral students. His research focuses on the biomechanics of reverse shoulder implants with special interest in impingement and wear.
[Read more]

Former Mustangs keep their oars in the water

Western News | July 18, 2012
Glen Burston, BESc’93, MEng’02, along with fellow former Mustang Craig McAllister, have since hung up their rowing oars in the competitive sense, but continue to test the business waters at Hudson Boats Works, a London, Ont.-based manufacturer of Olympic-class rowing shells and world leader in the development of racing hull shapes.
[Read more]

Meet the monster press

London Community News | July 11, 2012
It looks like a support tower for a bridge and if dropped, the resulting shockwave could damage nearby buildings. The monstrous Compress Plus 2500T press is the centerpiece of the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composite Research (FPC), a collaborative research project between the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), a German research and development firm, and Western University.
[Read more]

June 2012

Explore engineering with the Western Engineering Summer Academy Western

Engineering News | June 29, 2012
Sarah DeDecker and Mackenzie Atkinson know what it is like to be on the other side of the coin. They both participated in Western Engineering’s Summer Academy and now are helping mentor high school youth as counselors of the program.
[Read more]

Jiang to be named International Society of Automation fellow

Western Engineering News | June 25, 2012
Jin Jiang, professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been elected fellow of the International Society of Automation (ISA) in recognition of his superior performance and contribution to engineering and science in the field of automation.
[Read more]

Western projects get internal boost

Western News | June 21, 2012
Four Western Engineering researchers are one step closer towards moving their work toward commercialization with awards from the Western Innovation Fund. Electrical and Computer Engineering professors Jin Jiang and Jayshri Sabarinathan, and Mechanical and Materials Engineering professors Kamran Siddiqui and Jun Yang are among the award recipients.
[Read more]

Thompson ends term by looking ahead

Western News | June 21, 2012
John Thompson, BESc'66, LLD'94, retired executive vice-chairman of the board of IBM – where he had oversight responsibility for worldwide technology, manufacturing and business strategy – wraps up his four-year term as Western Chancellor this month.
[Read more]

Rockex appoints new chief executive officer

Market Watch, The Wall Street Journal | June 19, 2012
Rockex Mining Corporation has appointed Edward (Ted) Yew, BESc’04, as president and chief executive officer. The public company is focused on the development of the Lake St. Joseph iron ore deposit in northwestern Ontario.
[Read more]

Toronto’s Karakatsanis elected president of Engineers Canada

Daily Commercial News | June 15, 2012
Professional engineer Catherine Karakatsanis, the Toronto-based executive vice-president of the building, technology and energy global business unit of Morrison Hershfield, has been elected president of Engineers Canada.
[Read more]

Western Engineering students take three top prizes at CSCE conference

Western Engineering News | June 15, 2012
Western Engineering students took home three awards at the 2012 Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) Conference held in Edmonton June 6-9.
[Read more]

Material Gain

Business London | June 2012
When science fiction comes true, the process often lean more toward evolution than big bang. Tobias Potyra, manager of operations at the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research @ Western and Jeff Wood, associate professor in Mechanical and Materials Engineering, discuss how the research facility will make London an international hub for composites research and development.
[Read more]

Shuhui Sun awarded 2012 Governor General’s Gold Medal

Western Engineering News | June 13, 2012
Western Engineering alumnus Shuhui Sun, PhD'11, has been honoured with the 2012 Governor General’s Gold Medal for graduate study at Western University. These medals recognize students who have completed their graduate studies at the highest level of academic standing.
[Read more]

Engineering researchers win IEEE Best Paper Award

Western Engineering News | June 13, 2012
Western Engineering postdoctoral fellow Weikun Hou and his supervisor, Electrical and Computer Engineering professor Xianbin Wang, have won a Best Paper Award at IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC) Signal Processing for Communications Symposium, together with their collaborator, professor Jean-Yves Chouinard, from Laval University.
[Read more] [Watch a video demonstration]

Building research success

Western Engineering News | June 6, 2012
Western University's Advanced Manufacturing Park is starting to take shape with the ongoing construction of the WindEEE Dome and the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research @ Western. Watch the progress unfold through photos of the construction.
[See photos]

24th Canadian Materials Science Conference

Western Engineering News | June 5, 2012
Western Engineering is hosting the 24th Canadian Materials Science Conference on Western’s campus from June 5 – 8, 2012. The theme of the conference is: Materials: Atoms to Applications. For more information, please visit the conference website.

4th Annual LANXESS-SSW Symposium on Flexible Organic Materials and Devices

Western Engineering News | June 6, 2012
The 4th Annual LANXESS-SSW Symposium will take place Fri. June 8 at the Western Research Park. Researchers from Canada and the U.S. will present at this event, including one of the pioneers in the field, Professor Yonggang Huang from Northwestern University. For more information, please contact Jun Yang.

Berruti awarded 2012 Bantrel Award in Design and Industrial Practice Western

Engineering News | June 5, 2012
Franco Berruti, Western Engineering of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor and director of the Institute of Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), has been awarded the 2012 Bantrel Award in Design and Industrial Practice.
[Read more]

University Machine Services launches new website

Western Engineering News | June 5, 2012
University Machine Services (UMS) has launched a new website to offer further support and information about services to clients at Western University and in the community. UMS is an ancillary service located in the Thompson Engineering Building at Western University. Their goal is to provide assistance to the institution and industry through the design and manufacture of specialized components and equipment.
[Check out the website]

Charles Xu awarded CSChE 2011 Syncrude Canada Innovation Award

Engineering Dimensions | May/June 2012
Charles Xu, associate professor of Chemical Engineering and NSERC/FPInnovations Industrial Research Chair in Forest Biorefinery, has been awarded the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering’s (CSChE) 2011 Syncrude Canada Innovation Award. The award is given to an individual under 40-years-old for a distinguished contribution to the field of chemical engineering while working in Canada.
[Read more] [See announcement on CSChE website]

Western Engineering’s Chem Club awarded CSChE Student Chapter Merit

Engineering Dimensions | May/June 2012
Western Engineering’s Chem Club was awarded the 2011 Student Chapter Merit Award for initiative and originality in student chapter programming in chemical engineering by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE). Also, Western Engineering student Sara Makaremi came in third place in the CSChE Graduate Student Poster Competition.
[Read more]

Researchers Demonstrate New Groundwater Clean-Up Technology Using Iron Nanoparticles

AZoNano.com | June 4, 2012
According to Denis O’Carroll, a visiting scholar at the University of New South Wales Water Research Lab, iron nanoparticles coated with a rust-preventing polymer show promise in cleaning up toxic chemicals from groundwater.
[Read more]

Nanoparticles seek, destroy groundwater toxins

R & D Magazine | June 4, 2012
Iron nanoparticles encapsulated in a rust-preventing polymer coating could hold potential for cleaning up groundwater contaminated with toxic chemicals, says Denis O'Carroll, a leading water expert who is currently a visiting academic at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
[Read more]

The Wind Whisperer

Canadian Underwriter | June 2, 2012
Who has seen the wind? Dr. Gregory Kopp has. Kopp is a professor in civil engineering at Western University in London, Ontario. His observations regarding the effects of wind forces on houses is a key factor in helping the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry advocate for building safer homes.
[Read more]

Karakatsanis Appointed as Engineers Canada President

Canadian Newswire | June 1, 2012
Engineers Canada has appointed Catherine Karakatsanis, BESc'83, MESc'91, as its president for 2012-2013. Karakatsanis will lead the Engineers Canada Board as it works with the engineering profession's constituent associations across Canada, representing the over 250,000 members of the engineering profession.
[Read more]

May 2012

Automotive research gets direct injection

Western News | May 31, 2012
Research led by Western Engineering professors Jeffrey Wood, Xianbin Wang and Weiming Shen is among three Western-led projects targeting smarter systems, better materials and safer roadways benefiting from a $22 million investment by Canada’s automotive research program, the AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence.
[Read more] [Metro News article]

Hydro One announces new research chair at Western University

Western Engineering News | May 29, 2012
Building on a decade-long relationship, Hydro One Networks Inc. continues to invest in teaching and research at Western University with the appointment of Rajiv K. Varma, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as the Hydro One Chair in Power Systems Engineering, effective January 1, 2012.
[Read more]

Badges from boats, bridges

London Community News | May 27, 2012
Western University's Faculty of Engineering welcomed 65 eager, young Girl Guides to the campus on Saturday, May 26, to better experience the world of engineering and to help them earn their Girl Guide engineering badges.
[Read more]

Perfect summer running down perfect storms

Western News | May 24, 2012
This won’t be a summer at the beach for Maryam Refan. Three weeks into a summer-long stay in ‘Tornado Alley’, the Mechanical Engineering PhD student plans to spend her holiday chasing tornadoes – all in the name of research.
[Read more]

Western Engineering Faculty and Staff Awards

Western Engineering News | May 18, 2012
Western Engineering held its annual Faculty and Staff Awards banquet Thursday, May 17 to recognize the accomplishments and successes within the faculty throughout the year.
[See video] [See photos]

A funny thing happened on the way to the lab

Western Alumni Gazette | Spring 2012
Under the Western Engineering jacket of Jeff Burney beats the heart of a filmmaker, T-shirt designer and newspaper cartoonist.
[Read more]

Making 'scents' of an engineering degree

Western Alumni Gazette | Spring 2012
Becoming a fragrance industry entrepreneur wasn’t even in the realm of possibility for Ashlee Firsten, BESc'06, when she arrived at Western.
[Read more]

Opportunity to attend conference in Russia “will stay with me forever”

Western Engineering News | May 16, 2012
Second-year Electrical Engineering student Nikita Babailov and first-year students Nicole Wight and Ogo Velikonja, travelled to Russia to participate in the “Topical Issues of Rational Use of Natural Resources" forum, which was held on April 25-27 at St. Petersburg State Mining Institute-Technical University.
[Read more]

Building the WindEEE Dome

Western Engineering News | May 16, 2012
Construction on the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) Dome is well underway at the Western University's Advanced Manufacturing Park. This video, filmed by Facilities Management project manager Mike DeJager, is captured from inside and outside the upper fan chamber of the inner dome.
[Watch video] [See photos]

Western Engineering students trade textbooks for plane tickets this summer

Western Engineering News | May 8, 2012
From the United States, Russia and India to China, Tanzania and Madagascar, several Western Engineering students will be traveling abroad this summer to conduct research and gain hands-on experience. Some of the students will be blogging about their activities.
[Read more]

Robinson named one of Ontario’s most promising researchers

Western News | May 4, 2012
Clare Robinson, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and research director of the Geotechnical Research Centre, is a recipient of Ontario’s Early Researcher Awards for her work studying how groundwater contributes to pollution in the Great Lakes. The awards program supports world-leading researchers, such as Robinson, make new discoveries while helping to build their research teams.
[Read more]

$1.125-million donation to Western key to environmental stewardship

Western News | May 3, 2012
A new donation of $1.125 million by Newalta Corporation will support research and development efforts at Western to discover technologies to protect the environment and create value from perceived wastes generated by industrial sectors such as oil and gas, refining, pulp and paper, mining and manufacturing.
[Read more] [See photos] [London Free Press] [London Community News]

Porter presented the Western Award of Excellence

Western Engineering News | May 1, 2012
Western Engineering technical specialist Eugen Porter was among the 2012 recipients of the Western Award of Excellence. He was honoured during a special ceremony on Feb. 16. Watch a video of the presentation of the internal award designed to recognize the tremendous work staff performs in support of providing an outstanding Western experience.
[See video] [Read Western News article]

April 2012

Western grad’s Sky Eye turns aerial photography into moneymaker

Metro News | April 26, 2012
Chris Bacik didn’t set out to become a business mogul. Truth be told, the 22-year-old Western University grad was more interested in earning a few extra bucks than making it big when Sky Eye Media started two years ago. Now, with a new bachelor’s degree in engineering and an honours in business administration under his belt, Bacik is toying with the idea of making the company his full-time gig.
[Read more]

CPSX Spotlight: PhD candidate Raymond Francis

Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration | April 25, 2012
Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD candidate Raymond Francis steps into the spotlight at the Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration for a interview on his research; what inspired him to study planetary science and study at Western; and offers advice to students interested in pursuing the field.
[Read more] [Read about his work with the Thames Valley District School Board]

Civil engineering graduate students recognized for commitment to the environment

Western Engineering News | April 4, 2012
Two graduate students from Western University’s department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have been awarded Ross and Jean Clark Scholarships.
[Read more]

Getting the fastest education on four wheels

Western News | April 19, 2012
Tyler Ouellet and Jordan Dil have put hundreds of hours into one particular extracurricular activity on campus this past year. There’s no pay, they get greasy and, at times, don’t get home until after midnight. And they wouldn’t change a thing. The fourth-year Engineering students are part of the Western Engineering Formula Racing Team.
[Read more]

Top students provide academic mentorship to first-year students

Western Engineering News | April 17, 2012
Anish Naidu may not have been the one to write the tests, but because of him fellow Western Engineering students are making the grade. Naidu is one of the faculty’s four Super Tutors, a program started in September 2011 to provide support and academic mentorship to first-year students.
[Read more]

Chislett named to Ontario’s Clean Energy Task Force

Ministry of Energy | April 12, 2012
Michelle Chislett, BESc'03, (MBA York), has been named to Ontario’s Clean Energy Task Force, which has been established to help broaden the province’s energy focus. Chislett is chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Solar Industries Association, vice-president of Solar Development for International Power Canada, Inc., and a member of the Advisory Council of Western Engineering.
[Read more]

Western project eyes lead in municipal drinking water

Western News | April 10, 2012
Western Engineering professors José Herrera and Clare Robinson will lead one of two new municipal research projects that will forecast lead levels in municipal drinking water, and develop sustainable wastewater treatment systems in First Nations communities in Ontario’s north.
[Read more]

Students work to reduce barriers to accessibility

Western Engineering News | April 5, 2012
Western Engineering students demonstrated their inventiveness and creativity at the First-Year Engineering Design Showcase on Thursday, April 5 in the Great Hall. The 96 teams designed projects based on the theme, “Reducing Barriers to Accessibility.”
[See photos] [Read Londoner article]

Eldyasti recognized for commitment to environmental engineering research

Western Engineering News | April 4, 2012
Working with chemical engineering professors Jesse Zhu and George Nakhla, PhD candidate Ahmed Eldyasti is researching ways to improve biological nutrient removal (BNR) from municipal and industrial wastewater. He is the most recent recipient of the Julie Lassonde Scholarship, awarded to a full-time graduate student who demonstrates making a difference in Ontario, Canada and the world.
[Read more]

Curnoe, Chambers proof great things can start here

London Free Press | April 2, 2012
If London had a poster boy, it could be Joel Adams, BESc/HBA’00. Born and raised in London, a downtown resident and Western University graduate, Adams now helms the research park, the university's economic development arm and an incubator for the who's who of London start-ups.
[Read more]

March 2012

Zhu named a Distinguished University Professor

Western News | March 29, 2012
Jesse Zhu, professor and Canada Research Chair in Powder Technology Applications in Western’s Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, is a recipient of the Distinguished University Professorship (DUP) award. The DUP recognizes excellence in the areas of teaching, research and service over a substantial career at Western. As well, Western Engineering’s Ajay Ray and Jun Yang were named Faculty Scholars.
[Read more]

Western Engineering showcases its research to university, industry

Western Engineering News | March 28, 2012
The Faculties of Engineering, Science and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University presented the Western Research Showcase March 21 in the Great Hall. The event is an opportunity for partnerships and networking between industry and university researchers.
[See photos]

Capstone Design Competition winners announced

Western Engineering News | March 27, 2012
The 2012 Capstone Design Competition was held on March 23 at the Research Park in Sarnia. Fourteen groups from Western Engineering's Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and Green Process Engineering participated in three categories. The event was sponsored by 14 southern Ontario companies, which donated $14,500 for the event and prizes for the winners of the competition.
[View photos]

Mavriplis encourages young women to be leaders

Western Engineering News | March 22, 2012
Catherine Mavriplis delivered the 2012 Lynda Shaw Memorial Distinguished Lecture on “Advancing Women in Science and Engineering: What Can Be Done?” at Western Engineering on March 22. Mavriplis is an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ottawa and NSERC / Pratt & Whitney Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the Ontario Region. She encourages women to act as leaders, even at a young age, and sees room for engineers to improve their image in society.
[See photos]

Oil Sands give Canada its world energy advantage, says Thompson

Western Engineering News | March 22, 2012
Don Thompson, Executive Advisor, Sustainability and Oil Sands Outreach, Canadian Oil Sands Limited, delivered a lecture at Western Engineering on March 21 on "Canadian Oil Sands - Canada's Energy Advantage." As Canada develops this resource, it must continue to work to achieve the balance between economic contribution, environmental sustainability and energy security, he says.
[Read more] [See photos]

Relationships are key, new Ontario Road Builders’ Association president says

Daily Commercial News | March 22, 2012
Newly elected Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) president Jim Hurst, BESc’87, Civil and Environmental Engineering, got his feet wet in the industry as a field engineer on the $1 billion Highway 407 project north of Toronto while employed at Armbro Construction Ltd.
[Read more]

Funding boost for research into new crop option for Sand Plains farmers

Western Engineering News | March 21, 2012
Research by the Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR) at Western Engineering into the economic potential of the Jerusalem Artichoke received an investment of up to $133,500 from the federal government. Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MP Bev Shipley announced the support for project to determine the plant's economic potential as an industrial crop and as feedstock to produce biofuels and biochemicals.
[See photos]

Bridging the gap between city, university

Western News | March 8, 2012
A group of fourth-year civil engineering students could very well have their names on a Canadian first should the City of London run with their innovative bridge design.
[Read more]

'Scary' experience twists research

Western News | March 8, 2012
Research met reality for Western Engineering professor Horia Hangan on a recent trip to the western United States. And that gave the WindEEE Dome principal investigator some new ideas.
[Read more]

Western Engineering launches international web portal

Western Engineering News | March 6, 2012
Western Engineering has launched a web portal for international experiences and opportunities in Western Engineering. This site provides information about Western Engineering’s international activity at the university and globally for interested current students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as prospective international students and faculty and staff members.
[Read more]

Engineering students offer designs for new city developments

Western Engineering News | March 6, 2012
Fourth- year Civil and Environmental Engineering students could see their designs for a footbridge over the Thames River at Harrison Park and a chemical treatment system at Greenway Pollution Control Centre put into action. Student teams Sigma Innovations, RDA Consulting and McENN Inc. topped the 2012 City of London Design Competition, held Friday, March 2 at Western Engineering. The winning designs will be shared with city representatives and consultants working on the designs of these projects.
[See photos]

Options wide open for engineering grads

Edmonton Journal | March 2, 2012
Engineering graduates are in high demand, says Western Engineering alumna Kirsten Petersen, an engineer-in-training at a major oil company, and Jessica Barker, a master's student in environmental engineering. The pair discusses how corporations are rapidly investing in young engineering talent to replace retiring baby boomers.
[Read more]

Painting a bigger picture with microalgae

Western News | March 1, 2012
Wankei Wan, Biochemical Engineering professor, has found an unusual application for his research on the production of microalgae. Pigment produced from microalgae in his lab has inspired Western Visual Arts student Jesse Robertson to paint vibrant works of art.
[Read more]

February 2012

Isyumov to receive Jack Cermak Medal for lifetime achievement

Western Engineering News | February 21, 2012
Nick Isyumov, consulting director for the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory, has been named the 2012 recipient of the “Jack Cermak Medal” from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The award is for lifetime achievement in the field of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics. ASCE will award the medal at the upcoming 2012 ASCE Structures Congress held in Chicago, Illinois March 29-31.
[Read more]

Winning CEC 2014 bid was just the beginning

Western Engineering News | February 21, 2012
Making the case to host the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) at Western University put a lot of pressure on Gail Hayhoe and Michael Zawalsky. But the pair faced the challenge and won the bid for Western Engineering in 2014 during the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students Congress held in Whitehorse, Yukon, Jan. 4-10.
[Read more]

PalmPass gets your ticket to ride

Western News | February 16, 2012
Software Engineering student Sajjad Haiderali and Kinesiology master’s student Bryn Jones have developed PalmPass – a mobile, e-commerce ticketing application allowing transit users to purchase and display bus passes and tickets on their smartphone. The app is gearing up for its September test run with the London Transit Commission (LTC).
[Read more]

Western Engineering's Dean’s Office goes green

Western Engineering News | February 14, 2012
Western Engineering’s Dean’s Office, along with the Undergraduate Engineering Society, is part icipating in a Green Office Pilot Program launched by Facilities Management. The program is designed to raise environmental awareness among faculty and staff and to help the university reduce its environmental footprint. The will be expanded campus-wide in the fall.
[Read more]

Five awards for the Western Engineering Toboggan Team

Western Engineering News | February 13, 2012
The Western Engineering Toboggan Team took home five awards at the 2012 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race held in Calgary Feb. 8-12. The team was awarded Best Concrete Mix Design, Best Concrete Reinforcement Design, Best Toboggan Design, Best Technical Exhibit and Best Technical Report. The team blogged about their experiences on Western Engineering’s “What WE have to say” blog.
[Read more]

WETT’s concrete toboggan hits the slopes in Calgary Feb. 8-12

Western Engineering News | February 6, 2012
Racing down the side of a ski hill on a concrete toboggan isn’t easy, but the design challenge has the Western Engineering Toboggan Team (WETT) excited to put their ideas to the test. WETT unveiled its design last month for the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) 2012, held in Calgary, Alta. Feb. 8-12.
[Read more]

Porter named 2012 Western Award of Excellence recipient

Western News | February 2, 2012
Western Engineering technical specialist Eugen Porter is among the 2012 recipients of the Western Award of Excellence. Porter will be honoured during a special ceremony on Feb. 16. The internal award is designed to recognize the tremendous work staff performs in support of providing an outstanding Western experience.
[Read more]

January 2012

Western Engineering students take tobogganing to a new level

London Community News | January 31, 2012
A team of about 50 engineering students at Western University have taken the concept of the simple toboggan and turned into a complex, downhill five-man sled.
[Read more] [See photos]

El Damatty weighs in on roof collapsing video

Western Engineering News | January 30, 2012
Ashraf El Damatty, professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, weighed in on the cause behind a collapsed roof in a minor hockey rink in Slovakia, caught on video. El Damatty, whose research focus is in the area of structural engineering, was contacted by Discovery Channel Canada’s “Planet You” to offer an explanation for the unusual video footage and his comments were featured during the “Trending Video” segment.
[Watch video].

Johnson appointed Graham King Research Chair at Schulich

Western Engineering News | January 25, 2012
Jim Johnson, director of Biomedical Engineering and professor in Mechanical and Materials Engineering, has been appointed the Graham King Research Chair in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry for a five-year term.
[Read more]

Five WEC teams move on to the Ontario Engineering Competition

Western Engineering News | January 25, 2012
The Western Engineering Competition was held at The University of Western Ontario Jan. 13-15. The top teams in five categories will attend the Ontario Engineering Competition held Feb. 3-5 at the University of Toronto. See the list of winners and photos from the event.
[See photos]

Research led by Sun and Zhou receives CFI funding boost

Western Engineering News| January 24, 2012
Two projects led by Western Engineering researchers Xueliang (Andy) Sun and Wenxing Zhou were among five at The University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute to receive $1.2 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
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Here comes the sun: Novel solar technology helps track sun’s movement

Western Engineering News | January 18, 2012
Solar farms are sprouting up across the country at an exponential pace and this push for harvesting greener energy has prompted a Western Engineering researcher to figure out a way capitalize on daylight hours. Kamran Siddiqui, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, along with his graduate student Hassan Hassan, has developed a smart solar tracker and a load compensator for solar collectors. [Read more] [See London Free Press article and video]

Mandel Scientific Company Inc. supports Western Engineering

Western Engineering News | January 12, 2012
Western Engineering welcomed representatives from Mandel Scientific Company Inc. to campus on Oct. 27, 2011 to formally dedicate the Mandel Scientific Company Inc. Laboratory in the Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Pavilion. [Read more]

El Naggar elected fellow of Engineering Institute of Canada

Western Engineering News | January 6, 2012
Hesham El Naggar, Western Engineering’s professor and associate dean - research and graduate studies, has been elected a fellow of The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC). He will be awarded the honour on June 7 at the Shaw Centre in Edmonton during the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering/EIC awards gala to celebrate the 125th anniversary of both organizations.

UES students to blog from the Yukon

Western Engineering News | January 3, 2012
Undergraduate Engineering Society president Issi George and vice-president, external, Taylor Standring will be blogging about their experiences at the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) Congress, held Jan. 4-10 in Whitehorse, Yukon. The week-long conference serves as both the AGM for CFES and an open forum for engineering students across Canada. Follow their blog posts on the ‘What WE have to say' blog. [Read blog posts]