Lisa MacTavish, Pedro Torres-Basanta and Daniel Tse, a team from CivE MEng CEM, proposed a life cycle assessment (LCA) that investigates the environmental impacts of hand hygiene practices.
Saeed Shakib (CivE PhD candidate) working with project partner Ramtin Mojtahedi (BME PhD candidate), proposed a project that aims to to reduce risk of infection by providing a smart home-based reminder system for protective actions, such as wearing masks and washing hands.
Lilian Kabelle (CivE MEng candidate) with Marie Merci Ishimwe (MI candidate) and Ngone Lo (ECE MASc candidate), proposed an Engineering Think Tank. The idea is to unite engineers of various disciplines, who “have a heart” for East Africa, to counter the impact and challenges of COVID-19, and underdevelopment issues complicating the fight. Each group will identify and develop viable engineering solutions for the various problems.
Emma Sas, a CivE undergrad, working with Priyanjli Sharma and Michelle Nurse from Life Sciences and Avani Bhardwaj from Physics, put forth a project called COVID-19 Crisis Management: A 360 Perspective. They will be looking at various countries and regions and analyzing components such as the government response to the virus, the economic impact, the public health, and the response from the public.
To the graduating students of the CivMin Class of 2T0 and 1T9 PEY,
Watching your virtual convocation ceremony on June 2, 2020, was very moving. We are tremendously proud of your many accomplishments. No matter where life takes you, I have no doubt that you will use your skills and knowledge to have a lasting, positive impact as engineers.
Even though the virtual ceremony date has passed, the official convocation date listed on your student record will be June 18, 2020, which was the date on which our convocation was originally to take place.
The Convocation Office is shipping your U of T Engineering parchment to you on June 18, 2020. To help celebrate its arrival at your door, I’d like to share this video of congratulations from many CivMin faculty and staff.
When you receive your parchment, I encourage you to tag U of T Engineering in a selfie (@uoftengineering and #UofTGrad20) so we can celebrate with you!
You’re now joining a network of over 50,000 U of T Engineering Alumni. With words of encouragement and well wishes, they also congratulate you on your accomplishment.
I encourage you to stay connected with the CivMin community as a member of the Engineering Alumni Association, which offers many alumni benefits and supports. Keep your contact info up-to-date through U of T Engineering CONNECT to stay informed about special events and opportunities in your region.
Wishing you all the best for a bright and fulfilling future!
In busy areas where maintaining a two-metre distance from others isn’t possible, or is challenging, the university will assess and install protective measures such as Plexiglass barriers and sneeze guards (photo by Johnny Guatto)
The University of Toronto is implementing a number of changes on campus to ensure the U of T’s community’s safety in advance of the fall semester.
As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, new and returning students will see signs promoting good hand hygiene and other safe practices across U of T’s three campuses, as well as new sanitizer dispensers. To encourage physical distancing, students, faculty, librarians and staff will also encounter re-arranged classrooms, shared offices, libraries, teaching labs and other spaces.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, U of T will be taking additional steps to clean and disinfect public areas.
“We are working tirelessly to provide a safe environment for everyone who uses our campuses, so that they feel comfortable returning to learn, teach and work,” says Ron Saporta, U of T’s chief operating officer, property services and sustainability.
The health and safety measures are just one component of the university’s extensive planning for the fall semester, which is focused on three broad themes: promoting health and safety, advancing academic excellence and meeting the needs of the university community.
As it goes about preparing the campuses, Saporta says U of T is adhering to evidence-based guidelines released by the province of Ontario and the federal government. “As always, we will be keeping a close eye on public health guidelines to ensure our policies and practices are up-to-date,” he says.
Here are six ways U of T plans to keep the university community safe and healthy this fall:
Physical distancing
Until a vaccine is developed, health experts say physical distancing is one of the most effective weapons in the fight against COVID-19. As a result, a number of initiatives will be implemented, including setting up classrooms so that students can sit at least two metres apart from one another and making changes in residences and co-curricular spaces to allow for physical distancing. There may also be dedicated entrances and exits to encourage a one-way flow of traffic and restrictions on the maximum number of people allowed in a particular space.
There will also be signs indicating maximum occupancy in meeting rooms and elevators, and signs that direct the flow of foot traffic – not unlike those used by retailers.
More frequent cleaning and disinfecting
Libraries and classrooms will be cleaned five times per week, while surfaces that people often come into contact with, including elevator buttons and doorknobs, will be disinfected twice a day in keeping with Public Health Ontario guidelines.
Caretaking staff are using a new, chlorine-based solution approved for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Sanitizing stations
(photo by Johnny Guatto)
The university plans to install thousands of hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipe dispensers across the three campuses so that people can easily disinfect their hands and also high-touch surfaces. Each dispenser will be touchless and installed at an accessible height in visible locations.
“We’re trying to empower and enable users of spaces to be able to disinfect shared surfaces and spaces that they use, whether it’s a desk or door handle or armrest,” says Anna Kulikov, U of T’s senior manager, business improvement and strategic initiatives, facilities and services.
Protective measures
Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) is conducting assessments across U of T’s three campuses to ensure that adequate physical distancing measures are in place.
In busy areas where maintaining a two-metre distance from others isn’t possible, or is challenging, the university will assess and install where appropriate protective measures such as Plexiglass barriers and sneeze guards. Gina Trubiani, U of T’s director of occupational health and safety-EHS, says the measures may be set up in high-traffic areas such as campus clinic settings, the TCard office and other places where many people could come into close contact.
Masks
(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)
In addition to hand hygiene and physical distancing, experts at the World Health Organization, Health Canada and Public Health Ontario agree that non-medical face masks can help reduce the risk of spreading the virus to others. Masks are especially recommended in busy areas where it’s tricky to consistently keep a safe distance from others.
Starting this summer, U of T will provide about 250,000 non-medical, fabric face masks to students, staff, faculty and librarians (two per person). Individuals who are not required to wear a mask for work purposes may choose to use a non-medical mask as an elective measure while on campus. Wearing a non-medical mask is recommended when physical distancing is not possible. The purpose of this recommendation is to reduce the risk of transmission from asymptomatic individuals.
The university will also determine whether community members should be provided with the appropriate medical masks (N95 masks, surgical masks etc.) when working in specific environments like research labs or health-care settings. Employees conducting assigned work where an EHS assessment determines that personal protective equipment is required will be provided with the appropriate masks based on an assessment of risk.
While the U of T campus is closed to the public, in-person classes and non-essential lab work, an attempt is being made to connect with individuals continuing to work from home. This is part of a regular series to help bring us together as we remain apart during this public health crisis.
Mike Buckley, P.Eng.
Director of Design Services, PCL Construction Canada Inc
Mike Buckley (MASc 8T8) is Director of Design Services at PCL Construction Canada Inc. and is a member of the Department’s Industry Advisory Board. He shares his perspective as a professional working during the pandemic.
What major hurdle(s) have you had to personally overcome during this public health crisis? Like most people I have had to come to terms with not seeing my children, and brand-new granddaughter in person, and learn to survive by using modern tools such as Skype or Zoom to socialize with them. The same goes for my friends. However, given the situation, safety and control of the spread comes first. And, as I have said to many people, before the days of web conferencing, and cheap international travel, there are many parents and grandparents who said goodbye to their children who immigrated to this country, never to see them again. So, we are in fact lucky that we can still at least get a glimpse of our loved ones, if only virtually.
How has your corporation changed its operations during this time?
PCL Construction has an impeccable construction safety record, safety is engrained in the culture. So much so, that safety is the first KPI reviewed at all operation meetings. So, it is not a surprise that there was an immediate and relatively early response to the COVID-19 crisis by the company. The obvious responses were implemented such as working virtually where possible etc, but the response also included establishing corporate and district level response management committees that built consistent advice and operational guidelines for safe operations in the office and on construction sites. Controlling both physical distancing and hygiene issues on active construction sites presented its own set of challenges, with no real precedent for responding to a public health crisis on this level. PCL, along with the industry had to navigate the climate together. In an industry that is highly competitive, the collaboration and sharing of best practices amongst various firms was significant and overall resulted in what anecdotally seems to be a very low infection rate across the construction industry.
PCL produced and shared with its employees and the public at large many advisory documents, both about the COVID-19 virus, and its spread, but also practices for hygiene, and keeping your family safe.
Outside of the operational response, PCL also put a great effort into managing and providing support for individual employees and their families. This included regular updates on the operations of the company, but also access to counseling services for those who may need it due to the stress of the current situation, and accommodation of parenting needs due to daycare and school closures etc.
How have you changed your own approach and operations with working from home?
My role at PCL is quite unique and naturally allows for remote working more than what those on a construction site might face. So, what this meant for me was pulling an addition monitor out of the closet at home and setting up a regular work area where it would be comfortable and quiet for hours and hours of video conference calls. I am currently splitting my time between home and office, and where required, visits to sites. Working from home has allowed me to put more time to work, without impacting my personal time due to elimination of commuting time.
Can you tell us about some new challenges you’ve faced professionally for the first time and how they’ve been dealt with? Have you found yourself doing anything completely new/different for business and/or personal activities? What are your crystal ball predictions for getting back to work? Will our new “normal” be appreciably different?
Quite honestly, the biggest challenge I have faced in my professional life has been the fact that my internet connection has been challenged due to bandwidth issues in the neighbourhood and having patience with others as they get used to the uptake of technology. The result to all of that is that now I have far more touch points with clients and consultants in any given week because it easier to get together virtually. In the time it takes to collect ten people in a meeting room due to travel time, we can complete a virtual meeting. So, we can afford to meet more frequently. While I will admit that the virtual meetings have become more effective and efficient over the past few months, they will never fully replace the need to meet in person. However, the professional landscape has changed forever. Where virtual meetings were the exception before, they are the new normal, and less frequent in person meetings will occur. Also, here to stay is the day of more “telecommuting”, which no longer is just a notion of an opportunity for most companies and employees but a reality. The pandemic has been the beta test for expanding of work from home regimes for many companies who thought it impractical.
Has there been any additional stress, personally, from uncertainty or other factors? If so, how have you managed to look after yourself? Do you have any recommendations to others in dealing with their own stress at this time? I am a very fortunate person as I have both stable financial and professional circumstances, so I don’t face the stress that many others have had to endure doing this time. My situation does also allow me to provide support to those less fortunate than myself, which includes my children, whose careers have been interrupted by the pandemic, as well as those in the community who rely on the support of food banks and other social enterprises responding to the crises. Knowing I can help others, helps this crisis pass for me.
Like many others, the time spent working from home has also allowed me to explore more fully some of my hobbies. Of late I have been baking various types of breads, but also more fully exploring some more challenging aspects of charcuterie. I have made my own smoked meat, and sausages as well as tried my had at various types of jerkies.
At the risk of sounding patronizing my advice to others is to stay positive. This will end. I have told my children that at the other end of this crisis Canada will be stronger as a nation, both socially and economically. Why, because the pandemic will build character of citizenry. Just as two world wars and the Great Depression did for those generations who came before us. And, without endorsing any political party, Canada and the provinces are governed by reasonable, responsible and rational leaders who see the good of the many as the key to recovery, instituting what may not be perfect policies, but policies aimed at a recovery that helps all Canadians.
Do you have any sage advice for the young engineers seeking to find placements or full-time employment?
For those younger engineers looking to start your careers, my advice would be the same as it would have been prior to this crisis. Set a plan for where you would like to be five years from now, not tomorrow. Your degree is simply a key to open a door, what you need to get in is the currency of experience. So, don’t pass up opportunities to gain any kind of professional experience, even though it is not directly related what you dream of doing. First, you may find out you like it, but secondly you will be gaining valuable experience in the professional world.
I know this from personal experience. I wanted to design and build buildings, but my first job was centered around repair of buildings. That got my foot in the door at a company, where I eventually began to design buildings. Guess what, I still use that first experience from the repair of buildings every day, 35 years later.
CivMin’s Professor Baher Abdulhai
Five members of the U of T Engineering community have been elected into the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE). Professors Baher Abdulhai (CivMin), Geoff Fernie (IBBME), Reza Iravani (ECE), and Charles Jia (ChemE), along with Dr. Emily Moore, Director of Troost ILead, are among the CAE’s 52 new fellows for 2020. The CAE is a national institution through which Canada’s most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to the country.
Dr. Emily Moore, centre, speaks with students at Troost ILead’s ‘The Power of Story’ event on March 5, 2020. (Credit: Daria Perevezentsev)
“The Academy’s recognition of so many U of T engineers demonstrates the Faculty’s leadership at a national level across all areas of the engineering profession,” said U of T Engineering Dean Chris Yip. “My enthusiastic congratulations to all the recipients.”
Emily Moore is Director of the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (Troost ILead), which aims to foster the development of the next generation of engineering leaders. Prior to this role, she spent ten years in senior roles at Hatch Ltd., where she developed Hatch’s international water business into a global performer. Previously, her work at Xerox resulted in 21 patents and a novel toner technology. Moore was President of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering from 2011-2012. In 2016 she received the Society of Chemical Industry’s Kalev Pugi Award and was named one of 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining. Moore serves on the board of Metrolinx and Chemtrade Logistics Inc.
Baher Abdulhai conducts leading-edge research aimed at reducing traffic congestion and enhancing safety. His achievements include the establishment and leadership of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Centre and the iCity Centre for Transformative Transportation Systems, and the invention of two traffic signal control systems which have been licensed by major technology firms. Abdulhai’s record of service includes the Board of the Ontario Transit Authority and the Toronto Board of Trade Infrastructure Committee. He is a fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada and received the 2018 Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Sandford Fleming Award.
As a professor in IBBME and a Senior Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Geoff Fernie has applied his engineering skills to solving problems commonly encountered by people with disabilities and an aging population. He led the creation of world-leading research labs where engineering is applied to preventing accidents, restoring function after an accident or illness, and supporting people to live independently as they age. Fernie has also pioneered engineering approaches to reducing the transmission of infection. His work has resulted in 47 patents and the commercialization of twelve products. He has received several prestigious awards and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2017.
Reza Iravani has developed innovative solutions to several engineering problems associated with the applications of power electronics and emerging control and operational concepts in electrical energy systems, including utilization and grid-integration of renewable energy resources, efficient utilization of the legacy-grid asset, and modernization of the electric grid. He is the former editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery and co-author of the reference book ‘Voltage-sourced Converters’. His contributions to the field of electrical power engineering have been recognized with fellowships in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Royal Society of Canada.
Charles Jia has been a champion in promoting sustainability for more than 25 years. His original work at U of T has helped transform major industrial wastes into valued resources and develop the widely influential strategy of “using waste to treat waste,” and has significantly strengthened Canada’s position as a global powerhouse for natural resources. A dedicated community leader, Jia currently serves as President of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. He has made outstanding contributions to the engineering profession through his passion for a sustainable planet and his tireless dedication to developing the next generation of great young engineers.
