Home
FUTURE STUDENTS SUPPORT UWINDSOR
Faculty of Engineering

News and Events

 

Engineering teams take top honours in smart infrastructure competition

Jun 21st, 2021

Two teams of UWindsor engineering students have triumphed in an industry-led, pitch-off competition for their solutions to cross-border congestion at the future Gordie Howe International Bridge.

The teams impressed a panel of industry judges with their suggestions to implement mobile apps to reduce delays at the border and to facilitate the use of alternate modes of transportation to relieve congestion. The students also recommended using machine learning technologies, sensor-based systems, and even a suicide prevention system in plans for the new bridge, which is one of the largest infrastructure projects underway in North America.

The pitch-off competition hosted by Ontario’s Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) and Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) challenged post-secondary students in engineering, information technology, and business administration to utilize smart mobility technologies, data analytics, and new payment and security technologies to reduce cross-border congestion and wait times.

Study aims to diversify workforce for clean energy future

Jun 11th, 2021



​A study led by UWindsor researchers aims to equip Canada with a diverse and inclusive pool of leaders for the clean energy sector of the future.

The Environmental Energy Institute’s Lindsay Miller and Rupp Carriveau say a new research program they’re spearheading will help bridge the gaps between the technical, economic, and political aspects of the nation’s energy sector.

“While our energy systems are presently undergoing an unprecedented spectrum of change, the same cannot be said for the conventional educational pathways that were designed to produce the highly qualified people (HQP) to drive the energy sector,” Dr. Miller says.

Using a multi-stakeholder approach, the initiative will inform clean energy curriculum development and encourage underrepresented minorities to pursue clean energy careers.

As leaders of the Climate Led Energy Evolution Network 2040, Miller and Carriveau have developed an international network of stakeholders across universities, businesses and government agencies with a vested interest in the future of energy systems.

This broad and diverse cross section of clean energy sector stakeholders will help identify gaps between skill sets and current Canadian post-secondary clean energy curriculum.

Engineering prof receives national civil engineering fellowship

May 27th, 2021

​

Ram Balachandar has been recognized for his pursuit of excellence by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.

Dr. Balachandar, a civil engineering professor, was elected as a fellow during the society’s annual conference held virtually between May 26 and 29.

In 2019, he received the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering’s Camille A. Dagenais Award for his research on open channel flows, fluid-structure interaction, and efforts in the area of scour, which have led to substantially improved design equations.

Balachandar has published 160 journal papers, eight book chapters, and more than 250 conference papers. He is an associate editor for the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering and was recently appointed as the section chief editor of the fluid mechanics section for Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering.

Partnership aims to develop cybersecurity solutions to promote transit rider safety

May 26th, 2021

The University of Windsor’s SHIELD Automotive Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) to collaborate on innovative technology and knowledge mobilization designed to help public transit operators keep riders safe.

According to SHIELD co-founders Mitra Mirhassani, a UWindsor electrical and computer engineering professor, and Ikjot Saini from the School of Computer Science, the partnership will work to develop cybersecurity research, training, and awareness.

“If there’s one thing we have learned over the past year, it’s the importance of collaboration,” says CUTRIC president Josipa Petrunic. “CUTRIC is proud to be partnering with the University of Windsor as we set out on this new journey of strengthening and advancing our scientific, educational, and technological capabilities.”

Electric vehicle expert partners with industry on $1.8 million research project

May 11th, 2021



​UWindsor engineering professor Narayan Kar is leading a new $1.8 million research project to make better electric drive systems.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has awarded the electric vehicle expert more than $1 million for the three-year project with Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International, Ottawa-based power device company GaN Systems, and a researcher at Concordia University. The industry partners will add more than $700,000 in in-kind contributions to the research.

“With this project, we want to create a paradigm shift in the field of transportation electrification,” said Dr. Kar. “We hope to give Canada a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”

The research project will examine several elements of the electric drive system and make improvements. The goal is to make electric vehicles more powerful, efficient, and reliable, while making them less costly to produce and maintain.

Iranian student honoured to be first recipient of memorial scholarship for plane crash victims

May 6th, 2021

Shayan Shirzadian is the first first recipient of the Iranian Students Memorial Scholarship - Remembering Flight PS752.

It was just a casual conversation with a fellow UWindsor graduate student, but one Shayan Shirzadian will always remember.

He and engineering doctoral candidate Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, both international students, talked about living in Canada. Setareh Kokab was happy to offer advice.

“My overall feeling from our conversation was that I was joining a community with great people who love to help,” Shirzadian says. “It left an impression on me.”

A month later, Shirzadian was shocked to learn Setareh Kokab’s life was taken in a plane crash in Iran while returning to campus for the winter semester. The incident claimed the lives of all 176 on board, including four other members of UWindsor’s community — engineering doctoral candidates Pedram Jadidi and Zahra Naghibi and her spouse Mohammad Abbaspour Ghadi and biology research assistant Samira Bashiri.

They were caring friends and talented researchers who were on the cusp of promising careers. Countless stories emerged as the campus community mourned such a significant loss.

An immediate outpouring of support from the UWindsor community and general public followed to establish the Iranian Students Memorial Scholarship - Remembering Flight PS752, a graduate scholarship that will annually support two international students conducting vital research in the Faculties of Engineering and Science.

Research on the edge

May 6th, 2021

Movement, pressure, temperature, humidity, sound frequency — sensors that are now integrated into our daily lives collect an endless stream of data about the way we interact with products and their environments.

From autonomous vehicles to health monitoring devices, the ever-growing amount of smart devices and information generated is becoming challenging to manage and more expensive to process.

“This massive amount of data needs to be stored and analyzed, and as a result, real-time processing is critical,” says Afshin Rahimi, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “We are examining new techniques to accelerate the process.”

One of which is using gateway devices to analyze the data with deep learning models. This is called edge computing, and 90 per cent of industrial enterprises will be using it by 2022, according to a report by business consultants Frost & Sullivan.

The name edge is in reference to applying a deep learning model to analyze the data at the edge of a framework — where data is acquired — differing from cloud computing, which conducts the analysis on a remote server — where data is usually warehoused.

Research in modern manufacturing earns honour for engineering professor

Apr 21st, 2021

Calling her “an inspiration for women in research and engineering around the world,” Denmark’s Aalborg University conferred an honorary doctorate on UWindsor professor Hoda ElMaraghy in an online ceremony April 15.

Aalborg’s Faculty of Engineering and Science noted Dr. ElMaraghy’s contributions to the development of modern manufacturing systems. A distinguished university professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering and director of the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Centre, she pioneered the use of “learning factories” in teaching and research. A “Smart Production Lab” at Aalborg University was inspired by her work.

ElMaraghy and four other honorees — women academics from France, Norway, and the United States — participated in a round-table discussion on the theme “Research collaborations in a changed world” before the awards ceremony.

Engineering team cleans up in water treatment design competition

Apr 8th, 2021

Jordan Goddard, Cay-Yen Ang and Fabianna PalaciosCay-Yen Ang, Jordan Goddard and Fabianna Palacios (L-R) will compete against schools from across North America at the Water Environment Federation's annual conference (WEFTEC) Oct. 16 to 20, 2021 in Chicago.

A group of UWindsor environmental engineering students came to understand the importance of wastewater treatment — and gained experience working as a team with professionals — in winning a student design competition of the Water Environment Association of Ontario.

Cay-Yen Ang, Jordan Goddard, and Fabianna Palacios took top honours against schools from across the province to address a real-world challenge: reducing overflow of wastewater from the treatment and collection system in Port Dalhousie.

The Windsor team developed a design to eliminate overflow with minimal cost, taking into consideration the effects of climate change. The submission recommended adding chemicals to improve the settling of solids during storm events, implementing fine bubble diffusers to increase the capacity of biological treatment, and use tanks existing on the site to disinfect water with chlorine.

Engineering student projects make mark in industry

Apr 6th, 2021

​Aayush Vashi, Iram Malik, and Mahmoud Yamin (L-R) took first place in the first-ever Windsor Mold Group Capstone Endowment Awards for UWindsor’s industrial engineering program.

From a multi-criteria decision support system to optimize restaurant menus during a pandemic to boosting the efficiency of local manufacturing shopfloors, UWindsor students are improving the community through industrial engineering.

Seven student teams presented their capstone designs during the Industrial Engineering Virtual Capstone Showcase on March 26. Capstone projects challenge fourth-year engineering students to apply the formal knowledge they’ve gained during their undergraduate studies and partner with industry to solve real-world problems.

“Our students spend the fall and winter semesters working on sponsored projects from initial concepts to final designs,” says Jill Urbanic, capstone co-ordinator for the industrial engineering program.

“Although the present COVID-19 pandemic situation has altered how we do business, these students have met the challenges head-on.”

A new addition to this year’s showcase was the Windsor Mold Group Capstone Endowment Awards. Students had the chance to win three cash prizes for their innovative designs. The top three teams were selected by Windsor Mold Group representatives Keith Henry, Sandeep Singh, and Marc DiDomenico, and guest industry judges Mark Dolson of TRQSS and Pete Naysmith of Valiant TMS.