Engineering Now .: Volume 4 - Edition 4 .: December 2007 and January 2008

Western Engineering & Science Research Showcase 2008

After six years in operation, what begin in 2002 as the Western Engineering Research Day, has now evolved into an event that spans multiple faculties, industry, students and an interested public.

The 2008 edition of the event saw the joining of forces between Western Engineering and the Faculty of Science, and the coining of a new name: The Western Engineering & Science Research Showcase. It was a day filled with big ideas, and big hopes for local research in the future.

Acting Dean of Engineering George Knopf expressed hope that the event would bring together different facets of the community and highlight some of the best work that Western has to offer.

"Although Western Engineering has hosted similar research days in the past, this is the first time for a joint venture between the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science. Clearly, this is an exceptional opportunity for Ontario government officials and prospective students to learn about the outstanding engineering and scientific expertise we have at Western,” he said.

In his official welcome to the several hundred people gathered in the London Convention Centre on Friday morning, Ted Hewitt, Western’s Vice-President (Research & International Relations) explained why he feels this type of event is important for Western and for London.

“Our people at Western, our students, our faculty, our researchers, they’re really proud of the things they do and the work they do. So this gives them a chance to show off to our community. I think it’s also important to show to the London community just what we’re doing in this part of Ontario. This is work that we’re doing in London, Ontario, Canada today that’s not being down elsewhere in Canada and I think that’s something we can also be very proud of.”

“These types of events give our faculty and our students an opportunity to demonstrate just how the work that they’re doing contributes to our community in so many ways. Will the work one of our students is doing save a life one day? Will the work of one our researchers contribute to job-creation or greater wealth in our community? This is an aspirational goal shared by all of our faculty and all of our students at Western.”

The research was presented by faculty members and graduate students, who used posters and visual aides to demonstrate their work. Clusters of displays covered research topics from six key themes: Materials and Nanomaterials; Infrastructure and Natural Disaster Mitigation; Fluid Mechanics, Mathematics and Modeling; Computing, Information Technology and Robotics; Biological and Biomedical; Environment and Energy.

The Showcase attracted many local industry representatives as well as prospective graduate students from universities across Southwestern Ontario. To accommodate the increased size of the event, the location was also moved off-campus to the London Convention Centre. In past years, when it was an event unique to the Faculty of Engineering, it was held in the Great Hall.

Dean of Science David Wardlaw said he was thrilled by the success of the first joint event between the Faculty of Science and Western Engineering.

“I have been amazed by the enthusiasm displayed by the Western community who organized this event, and now I’m even more amazed by the turnout today,” he said. “

“The receptivity to this first showcase has gone well beyond our initial expectations when this event was conceived last spring. I look forward to attending the second annual showcase a year from now.”

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Contact

.: Becky Blue
Spencer Engineering Building, Room 2074
Telephone: (519) 850-2917 Fax: (519) 661-3808
contactwe@eng.uwo.ca