n Bridging form and function n Communication matters

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ingeniousNEWSLETTER OF THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND DESIGN

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Relevant in achanging worldThis past March our faculty welcomed over 1,000 prospectivestudents and their parents to campus. Following a presentation onour programs, one parent said to me, “I have been concerned aboutmotivating my child who is bright but shy. What you have to offeris perfect and your program will change her life. Thank you.”

This was welcome news. We are always striving to integrate thetraditional and well-respected elements of our programs with newcomponents so that our curriculum is relevant in today’s changingworld. Clearly, the feedback we receive from many parents provesthat the strategic changes we have made to date are appropriate.

There are two particular changes that I would like to share withyou in this inaugural newsletter.

First, we are encouraging our engineering students to carve out anew role for themselves. Often, in the past, the role of the engi-neer was to react to problems rather than propose solutions toidentified needs. Our students are now encouraged to be moreproactive and visionary in order to identify both the issues andthe solutions.

This new paradigm influences our approach to teaching and moti-vates us to incorporate in our programs the softer skills that wewant our students to learn:

• communication skills are encouraged so that students canarticulate their views and present ideas clearly to any stake-holder;

• there is an emphasis on teamwork and the recognition thatprofessionals have to work respectfully with not only peersbut also other professions. Students need to know that thewhy approach of an arts student is as necessary to definingthe best solution as the how of an engineer. A good solution isnot possible without understanding the human element;

• we also put greater emphasis on the business aspects ofproject management to better prepare our graduates for thefinancial responsibilities they will face.

Second, in 1999 the name of the faculty changed to engineeringand design. We wanted to formally recognize design as an essen-tial element in the engineering process as well as a discipline inits own right. The new title captures a prominent aspect in all our

engineering programs as well as in architecture, industrial designand interactive multi-media design.

In the classroom, this means that there are many opportunities toconceptualize, implement and test ideas in world-class designfacilities, often sharing ideas across disciplines. Of course, it isalso fun to build real things and test them — students experiencetremendous joy working on the Formula SAE race car or theCarleton University Simulator Project.

Our faculty and students are engaged in ground-breaking projectsthat require great skill and imagination. Hence the title of ournew newsletter, ingenious. This issue features stories about de-sign at Carleton as well as other projects involving students andfaculty in Canada and around the world.

Future issues will bring you up-to-date on other key areas ofteaching, research, student initiatives and alumni activities. Yourinput and feedback are very important to us and we look forwardto staying in touch.

Samy Mahmoud, MEng/71, PhD/75Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Design

ingenious � Newsletter of the Faculty of Engineering and Design

Editorial Advisory Board

Assistant Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Design: Jim SimpsonAssociate Dean (Research): John Chinneck

Senior Development Associate (FED): Bruce HillStudent Representative: Nadine Ford

Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Design: Samy Mahmoud, MEng/71, PhD/75Vice-President (Advancement): Lucinda (Cindy) E. Boucher, BA/75

Director, Alumni Services: Nancy Lewis, BA/91Writer/Editor: Martha Attridge Bufton

Design: Catherine Pirie, BID/91Web Site: Darin Cosgrove, BA/95

Photos: Gregory Abraszko; Kazuyoshi Ehara, the Ottawa Citizen; Michael McGinn

Views expressed or implied are those of the individual contributors or sourcesquoted and do not necessarily reflect university policy.

Newsletter Mission Statement

ingenious is published for the alumni, faculty, staff, friends and partners of engi-neering and design. The newsletter is intended to communicate the faculty’s goals,strategic direction and activities in order to connect alumni to each other andthe university. It is published in collaboration with development and alumni.

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:Department of Development and AlumniCarleton University1125 Colonel By DriveOttawa, ON K1S 5B6 Canada

Samy Mahmoud

Publication Mail AgreementNo. 40063314ISSN 0226-5389

carleton.ca/engineeringdesign/

ingenious � NEWSLETTER SPRING 2004 3

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ksMemories of a

Carleton graduateBy Carl Kropp

As I watched our son and daughter go off to engineering schoolwith its impeccably organized frosh week and orientation ses-sions, I thought to myself, they’re missing something.

What they were missing was the informal and intimate atmos-phere of the 1950s and Carleton’s compact campus on FirstAvenue. As a member of the class of ’56 I had a good year filledwith great memories.

“Woodie” taught us English and seemingly loved to fail engineers.“Pop” Richardson nibbled on the chalk when he got stuck on acalculus problem. “Rocky” never did find out who put Bill Haley’sRock Around the Clock on the PA system during one of his geol-ogy lectures. On the engineering side, Tackaberry’s drafting classin the garret was a great launching pad for diversions — like theday we hung a life size image of Marilyn Monroe out of the win-dow to distract the calculus class in the room below.

But in spite of all of this we learned well, and we went on to com-plete our engineering studies at Queen’s, Toronto or McGill, whereour graduates ranked with the best these schools had to offer.

Perhaps the greatest memory of all was when Dean Gibson calledeveryone together to announce that the provincial governmenthad granted university status to Carleton along with $1 million tobuild the Tory Building on the Rideau River campus. Althoughwe shared in that historic moment, little did we realize that pieceof raw land between the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal,where so many classes of Carleton engineers took their surveyschool, was to become the great centre of higher education thatso proudly sits there today.

After graduating from Queen’s in engineering, I returned to thenew campus to study mathematics and went on to complete botha BSc and an MSc. Ten more years were spent as an adjunct pro-fessor in the faculty of engineering. My particular career took meto work in the electrical utility industry with the past eight yearsas general manager and chief engineer of Ottawa Hydro.

Carleton, the dedication of its professors to their students as wellas its motto “Ours the Task Eternal,” have had a significant im-pact on my life.

Well done Carleton!Carl Kropp in 1954, 1964and now

ID grad showThe 26th annual industrial

design graduation exhibition

took place on April 23, 2004,

at the Carleton University

Art Gallery. Alumni and the

public attended the show

which featured projects

from the graduating class

and undergraduate students.

On the cover

Alumni and faculty joined the 2004grads at the exhibition.

Carleton’s faculty of engineering and design nowhas over 10,000 alumni living all over the world— and some of them are online right now!

Find your former classmatestoday in the Carleton Café —the exclusive online communityfor Carleton alumni. Use youralumni ID number to log inat carleton.ca/alumni.

10,914alumni

worldwide

Find your former classmates at carleton.ca/alumni

Nicholas Spooner, a fourth-yearmechanical and aerospace engi-neering student, at the wheelof the Carleton UniversitySimulator Project.

Photo: Gregory Abraszko

Help your former classmatesreconnect through theengineering chapter ofthe Carleton UniversityAlumni Association.Volunteers are needed to helpplan events and other alumniprograms to keep engineeringgrads in touch with eachother and the faculty.

For more information,contact Trevor Lewisat (613) 520-2600 ext. 8660or cu_proud@carleton.ca

Callingvolunteers

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as diverse as cars, cell phonesand the Carleton UniversitySimulator Project (CUSP).”

CUSP is one of many leading-edge fourth-year projects. Stu-dents from mechanical andaerospace as well as systemsand computing engineering, di-rected by professor Rob Lang-lois, developed a simulation andtechnology demonstrator mo-tion platform to simulate driv-ing a car, fabricated the pro-totype and tested the design.The advanced work has gar-nered external recognition. TwoCUSP students were winners atthis year’s Ontario EngineeringCompetition.

Putting theory into practice,however, is not always easy.

Another top project was theFormula Society of AutomotiveEngineers (SAE) race car, andAimée Haché, a team member,found that “engineering a high-performance vehicle meansjuggling many variables. Whilewe learn from what was doneby the previous team, everyyear 80 percent of the parts arenew.” She believes that the op-portunity builds confidenceand creativity. “This year’s caris the best ever — we are learn-ing to trust the process.”

Distinguishing content fromprocess is important. Each dis-cipline has distinct knowledge,skills and perspective — engi-neers are focused on safe per-formance, architects are con-cerned with space and the in-dustrial designer is informed bythe user’s perspective. Whileprofessional tool kits vary incontent, the process of arriv-ing at the end-point is similar.

“Designing is a very iterative,dynamic experience,” reflectsStephen Fai, associate directorof the school of architecture.“It’s like cooking a tasty dish.You start with a recipe but asyou refine an idea you drawupon your senses. A little bitof this, a little bit of that, try-ing, testing, tasting. An excel-lent design is more than thesum of its ingredients.”

Architecture and industrial de-sign students are continuouslyengaged in this process. In-dustrial designers begin withsimple projects, such as howmany ways can you use a roll-ing pin, and by fourth yearare creating products such asKidsense — a wearable thera-peutic product for children whohave difficulty processing sen-sory stimuli.

Susan Perrigo won the inaugu-ral Marc C. Gauthier Award in

Bridging form and functionUnder the supervision of professor Burkan Isgor, senior students in

civil and environmental engineering chose Carleton University as

their design space this year. The university is in need of infrastructure

improvements, which come with a loss of green space. Maurice

Quinn, Alicia Bartlette and Leona Wong designed a pedestrian bridge

across the Rideau River to access Vincent Massey Park.

The steel arch suspended wood truss

structure had to meet many require-

ments, including those of the campus

community. The team surveyed 100

students and found that they would be

willing to pay more for a beautiful

bridge. “This meant that we needed a

solution that would be both functional

and aesthetic,” explains Quinn.

He describes the design process as logical and imaginative. “We ap-

plied tried and true methods of civil engineering but also had to be

creative given all the other constraints. It was a rigorous process.”

Susan Perrigo’s award-winningKidsense therapeutic clothing.

Carleton’s Formula SAE entry.

Innovative Technologies forKidsense on April 23rd at theindustrial design graduationexhibition. The product hasthree components including afleece hoodie made from elek-Tex, a revolutionary conductivematerial that replaces wiring.

“I started with the child whocannot tolerate the normalworld and searched for a tech-nology that would make thesensory environment enjoy-able. In the end, I have a crea-tive product that functions forthe user,” says Perrigo.

Drawing is integral to architec-tural design. By refining form,perspective and shadow, thearchitect moves closer to thedesired product. The school’sacademic year began with aspecial challenge — the presti-gious new Murray and Mur-ray Prize. The assignment wasa portrait of the architecturebuilding. According to Fai, “thehand rendering of ideas is es-sential to the design processbecause it reflects the archi-tect’s imagination.”

A problem may seem impossi-ble to solve but in the hands ofa good designer it becomes aremarkable challenge. Accord-ing to Burkan Isgor, professorof civil engineering, “design-ing is a creative process wherevision is informed not just byformulas — this is where wecome closest to being artists.”Wicked!

Have you ever been faced witha problem so wicked1 that it de-fied all logic and yet you wereable to find an answer thatworked beautifully? To solve it,you probably combined sciencewith art. Instead of calculatingan equation, you designed asolution.

The capacity to design is at theheart of teaching engineering,industrial design and archi-tecture at Carleton. Each engi-neering department requires afourth-year group design pro-ject that stretches the definitionof what is possible. “This is acapstone experience,” explainsJonathan Beddoes, chair of thedepartment of mechanical andaerospace engineering. “Pro-jects are technically challeng-ing, often multi-disciplinaryand ambitious. Students mustbe knowledgeable, innovativeand adept at teamwork andproject management.”

Rafik Goubran, chair of thedepartment of systems andcomputer engineering, echoesthese thoughts. “Our studentsmust have the agility to workwith other disciplines. We de-sign, build and test the systemsand software for applications

By Martha Attridge Bufton

The art and science of design

1 Design theorist Horst Rittel coined the term wicked problems to refer to challengesthat seemed inherently intractable.

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À la Descartes

“I believe that designers are uniquely equipped to help solve some of the most significant problemsof our world. The ability to move between the domains of the left and right brain is a powerful tool.”— Daniel C. Buchner, director of industrial design, Design Continuum Inc., and keynote speaker at the 2004 industrial design graduation exhibition

To ensure professional proficiency, the Canadian Engineering Ac-

creditation Board requires that accredited engineering programs

encourage the development of communication skills — both writ-

ten and oral.

In response to this requirement, the faculty of engineering and

design joined forces with Carleton’s school of linguistics and applied

language studies in 1997 to create a discipline-centered communi-

cation course for its students. Professor Natasha Artemeva, MA/95,

adopted a very specific approach to designing the curriculum.

“Research shows that skills are best developed in the real context for

which they are needed, not one that is simulated. We try to create

a situation that requires students to communicate in the way an

engineering situation would demand. It is better for students to

write reports that they need for

a given purpose than to write

reports for an imaginary reader,”

she states.

Communication Skills for Engi-

neering Students is taught to

a mixture of first- and second-

year students. They choose ei-

ther a topic from one of their

concurrent engineering courses

or from a list of subjects well-

known to the instructor.

Communication mattersAssignments focus on this topic and include an initial proposal, a

progress report and a final completion report (with both oral and

written components). “Exams are not a form of engineering commu-

nication so there is no exam,” she explains. “Your boss is not going

to give you a test to see if you pass.” The course is structured to boost

academic success. Groups are comprised of 25 to 30 students and

there is continual feedback.

Ken McMartin, BEng/76, MEng/81, manager of Carleton’s civil and

environmental engineering laboratories and past president of the

Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), has noticed an improvement

in students’ skills. “At the PEO student papers night, an annual

competition between Carleton and the University of Ottawa, pres-

entations are becoming more professional. With two winners from

Carleton in 2004, we are obviously giving them what they need.”

This is backed up by alumni working in the field such as Tom Levy,

BEng/99, MASc/03. “I learned to write and present in an engineering

context,” he says. “Natasha gave me 30 percent on my first oral

presentation. With excellent feedback I turned that into 95 percent

the next time. I haven’t made a bad presentation since.”

Artemeva knows that over time students appreciate the benefits.

“First-year students don’t think that engineers have to write. By

third-year, however, they begin to realize this isn’t true. The real test

is when they must persuade colleagues and clients that their ideas

are valid. Then it’s a different story — they learn first-hand that

communication can make or break success. It matters.”

Q: What is thedesigner mindset?

This is the what if? mentality.What if we push things further,what if we turn limitations intopossibilities?

In part the mindset is natural— we are curious about theworld and have visions aboutwhat could be. But this is notenough — you need the skills to resolve problems. The best de-signers are good at all levels: conceptual, planning, application,development, construction and detail.

Q: How do engineers and architects work together?

I think that the two professions challenge each other to come upwith the best solutions. Architects challenge engineers to meetthe requirements of form and aesthetics. Engineers challenge ar-chitects to keep things safe. Architects dream of what is possibleand engineers make it possible by proving that a design and ulti-mately the structure or system is safe. Together we stretch whatis possible to the limits.

Titania Truesdale

Have you heard the one about René Descartes? Descartes walksinto a bar. The bartender asks, “Will you be having anything todrink tonight?” Descartes answers, “I think not,” and disappears.

Poor René — if he had been a designer he would have under-stood that our senses as much as our logic make us human. Gradu-ate student Titania Truesdale, who is pursuing a master of arch-itecture, takes a stab at describing a non-cartesian way of seeingthe world:

Q: Why are our senses so important in design?

As humans, we are continually experiencing the world throughour senses. In architecture, we strive to inspire the sensory recogni-tion of something different. Regardless of whether people like thestructure or space, we want them to recognize on all levels that thespace represents something new — that it is magic to the senses.

Q: How is design both art and science?

Art is the ideal that comes to us intuitively. Science is the logicalpart of our brain that helps us to use materials and technology tomake an idea reality. There is a constant tension between art andscience in the design process. They push and pull each other toextend what is possible.

Natasha Artemeva and Tom Levy

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Public housing is more than just cheap accommodation. It is a reflection of the value that Canadiansplace on living in dignity and safety. Architecture helps to shape publicly funded communities thatwork — both new designs and those in need of renewal.

“Post World War II, architects saw themselves as social engineers but they’ve shied away frompublic housing in the last two decades,” reflects Carleton professor Ben Gianni. “The redevelop-ment of existing complexes revisits the issue — both to better understand and, where appropriate,to redress some of the shortcomings of their modernist predecessors.” He is now putting some of hisfirst-year graduate studio students to the test by asking them to propose a strategy for transformingToronto’s Regent Park.

Built in the 1940s, Regent Park is one of Canada’s first public housing complexes and was designedto be an ideal community in a park setting. However, due to the use of space — most notably thelack of through streets — the community functions badly. Those who live there are frustrated byhigh crime, upper-story units that are unsuitable for families, and little sense of ownership.

Over the next six years the Toronto Community Housing Corporation hopes to transform the area.Six of Gianni’s students have taken up his challenge. As architecture student James Hayes explains,“The recent gun violence in Regent Park is serious and the original planning is partly at fault. I wantto help solve a big social problem.”

The vision is ambitious — 2,087 rent-geared-to-income units, 500 affordable ownership units forlow-income families and 2,500 market housing units. If it works it could be a model for otherprojects across Canada. “Housing is not only houses,” says student Roberto Campos, BAS/02. “Ina design versus dollar world, we can still create affordable, responsible architecture so that neigh-bourhoods belong to the city around them.”

A new international collaborationOne of Carleton’s key strategicaims is to increase the interna-tional character of its researchactivities and partnerships.A recent agreement betweenCarleton and the faculty of aer-ospace engineering at Techni-cal University (TU) Delft bringsthe university one step closerto achieving this goal.

Carleton’s department of me-chanical and aerospace engi-neering is excited about thisnew graduate student exchangeagreement.

“Aerospace engineering at TUDelft is internationally recog-nized for its leadership in thefield,” explains departmentchair Jonathan Beddoes. “TUDelft researchers have madecritical contributions to the un-derstanding of damage toler-ance in aerospace materialsand the development of new fi-bre metal laminates (FMLs).Their research complementsthe considerable work that we

The best of both worlds

From top: designs by architecture students James Hayes, Amanda McDonald and Roberto Campos.

have done, particularly that fo-cused on the application ofFMLs to aircraft structures rel-evant to the Canadian aero-space industry.”

Beddoes anticipates that theprogram will have many ben-efits. “This June, Calvin Rans,one of our aerospace engineer-ing doctoral students, begins aone year research program atTU Delft. This should be thefirst of many exchanges be-tween Carleton and TU Delftrelated to aerospace engineer-ing research.”

Rans is looking forward to theopportunity. “Canadian exper-tise in narrow-body pressur-ized aircraft design providesa unique opportunity for anew application of damagetolerant FMLs. Studying at TUDelft where FMLs were devel-oped will enable me to drawon their expertise and apply itto Canadian aerospace applica-tions,” he says.

Calvin Rans in front of a fuselagesection of a CL-600 Challenger business jet, a typical Canadian narrow-body aircraft with potential applications for FMLs.

Last September, Carleton, in cooperation with Algonquin College,

launched the ground-breaking bachelor of information techno-

logy (BIT) degree program.

The one-of-a-kind degree offers two choices — network technol-

ogy and interactive multimedia and design. The four-year, eight-

semester programs are delivered jointly and students attend both

institutions, receiving a diploma and a degree upon graduation.

At the end of the first academic year, the BIT is viewed as a success.

“With two semesters under their belts, students are realizing how

great a program this is,” says Ben Gianni, director of Carleton’s

school of information technology. “Today many students complete

both a university degree and a college diploma in order to compete

in a tough labour market so the BIT offers the best of both worlds.

They finish with credentials, experience, expertise and credibility.”

From ghetto to neighbourhood

Currently, Carleton Universityis ranked number one in inter-national research collaborationand number three in researchfunding among comprehensiveuniversities in Canada.

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What a rush

Go sleds go2004 marked the 30th anniversary ofthe Great Northern Concrete Tobog-gan Race that began as the Canadianversion of the American concrete ca-noe race.

Carleton hosted this year’s event from February 4 to 8 in Ottawa.Teams were judged on technical design, race results (time, speedand braking distance), esthetics of the 300-pound concrete sleds,as well as their team spirit.

Organizers Cameron Frazier and Carly Arkell had clear goals. “Wewanted to increase both the number of schools and industry rep-resentatives attending.” Participation had declined but Carletonseems to have reversed this trend. As Arkell reports, “This year14 schools participated, up from 12 schools last year. Plus therewas more contact with companies.”

To succeed, two key changes were made. “We raised awarenesswith a personal invitation from Dean Samy Mahmoud to all Cana-dian engineering schools, and we advertised with the CanadianFederation of Engineering Students.” In addition, host universi-ties will now be chosen two years in advance to allow for moreplanning time. “Calgary is hosting in 2005 and we will choose the2006 host in June,” says Frazier.

Arkell and Frazier, both in the aerospace program, think that therace benefits both students and business. “It’s a hands-on oppor-tunity to apply what we’ve learned and our communication skillsimproved by working as a team,” states Arkell. “That’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

Although typically a civil engineering event, “Carleton’s team isvery eclectic with students from all programs,” explains Frazier.“There are many design components so the mix of expertise raisesthe overall quality of the final product.” This year Carleton’salumni team won the “best non-competing team” category.

Given this year’s overall improvement in race and design results,Jim Simpson, assistant dean of engineering and design, is pleased.“I’m confident that this event will continue to have benefits academ-ically and in terms of outreach into the professional community.”

however, they were gone last

summer when she had a job de-

signing a heavy equipment joy-

stick. “Industrial design forced me

to create a product that works for

the operator. Engineering forced

me to develop a structure that

was mechanically sound. In the

end, I had a better product.”

Jim Simpson, assistant dean of

engineering and design, thinks

that she is the ‘and’ in engineer-

ing and design. “The disciplines

Her interest in design goes back

to Carleton’s high school indus-

trial design competition, which

she has won three times. “But I

wanted to know even more about

the mechanical aspects of design,

so when I heard that I might be

able to do both programs in less

than eight years, I decided to try.”

Her schedule is heavy — seven

courses a year with lots of jug-

gling to make sure she has the

right credits. If she had any doubts,

Most of us remember our univer-

sity years and wonder how we

did it — courses, maybe a part-

time job and ideally some sleep.

Christiane Aitken’s idea of ad-

equate stimulation, however, is

to pursue two bachelor degrees

at the same time. “I plan to finish

my industrial design degree in

2005 and the BEng (mechanical)

by 2007.” She keeps up because

“I’m really enjoying the challenge

so the energy just flows.”

are complementary. Christiane is

proving that every day.” She

misses the stimulation over the

summer but has an alternative

source of adrenaline —– skydiv-

ing. What a rush.

Christiane Aitken’s joystick project

Virtual (Ad)VenturesSince 1994, Carleton undergraduate engineering students havebeen running Virtual Ventures (VV), one of Ottawa’s most suc-cessful technology summer camps.

The camp began as a two-week program for grades five and upwith 150 participants. In 2004, VV will run for eight weeks. Co-director Sean Blake expects over 800 campers from grades one to12. He believes that VV worksbecause “kids are having funlearning.” Co-director HeatherMoore adds, “We know thecamp is hitting the mark be-cause VV grads such as RohitSaxena (who recently won theCanadian Federation of Engi-neering Students leadershipaward) come back as instruc-tors and engineering students.”

University curriculum is adapt-ed by the instructors. Partici-pants explore flash animation,making a Web page, Clayma-tion and Lego® robotics.

The curriculum is always improving and the big news in 2004 isthe revamped Girls@VV. Moore explains the changes. “Insteadof just a weekend, 32 girls, aged five to eight, now have a fullweek with a one-night sleep-over in residence. Instructors en-courage campers to enjoy both engineering and technology. Thispositive experience may help girls choose to study engineeringlater on.” There will also be a Macromedia Flash game program-ming camp for grades seven and up.

Bruce and Sean Bufton are two campers who are coming back.“VV is fun because I get to play games on the computer and learnnew stuff,” says eight year old Bruce. Sean, 13, has only threewords for VV — “robotics are cool.”

For more information about VV, visit virtualventures.carleton.caor call 520-2600, ext. 1932.

Sean (left) and Bruce Bufton withHeather Moore and Sean Blakechecking out Lego® robotics.

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The faculty is pleased to announce thefollowing Canada Research Chairs:n Jacques Albert, department of electronics

appointed January 1, 2004

n Lionel Briand, systems and computer engineeringappointed March 1, 2003

n Peter Liu, department of electronicsappointed July 1, 2003

n Abhijit Sarkar, civil and environmental engineeringappointed January 1, 2004

Improving Canada’s knowledge infrastructure is a national priority.The Canada Research Chair program promotes research excellencein Canadian universities by funding established academic leadersand emerging research stars.

First year, last word

Eileen Ardron,Industrial Design

Two winners at the PEO competitionTwo Carleton students were winners at the Professional Engi-neers Ontario (PEO) 2004 student papers night. The event washeld April 7 in Ottawa and hosted by Ken McMartin, manager ofCarleton’s civil and environmental engineering laboratories andpast president of the PEO.

Marko Cater (mechanical and aerospace) won for best overall pre-sentation with a submission titled Suspension Geometry Design.

Maurice Quinn (civil and environmental) won for best commer-cial application with a presentation titled The Applicability of Struc-tural Grade Plastics to Structural Design.

In addition, Carleton has retained the Tom Folkes Trophy, pre-sented to the university with the highest aggregate score.

Student papers night is an annual competition between the Univer-sity of Ottawa and Carleton University undergraduate engineeringstudents.

Congratulations to Heng Chay Chao and Brian Barbeau, fourth-year systems and computer engineeringstudents who placed second in the explanatory communications category in the 2004 Ontario EngineeringCompetition. The two won honours for their work on the Carleton University Simulator Project.

Engineering students honoured by peers

In February, the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES)elected Sylvain Charette, right, as president for the 2004-2005 termand gave Rohit Saxena the CFES leadership award, which recognizesthose who promote the good of engineering students, faculties andthe profession through involvement in their schools and communities.

Jamie Ng and Michael Cowan were two of the 365 engineeringstudents to receive their iron ring on March 5, 2004, at Carleton. Thiswas the highest number of students to participate in the Ritual ofthe Calling in Carleton’s history.

Dr. Garneau at Carleton for NSERC’s 25th

anniversary celebrationCarleton’s chancellor, Marc Garneau, was the keynote speaker onFebruary 19 at an event to celebrate 25 years of Natural Sciencesand Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) funding atthe university. He was joined by Carleton president Richard VanLoon, Feridun Hamdullahpur, vice-president (research and inter-national), and Tom Brzustowski, president of NSERC.

More than 300 researchers, fac-ulty, staff and students took partin the event. Brzustowski con-gratulated the 40 researcherswho have been receiving NSERCfunding since the inception ofthe Council and presented themwith a personalized certificateand a 25 year NSERC pin.

Chancellor Marc Garneau

“First year has been busybut great. I’ve made lotsof friends both from myprogram and engineer-ing. CU is fun!”