Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research displays highlight engineering innovation

Doctoral student Faraz Talebpour shows off a remote-controlled underwater vehicle.

Studying engineering at the University of Windsor has shown Faraz Talebpour his potential to make a difference.

A doctoral candidate in electrical and computer engineering, his work on a remotely controlled underwater vehicle can find immediate application on real-world challenges. It was one of more than 30 research projects displayed during an open house Friday in the Centre for Engineering Innovation.

Talebpour says his experience scuba diving has helped him to appreciate how pollution threatens aquatic ecosystems.

“Going under the water you see how we’re destroying that world,” he says. “This project can save the marine life that we have endangered.”

Lessons learned

Civil engineering class of '67

In Canada’s centennial year, 13 civil engineering graduates from Ontario’s newest public university entered into an unsuspecting world to compete for internship positions against those who graduated from older, more prestigious institutions.

In 2017, six members of the class returned to campus to rekindle friendships, poke fun at their convincing old men disguises, and offer the following observations and suggestions to those who are following in their footsteps.

Engineers are the primary life-support providers for the seven billion messy people crowded on planet Earth. They rely upon us to put science into action to satisfy their rapacious needs and to accommodate the estimated one billion newbies added to this planet every 12 to 15 years.

Their expectation is that these needs be satisfied not only quickly, safely and affordably, but sustainably as well. Welcome to our busy profession. Our effectiveness as engineering practitioners depends upon our ability to research, develop and apply the newest scientific discoveries and technological advances wisely.

Making an “INpact” on global education: engineering student receives philanthropy award

Kishan, Guddu, Maya and Dylan posing.

On his daily walk over to a sewage contaminated lake in India where he was conducting his master’s research on water quality, Dylan Verburg would be greeted by three familiar faces.

They didn’t speak English, but the siblings who lived on the same compound would smile as they followed Verburg around, proudly show him their cartwheel skills and even volunteered to row a boat for him while he worked on implementing a water treatment system in the lake they lived by. The encounters were quickly becoming the highlight of Verburg’s five-month stint contributing to an international research project funded by the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-impacts).

“I have always loved being around kids and quickly built a connection with them,” the environmental engineering graduate student says about his recently orphaned friends, Guddu, 14, Kishan, 9, and Maya, 8, who also happen to be undocumented citizens. “But it really hurt knowing that these little ones weren’t getting an education and the future for illiterate individuals in India isn’t promising.”

Engineering projects demonstrate application of knowledge to real-world problems

The exciting part of working on a project redesigning the intersection of California Avenue and Wyandotte Street is the possibility of seeing it implemented, says Emma Teskey.

A fourth-year civil engineering student, she was part of a group that suggested several changes to the pavement and traffic signalling systems that would make the crossing safer for pedestrians and smoother for vehicles.

It was one of more than 60 projects displayed by graduating engineering students during Capstone Design Demonstration Day, Friday in the Centre for Engineering Innovation.

Teskey and her teammates — Abigayle Diemer, Kailee Dickson, Curtis Lanoue, and Sarah Zaarour — suggested altering the traffic signals so that cars and trucks are stopped in all directions while pedestrians cross, a system known as the “pedestrian scramble.” They also proposed adding wide white stripes to the crosswalk pavement and relocating a transit stop so buses do not block the intersection.

Student outreach event receives provincial recognition

There’s more to engineering than designing bridges and cars. 

“We want to show people that engineers don’t just design things, they solve the problems of the world,” says Larysa Hyzka, a fourth-year civil engineering student at the University of Windsor.

Hyzka teamed with classmate Eleane Paguaga Amador to share this message with the public by creating and hosting I Look Like an Engineer, a community outreach event that ended up landing the pair provincial recognition.

Paguaga Amador and Hyzka invited Windsor-Essex community leaders and students to the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation to discuss why they chose to pursue engineering and what the professions means to them.

“Story after story, we heard from speakers who believed their highest potential could be reached through engineering because it allowed them to make the lives of others easier,” says Paguaga Amador, a third-year industrial engineering student.

Environmental engineering at UWindsor provides students with boundless opportunities

Christina Ure is completing her Master of Applied Science in Environmental Engineering.
Christina Ure is completing her Master of Applied Science in Environmental Engineering.With a foundation in environmental engineering, Christina Ure knows the future is hers to build.

That’s because her degree from the University of Windsor makes her adept in the valuable art of solving problems.

“As an environmental engineer, we do a lot of problem-solving work for some of the world’s biggest issues,” Ure said. “That gives us a really good base for other fields – whether that’s business, law or medicine.”

Engineering programs earn top accreditation ratings

Four of five UWindsor Engineering programs evaluated recently by Engineers Canada received the highest accreditation ratings available.  This latest evaluation cycle, which took place in early July, was conducted through the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), a national organization of provincial and territorial associations regulating the practice of engineering.