It’s not often the dean of engineering receives hand-written letters, let alone one printed in pencil describing robots that catch and clean up after litterbugs.
Dean Mehrdad Saif was pleasantly surprised when he received a letter from Masha Dmitrenko, a Grade 4 student at John Campbell Public School. Dmitrenko wanted to know what she should do to become an engineer.
“What is the hardest part of engineering? What is the coolest part of engineering? I always wanted be an engineer. I have a question: can you make art robots?” the eight-year-old asked in her letter.
— Published on Jan 7th, 2021
Several engineering faculty and staff members were honoured for their commitment to innovation, teaching and service at a ceremony on June 13.
Dr. Mehrdad Saif, the dean of engineering, handed out four awards for outstanding faculty and staff performances in research, teaching and service at the engineering faculty’s 2017 Medals of Excellence Ceremony held in the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation.
Linda Breschuk received the staff service award for being “the silent hero and strength behind the scenes for undergraduate support.”
Breschuk, the secretary to the associate dean, academic, completed 41 years of service earlier this month.
“She is one of the most hard-working individuals in the Faculty of Engineering and deals with faculty, students and staff with sincerity, honesty and professionalism,” a nominator wrote.
— Published on Jun 25th, 2018
Meeting with Members of Parliament and government officials May 17 in Ottawa was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the research driving Canadian innovation — and to highlight the University of Windsor, says engineering professor Narayan Kar.
Canada Research Chair in Electrified Transportation Systems, he was one of the presenters during the Parliament Pop-Up Research Park, a project of the Council of Ontario Universities and the Ontario Council on University Research to share their latest discoveries with federal decision-makers.
“From an education perspective, it was a huge success,” says Dr. Kar. “Our government needs to be informed as to what we are doing.”
His presentation, entitled “Will an Electric Car be Able to Travel Coast-to-Coast?” attracted interest from MPs, senators, and civil servants, but Kar’s answer to the question he posed is “yes, but…”
He says electric vehicle technology will need improvements in affordability, convenience, reliability and durability before it are a true alternative to combustion engines.
— Published on Jun 8th, 2018
Triangles are the sturdiest shape, says Dunya Assaf. That’s why she and her teammates chose it as the basis for their design of a model bridge.
“We’re trying to make it as sturdy and as long as possible,” said Assaf, a Grade 11 student at Vincent Massey Secondary School. “We made a base for the car to travel across and we’re incorporating triangles so it has a more stable surface.”
She and about 130 physics classmates came to the Centre for Engineering Innovation on Thursday to take part in a competition judged by representatives of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.
— Published on Jun 25th, 2018
Forty years after leaving campus as new graduates, civil engineering classmates of ‘77 returned to the University of Windsor to reunite and reflect on where it all began.
“It’s just touching to have that connection again,” said UWindsor alumnus Stan Taylor, who organized the get-together.
Taylor, Max Fantuz, Paul Eyraud, Ray Chevalier, Dan Piescic, Spyros Govas and Brian Boyle met with handshakes and embraces at the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation (CEI) on April 22, 2017. During a tour of CEI led by current civil and environmental engineering faculty, the group of mostly retirees was pleasantly surprised to find Dr. Murray Temple and Dr. Jatinder Bewtra, two of their former professors, waiting for them in one of the labs.
— Published on Jun 27th, 2018
A University of Windsor industrial and manufacturing systems engineering student is one of two graduate students in Ontario to be recognized by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
In partnership with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), The Personal Home and Auto Group Insurance annually awards two undergraduate and two graduate students enrolled in engineering programs across Ontario.
Saeideh Salimpour, a PhD student at UWindsor with a grade point average of 99.25, will be presented with a $2,500 scholarship towards her engineering education during OSPE’s Annual General Meeting on May 4, 2017, at the Chestnut Residence and Conference Centre in Toronto.
— Published on Jun 27th, 2018
The Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce has nominated a UWindsor alumnus for its Professional of the Year Award, making him one of only a handful of engineers to receive the honour.
Sean McCann, a professional geological and civil engineer with 28-years of experience under his belt, said it’s not common for engineers to receive nominations in this category even though they play such an integral role in our society. Only two engineers have won this award in the 27 years the chamber has hosted the event.
“Anything we sit on, touch, look at, go to work in, fly in — an engineer has touched it many times over,” said McCann, who was named Windsor-Essex County’s Engineer of the Year in 2016.
— Published on Jun 27th, 2018
A local seatbelt manufacturer will save nearly $10,000 a year thanks to a warehouse optimization strategy produced by industrial engineering students at the University of Windsor.
Ahmed Khalid, one of several students who worked with TRQSS as part of a capstone project, said his team proposed using ultrasonic sensors to help the Windsor auto supplier track products in its warehouse.
— Published on Jun 27th, 2018
A team of fourth-year environmental engineering students earned second place in a provincial competition for designing an innovative stormwater management system accentuated with green spaces.
After submitting a 120-page report, Christina Ure, Shannon Deehan, James Park and Lina Florian had 15 minutes to present their design to a panel of judges April 2 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa. This year’s Water Environment Association of Ontario’s Student Design Competition challenged eight university teams to design a storm water management system for Exhibition Place, a mixed-use district located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto.
— Published on Jul 3rd, 2018
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne participated in a roundtable discussion with local business leaders, educators and politicians at the University of Windsor on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Wynne attended an announcement at the Ford Essex Engine Plant with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau where the provincial government, federal government and Ford announced a $1.2-billion investment in the automaker’s Ontario operations. Part of that investment will go to the Powertrain Engineering Research and Development Centre which works in collaboration with UWindsor engineering graduate students and faculty.
— Published on Jul 3rd, 2018
