Western Engineering faculty and staff celebrate another banner year 
The Annual Western Engineering Faculty & Staff Awards Luncheon took place April 8, 2010. Colleagues gathered together to celebrate the year's successes and Engineering awards were presented to: Chemical Engineering Professor Sohrab Rohani, Mechanical Engineering Professor Paul Kurowski, Associate Director (Undergraduate Services) Jan Shepherd McKee, Associate Director (Facilities) Mike Gaylard and Project Manager (Physical Plant) Mike deJager.

[download the presentation highlighting Faculty-wide successes (PDF)]

Solar researchers ‘borrowing’ from plants
Western News | April 29, 2010
Postdoctoral fellow Yao Medina is helping to investigate how nanotechnology can be used to increase the effectiveness of solar panels. Working in Paul Charpentier’s laboratory in Environmental Solvents and Advanced Materials, Medina is helping to investigate how nanotechnology can be used to increase the effectiveness of solar collection panels, as well as ways to lower the cost of manufacturing these panels.
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Julie Ladiges selected as winner of the AMEC Master's Scholarship in Engineering 
Currently enrolled at The University of Western Ontario completing a Master of Engineering Science degree in digital signal processing and hearing science, Julie is working on an electroacoustic measurement suite for hearing aids. In addition to her professional pursuits she is involved in a variety of volunteer and extracurricular activities.
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Finding mistakes to set them right  
Western News | April 22, 2010
For Mechanical & Material Engineering PhD student Mehdi Farrokhnejad, his research is all about finding mistakes. Having finished his master’s last year under the supervision of Engineering professors Tony Straatman and Jeff Wood, Farrokhnejad is delving into the use of magnesium alloys in the auto sector.
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Western Faculty Scholars Announced – Two from Engineering  
Western News| March 25, 2010
Two Western Engineering faculty members have been recognized for being ‘all-round scholars:’ Paul Charpentier, Associate Professor Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and Xueliang (Andy) Sun, Associate Professor Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
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Sunstang team changes direction  
Western News | March 18, 2010
The student-run Sunstang solar team is shifting gears from competitions to developing a vehicle for everyday driving. Over its 17 years the Western Engineering group built solar cars to enter in two competitions:  the World Solar Challenge and the American Solar Challenge. The team will no longer enter these competitions.
[read more] [view photos]

Africa becomes a classroom for five Western Engineering students this summer 
Five Western Engineering students will be interning in Africa this summer as part of Engineers Without Borders and Civil & Environmental Engineering's International Development Program.
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Horia Hangan receives Lewis F. Moody Award 
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fluid Engineering Division has recently awarded Civil & Environmental Engineering professor and WindEEE Dome Project Leader, Horia Hangan, with the Lewis F. Moody Award. Hangan is being honoured for his paper contribution entitled, “Active Flow Control for Reduction of Fluctuating Aerodynamic Forces of A Blunt Trailing Edge Airfoil.” The paper was co-authored with PhD candidate Mr. Arash Naghib Lahouti.

J.M. Floryan receives CSME Robert W. Angus Medal 
The Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) has recently recognized Mechanical & Materials Engineering professor and Department Chair J.M. Floryan with the Robert W. Angus Medal. Floryan received this prestigious award for outstanding contributions to the management and practice of mechanical engineering.

Chemical & Biochemical Engineering Research Project Competition winners announced  
Fourth-year chemical engineering student Cody Blumer, supervised by professor A. Margaritis, was awarded first prize at this year’s CBE 4415 Research held March 26, 2010 for his paper entitled “Production and Characterization of Vegetable Oil and Polyglutamic Acid Microspheres for Controlled Release of Vitamin E.” Second prize was awarded to Mark Szynkaruk, supervised by professor L. Briens, for his paper entitled “Optimization of Pharmaceutical Additives.”

Kermani receives $300,723 in CFI funding to create a robotics platform  
Western News | April 23, 2010
Electrical & Computer Engineering professor Mehrdad Kermani will develop a new generation of robotic arms that allow for safe interactions with humans, transforming not only the hand, but the face of industrial automation.
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Geosyntec looks at smoldering combustion for site remediation  
Daily Commercial News | April 15, 2010
Cleaning up contaminated soil or groundwater usually means excavation and a substantial investment. A company that has licensed a new technology developed by researchers in London and Edinburgh is proposing an alternative: smoldering combustion — the same principle at work in a charcoal barbecue.
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Learning from disasters to make structures safer  
Western News | April 12, 2010
Devastation from an increasing number of natural disasters around the world, including recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, is pushing researchers to find innovative ways to make structures safer in the face of extreme weather events.
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High winds may not have toppled homes 
Digital Journal | April 7, 2010
Seven homes came down April 3, 2010 in London, Ontario. High, gusty winds, possibly accompanied by a funnel cloud were quickly blamed. Now, days later, Western Engineering professor Greg Kopp, an expert on the effect of wind on structures, has another, less dramatic theory.
[read more]