A showcase of engineering research Friday was a great opportunity for prospective students and members of the community to see first-hand some of the fascinating work that’s going on here, according to a participating professor.

“Everyone seemed really pleased with what they saw,” said Narayan Kar, one of three researchers who opened up their labs for the Open Doors, Open Knowledge event. “It’s critical that people have a good understanding of the kind of research we’re doing here.”

Sponsored by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the event was held to demonstrate how university and private-sector partnerships are driving innovation in Canada.

Dr. Kar’s Centre for Hybrid Automotive Research and Green Energy (CHARGE) lab was one of three labs in the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation open for tours by high school students on campus for the University’s fall open house, as well as by local members of the media.

The other labs that were opened were Rupp Carriveau’s Closed Loop Wind Tunnel lab and Hoda El Maraghy’s Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Centre, which boasts the only “factory-in-a-lab” reconfigurable manufacturing system of its kind in North America.