Civil and Environmental Engineering

Student projects bridge gap between theory and practice

Sometimes you have to fail to succeed. That’s the case with a project for third-year students in Amr El Ragaby’s class finite element for analysis and design.

The civil engineering professor challenges groups to design and build models of a truss bridge, predicting how they will react when subjected to pressure from a custom-built crusher. They are rewarded for designs that hold up well, and for accuracy in their analysis of the load capacity of their models.

Building resiliency in our homes

An increase in natural disasters and pandemics has prompted an engineering researcher to create a solution that enables the resilient construction of multi-unit, residential buildings.

Apartments are gaining popularity in Canada, says Rajeev Ruparathna, a civil engineering professor at the University of Windsor.

“Considering the increase in frequency and magnitude of natural disasters and the recent tragic condo collapse in Miami that killed nearly 100 people, we see an urgent call for more resilient Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs),” he says.

But Dr. Ruparathna says there is a lack of resources to support this, especially during design and construction. His latest project addresses this gap by developing resources to ensure the resiliency of MURBs through a Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based rule set that allows engineers and architects to check a building design for resiliency principles.

The BIM rule set will be based on guidelines in the National Building Code, Canadian Electric Code, National Fire Code, Canada Standard Association (CSA) standards, and BOMA Canada Resilience Brief.

A natural changemaker

Pamela Nadin-McIntyre with a drilling team during a visit to Canadian Natural Resources Limited’s

Pamela Nadin-Mcintyre was introduced to the importance of innovation and its role in business at a young age.

As a daughter of a Windsor tool and die business owner, she remembers watching her dad brainstorm and execute countless ideas to drive business and stay competitive.

Decades later and three provinces away, she is the innovation lead — in addition to safety, technical safety, and risk management — for Canada’s largest independent crude oil and natural gas producer, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Canadian Natural).

“My dad’s the one who really helped push me in this direction,” says Nadin- McIntyre BASc ’86.

In addition to ensuring the right systems are in place to maintain the safety of people across Canadian Natural’s operations, she leads dedicated teams that are focused on improving the company’s environmental performance through technology and innovation. And for someone who is passionate about the environment, it’s more than just a job.

UWindsor satellite design leading student competition

Male student using a telescope in a lab.

A team from the University of Windsor received top marks from the judges in the design review portion of the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge, in October in Quebec City.

The competition requires students to develop a satellite that can take a photo from space when commanded to do so by amateur radio operators around the world. It is intended to advance space education in Canada, inspiring students to pursue science and engineering educations and careers.

The satellites will undergo full launch and space environmental qualification testing, with the goal of launching the winning satellite into orbit.

In Quebec, teams conducted 2.5-hour presentations to a panel of industry experts.

Adjunct professor to head ozone research body

A UWindsor adjunct professor will be the first Canadian to lead an international educational and scientific organization dedicated to ozone technology.

Saad Y. JasimSaad Y. Jasim was inaugurated as the president of the International Ozone Association during its World Congress and Exhibition, held Oct. 20 to 25 in Nice, France. He will start his two-year term as president in January 2020.

“It will be my duty to provide education and knowledge to different sectors in the world and make sure that knowledge transfer is the aim of our work,” says Dr. Jasim, who has served as a UWindsor adjunct professor since 1996. “I would like to make a difference. That is what I believe I was able to do in places like Windsor and Walkerton, Ont.”

Jasim introduced ozone to drinking water in Windsor in 2001 when he served as the Windsor Utilities Commission’s director of water quality and production. Since then, the City of Windsor has repeatedly won Best Tasting Water in a competition organized by the Ontario Water Works Association. In 2004, Jasim designed an ozone system in Leamington for a 14-acre greenhouse, recycling more than 25,000 gallons of discharged water.

Students tour local companies as part of annual Manufacturing Day

UWindsor Engineering students visits to Active Industrial Solutions and Valiant TMS

UWindsor Engineering students had the opportunity to participate in Manufacturing Day thanks to the Office of Experiential Learning.

On Oct. 4, Career Development and Experiential Learning organized a bus tour for 46 engineering students to tour manufacturing facilities and learn about their career options.

The annual event is coordinated locally by Workforce WindsorEssex.

Stephanie Dupley, career advisor in CDEL, said students were enthusiastic about their visits to Active Industrial Solutions and Valiant TMS.

Engineering prof recognized as leader in energy sustainability

Rupp Carriveau poses in front of windmills

What if electric vehicles are in every Canadian driveway? Solar shingles on every roof? What if you purchase your energy from your neighbour and not your utility?

His work to advance the nation’s energy economy has won a University of Windsor engineering professor recognition as a Canadian leader in sustainability.

Rupp Carriveau was among 50 honourees to receive a Canada Clean50 award during a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Clean50 Summit in Toronto. The awards are distributed annually to thought leaders and advocates and sustainability trailblazers in industry, academia, government.

Dr. Carriveau was chosen after a rigorous selection process conducted by search firm Delta Management from a pool of approximately 750 nominees across Canada.

Engineering prof joins accreditation board

Waguih ElMaraghy Picture

Engineers Canada has appointed Waguih ElMaraghy, UWindsor professor of mechanical, automotive, and materials engineering, as a member-at-large on the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board.

He began a three-year term July 1.

The members of the board are volunteers drawn from academia, the public sector, and private industry, who develop criteria for the accreditation of the country’s undergraduate engineering programs.

Dr. ElMaraghy will attend the next meeting of the board Sept. 13 in St. John’s, N.L.

Engineering student’s energy retrofit evaluation tool gains recognition

Environmental engineering master’s candidate Rania Toufeili showing her research work..

How does a building manager decide which energy retrofit is the most economical and least impactful on occupants and the environment?

Rania Toufeili has the answer. A master’s student of environmental engineering, she has designed an asset management decision support tool that can assist building managers in selecting the preferred technically feasible energy retrofit. The support tool landed her second place at the Canadian Network of Asset Managers student research symposium held May 6 to 9 in Kelowna, B.C.

“Building energy retrofits are a very effective way to decrease the energy consumption of a building and in turn decrease global greenhouse gas emissions,” Toufeili says.

Her tool combines multi-criteria decision making with life cycle thinking to develop a more comprehensive and expansive retrofit evaluation method than others on the market. The evaluation considers the energy retrofit’s environmental, economic, social, and technical performance by using a set of relevant key performance indicators.

Toufeili was selected from approximately 30 student applicants and nine student symposium presenters studying topics connected to asset management.

Engineering faculty and students recognized for research excellence

Dr. Jill Urbanic receives an award in the category of Mid-Career Scholars/Researchers

The University of Windsor recognized the accomplishments of more than a dozen engineering faculty and students at the school’s annual Celebration of Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity.

The awards ceremony, held March 7 at Alumni Auditorium in the CAW Student Centre, recognized scholars and researchers university-wide in all stages of their careers.

“Today’s celebration is the sign of a thriving academic community, where people are flourishing in their research, scholarship and creativity, and receiving recognition and support for the extraordinary work they do,” said interim president Douglas Kneale.

“What is so impressive is our collective bench strength in research and scholarship. We have outstanding students, emerging scholars, and established researchers, singular efforts and large collaborative projects, local, provincial, national, and international honours and success across all disciplines.”