Professor Lesley Warren performs environmental sampling at Syncrude Canada’s Base Mine Lake, an important location for mining-impact water research and technology development in Alberta’s Oil Sands. (Photo courtesy Lesley Warren) In a variety of environments — lakes, soils, even mining wastewater — bacteria carry out a wide range of chemical reactions. But a new study from Professor Lesley Warren (CivMin, Lassonde Institute) and her collaborators suggests that previously unknown viruses might also play a key role. The...
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Matthew Robinson, a Grade 9 student from Brampton, Ont., was one of 54 Blueprint participants this past summer. Each student received a box of supplies to complete a range of science and engineering activities (photos courtesy of Cassandra Abraham) A new outreach program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering is empowering Black students from across Canada to explore a future in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Launched this summer, Blueprint engages...
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Video thesis competition winners CivE PhD candidates (L to R) Moniruzzaman Moni, Pedram Mortazavi and Xuguang Wang. Three PhD candidates from the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering (CivMin) at the University of Toronto have won honours for their video thesis entries in an international competition. Moniruzzaman Moni, Pedram Mortazavi and Xuguang Wang, all civil engineering PhD candidates, won three out of the 10 honours awarded for the “3-minute Thesis” video competition held by Multihazard...
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From advice to students, to tips on practicing wellness at home, nearly 50 U of T Engineering faculty, staff, students and alumni, have so far shared their messages of support. As classes start remotely this week, the U of T Engineering community has a message to new and returning students, and to one another: we got this. The Faculty has launched the Back to Skule™ video capsule, inviting faculty, staff, students and alumni to record messages...
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Photo via Envato This year, U of T Engineering students are preparing for a very different back-to-school season. Keeping mental health in mind will be more important than ever. Below, U of T Engineering’s Mental Health Programs Officer Melissa Fernandes lays out some advice on how students can effectively deal with some of the new challenges they may be facing. Challenge #1 — A sedentary, screen-filled day While faculty and staff have been working to ensure that your learning can happen asynchronously...
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More than 800 F!rosh Kits were mailed to incoming U of T Engineering students around the world for this fall’s virtual orientation week. (Photo courtesy Dana Kokoska and Gabe Sher) Yellow hard hats and purple paint — two colourful symbols that signal the longstanding traditions of U of T Engineering F!rosh Week. Although the class of 2T4 won’t be together in-person this fall, the organizing team is on a mission to make sure first years...
Read MoreFirst day of classes – Fall 2020 Undergraduate lectures begin Thursday, September 10 Graduate 500 level courses begin Thursday, September 10 CIV 1163 begins Wednesday, September 9 All other courses start Monday, September 14.
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Civ Club Chair Karen Chu (CIV 2T0 + PEY) Introducing Karen Chu (CIV 2T0 + PEY) going into fourth year this September. is your Civ Club Chair for 2020-2021. Here are some fun facts about Karen! Hobbies: working out/volleyball, window shopping, and bartending. I also enjoy listening to country music. Goal: My goal for the year is to enhance the student experience by highlighting our community’s talents and ensuring that we provide support to ALL...
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From top left, clockwise: Professors Chirag Variawa (ISTEP), Marianne Touchie (CivMin), Aimy Bazylak (MIE), Natalie Enright Jerger (ECE) and Elham Marzi (ISTEP). (Photos: Laura Pederson, Kevin Soobrian and Roberta Baker) During a typical academic year, Professor Chirag Variawa’s (ISTEP) pre-lecture ritual involved taking a walk and listening to music before making his way into the Lee & Margaret Lau Auditorium, a large collaborative space in the Myhal Centre that seats nearly 500 people. Inside, the room...
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A steel-tethered airship, known as an aerostat, designed by Solar Ship, Inc. The company is one of several clients whose projects are facilitated by U of T Engineering’s International Virtual Engineering Student Teams (InVEST) initiative. (Photo: Solar Ship, Inc.) Last January, U of T Engineering launched a new program focused on using online collaboration tools to build effective, multidisciplinary design teams with members all over the world. Its creators could not have known how...
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A crowd spills along Bloor street after a transit disruption in November 2009. U of T Engineering research have designed an algorithm that they say can more efficiently dispatch buses to deal with downed subway lines. (Photo: Sweetsop, via Flickr) It’s a phrase transit riders hear all too often: “Shuttle buses are on the way.” Service disruptions are a fact of life for transit systems around the world. The most common remedy is “bus...
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Construction underway for new facilities at Survey Camp July 2020. (Photo by Brent Sleep) A ceremonial groundbreaking at the U of T Survey Camp on Gull Lake, near Minden, Ont,. as part of Centennial celebrations on September 7, 2019, for the upcoming construction of the new HCAT Bunkhouse and MacGillivray Common Room. With spades (L to R): Brent Sleep, Chair, Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering; Georgette Zinaty, Executive Director,...
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Connecting with: Loui Pappas While the U of T campus is closed to the public, in-person classes and some 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. Loui Pappas, P.Eng. VP Business Development, Transportation Morrison Hershfield Loui Pappas (CivE 8T8, MASc 8T9) is Vice President, Business...
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Connecting with: Chris Harhay 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. Chris Harhay President, Harhay Developments Chris Harhay is President of Harhay Developments and is a member of the Department’s...
Read MoreSeveral CivMin students have received a U of T COVID-19 Student Engagement Award. 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...
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