THE
MacEngineer
McMaster University Faculty of Engineering
Spring 2009
Engineers & Engineering
Celebrate!
Dean of Engineering
Dr. David Wilkinson
Now nine months into my term as Dean of
Engineering (I started on April Fool’s Day
– how appropriate is that?), I welcome the
opportunity to reflect a bit on what it’s been
like and to share a few thoughts with the farflung cohort of Faculty friends. The Faculty
of Engineering had a remarkable year in 2008
as we celebrated our 50th anniversary. In the
last MacEngineer we highlighted some of the
activities around that (it was certainly a year
of parties) and invited you all to take part in
the last major event of the year, the 50th Anniversary Fireball Gala. To our great delight
over 500 turned out, including alumni from
every decade back to members of the first
graduating class in 1961. It was a wonderful
opportunity to acknowledge the vision and
accomplishments of those who helped build
Mac Engineering into the highly acclaimed,
research-intensive, student-focused institution we are all proud of. There was lots of
nostalgia and a light-hearted ceremony to
establish a time capsule (in the form of a beer
keg of course) that will be placed outside the
new Engineering Technology Building once
it is complete this Spring. The capsule will
be opened in 2058, hopefully by some of the
class of 2008/09 who helped to seal it. I was
delighted to play a part in these fun activities
as I complete my 30th year as a member of the
McMaster family.
So what is new and exciting in my world?
Well, the new building for one. The shell is
now up and work is well underway to com-
pleting the interior for the scheduled opening this summer. This will be one of the first
LEED Gold buildings on campus and we have
worked with the architect to ensure that the
environmentally friendly aspects of the building will be on display and serve as a teaching
tool. The lower three levels will be dedicated
to undergraduate education, primarily for
Level I and for the Bachelor of Technology
(BTech) partnership with Mohawk College.
The upper three levels will house research
space, primarily for biomedical engineering
and engineering practice. What a wonderful
opportunity this is for the Faculty to enable
us to expand and improve the quality of all
our programs. I have also taken a great deal
of pleasure from meeting alumni and other
friends of Mac Engineering, both locally and
across North America. I will be visiting alumni
in Calgary and Seattle this Spring. I hope in
the near future to visit alumni further afield as
well. It is certainly encouraging to hear stories
about how the McMaster years helped so many
of our alumni to find their way in the world.
The level of appreciation and gratitude is
indeed inspiring, as is the high level of accomplishment achieved by many of our graduates.
Let me take a moment to mention just one.
Steve Elop graduated from the Computer
Engineering and Management program in
1986. I had an opportunity to work with Steve
back then when he was a summer student
developing course materials and I was a junior
continued on p. 5
Message from the Associate Dean (Academic)
really replace Peter Smith? After nearly six
months in the job, I am also in a position to
answer the questions that people did ask:
What does the Associate Dean do? Are you
going to enjoy it?
Well, let’s start with me because that’s
at least safe. Ken Coley, born Glasgow,
Scotland, educated at University of Strathclyde and Imperial College, worked in the
Ken Coley UK for ten years prior to joining McMaster
in 1996. Many of you will know me as
your McMaster 1M03 Professor; others
The First Five Months
will know me as a Professor and sometime
This is my first contribution to the
Chair of Materials Science and Engineering;
MacEngineer as Associate Dean and I
still others may be more familiar with me
should really take the opportunity to
as Director of Engineering and Manageanswer the questions that everyone was
too polite to ask: Who is the new guy? What ment; and some may even know of my
research interests in high temperature prois his background? Perhaps even, Can he
cessing. What most of you will not know
2 The MacEngineer
is that I am married with three children,
that I have been an active participant in
community organizations mostly involving
youth sports, and that I am a passionate
supporter of Glasgow Celtic FC.
Rather than go into great detail about
the role of the Associate Dean (Academic),
I would prefer to reflect on some of the
things I have done in the first five months
in the job. August started fairly gently. I
moved into my new office, introduced
myself to the staff and generally learned
the ropes.That lasted for about one week.
Then reality hit.“By the way, we need an
instructor to teach 1000 students starting
in September and it’s your job to find one.”
I thought this job was just about signing
forms! The pace continued to pick up from
there and has not slowed since.There have
been committees – many committees.There
has been preparation for accreditation. I have
just recently had to deal with my first mob of
angry students (they probably saw themselves
as an orderly delegation). I believe I was able
to offer them a solution they could live with.
Yes, there have also been more than a few
forms to sign.
The highlight so far has been the celebrations for the 50th anniversary; the low point
has certainly been the Brandon Hall Fire,
although I should also add that I am proud
of the way the University and the Faculty
of Engineering handled this situation.The
advisors in my office did an outstanding job
providing academic accommodations and
other support for those affected by the fire.
Our students were magnificent in the face of
considerable difficulty.
So, what does the Associate Dean do? I’ve
only been in the job for five months and I
can only speak for this Associate Dean, but I
think he rides roller coasters. Do I enjoy it?
Well. I don’t really like roller coasters but I
have enjoyed every minute of the job so far.
Whether I can replace Peter Smith will be for
others to judge, but I am proud to follow in his
footsteps and will do my part in maintaining
McMaster as a leader in educating engineers.
Ken Coley
Associate Dean Academic
Message from the Associate Dean (External Relations)
Peter Mascher
The second half of 2008 saw many faculty
members in Engineering involved in the
development of proposals to the Canada
Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and to the
Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence
(ORF-RE) program.
The CFI funds research infrastructure
including equipment and the construction
and renovation of laboratory space.The
following proposals were submitted by the
October deadline: Laboratory for Advanced
Photovoltaic Research (R.N. Kleiman, Eng
Phys), McMaster Intense Positron Beam
Facility (P. Mascher, Eng Phys), and Centre
for Advanced Nuclear Systems (J. Luxat,
Eng Phys).The latter gained designation as a
Regional Platform and thus, falls outside the
institutional envelope. Several engineering
faculty are involved in the McMaster proposals Biointerfaces Institute, led by J. Brennan
(Chemistry), McMaster Robotics Miniaturization Centre, led by M. Anvari (Surgery), and
Listening, learning and interacting in complex environments: Neural, developmental
and applied aspects, led by L.Trainor (Psychology). A proposal, Centre for Automotive Materials and Corrosion (J. McDermid, Mech Eng)
was combined with a related proposal led by
the University of Waterloo. Also led by UW
but with designation as a Regional Platform is
the proposal Water Quality Research Platform in Urban and Urbanizing Watersheds.
R. Selvaganapathy (Mech Eng) and M.J. Deen
(ECE) lead a Biosensors node of this proposal.
In total, 393 proposals were submitted from
81 institutions, requesting $1.49B from CFI.
The available CFI budget is $400M, yielding an
average success rate of 27%. Final decisions
are expected by June 2009.
The Ontario Research Fund – Research
Excellence (ORF-RE) program supports the
cost of research personnel and direct cost of
research.The following proposal was submitted by the July 30, 2008 deadline: Certification
of Safety Critical Software Intensive Systems
(T. Maibaum, A. Wassyng, M. Lawford, CAS).
In addition, several engineering faculty are
involved in the McMaster proposals The
Centre for Advanced Studies and Games
Simulations in Virtual Environments at
McMaster, led by J. Connolly (Linguistics and
Languages), and “Development of modular
transportable telerobotic surgical suite
(MoTTs) to deliver emergency surgical care
in remote locations and for use on moving
vehicles, led by M. Anvari (Surgery). Engineering faculty members are also involved in three
non-McMaster-led proposals: Green Hydrogen
and Hybrid Transit Vehicles (Queens University; J. Cotton [Mech Eng]), Nanomaterial-Enabled Products for the Ontario Manufacturing Sector (U of T; M. Niewczas [Materials Sci
and Eng]), and Therapeutic Biomaterials for
Regenerative Medicine (U of T; H. Sheardown
[Chem Eng]). I will report on the outcome
in a future edition of the MacEngineer.
Among the highlights of the activities within the External Relations part of my portfolio
were meetings with two delegations. First,
from the National Institute of Engineering
(NIE) in Mysore, India, whose main interests
lie in possible academic collaborations in the
areas of Industrial and Production Engineering,
Sustainable Energy and Technology, Entreprecontinued on p. 21
Alumni Profiles
4
Engineering News
9
50th Anniversary
12
News Briefs
16
Departmental News
18
Alumni Grapevine
22
EVENTS
22
Do you have something
to say or news to share?
We would like to hear from you.
Contact Carm Vespi
Tel: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24906
Fax: (905) 546-5492
e-mail: vespi@mcmaster.ca
website: www.eng.mcmaster.ca
The MacEngineer is published by
the Faculty of Engineering for its alumni.
Distribution assistance is provided
by the Alumni Office.
Editor: Carm Vespi
Art Direction and Design: Jay Primeau
Writers: Trudi Down, Eugene Nakonechny
and Carm Vespi
Contributors: Administrative Coordinators
and Terry Milson
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email: vespi@mcmaster.ca
The MacEngineer 3
ALUMNI PROFILES
Walter Butler – McMaster Ph.D. Enjoys Outstanding Career
It was a long journey but,
as a result of a chance
meeting in Dublin,
Ireland with Dr. Simon
Haykin, and a strong
determination on his own
behalf, Walter Butler realized his dream of obtaining a Ph.D. at McMaster.
Mr. Butler was born in Cavan, Ireland in
1936 and, after finishing high school, worked
in a bank for a year, following in the footsteps
of his father and grandfather. In 1954, while
still in his late teens, he was sponsored by a
distant relative and emigrated to the United
States. After working in a bank for two years,
he joined the U.S. Navy – hoping to satisfy an
itch for travel. While in the navy, he received
training as an electronics technician.
This experience helped him to decide on
a career as an electrical engineer and, after
receiving an honourable discharge from the
navy, he enrolled at Trinity College (Dublin
University) in Dublin, Ireland. He completed
his undergraduate electrical engineering
degree with honours in 1966. Because of
his top marks, he had many job offers,
as well as seven offers for graduate studies
in both Canada and the United States. It
happened that Dr. Simon Haykin, a visiting
professor at Leeds University, was about to
relocate to McMaster to set up a graduate
program in electrical engineering. While in
Ireland, Dr. Haykin had met Mr. Butler and
encouraged him to come to McMaster for his
Ph.D. Mr. Butler was married by this time and
finances were limited. Fortunately, through the
urging of McMaster’s Dr. Colin Campbell, the
Chair of the Department at the time, his initial
fellowship was increased. Based on the offer
of a $7,500 fellowship, Mr. Butler came
to McMaster to study for his Ph.D. degree.
While at McMaster, he was elected President
of the Graduate Students Union in 1968.
After receiving his Ph.D. in 1970, Dr. Butler
accepted a research position with General
Electric in its Corporate Research and
Development Laboratories in Schenectady,
New York. During a long and distinguished
career, he published over 30 technical papers
and also became co-author of 25 U.S. patents.
Dr. Butler played a key role in the successful
mergers of the electronics laboratories General
Electric, RCA, Martin Marietta, and Lockheed
Corporation. He retired in 1997 from the
position of Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin’s Microwave Electronics
Department, based in Nashua, New Hampshire.
He and his wife Marie live in a home
overlooking picturesque Crows Pond in
Chatham, Massachusetts.The couple has four
grown children and seven grandchildren.
Dr. Butler has always attributed much of his
success in life to the degrees he received from
Trinity College and McMaster University.
Glenn Gray – Lots of Math + Hard Work Adds Up To Success
That itch to be his own
self and do his own
thing has, over the years,
provided Glenn Gray with
many interesting
opportunities. For example, there was the
instance in Grade 13
when his math teacher
encouraged him to take an additional subject,
Bolean algebra, in addition to the six math
courses he was already studying.Then there
was the time when, after 14 years of working
for firms including Bell Canada, Rockwell and
IBM, Glenn decided he needed a new challenge
and, as a result, founded his own consulting
company. But more of that later.
The extra course in the math of logic design
was a brilliant choice. Glenn had already decided he was interested in electrical engineering which requires the knowledge of a great
deal of math.The studious young adult was accepted into the electrical engineering programs
at four universities.
“I decided on McMaster for a couple of reasons.The University is in my home town and I
had a feeling that living in residence would not
prove helpful to my studies. Also, the School of
Engineering was small at the time and I felt I
wouldn’t get lost in the masses.”
4 The MacEngineer
A number of Gray family members are Mac
grads. Cousins Robert and Roderick received
BAs. Older brother Donald holds a B.Eng.
in Chemical Engineering and younger
brother Kerry, a B.Comm. and an MBA. Glenn’s
daughter Jennifer graduated with a BA in
History in 2000.
In 1973, Glenn graduated from McMaster
with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, and
received a Master of Business Administration
from York University in 1979. He says he was
prompted to go on to do the Masters in part
because of the positive learning environment
he experienced at Mac.
“There was an emphasis on working in
teams to problem-solve. It’s a great experience
and one that can be applied in the work-a-day
world,” he notes. In fact, he says that engineering is a great discipline to prepare one not just
for a career in engineering but also for
working in business.“It provides a good
introduction of the basics of technology.
And you learn to think, how to learn, how
to solve problems.”
Glenn founded Graycom Analysis in 1986.
Graycom specializes in consulting services
for planning, acquisition and management of
telecommunications information systems and
networks. Graycom assists clients with their
selection of technology enablers and applications, including telecommunications, networks
and systems and Contact Centres. Graycom
also conducts operations reviews of technology, process and management issues associated
with technology. Graycom also develops technology strategies for its clients, primarily in the
public sector. Clients include over 50 hospitals,
10 school boards, 6 universities/colleges, 12
municipalities, and the Provincial and Federal
Governments in addition to other public and
private sector clients. As President, Glenn’s
main focus today is business development.
Glenn has been married to Mohawk College
graduate Susan for over 36 years. She retired
from her position as a medical secretary at
Princess Margaret Hospital in 1977 to raise
their family of two children.The couple enjoys
travelling, especially to their Florida vacation
home. As is typical with a man who makes his
work his hobby, Glenn has faced some health
issues, surviving multiple bypass surgery in
2001.These days, he golfs, gardens, and attends
both professional and amateur sports events.
In 1995, Glenn and his brothers established
the Gray Family Bursary at McMaster in memory of their father. It is given to a combined
engineering/business undergraduate from the
Hamilton-Wentworth area. In 2008, Glenn and
Susan set up the Albert Lovas Memorial Bursary
in honour of Susan’s brother, for a student in
the McMaster-Mohawk Bachelor of Technology
(BTech) program.
Petryschuk Family – Forty Years … and Counting
If you have attended Mac Engineering any
time over the past forty years, you have likely
met or shared classes with a member of the
Petryschuk family. The University’s chemical,
electrical and mechanical engineering courses
have all been “home” to one or more Petryschuk student since the 1960s.
Walter was the first to arrive on the
Hamilton campus. He received an M.Eng. in
chemical engineering in 1965, and his Ph.D. in
1967. Over the years, Walter has worked in the
petrochemical industry, in management education and eventually held the position of Director General at the National Research Council.
Upon retirement from his professional career,
he lectured at Sarnia, Ontario’s Lambton College, teaching courses in project, quality, and
procurement management for its Information
Technology Program. As a hobby, Walter farmed
a commercial apple orchard in the Sarnia area
from 1980 to 2003. He currently serves as an
advisor to the Board of the Lawrence House
Centre for the Arts in Sarnia. He has been
recognized for his many professional activities, including being named a Fellow of the
Chemical Institute of Canada. Walter is married
to Mary and they raised four sons.The couple
now reside in Sarnia, Ontario.
Oldest son Michael received his B.Eng., also
in chemical engineering, in 1983. He currently
is Branch Manager for Newalta Industrial
Services Inc. in Brantford, Ontario.The firm
is a national waste management company
that processes and recycles hazardous and
non-hazardous wastes. Specifically, Michael
manages the profit and loss of an oily water
processing facility, recovering the oil for recycling and treating the water prior to sending
it to the sewers. He has also worked for water
treatment or chemical companies/laboratories
in various cities in Ontario and in East St. Louis,
Illinois. Michael, who holds an MBA from York
University (2002), is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and the Canadian
Society of Chemical Engineers. He is a founding member of the Concept to Creation Cooperative, a cooperative for inventors established
in 2003. He is married to Nancy and they
have two children. For relaxation, he enjoys
hockey and bicycling, car restoration and
woodworking.
Walter’s son Geoffrey graduated with a
B.Eng. in mechanical engineering in 1985.
Currently, Geoffrey is living in Vancouver,
working in the construction industry building custom homes and doing renovations.
He especially enjoys stripping down older
homes to the bare walls and then rebuilding
them into residences of beauty. For recreation,
Geoffrey enjoys cycling and sea kayaking.
He’s recently been bicycling in Canada’s most
easterly province, Newfoundland, and paddling
in the Queen Charlotte Islands off the British
Columbia coast. Now Geoffrey has started taking flying lessons.
In addition to a B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering and Management (1990), the third son of
Walter and Mary, Allan received his MBA from
the University of Windsor in 1995. He is active
in sports and his interests pretty much cover
all seasons: hockey, baseball, volleyball, skiing,
and golf. Allan also engages in automotive
Walter
Stephen
Michael
repair and restoration, and home improvements and landscaping. His career has taken
him from Union Gas Ltd. in Chatham to Sulzer
Canada Inc. in Rexdale.Then, in 2001, to the
research division of Quebec-based DiMethaid
Manufacturing located in Markham. Among its
products, DiMethaid manufactures Pennsaid®,
an anti-inflammatory drug used for the treatment of osteoarthritis. More recently, Allan has
left DiMethaid and returned to Sulzer where
he has responsibility for the North American
sales of their crystallizer technology. Allan is
married to Carol and the couple lives with
their two daughters in the historic hamlet of
Ballinafad, near Erin, Ontario.
Representing the third generation to attend
McMaster’s Engineering Faculty, Michael’s son
Stephen is currently studying electrical engineering and will graduate in 2010 with
a combined degree in Engineering and Management. In addition to his studies, Stephen
keeps busy as a computer programming TA,
and volunteers with the Engineering and
Management Club, where he is currently
President. He has been on the Deans Honour
List for both 2007 and 2008.
Dean of Engineering (continued from page 2)
professor working on the Faculty’s first
course in computation, Engineering 1D03.
After graduation, Steve moved quickly up
in the corporate IT world and he is now
President of Microsoft Business Division. I
am pleased to be able to tell you that Steve
will be awarded an honorary degree at the
Engineering Convocation this June. Also
receiving an honorary degree will be Prof.
Gilles Patry, until recently the President of
the University of Ottawa, who served as a
professor of Civil Engineering at McMaster
for about 10 years in the 1980s.
As you peruse this copy of the MacEngineer you will see evidence of many recent
accomplishments at McMaster. These include
the development of student entrepreneurs
and their inventions – Kelly Curry’s Swingnature golf training device and Tim Pryor’s
Digital Dash technology – both now emerging from our Xerox Centre for Engineering
Entrepreneurship and Innovation. There’s
the recent opening of the Canadian Centre
for Electron Microscopy at McMaster, headed
by Prof. Gianluigi Botton. This Centre now
houses the most powerful electron microscope in the world. You will note some new
accomplishments of our faculty, including
the President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction to Prof. Brian Baetz, a special journal issue dedicated to Prof. John MacGregor,
and many others. You will also see evidence
of the Faculty’s continuing development of
new research opportunities, for example
in biomedical device engineering and in
nuclear energy systems.
These are challenging times for all of us
and universities are certainly not immune.
McMaster faces numerous financial challenges related to the effect of the markets on
endowment income and pension funds. The
future of government funding and industrial
investments in research partnerships are
both uncertain. But within these challenges
lie opportunities. We are actively looking
for ways that our Faculty of Engineering can
help the Ontario economy emerge from the
current chaos more strongly than before,
by providing the best quality in education,
research and innovation. We are looking
at new kinds of partnerships that address
the long-term needs of industry for talented
personnel. We are partnering with OSPE and
PEO to engage in discussions and analysis of
the role of engineering in public policy. In
short, we are prepared, now more than ever,
to play a leadership role based on the highly
talented students, faculty and staff in the
Faculty. We welcome your comments on, or
participation in, any of these new initiatives.
In closing let me extend to all of you my
best wishes for a healthy and successful year.
The MacEngineer 5
The Pollocks – Three Brothers and a Cousin: a ChemEng Legacy
It’s an outstanding record: there’s been a Pollock in the McMaster Engineering program for 25 consecutive years.
Ken was the first, graduat- the operations and investment processes for
ing in 1961 with a B.Eng.
(Honours) in chemical
engineering and earning a Ph.D., also in chem.
eng., in 1967. Ken’s long
and busy career might be
summed up in one word
– climate. It seems he was
determined to experience as many different
climes as possible while moving through a
succession of challenging positions. In St. Louis,
Missouri, he was a research engineer with
Monsanto; then in the heat of the desert in
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, he served as Chairman
of the Chemical Engineering Department at
the University of Petroleum & Minerals; next, in
the cold of Fairbanks, Alaska, he guided the development of a state-wide telecommunications
system for the University of Alaska. Back south
in Idaho Falls, Idaho, he managed a computer
facility for EG&G that tested nuclear reactors;
then came moves to Arizona and Ohio were
he was an Associate Vice President of Information Technology at Arizona State University,
and a Vice President at Wright State University
in Dayton, respectively. Finally, in 1996 Ken
returned to sunny and warm Phoenix to begin
a career as an independent consultant for the
management of information technology. He
recently retired, and spends much of his time
volunteering with several organizations and
non-profit boards in the Phoenix area, most
notably with the Phoenix Police Department.
Obviously not one to stand still for long, Ken
has just accepted a CEO position with a startup company in the environmental sector.
After graduating with a
PhD. in chemical engineering in 1967, Gary
joined the Chevron
Research Corporation in
San Francisco, California,
where he worked on the
development of process
control and optimization strategies for refinery processes. Over
the years, he worked in eight divisions of the
company, including strategic planning and
analysis, operations and business planning, and
mergers and acquisitions.Toward the end of
his career with Chevron, Gary was responsible
for the company’s worldwide marketing and
refining strategy. In 1986, he co-founded Bay
Isle Financial where, as President, he managed
6
The MacEngineer
individual clients. Gary, who is also a Certified
Financial Planner, built assets under management from zero in 1986 to over $1 billion in
2000.The partners sold the business to the
Denver-based Berger fund company in 2001
and Bay Isle became a stand-alone subsidiary
located in Oakland. Ensuing sales and mergers
resulted in Bay Isle’s individual client business being purchased by First Republic Bank’s
investment management subsidiary, and Gary
moved back to San Francisco where he became
a Senior Managing Director with responsibility
for the company’s West Coast portfolio management process for individual clients. Gary is a
founding board member of the Presidio School
of Management and a past president of the San
Rafael School Board; as well, he has served on
the boards of several local arts groups. Gary
enjoys playing handball, reading about chaos
theory and math, wine tasting, and art. Unlike
older brother Ken, Gary is very happy to point
out that he has never experienced anything but
sunny California weather.
his wife and daughter through all those many
moves over the years. When not packing/
unpacking, he enjoys hacking around the golf
course and playing tennis.
Mark graduated in 1976
as the top engineer of
his class with a Bachelor
of Engineering degree in
chemical engineering, and
completed his PhD in the
same discipline in 1984.
Mark began his career
with Union Carbide in
Charleston, West Virginia, in the Research &
Development (R&D) group of its latex business.
Less than a year later, he moved to the Water
Soluble Polymers R&D group in Bound Brook,
New Jersey, working in a Process Research
position supporting hydroxyl ethyl cellulose
and polyethylene oxide product lines. In 1988
Mark joined The Dow Chemical Company
(Dow) in Midland, Michigan, in its Paper Latex
Technical Service and Development (TS&D)
group.There he provided technical support,
Cousin Ted also complet- was involved in development of new products
and technologies, and eventually became a
ed his PhD in chemical
Development Associate. When Dow initiated
engineering and, consistent with the family tradi- a Six Sigma program, Mark was trained in Six
Sigma methodology and earned Green Belt
tion established by Ken
certification. He remains in the TS&D group
and Gary, moved to the
and has added responsibility for environment,
United States to launch
health and safety issues, serving as the North
his career. He was on the
American Product Steward for paper, carpet
faculty of the Environand performance latexes. As Product Steward,
mental Systems and Engineering Department
at Clemson University, South Carolina, prior to he deals with regulatory compliance and safety
issues for these products. During his career,
shifting his focus to consulting engineering.
Mark has always tried to maintain a “work-life
He has more than 25 years of experience as a
balance”. He remains involved in Christian
consultant specializing in Industrial Wastewaservice through helping in church events, is
ter Treatment and in the characterization and
remediation of environmentally impacted sites. involved with family activities, and assists aging
parents and neighbours. He has served on the
Like Ken,Ted has moved about during his career, holding senior management positions with executive boards of Parent Teacher organizaseveral international consulting firms including tions and has the unusual distinction of being a
Vice President with MWH Global in Pasadena, registered Girl Scout! For several years, he has
served as Cookie Manager for more than 50
California, Vice President with CH2M Hill in
Waterloo, Ontario, Vice President with Geoma- troops, and has helped the local organization
trix Consultants in San Francisco, California and improve their paperwork through the development of a database system for cookie order
Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Director of Envientry and tracking.
ronmental Services with Golder Associates in
Mississauga, Ontario.Ted is currently President
and Managing Principal of ENVIRON Canada, a In 2006, the Pollocks decided to “give back to
subsidiary of ENVIRON International – a global Mac”.They established the Pollock Engineering Academic Grant to be awarded to students
environmental and health sciences consulting
firm with over 1300 staff in offices throughout who have completed Level I, attained a high
sessional average, and who demonstrate finanNorth America, Europe, Asia and Australia. All
cial need.
that moving can take a toll on family, and Ted
says he has appreciated the strong support of
Ian Shaw – Core Skills Help Build Career
In Remembrance
You never know where a
summer job will lead you.
After working for two
summers at the Hamilton
plant for Procter and Gamble,
Ian Shaw was certain he
wanted to pursue a career in
chemical engineering.
Even as a child, he’d been
fascinated in how things work and his father
Campbell, a Mac grad (’50 or ‘51) who was
employed in the chemical industry, fostered in
Ian a love of science and chemistry. Ian chose
McMaster for a number of reasons.
“Mac’s engineering program has a good reputation among employers as a strong engineering
school. Its location in close proximity to a number
of manufacturing companies provided good opportunity for summer employment and for fulltime
work after graduation.”
In addition, he appreciated the fact that class
sizes were small enough to allow the students to
get to know their fellow classmates, and the
professors could learn the names of their students.
Ian graduated with a B.Eng. in 1989.
Over a 20-year career, he has held a diverse
number of corporate roles in the manufacturing
sector, including positions in operations, capital
projects engineering, environmental affairs,
product development, energy management, and
corporate strategy. Hired by Hamilton-based
Dofasco right after graduation, Ian currently holds
the position of ArcelorMittal Corporate Energy
Manager, Office of the Chief Technology Officer,
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with responsibility
for energy efficiency and conservation activities
associated with the company’s North and South
American operations. (Dofasco Inc. was purchased
by ArcelorMittal in 2006.)
Colin Campbell
Those smaller classes have provided an unexpected bonus.The network of contacts developed during
university days has, he says, has been very helpful.
“There have been numerous occasions where I have
called upon my fellow Mac grads for assistance and
have even retained a few on assignments.”
Ian, who is a graduate of executive management programs from both Queens University
School of Business and Western University Ivey
School of Business, has been active outside the
corporate office on a number of fronts. He has
been extensively involved in environmental policy
development and implementation at the national
and international levels. He has worked with the
National Roundtable on the Environment and the
Economy, the Conference Board of Canada, and the
Canadian delegation during TC 207 - ISO 14040
standards creation. Within the steel sector, he has
chaired committees in the areas of environmentally
focused product marketing, product certification,
and sector level pollution reduction strategies.
He has also been an active member and representative for the Canadian Steel Producers Association, American Iron and Steel Association, and
International Iron and Steel Institute regarding
environment and energy issues. In addition, he
takes time to be involved with the University as a
guest lecturer on the topic of green engineering,
for the McMaster Engineering and Public Policy
Masters of Engineering program.
Ian is married to Paula, also a Mac engineering
grad (mechanical, ’88), and they have two children.
The whole family enjoys spending time together
camping, canoeing and hiking.
“The core skills that I developed during my
time at Mac provide the foundation and approach
to my work. Even though I now work in a management capacity, I still consider myself a practising
engineer at heart.”
Professor Emeritus of Electrical
and Computer Engineering
died on September 9, 2008,
in his 82nd year.
Dr. Campbell was at McMaster
University from 1960 to 1989,
during which time he received two
teaching awards from the McMaster
Student Union and a Teaching
Citation from the Ontario Council
of University Faculty Associations.
In 1983, he received the Eadie
Medal from the Royal Society of
Canada for major contributions to
engineering and applied science
in Canada. He was a Life Fellow
of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (U.S.A.), and
a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Canada, the Engineering Institute
of Canada, and the Royal Society
of Arts (London), and a Member
of the Electromagnetics Academy
(U.S.A.).
A memorial service for Dr.
Campbell was held in the Great
Hall of St. John’s Anglican
Church in Ancaster on Thursday
September 18, 2008.
NEW FACULTY AND RETIREES RECOGNIZED
Five long-serving members of the Faculty
of Engineering who recently retired were
recognized by David Wilkinson, Dean of
Engineering, for their contributions at a
special reception in University Hall on
October 1, 2008. At the same time, four
new faculty members were officially
welcomed aboard.
ogy (France), and did his postdoctoral
fellowship in France and at MIT. Prior to
joining McMaster, he worked as a Research
Associate at the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. Prof.
Chachaut’s interests lie in the optimization
of dynamic systems, with applications in
fuel cells, batch control and bioprocessing.
New Faculty Appointments
Faculty Retirements
Jan Modersitzki
Associate Professor of
Computing and Software. Prior to coming
to McMaster, Prof. Modersitzki worked at the
Institut fur Mathematik,
Lubeck Germany. His
research interests are
in image processing, particularly image
registration and its applications to medical
image processing, numerical analysis and
optimization. Prof. Modersitzki is a leader
in the field of image registration.
John Vlachopoulos,
Distinguished University Professor Emeritus,
Chemical Engineering.
Prof. Vlachopoulos
joined the Department
of Chemical Engineering as assistant professor in 1968. He has
since served as Department Chair (1985-88) and Director of the
Centre for Advanced Polymer Processing
and Design (CAPPA-D).
Joey Kish
Associate Professor of
Materials Science and
Engineering. Prof. Kish
is a former graduate
student at McMaster,
who studied under
the supervision of Dr.
Brian Ives. His research
specialties include lightweight automotive
material corrosion and aqueous and high
temperature combustion environments. As
well as research, Prof. Kish will be teaching
undergraduate course 4D03, Materials and
the Environment.
Todd Hoare
Assistant Professor of
Chemical Engineering.
Prof. Hoare received
his Ph.D. at McMaster
and did his postdoctoral
fellowship at MIT. He
has now returned to the
Department of Chemical Engineering where he will be working
in the area of interfacial engineering and
nanotechnology.
Benoit Chachaut
Assistant Professor of
Chemical Engineering.
Prof. Chachaut completed his Ph.D. studies
at the Lorraine National
Institute of Technol8
The MacEngineer
Prof. Vlachopoulos is a frequent lecturer
throughout the world (having made over
300 presentations) in five languages (English, Greek, French, German and Spanish),
and is a consultant to the polymer production and plastics processing industry. In
2001, he received the Society of Plastics
Engineering Education Award and was promoted to the rank of Fellow of the Society
of Plastics Engineers for his contributions
to the science and technology of polymer
processing. In 2007, he was awarded the
Stanley G. Mason award, which is presented every three years to a Canadian
rheologist, or a rheologist who has worked
in Canada for several years, for exceptional
contributions to the science of rheology.
He has also served as the president of the
Polymer Processing Society, and continues
to serve on numerous society boards.
Thomas Marlin,
Professor Emeritus,
Chemical Engineering. Prof. Marlin joined
McMaster University in
1988 as professor and
as an NSERC Industrial
Research Chair in Computer Process Control.
On the strength of this
research chair, the University also established the McMaster Advanced Control
Consortium (MACC). This group promotes
and advances process control by bringing together researchers and practitioners
for the investigation and application of
leading-edge control technology. Under
the leadership of Prof. Marlin for the past
20 years, MACC now boasts more than 20
industrial members from around the world.
He was named the 2001 recipient of the
President’s Award for Excellence in Course
or Resources Design for his process control
textbook, software laboratory and web
site. His textbook and software are now
used world-wide. This year he will receive
the D.G. Fisher Award from the Canadian
Society of Chemical Engineering.
John MacGregor,
Distinguished University Professor Emeritus,
Chemical Engineering.
Prof. MacGregor joined
McMaster University in
1972 as assistant professor. He developed an
outstanding scholarly
reputation in the application of statistics to process and product
quality monitoring, advanced process
control and the development of the field of
polymer reaction engineering. His research
has had a profound impact not only on the
Canadian process systems engineering and
chemical engineering communities, but
also internationally in the general area of
product and process quality improvement.
His achievements have been
recognized through prestigious awards,
participation on the editorial boards of
major academic journals, and the phenomenal success and acceptance of his work in
industry. Among Prof. MacGregor’s most
influential achievements for McMaster
has been his critical involvement in the
creation of three major research centres:
the McMaster Institute for Polymer Production Technology (MIPPT), the McMaster
Advanced Control Consortium (MACC), and
the Steel Research Centre. Each quickly developed an enviable reputation in industry
and academia. Prof. MacGregor has served
as Department Chair (1988-91), the Dofasco
Chair in Process Automation (1999-2008),
and was awarded the title of Distinguished
University Professor in 2003.
Ahmed Ghobarah,
Professor Emeritus,
Civil Engineering. Prof.
Ahmed Ghobarah obtained both his Masters
and Ph.D. degrees at
McMaster University.
He joined the Department of Civil Engineering in 1970 as an ascontinued on p.21
ENGINEERING NEWS
World’s Most Advanced
Microscope Unveiled at McMaster
sity memory storage for faster electronic
and telecommunication devices.
“The Titan electron microscope boosts
Ontario’s and Canada’s lead in nanotechnology,” says Mo Elbestawi, McMaster’s
vice-president, Research and International
Affairs. “Housing it at McMaster reinforces
our place among the world’s most advanced materials research institutions.”
Funding for the microscope instrumentation was provided by the Canada
Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario
Innovation Trust, the Ministry of Research
and Innovation of Ontario and the Ontario
Ministry of Economic Development and
Trade, through a partnership with FEI and
McMaster University.
To learn more, visit: http://ccem.mcmaster.ca
The most advanced and powerful electron
microscope on the planet – capable of
unprecedented resolution – has been
installed in the new Canadian Centre for
Electron Microscopy at McMaster. Both
were officially unveiled October 16, 2008.
“We are the first university in the world
with a microscope of such a high calibre,”
says Gianluigi Botton, director of the
Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy,
professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and the project’s leader.
Several of the world’s top microscopists
were on hand for the launch and to
participate in a related conference on
October 17 attended by some 100 participants who discussed the latest advances
in the field. Speakers included Christian
Colliex, Université Paris-Sud; Gustaaf Van
Tendeloo, University of Antwerp; Wah
Chiu, Baylor College of Medicine; David
Muller, Cornell University; and Frederic
Danoix, Université de Rouen.
The resolution of the Titan 80-300
Cubed microscope is the equivalent of the
Hubble Telescope but looking at the atomic
level instead of at stars and galaxies.
The microscope can identify atoms,
measure their chemical state and probe
the electrons that bind them together.
The new microscope is housed in a
stable, specially designed facility able to
withstand ultralow vibrations, low noise,
and minute temperature fluctuations.
Operation of the instrument will also
be done from a separate room to ensure
results of the highest quality.
Built in the Netherlands by the FEI
Company at a cost of $15-million, the
Titan cluster will examine at the nano
level hundreds of everyday products in
order to understand, manipulate and
improve their efficiency, says John Preston,
director of McMaster’s Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research.
The microscope will be used to help
produce more efficient lighting and better
solar cells, study proteins and drug-delivery
materials to target cancers. It will assess
atmospheric particulates, and help create
lighter and stronger automotive materials,
more effective cosmetics, and higher den-
The MacEngineer 9
New Companies Spin Out of Entrepreneurship Centre
Several new companies have emerged from the Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation over the past year. Following
are two such companies that have benefited from the business-creation methodology developed by the Centre, as well as technical and
business advice provided by faculty, mentors and fellow students. For more information about XCEEi, visit: www.businessinnovation.com.
Other Recent XCEEi Start-Ups: ThinkFlex Solar www.flexiblesolartech.com • Liquid Fiber Displays www.liquidfiberdisplays.com • Blujino Media http://blujino.com
Golf Town Picks Up
Student Golf Invention
A new high-tech golf training
aid developed by XCEEi master’s
student Kelly Curry has been
added to the product list of
one of the Canada’s largest
golf retailers.
Swingnature, a specially
designed golf club shaft that
helps develop proper swing
technique and club head speed
for distance and accuracy, is
now being sold by Golf Town.
Swingnature is made up of
a two-toned shaft, a removable
weight, and an interchangeable
grip system. The system
is designed to build power,
which requires both heavy (strength)
and light (speed) training. To work on
strength, weight is put into the shaft. To
work on speed, the weight is removed.
Training only with heavy swing aids can
actually slow a golfer’s swing.
A two-toned shaft indicates whether
or not a technically sound swing is being
made.The colour of the shaft should ideally
change from solid red on the backswing,
to solid white on the follow-through.
If the golfer sees too much red, then
they are opening the clubface. If they
see too much white, then they are closing
the clubface.
Two types of grips come with Swingnature. A molded training grip is used to
ensure proper hand positioning on the club
and a normal grip is for regular use.
A next generation SMART-grip version is
in the works. The grip will have a small
computer built into it that tracks a golfer’s
swing in real-time and notifies them
when they have done something wrong.
It will also plug-in to a training portal
being developed.
Curry is also working on closing an
investment deal, arranging an endorsement
with a PGA Tour star, and expanding the
number of retailers selling Swingnature.
Read more at: www.swingnature.com
10
The MacEngineer
Canadian Start-up Lets Drivers
Customize Their Dashboards
For any driver frustrated with the layout
of their car’s dashboard or who just
wants to stylize it to match the look of
their vehicle, help is on the way.
XCEEi master’s student Tim Pryor has
established Digital Dash, a company
developing customizable dashboard
technology for new model vehicles.
Digital Dash combines state-of-theart multi-touch screen technology with
conventional console knobs, buttons
and sliders so that vehicle owners control when, how and where they view
displays for stereo settings, heating and
ventilation controls, time and weather,
and video displays of GPS maps and
blind-spot camera images.The technology can also be applied to instrumentation such as a vehicle’s speedometer,
odometer, and fuel gauge.
“Drivers should be able to customize
the functions on their dashboard as
easily as they program their cell
phones,” says Pryor, president of Digital
Dash.“It allows for greater personal
style and comfort but also improved
driving safety.”
Pryor has already caught the interest
of a number of automotive and highway
truck manufacturers. A large appeal
is that Digital Dash technology can be
curved and shaped to fit all types of
irregular surface areas unlike today’s
rigid dashboards. Another is that no
wiring or interconnects are needed,
reducing the number of parts required.
“One of the big challenges for manufacturers is finding space to fit all the
new electronic accessories, sensors
and indicators being added to vehicles,”
explains Pryor.“Our technology allows
for displays to be layered in terms of
priority and preference. If new applications become available, the software can
be easily downloaded.”
Central to the Digital Dash is the
reconfigurable tactile display (RTD)
control interface.The RTD uses a projector which displays graphics on clear
plastic-like surfaces. A camera sensor
with machine vision is used to sense
commands. A small computer runs the
software that manages the system.
Pryor is also looking at other
applications for the technology
including sound mixers in the music
industry and various types of medical
equipment. Read more at:
www.digital-dash.com
Entrance Scholarship
Established in 2008 by Hatch Ltd., the Hatch
Entrance Scholarships are provided exclusively for students qualifying for admission to
an Engineering 1 program in the Fall/Winter
session of 2009/2010 as full-time students.
Four (4) scholarships valued at $48,000
each ($12,000 per year) will be awarded
annually to undergraduate students entering
McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering.These
awards are renewable for three years at the
same value, provided the student remains
full-time and achieves a Sessional Average
of 9.5 with no failures. All students (including international/visa, CEGEP and IB) who
have graduated from, or who are currently
attending, the final year of secondary school
in Canada are eligible to apply. For complete
information including selection criteria and
to download the application form, visit:
www.eng.mcmaster.ca/hatch.pdf.
The deadline is March 2, 2009.
KEEP THE WHEELS
OF TIME TURNING
Six ambitious students have taken on a timely
task for their final-year capstone project.
They are engineering a uniquely styled
synchronous clock that is to hang in the main
hallway of the new Engineering Technology
Building now under construction.
Dubbed the Chronos Clock Project, the
clock has a unique design featuring three
metal rings. A large stationary ring forms the
perimeter of the clock. A second ring, about
a third the size, turns within the larger ring.
The point where these two rings are tangent
tells the hour. A third ring, smaller still, rotates
within the second ring.The point at which
these two rings are tangent tells the minutes.
A synchronous motor delivers a constant
rotary motion to both time-telling rings.
Daniel Borrelli, Michael Kish,
Rajiv Sujan and Richard Yoon from
Mechanical Engineering and
Management are working with
Patrick Leroux and Jennifer
Torosian from the School
of the Arts to create a
mechanical timepiece
that combines both
engineering concepts
and industrial design
with an artistic influence. Mechanical
Engineering professor Tim Nye is their
thesis advisor.
The students are now looking for resources
and materials needed to build the clock.
Anyone willing to make a contribution of
equipment, materials or funding is welcome
to contact the group. For more information,
visit: http://chronosclock.mcmaster.ca
Senior Class
Gift Tradition
Every year, graduating seniors
and the Office of Alumni Advancement work together to
create a student-centred Senior
Class Gift based on the new
opportunities and challenges
that are continually emerging at
McMaster University. This initiative is a student-led project that
encourages graduating students
to make a financial contribution
to McMaster in their final year
of study.The 2008 Engineering Senior Class gift Campaign
was led by 2008 grads Maria
Topalovic, Steve Remilli and
the Engineering Alumni Office.
The Class of 2008 Gift will be
recognized outside of the new
Engineering building with a
park bench and a tree.
The Engineering Alumni
Office believes that other
engineering classes would be
interested in making a class
gift. Such a gift might recognize
the students’ shared journey
through a challenging year,
emphasise an important event
in the engineering field, acknowledge appreciation for an
individual professor, or honour
an outstanding achievement
by a classmate. If your class is
interested in planning a class
gift, please contact:
Carm Vespi, vespi@mcmaster.ca
The MacEngineer 11
Engineers & Engineering
Celebrate!
On Saturday, October 18, more than 500 alumni,
faculty and staff – some from as far away as Australia and Peru – attended the 50th Anniversary
Fireball Gala to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
the Faculty of Engineering. The festivities took
place in the David Braley Athletic Centre and
included sealing of an Anniversary Time Capsule,
a special McMaster Engineering Society Sword
Presentation, and the introduction of the Living
Legacy Project.
Keynote speakers Dr. Peter George,
President and Vice-Chancellor at McMaster,
Dr. David Wilkinson, Dean of Engineering,
and Dr. Les Shemilt, professor emeritus and
the second Dean of Engineering, provided anecdotes and historical perspectives on the strong
legacy of engineering at McMaster University.
Many past Deans of Engineering, seven
students from the first graduating class (Class
of ’61), current and past MES Presidents, and
current and past Super Plumbers and Wonder
Plumbers were all in attendance. Jay Ingram,
host of Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet was the
master of ceremonies for the evening.
Following the speeches, ceremonies, and a
scrumptious dinner, music was provided by
The Groove Corporation with special guest
Tiffany Thompson. The wonderful sounds
got everyone up and dancing.
12
The MacEngineer
More than100 items were donated by alumni,
faculty and staff for the Time Capsule and Living Legacy Project. Among the items donated:
a train engineer’s cap (‘64), an engineering
student’s red suit, an engineering leather jacket,
a 1970s Commodore Calculator, a slide rule,
textbooks, class notes, and Fireball and Welcome
Week memorabilia. Donations are still being
accepted for the Living Legacy Project.
Here are some of the comments we have received
about the 50th Anniversary Fireball Gala:
“Just wanted to say thanks for a most entertaining evening. I know you put a ton of work into it
and it showed.” – Stephen Lane
“Great party, Carm! We had a wonderful time.”
– Marc Lafreniere
“Donna and I would like to say thanks for organizing a wonderful evening on Saturday. Table 19
had a blast. Winning a door prize was a bonus!”
– Paul Sedran
“As always, you’ve outdone yourself again.
The event was fantastic …” – Joe Podrebarac
The MacEngineer 13
“Great job, Ladies! Everything that was in your control
was perfect. Like Jay said, it really was a “fire ball”.
Glad it was a false alarm.” – Janet Delsey
“Great job, Carm!!!” – Deborah Smaluck
“I can only imagine all the work you and your office
did to make this happen. All the planning must have been
horrendous but you got it perfect, down to the last detail –
like the fire alarm. That sure brought back memories.”
– Erik Quist
“Congratulations – very well attended and Jay Ingram was
a terrific MC.” – Rod Morrison
“I had an absolute blast, so I wanted to say thank you
for all the hard work you did. I’m so glad I could make it.
I also wanted to mention how fantastic Mac campus looks
and how I always have a great time going back there.”
– Lulu Bursztyn
“What a great job you did on organizing the gala.
We had a really good time and enjoyed meeting new people
as well as old friends. The “fire alarm stretch”
was a nice touch.” – Dave Dean
“Hi Carm. It was great to see you on Saturday night.
Peter and I had a great time! And it was lots of fun.
I met up with some people that I lived in residence
with (which was a long time ago …).”
– Christine Macdonald
“That was a very successful and well organized event.
You did yourself and the Faculty proud.”
– Grant and Mary Huber
“I would like to congratulate you and everyone else
that works in the Alumni Office. Saturday’s event ran
very smoothly. Your hard work was greatly appreciated.
The Mini Baja Team was glad to be given the chance
to meet with the Alumni and demonstrate some of the
new things that are happening at McMaster.”
– Matt Green, McMaster Mini Baja
“Thanks for organizing this past weekend’s event.
I had a blast!!” – Mark Huttram
“Thanks, it was great to be part of it! I think you and
your staff were amazing as well!!” – Pete Topalovic
“I think that the gala will definitely go down in the
memory books as one of the best organized events in
the history of the Faculty of Engineering.” – Julie Dixon
“We enjoyed the evening very much – the setting was
lovely, the food delicious, the hotel very nice, the
presentations and displays well done. It was nice to be on
campus on a beautiful fall day and reconnect with friends.
Thank you for all the work you did in planning this event.”
– Peggy and Mark Sheridan
“Marianne, Erin, Joyanne, Dave
and his wife Linda
and I all had a wonderful time. Ralph and
Suzanne also enjoyed
themselves. Ralph commented that he found
it the most enjoyable
of the 50th anniversary
events. It was a wonderful opportunity to
dress up (which I hardly
ever do) …”
– Alison Orr
14
The MacEngineer
Can you believe it?
You are celebrating your
40th, 35th, 30th, 25th, 20th, 15th or 10th
Anniversary this year!
I will be posting names of those who
will be attending on the website, so add
your name to the list now!
I have also listed lost alumni. If you know
where they are, please let me know
and I will contact them.
If anyone is interested in helping me
by contacting their classmates please
let me know. We have had successful
alumni reunions and I trust that this
will be another one.
I have already had a number of alumni
contact me to say they are planning to attend.
Mark the date in your calendar:
Saturday May 23rd, 2009!
I look forward to seeing you there.
Sincerely, Carm
The MacEngineer 15
NEWS BRIEFS
Appointments
Ken Coley, chair of the Department of
Materials Science and Engineering, has
been appointed the new Associate Dean,
Academic for the Faculty of Engineering. David Potter of the Department of
Chemical Engineering, where he has held
a management role in the Xerox Centre for
Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation since January 2006, has been appointed the Director of the Engineering and
Management Program. Both appointments
were effective August 1, 2008.
Loutfy Appointed
Synchrotron Chair
Rafik Loutfy,
Director of McMaster
University’s Xerox
Centre for Engineering
Entrepreneurship and
Innovation, has been
elected chair of the
board of directors of
Canadian Light Source
Inc. (CLSI), Canada’s national synchrotron
research facility. He assumed his duties
on June 24, 2008.
Dr. Loutfy has more than 30 years of
experience as a research, development,
business and strategic leader with the
Xerox Corporation. He is the inaugural
holder of the Walter G. Booth Chair for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation
at McMaster. The Canadian Light Source is
Canada’s national centre for synchrotron
research, located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
Aboriginal Students
During one week in July, 20 young aboriginal students in the Hamilton area got
a hands-on introduction to engineering,
science and mathematics. The students,
ranging in age from 7 to 12 and enrolled
in the youth program run by the Hamilton
Regional Indian Centre, participated in
the popular Venture Engineering and
Science Camp. Arrangements were made
through the McMaster Indigenous Studies
Program, which applied for funding from
the Aboriginal Education Training Strategy
program.
RFID Lab Grows in India
The McMaster Radio Frequency Identification Applications Lab (MRAL) has taken on
two initiatives in India.
16
The MacEngineer
OSPE and DCEPP Form Partnership
A new partnership between the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) and
McMaster’s Dofasco Centre for Engineering and Public Policy (DCEPP) aims to increase
the voice of engineering professionals in public policy discussions. OSPE and DCEPP will
be undertaking several initiatives to support engineering professionals in expanding their
abilities to engage in public policy discussions. The two groups will also provide leadership
in identifying public policy priorities and developing discussion points through the OSPE’s
Centre of Engineering Excellence. Left to right: Andrew Hrymak, Angela Shama, Gail
Krantzberg, David Wilkinson, Michael Monette, Edwina McGroddy.
The first is a research collaboration with
the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
(IIT- New Delhi), IPICO Inc. and Strategic
Consultants (New Delhi). The $2.5 million initiative is receiving $1.2 million in
matching funding by International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada
(ISTPCanada) and the Global Innovation &
Technology Alliance (GITA). The remaining
funding is provided by industry partners.
The funding will be used to continue the
development of a technology solution to
power an intelligent transportation system
framework. The goal of the project is to
create an economically-viable RFID solution
to capture and analyse data related to traffic
use and capacity, without a corresponding
increase in investment in road infrastructure. In turn, this technology could be used
to help manage traffic, reducing road delays
and transit time, therefore reducing both
emissions and dependency on fossil fuels.
The second initiative is an arrangement
with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India
to pursue RFID-related consulting and
solutions services in India. The technology
is already being used in India for such
purposes as bus scheduling, mail delivery,
medical diagnosis and banking. MRAL will
provide leadership in RFID technology
assessment, hardware vendor assessments,
service level agreements, and privacy and
policy issues. PwC will provide leadership
from a systems perspective.
Faculty Adds 14th Canada
Research Chair
Natalia Nikolova,
associate professor
of electrical and
computer engineering,
has been appointed
Canada Research
Chair (Tier 2) in
High-Frequency
Electromagnetics.
She receives $500,000 in funding for her
research. Prof. Nikolova brings the number
of Canada Research Chair (CRC) appointments in the Faculty of Engineering to 14.
Prof. Nikolova’s research involves investigation of microwave-imaging techniques
and tools to better, and non-invasively,
detect tumours, such as breast cancer.
Her work involves applying microwave
imaging to biomedical diagnostics and
non-destructive testing, via computer
algorithms for high-frequency electromagnetic system analysis and simulation, as
well as computer-aided design methods
for antennas, and microwave devices and
systems. She is also exploring the theory
of the interaction of the electromagnetic
field with plasma and its application in
wireless communications.
$50,000 Gift
On December 9, 2008, Burlington-based
Philips Engineering announced a gift of
$50,000 to the Faculty of Engineering’s new
Engineering Technology Building Fund.
Four of the company’s five principal officers
– Gary Tansley (’66), Ken DePodesta (’73),
Ron Scheckenberger (’81), Hank Huitema
(’86), and four of the firm’s five Associates
- Paul Smeltzer (’79), Brian Bishop (’89),
David Sinke (’90), Angelo Cutaia (’86) – are
Mac grads. Rounding out the Mac connection are designers Aaron Farrell (’96), Aaron
Brouwers (’03) and Tim Winterton (’04).
Alumni Giving to Teaching Studio
The Teaching Studio will be a room designed to allow students and professors
to interact with each other. There will be
computers stationed throughout, an electronic voting system, and large projection
screen. Funding for the Teaching Studio is
being received from alumni and class contributions; a donor recognition wall located
in the room will recognize the generosity
of those who made this space possible.
Gifts have ranged in size from $1,000 and
upwards. We hope you will consider a contribution to this special project. Our goal
is to have a list of 200-plus names on the
recognition wall!
“My Engineering Education from
McMaster University created the foundation
of a very satisfying and rewarding career
in the Ontario Engineering Consulting
Business. It is for this reason that I have
decided to contribute my original investment in my Mac Eng Education as a gift
to the Faculty of Engineering for the
unding of the Teaching Studio of the
New Engineering Building.” —
Jim McEwen, (Civil ’78) AECOM.
model design to benchmark the device and
create a technical report with a complete
set of engineering drawings. Judging was
based on a team’s acquired skills, using
SolidEdge for the modeling, assembly, and
engineering drawings of the product.
Congratulations to the first place team of
Matthew Balyk, Morgan Cunningham, and
Jaclyn Obemeyer for their great spray gun
product design. The team went on to the
2008 UGS Connection Americas Conference in Orlando, Florida and took third
place for their design.
Students Go Nuclear
New Energy Policy Graduate
Course in Toronto
Environment and economic factors have
made energy a critical public policy issue.
To support the engagement of scientists
and engineers in the practice of energy
policy development and policy implementation processes, the Dofasco Centre for
Engineering and Public Policy launched a
13-week energy policy analysis course at
MaRS in downtown Toronto, which started
January 22. Members of the Ontario Society
of Professional Engineers receive a 10 per
cent discount.
Students PickUp the PACE
The Faculty hosted its first PACE Course
Competition as part of the spring 2008
curriculum. PACE (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering
Education) is an initiative of General
Motors and supplier companies.
More than 400 first-year Engineering
Design and Graphics (Course #1C03) students were challenged as new employees
of XYZ Tools to evaluate and conceptualize a competitor’s product. Teams were
required to use SolidEdge CAE software for
The American Nuclear Society and the
Faculty of Engineering have formed the
first-ever ANS student chapter in Ontario,
and the first in Canada in almost 10 years.
The formation of the chapter was marked
with a charter presentation and remarks
by Thomas Sanders, vice-president and
president-elect of the American Nuclear
Society, and a senior executive at Sandia
National Laboratories.
Twenty students have already signed on
as members. Chapter activities include:
public outreach, organization of seminars,
arranging of guest speakers, participation
in ANS events, and networking with other
student chapters across North America.
continued on p.20
APPOINTMENTS
16
Ken Coley
Dr. David Capson
David Potter
Dr. Brian Baetz
Dr. John Brash
Dr. Jun Chen
Dr. Christopher Swartz
Associate Dean,
Academic
Chair, Electrical
and Computer
Engineering
Director of the
Engineering
and Management
Program
re-appointed
Director of the
Engineering and
Society Program
re-appointed
Director of the
School of
Biomedical
Engineering
Barber-Gennum
Endowed Chair
in Information
Technology
Dofasco Endowed
Chair in Process
Automation and
Information
Technology
The MacEngineer
DEPARTMENTAL NEWS
Chemical Engineering
The Department congratulates Doug
Keller who is this year’s recipient of the
Veronika Czerneda Staff Award. Doug will
have his name added to the permanent
Roll of Honour plaque, and will receive a
Certificate of Award as well as a monetary
award valued at $500.
The Canadian Journal of Chemical
Engineering dedicated its October 2008
issue to John MacGregor, the Department’s Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, in celebration of his
65th birthday. Prof. MacGregor joined
McMaster University in 1972 as assistant
professor. He developed an outstanding
scholarly reputation in the application of
statistics to process and product quality
monitoring, advanced process control and
the development of the field of polymer
reaction engineering. He has served as
Department Chair (1988-91), the Dofasco
Chair in Process Automation (1999-2008),
and was awarded the title of Distinguished
University Professor in 2003. He retired
from McMaster University earlier this
year and is dedicating much of his time to
Prosensus, a data analysis company that
he established in 2004.
Professor emeritus Thomas Marlin has
been awarded the D.G. Fisher Award by
the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. He received his award at a CSChE
meeting in Ottawa in October. Prof.
Marlin’s research interests have focused
on improved performance of dynamic
systems through real-time operations
optimization and process control design.
The D.G. Fisher Award is presented to
an individual who has made substantial
contributions in the field of Systems and
Control Engineering. It is sponsored by
the Suncor Energy Foundation, Shell
Canada Limited, and the Department of
Chemical and Materials Engineering at the
University of Alberta.
Robert Pelton,
professor and Canada
Research Chair in
Interfacial Technologies (Tier 1), has been
awarded the Macromolecular Science and
Engineering Award
by the Chemical
Institute of Canada
for 2009. Prof. Pelton invented PNIPAM
(N-isopropylacrylamide) temperature
18
The MacEngineer
sensitive microgels in 1978. Since then the
McMaster interfacial technologies group,
which he established, has become one of
the world’s most prolific academic groups
involved in designing new polymers
that improve the strength and function
of paper-based materials. Prof. Pelton is
also involved with the SENTINEL Bioactive Paper Network. Established in 2005,
this partnership of 10 universities, nine
major industrial partners, and government agencies was formed to pursue the
development of bioactive paper, a Canadian innovation. The Chemical Institute
award is presented annually to an individual who, while resident in Canada,
has made a distinguished contribution to
macromolecular science or engineering. It
was established in 1989 and is sponsored
by NOVA Chemicals Ltd. Prof. Pelton will
be presented with his award at the 92nd
Canadian Chemistry Conference and
Exhibition (CSC2009), which will be held
in Hamilton, Ontario from May 30 to June
3, 2009.
(Ph.D. ’94) left his Canada Research Chair
(Tier 1) post at the University of Regina
to become a professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo; Dr.
Lisa Aultman-Hall (Ph.D. ’96) left the
University of Connecticut to take up the
post of Director of the University of Vermont’s National Transportation Research
Centre in Burlington, VT.; Cam Churchill
(M.A.Sc. ’97) was recently appointed as a
tenure-track teaching professor in McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering (in addition
to being the Program Chair for Mac’s Civil
BTech initiative and an integral member
of the Engineering and Society teaching
team); Dr. Bruce Wilson (Ph.D. ’01)
recently took up the reins as Chair of the
Department of Civil Engineering at the
University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, NB; and Dr. Todd Randall (Ph.D. ’01)
was recently granted tenure and promoted
to associate professor in the Department
of Geography at Lakehead University in
Thunder Bay, ON. Congratulations to all
of these high achievers!
Civil Engineering
Computing & Software
Congratulations to Dr. A. Ghani
Razaqpur on being awarded the Fellowship of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in June. Dr. Razaqpur holds the
Chair for Effective Design of Structures
and is Chair of the Department. He is
an authority on concrete materials and
structures, advanced finite element modeling, and design of structures using fibre
reinforced polymers (FRP). He has over
130 publications in journals and conference proceedings, and has supervised 40
Master’s and doctoral students. He is a
Fellow of the CSCE (President 2006/07)
and of the EIC, and is Associate Editor for
the International Journal of Cement and
Concrete Composites.
Professor emeritus David L. Parnas has
been named a Fellow of the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) for contributions to software
engineering. Prof. Parnas is considered
one of the early pioneers of software
engineering in Canada. He is known for
developing the concept of information
hiding module design which is the foundation of today’s object oriented programming. He also is known for his promotion
of precise documentation.
Dr. Brian Baetz was
selected as the 2008
recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction.
The award, established
in 1993, provides
the opportunity for
McMaster to recognize
outstanding contributions to education through innovation,
achievement or continuing excellence in
either classroom or personal instruction.
Over the last year, our graduate alumni
have been notching up some major
accomplishments: Dr. Gordon Huang
He also has received an honorary Doctorate from the Universita della Svizzera
italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. He has
also been named a Fellow of the Gesellschaft für Informatik in Germany. In
addition, Dr. Parnas is the recipient of the
2009 ACM SIGSOFT Impact Paper Award
for the paper, “The Modular Structure of
Complex Systems.” The paper, published
in 1984, was co-authored with Paul C.
Clements and David M. Weiss. The Impact
Paper Award is presented annually to
the author(s) of a paper presented at a
SIGSOFT-sponsored (or co-sponsored)
conference held at least 10 years prior to
the award year. Papers are judged by their
influence since publication. The award
includes an invitation to present a keynote
talk at the current year’s annual SIGSOFT
Foundations of Software conference, and
inclusion of a retrospective paper in the
conference proceedings.
A small research meeting, initiated by the
Department in 2007, now appears likely
to become a permanent annual conference. StringMasters was first held in July
2007 as a means of bringing together
world class researchers together with
their graduate students to study some
of the many current research problems
in string algorithms. In the age of the
Internet, these problems have numerous
applications in data mining, bioinformatics, data compression, software engineering, and web search. Sponsored by
CAS’ Algorithms Reseach Group (ARG),
StringMasters was initially conceived as a
one-off event. But the interest generated
led to a second workshop in May 2008.
So much new work was done during the
event that a special issue of a prestigious
computer science journal, Fundamenta
Informaticae, will appear in 2009, consisting only of work resulting from discussions held at StringMasters 2008. In both
2007 and 2008, StringMasters attracted
about 17 participants from half a dozen
countries, some from as far away as Chile
and Finland. StringMasters 2009 will
be held in South Africa, sponsored by a
string algorithms group at the University
of Pretoria.
News Flash! McMaster Team Ranks 9th
out of 124 Teams in Regional ACM Programming Contest. McMaster was one of
four host sites for the East Central North
American region, welcoming 25 teams
from 13 different schools. The McMaster
team of William Hua, Sanjay Patel and
Martin Munoz managed to solve 4 of the
8 problems in the five-hour time limit;
solving 4 or more problems was a feat
achieved by only 11 teams. The local
contest was organized by CAS Associate
Professor Jacques Carette and his team of
volunteers. It ran very smoothly and the
contestants and their coaches were very
pleased with the local arrangements – including the substantial breakfast designed
to sustain contestants for those 5 hours of
intense concentration!
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jamal Deen, Canada Research Chair
in Information Technology, has been
awarded the prestigious Thomas W. Eadie
Medal by the Royal Society of Canada.
Professor Deen is a major contributor in
microelectronics/nanoelectronics and
optoelectronics, and has made significant
contributions to communication systems
hardware. He is an authority in the modeling and noise of electronic and optoelectronic devices, particularly silicon
transistors and high-speed photodetectors
for application in wireless communication
circuits and optical communication receivers. The medal is awarded in recognition of major contributions to engineering
or applied science, with preference given
to those having an impact on communications, especially the Internet. Professor
Deen is also the recipient of an academic
excellence award presented at the Eighth
Annual Guyana Awards (Canada) gala in
May in Toronto. The awards acknowledge
outstanding achievements of Guyanese
individuals and organizations, and their
contributions toward the promotion and
development of the country, its heritage
and its culture.
Associate professor Natalia Nikolova and
assistant professor Alexandru Patricui
have received Ontario Research Foundation (ORF) funding to advance their
health-related research. Professor Nikolova has received $111,391 to advance her
research in non-invasive imaging for
applications such as early-stage breast
cancer detection. Professor Patricui received $69,317 to advance developments
of ‘smart’ robots for difficult surgical
procedures.
Assistant professor Jun Chen has been
appointed the Barber-Gennum Endowed
Chair in Information Technology. He
received his B.Sc. degree in Electronic
Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees
in Electrical and Computer Engineering
from Cornell University.
Timothy Davidson has been appointed
acting director of the McMaster School of
Computational Engineering and Science
David Capson succeeds Max Wong as
chair of the Department. Most recently,
Dr. Capson served as Acting Dean of
Graduate Studies for the University. He
received his Ph.D. from McMaster University and B.Sc.Eng. from the University of
New Brunswick.
Professor emeritus Barna Szabados has
been named a member of the Professional
Engineers Ontario (PEO) Order of Honour
for his outstanding record of contribution
in the area of admission to the profession.
Ahmed A. Farid won a Best Paper award
in the “Young Researcher” Category at
the 2008 International Symposium on
Communication Systems, Networks and
Digital Signal Processing. Co-authored
with S. Hranilovic, the paper is entitled,
“BER-Link Availability Design For Fading
Free-Space Optical Channels”.
Engineering Physics
Andrew Knight received Early Researcher Awards funding from the Ontario
Ministry of Research and Innovation in
July. These awards assist recently-appointed Ontario researchers to build their
research teams. Professor Knight and his
team are attempting to integrate light
and electricity on a single silicon chip in
order to create a faster and more efficient
method of processing information. He
shares $1.2 million of funding with eight
other McMaster faculty members.
John Luxat, NSERC/UNENE Industrial
Research Chair in Nuclear Safety Analysis, was recently appointed to the Board
of Directors of Atomic Energy of Canada
Limited (AECL). He also was appointed to
a four-member panel chaired by former
Calgary MP and federal cabinet minister
Harvie Andre to help Alberta develop a
nuclear policy.
David Jackson, adjunct professor and
current Acting Director of the McMaster Institute for Energy Studies (MIES),
will chair the Engineering Institute of
Canada’s 2nd Climate Change Technology
Conference CCTC2009 at McMaster from
May 12 to 15, 2009.
Professor Adrian Kitai received an
NSERC I2I award of $112,000 for a
McMaster University Xerox Centre for
Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation (XCEEi) project on silicon solar cell
technology to enable flexible solar cells
for new applications such as curved roofs
or lightweight portable solar-powered
electronic products. He also received a
$98,000 award from the Ontario Centres
of Excellence for work (also with XCEEi)
on liquid crystal-based optical fibre display technology that is capable of largesize, high-brightness displays for public
video applications. His innovations have
earned a Canada’s Top Ten technology
award at the 2008/2009 Canada’s Top 10T
Cleantech Competition, as well as a firstplace award at TieQuest 2008.
Associate professor David Novog received $106,313 in funding from the
Ontario Research Fund to advance his
continued on p.20
The MacEngineer 19
DEPARTMENTAL NEWS
research in nuclear power safety. The
award supports alternative energy research in Ontario. The focus of Professor
Novog’s research is to improve current
prediction methods in safety analysis.
Current safety analysis uses analytical
models and computer codes to predict a
plant’s response to hypothetical accident
scenarios. Prof. Novog will be constructing new models based on a unique
measurement system, the phase-doppler
anemometer.
Mechanical Engineering
Associate professor Philip Koshy is
the recipient of the Humboldt Research
Fellowship for Experienced Researchers for his scientific work on machining
processes. The fellowship is awarded to
top foreign scientists who are invited to
work with German colleagues. The grant
will fund his research and development
of new manufacturing technologies. For
his ten-month sabbatical, which began in
October, Professor Koshy has been at the
NEWS BRIEFS
Self-Moisturizing Contact
Lenses, Naturally
Heather Sheardown and her graduate
students have shown that a common fluid
found in our bodies can
be used as a natural
moisturizing agent in
contact lenses.
This is a step up from
the current wave
of self-moisturizing
contact lenses that use
synthetic materials as a
wetting agent to prevent eye dryness
and increase wearer comfort.
The research, published in the journal
Biomaterials, showed that hyaluronic
acid can be entrapped in existing contact
The MacEngineer
Congratulations to the following undergraduate students who have achieved
outstanding academic averages for the
2007-2008 academic year: Patricia Sannuto, Mark Mihaljevic, Trevor Van
Eerde, Adam Trischler, and Matthew
Cernick.
McMaster-Mohawk BTech Program
The 4-year Bachelor of Technology program saw its first cohort of 95 students
enter Level I of the program in September
2008. These students will be moving on
to their chosen area of specialization in
the coming academic year - Automotive
and Vehicle Technology, Biotechnology,
or Process Automation Technology.
Classes have been held at Mohawk College this academic year, but with the
completion of the Engineering Technology Building this summer, students will
be at the McMaster campus beginning
September 2009.
The McMaster-Mohawk Bachelor of
Technology Partnership is pleased to
have two Assistant Professors join the
4-year program effective January 2009.
We welcome Dr. Dan Centea and Dr.
Monica Sauer.
Prof. Centea completed his Ph.D. in
Mechanical Engineering at McMaster and
has been teaching in B.Tech.’s Degree
Completion Program for many years.
Prof. Centea will be teaching in the Automotive and Vehicle Technology program.
Prof. Sauer completed her Ph.D. in
Biology at the University of California
at San Diego. She has also completed
two postdoctoral fellowships. Dr. Sauer
was most recently at the University of
Windsor teaching in the Department of
Biological Sciences. She has also held
teaching positions in genetics, genomics
and biotechnology at the University of
Toronto. Dr. Sauer will be teaching in the
Biotechnology program.
(continued from page 17)
Enrollment in the undergraduate nuclear
engineering stream at McMaster has
increased significantly over the past four
years. Graduate enrollment has experienced a ten-fold increase. McMaster has
the longest-standing nuclear engineering
program in Canada.
20
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering at Aachen, Germany.
lens material without affecting optical
properties.
It was also found that using hyaluronic
acid considerably reduces the build up
of proteins which can cloudy contact
lens material, the cause of up to 30 per
cent of all after-care visits by contact lens
wearers to optometrists.
The body uses hyaluronic acid to repair
skin, provide resiliency in cartilage, and
contribute to the growth and movement
of cells, among other things. It is also used
by the medical profession to treat patients
with dry eyes, in cataract surgery, and for
other eye-related procedures.
It is estimated that more than 50 per cent
of people who stop wearing contact lenses
do so because of discomfort caused by dryness, which is particularly high at the end
of the day.
Optical Chip Start-Up Receives
Accelerator Funding
A start-up company formed by engineering
physics professor Chang-Qing Xu that could
transform the quality and power needs
of TV and computer monitors is receiving $500,000 in funding from the Ontario
Investment Accelerator Fund.
C2C Link Corporation, developers of
optical chips that efficiently convert laser
light from one colour to another, is one of
eight Ontario new technology companies
selected to receive funding. The announcement was made on January 5 by Dalton
McGuinty, Premier of Ontario and John
Wilkinson, Ontario Minister of Research
and Innovation.
C2C Link’s technology is the only known
method for producing commercially viable
green and blue optical chips. Industry
experts believe these chips will be the
driving force behind a new generation of
laser-based displays that might even replace
LCD-based TVs and monitors, due to better
quality, greater energy efficiency and capability of displaying 3D image
Funding provided by the Investment
Accelerator Fund supports research, field
testing, and patent and promotion costs as
companies expand. The $29-million fund is
delivered by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and MaRS, with the support of the
National Angel Organization – Ontario.
NEW FACULTY AND RETIREES RECOGNIZED
sistant professor. Over the years he taught
many courses at both the undergraduate
and graduate levels, supervised more than
60 Masters and Ph.D. students, and postdoctoral fellows. Many of these students
are now holding important academic positions both nationally and internationally
or are playing leading roles in government
and industry. Students speak highly about
Prof. Ghobarah’s quality of teaching and
research, and his ability to tie research to
engineering practice.
From 1989 to 1995, Prof. Ghobarah was
Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering. In 2001, in recognition of his high
quality of research, he was appointed
the first Joe Ng/JNE Consulting Chair in
Design, Construction and Management of
Infrastructure Renewal. His research has
focused on earthquake engineering and
structural dynamics, behaviour and rehabilitation of existing reinforced concrete
structures, seismic design of equipment/
structural systems, and seismic rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures.
He is a member of the editorial boards of
the Journal of Engineering Structures
and Journal of Earthquake Engineering.
He has served as a member of the official
Canadian delegation to a number of earthquake stricken sites to survey the damage and report its relevance to Canadian
seismic design practice.
William Garland,
Professor Emeritus,
Engineering Physics. Prof. Garland’s
association with the
Faculty of Engineering
dates back 38 years.
He did his Bachelor’s
and Master’s in engineering physics, and
completed a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. He then went on to a very successful
career in Canada’s nuclear industry. From
1975-1979, he was a design engineer at
Ontario Hydro, working on heat transport
design for nuclear power stations. He then
moved to Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd,
where he became a section head with
responsibility for design of heat transport
systems in CANDU reactors.
Prof. Garland was lured back to McMaster in 1983 as a faculty member in
the Department of Engineering Physics,
and has been at the heart of the nuclear
engineering program ever since. He has
combined enthusiasm for his discipline
with a passionate commitment to excellence in teaching. His research was in
nuclear reactor physics, thermal hydraulics
and reactor system analysis. He worked on
CANDU reactor systems and also based
much of his work on the McMaster Nuclear
Reactor. He served the University in many
capacities, including serving as Chair of
Engineering Physics from 1988 to 1994 and
(continued from page 8)
as Director of the McMaster Nuclear Reactor from 1994 to 1995. He has also been
very active in professional bodies, most
notably the Canadian Nuclear Society. For
several years, Prof. Garland has been the
Academic Director of the CANTEACH
program, which is an educational network sponsored by the Canadian nuclear
industry and the CANDU Owners Group.
To address the industry’s need for specialized graduate level education in nuclear
engineering, Prof. Garland took the lead
on two major McMaster initiatives, the
graduate diploma in Nuclear Engineering
and the industry-focused M.Eng. program
operated through the University Network
of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering (UNENE). He was instrumental in the creation
of UNENE and served as its executive
director up until his retirement.
Staff Retirements
Betty-Ann Bedell-Ryc, Department
Administrator, Mechanical Engineering.
Betty-Ann served the Department of Mechanical Engineering with skill and commitment through the chairmanships of
Professors Siddal, Wade, Weaver, Shoukri,
Elbestawi, and Ziada. Always the consummate professional, she managed the
Department’s affairs with competence and
a pleasant demeanour, which always made
the Chair’s job easier.
Message from the Associate Dean (continued from page 3)
neurship, and Management.Then I met
with a delegation from the Australian
Technology Network of Universities (ATN),
which is comprised of RMIT (Melbourne),
University of Technology (Sydney), Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane),
and University of South Australia (Adelaide). Discussions covered a broad range
of topics from the value of formal research
networks to industry-academia partnerships and the role of university networks
as advisors of governments on science
and technology issues. It was proposed to
establish a Research Fellowship Scheme
to help build stronger ties between ATN
and select Canadian universities, McMaster
included.
Dr. Mo Elbestawi (former Dean of
Engineering and now VP Research and
International Affairs) and I visited the
Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF) Trento and the
University of Trento, Italy. At CRF, we had
an excellent meeting with the director of
the facility and members of his research
team.The purpose of the meeting was to
explore opportunities for research collaborations in areas that reflect our core
expertise including telematics, light weight
materials, and manufacturing technologies.
The main focus is the development of lowcost technologies for low-volume automotive production. At the university, we found
significant interest in a strong, formal partnership including: (i) exchange of doctoral
and postgraduate students to study at the
partner institution; (ii) engagement in collaborative teaching projects; (iii) fostering
of joint dissertation projects; (iv) encouragement of the development of funded
compatible research projects involving
faculty and, where possible, graduate
students; (v) the institutional development
of bi-nationally supervised doctoral theses
(“co-tutelle de thèse”), starting with arrangements to facilitate the joint scientific
and administrative supervision of doctoral
theses; and (vi) the development of a 2+2
relationship at the undergraduate level. A
Memorandum of Understanding has been
signed by McMaster and will be reviewed
by the appropriate academic bodies at the
University of Trento.
The MacEngineer 21
ALUMNI GRAPEVINE
MacCivilEng
McFarlane, Debbie (nee Palmer) (‘97):
Christopher and I are proud parents of
Jonathan Woolfrys McFarlane, born April
8, 2008, weighing in at 7 lb 7 oz.
the games for failure to register two athletes by the deadline. She hopes to swim
at the London Olympics in 2012.
MacChemEng
Grabham, Norm (’74): My two sons are
engineers!
David is a chemical engineer
Siaw, Jane (‘82): I am now a Training
and
Plant
Manager
for Union Carbide of
Engineer in the Public Works Department
Canada;
Kevin
is
currently
teaching at
in Brunei on Borneo Island. Wallace and
Lambton
College
in
Sarnia
and
Houston,
I have three children, all of whom are
Texas.
On
February
19,
2008,
Kevin
and
musical. Maria and Michael play piano,
his
wife
became
proud
parents
of
twin
and Timothy plays the clarinet. Life is
girls. The girls were welcomed home by
hectic! Between work, school, and afterschool activities, I help organize concerts big sister Isabella, who was born in 2007.
for the Brunei Music Society and plan and Radisic, Milica (nee Rodic) (’99): In
run swimming meets for the Amateur
August, 2009, Milica was selected as one
Swimming Association here. Maria was
of the top 35 innovators under 35 for
approved to swim for Brunei at the Beijing 2008 by Technology Review. She has been
Olympics, but Brunei was excluded from
recognized for her research on improv-
25th Annual
J.W. Hodgins
Memorial Lecture
Featuring Dr. Vicky J. Sharpe
President and CEO,
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC)
“Sustainable Development,
Cleantech and the Canadian Landscape”
Thursday, March 19th at 7:00 p.m.
McMaster University
Information Technology Building (ITB-137)
Lecture is free
For further information, please contact Terry Milson
(905) 525.9140 ext. 27391 or milsont@mcmaster.ca
The J.W. Hodgins Memorial Lectureship was established by the Faculty of Engineering
in 1983 as a memorial to Dr. J.W. Hodgins, McMaster’s first Dean of Engineering. The
focus of the Lectureship is on the engineer in society, in recognition of the breadth of
interest and contributions of Dr. Hodgins. Each year a distinguished individual is invited
to deliver a public lecture of interest to both the McMaster and external communities.
www.eng.mcmaster.ca
ing the heart’s ability to mend after injury
through the use of embryonic stem cells.
The cells create a small patch that mimics
human heart tissue. Milica is currently Assistant Professor of chemical engineering
at the University of Toronto.
MacElecEng
Lambshead, Alan (’72): On Saturday
August 23, 2008, Alan accepted the 2008
Philo R. Farnsworth Corporate Achievement Award on behalf of Burlington
(Ontario)-based Evertz Technologies Limited. The award, presented by the Academy
of Television Arts & Sciences, was given
for contributions made by the company
that have significantly affected the state
of television technology and engineering.
Alan is currently President of Evertz, a
EVENTS
Etiquette Night
Monday, March 9, 2009
Kipling Ceremony
Friday, March 27, 2009
May @ Mac Spring Open House
Saturday, May 9, 2009
7th Annual Engineering
Alumni Golf Tournament
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Copetown Woods Golf Club
1430 Concession 2 W., Copetown, Ontario
Cost: $175 – Price includes:
• BBQ Lunch
• Access to driving range, lockers and showers
• Use of shared power cart
• 18 Hole Tournament (Scramble)
• Complimentary Golf Shirt and other great giveaways
• Seafood Bar
• Plated dinner reception
• Tons of PRIZES to be won
• Various contests including longest drive
(male & female), putting, lowest-score winning
team, and Closest-to-the-Pin!
Alumni Weekend, Class of 1969, 1974, 1979,
1984, 1989, 1994 & 1999
Saturday, May 23, 2009
22
The MacEngineer
bending and welded assembly services
to the automotive, medical, furniture and
recreational products industries.
Kooiman, Stephen (’06, MA ’08) has been
appointed to Cleanfield Energy Corp., a
MacMechEng
subsidiary of Cleanfield Alternative Energy
Clark, Rick (‘78): I travel world-wide for
CIA Inspection, a service-based subsidiary Inc., as its wind energy specialist. Stephen
of engineering company Custom Industrial specialized in thermofluids during his
Automation (CIA), which offers proprietary Bachelor studies, and focused his Master’s
thesis on evaluating the urban environinspection equipment technology to the
mental wind effects on the performance
refining industry. During 2008, I traveled
MacEngPhysics
of vertical axis wind turbines. Stephen
to Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Hong Kong and
Yandt, Mark (‘08) is preparing for a crossis a successful recipient of the “First Job
Beijung.
Canada cycling odyssey beginning in the
Award” program established by the OnMacManfacturingEng
summer of 2009 to help raise funds for
tario Centres of Excellence (OCE), which
Friends of Camp Connections. Mark, who Creasy, Tim (‘91) has been appointed
facilitates its industry partners by assistlives in Petawawa, plans to leave from
ing in hiring students who have helped
Vice President of Sales and Marketing for
Victoria, BC on June 15, 2009 and wind his UltraFit Manufacturing. The Mississauga,
develop the technology in its push to comway across the country to St. John’s, New- Ontario-based company provides tube
mercialization.
company that designs, manufactures and
markets video and audio infrastructure
equipment for the television production,
post-production, broadcast and Internet
sectors.
Nieuwenhuis, Fred (’98): My wife Evelyn
and I welcomed into the world our first
daughter, Sofia Joanna, on June 25, 2008.
Her brothers Sam and Jamie are very excited to have a baby sister.
foundland with cycling partner Marzella
Martin. To read more about this fundraising adventure, make a pledge or become a
sponsor, visit: www.CrossCanada2009.ca
We are coming to Calgary…
The Faculty of Engineering and Newalta Corporation,
invites you for Cocktails and Hors d’Oeurves to meet
Dr. David Wilkinson, P.Eng., FCIM, FACerS, newly
appointed Dean of Engineering
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Location: Newalta Corporation,
211–11 Ave. SW, Calgary, AB
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Dress Code: Business Attire
For more information please contact
Carm Vespi, vespi@mcmaster.ca
Spring Convocation
Friday, June 12, 2009
4th Annual Beer Tasting Event
July, 2009 (TBA)
2nd Annual Boat Cruise
Friday, August 14, 2009
Homecoming Weekend
October 23 - 25, 2009
6th Annual Scotch Tasting Event
Faculty of Engineering’s
Applause and Accolades
Dinner Gala Event
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m.
at LIUNA Station, Hamilton
Mr. Bob Magee, President, Woodbridge
Group, will be presented with the
Faculty of Engineering Leadership
Award at our annual Applause and
Accolades Awards celebration.
Mr. Vladimir Sobot
(B.Eng ’80 Civil Engineering) and
Mr. Chedo Sobot
(B.Eng.Mgmt ’85 Civil Engineering),
Co-owners, Sobotec, will be presented
with the L.W. Shemilt Distinguished
Engineering Alumni Award at our
annual Applause and Accolades event.
To inquire about purchasing tickets
please call or email Terry Milson at
905.525.9140 ext. 37291 or milsont@
mcmaster.ca
Faculty of Engineering’s
L.W. Shemilt Distinguished
Engineering Alumni Award
Past recipients:
Mr. Mike Pley
Mr. Stephen Elop
Mr. Kurt Strobele
Faculty of Engineering
Leadership Award
Past recipients have been:
Mr. John Mayberry
(former President of Dofasco),
Mr. Doug Barber
(former President Gennum),
Mr. Joe Ng
(President JNE Consulting),
Mr. Joe Liburdi
(President Liburdi Engineering)
Mr. Carl Fuerst
(Chief Scientist GMC)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The MacEngineer 23
40063416
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