Pursue strengths in research and graduate education

A UWindsor engineering professor is leading the way on an industry-academia collaboration that aims to improve drinking water quality in the capital of India.

Dr. Rajesh Seth has obtained funding through the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS) — a Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) dedicated to the development of research collaborations between Canada and India.

The joint project with researchers from the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in India aims to improve sewage contaminated lake water quality through aeration and floating wetland plants. Dylan Verburg, an environmental engineering MASc. candidate studying under Dr. Seth, will spend the fall semester in India collecting samples and data from Sonia Vihar Lake, a small polluted water pond which discharges into the Yamuna river — a source of Delhi’s drinking water.

Not only were they the finishing touches, custom valve covers engineered by University of Windsor students were “one of the nicest touches” on a one-of-a-kind Mustang custom-built by a local auto shop.

“On a car that’s extremely beautiful front to back, the engine compartment we worked on with the university is now the sharpest part of the car,” says Chris Darmon, one of the owners of Xcentrick AutoSports, a shop in Oldcastle that specializes in classic and custom cars for a local and global market.

Darmon said they usually do everything in-house, but they needed outside help to bring to life a Toronto customer’s vision for his 1967 GT500 Mustang.

“The customer wanted the valve cover on a 2014 Ford Coyote 5.0L V8 engine to look like a 1960s design,” said Saad Zafar BASc ’11, who was introduced to Darmon through the university’s EPICentre. “There was nothing like that on the market, so we had to start from scratch.”

Dr. Rupp Carriveau talks about his underwater energy storage research with graduates from the Class of 1967 in UWindsor's Turbulence and Energy Lab.

Henry Regts (BASc 1967) says he owes a lot to the University of Windsor.

Admitted as a mature student to the civil engineering program, Regts said the education he received prepared him for a successful career in the profession. He helped to bring together several fellow graduates of the Class of 1967 Wednesday for a tour of the Centre for Engineering Innovation.

“It’s Canada’s 150th year and our 50th year,” he said. “We’ve only had one reunion in that time and to me it was a big deal graduating in 1967. You’ve got to celebrate these things.”

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.