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MacEngineer

THE

FacultyofEngineering,McMasterUn

iversity

Spring2015

CHANGING THE WORLD:SHIPING ZHU, M. JAMAL DEEN, JOHN VLACHOPOULOS, HEATHER SHEARDOWN


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The MacEngineer2

My second year at McMaster has been exciting andmeaningful. Almost every day brings something new to

celebrate in the form of student achievements, faculty

honours and awards, and alumni who make contributions

that transform the world around us and move us closer

to solving the grand challenges and complex problems

of our 21st century life.

One such grand challenge involves the engineering

of health care technologies, materials and processes that

will save lives. McMaster Engineering faculty members

and alumni have embraced the challenges of improving

health care and are making a difference in many diverse

areas of biomedical engineering.

In these pages, you will read how our faculty memberswork at the leading edge of research on therapies which

show considerable promise in cancer treatment, pioneer

innovations in medical imaging technologies, and have

entered into international partnerships to develop new

technologies to detect and treat contaminants in water.

Our alumni are developing techniques to create new

heart tissue from stem cells. All of us have been engaged

in transformative work that will have a genuine and posi-

tive impact on peoples lives.

McMaster Engineering is well known for its sense ofcommunity. In this issue, you will meet just a few of

the McMaster Engineering alumni who have exchanged

Hamiltons warm community (and cold winters) for a

new community elsewhere, such as finding success in

Seattle and contributing to that citys high-technology

economy. Their profiles demonstrate what McMaster

Engineering alumni do best: leading innovation in diverse

engineering environments.

One of my greatest rewards as Dean of Engineering

has been the opportunity to meet our alumni and hear

their meaningful stories of how McMaster Engineering

shaped their professional careers and private lives. Once

again, my travels this year across Canada and globally willoffer me the opportunity to meet some of you for the first

time, and again with others I am proud to call my friends.

I encourage you to attend an alumni event in your

hometown where I will be pleased to tell you in person

about the excitement and accomplishments of McMaster

Engineering, and would welcome the opportunity to

hear your story as well. I am continually inspired by our

alumni. Indeed, they are changing the world!

Dean of

Engineering

Ishwar Puri

McMaster Engineering

aspires to change our

world for the better.


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The MacEngineer

Do you have somethingto say or news to shareWe would like to hear from you.

Contact Carm Vespi

Tel: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24906

Fax: (905) 546-5492

e-mail: [email protected]

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

Contributors: Lynn Stewart, Kim Arnott,

Pauline Mitchell, Monique Beech, Daily N(McMaster University)

Photography: Michael Lalich, and

reader contributions

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Finding the Facts Behind the FailuresCuriosity about how things work is certainly

not a rare trait in engineers. But for Mazen

Habash, (Electrical and Computer 1986), its

been his curiosity about why things dont

work that has shaped his career. Ive always been inquisitive not only

about engineering principles, but also about

the interaction of human nature on those

engineering principles, explains Mazen, a

forensic engineer and president of Origin

And Cause Inc. There is often a human

element for why things fail, why fires happen

or why accidents occur.

Forensic engineering is a field that sees en-

gineers apply their knowledge across a broad

range of areas to investigate, explain and tes-

tify about the causes of failures and accidents.Mazens interest in the specialty began when

a professor recommended him for a summer

computer job with a company working in the

field. Nearly 30 years later, he now heads up

a forensic engineering company with offices

across four provinces.

Along with managing the engineering

consulting firm, Mazen continues with the

hands-on work of undertaking investigations

for clients throughout North America.

He specializes in fire investigation, electrical

and electronic failures, product liability

and alarm system analysis, and has oftenprovided testimony in both civil and criminal

courts as an expert witness.

This field of investigative engineering

provides such an interesting range of matters

and cases, says Mazen. I have been involved

in more than 3,000 forensic incidents over the

years and can say that no two cases have been

the same.

When he isnt working, Mazen is a wood

turner who enjoys alpine skiing and scuba

diving. He is married with two children, and

his son is following in his footsteps by study-

ing engineering at McMaster. n

PROfiles

Mazen Habash


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The MacEngineer4

Engineering Personal ApproachIt was a simple yet telling detail that set

McMaster apart when Stephanie Powers

(Chem Eng 1985) was considering where

to go to school. Other universities had sent

her acceptance letters addressed to her

applicant number, but the letter from Mac

addressed her by name.

I liked the more personal approach,

she says. I also liked the idea of going to a

smaller university with smaller-sized class-

rooms and the campus all contained.

I chose engineering because I wanted a

professional career, wanted to complete my

education in four years, and believed that

there would be job opportunities once I

completed the program.

Opting to specialize in Chemical Engi-

neering, a smaller program that had recently

been transformed with the integration of

computers, Stephanie recalls a close group

of about 35 students who knew each other

and their professors well.

I fondly remember Dr. Don Woods,

she recalls. His courses dealt with the softer

side of engineering and ultimately providedme with more tools in my career than the

technical courses.

Nearly 30 years after graduation,

Stephanie is now Vice President of

Engineering Strategy for Ontario Power

Generation (OPG). Its a job that keeps

her involved in a wide array of nuclear

engineering challenges, including strategic

planning, improvement programs, staff

training, and industry changes.

She maintains her work-life balance by

spending as much time as possible behind

the wheel of her boat.

With her two children both in technical

programs in university, she doesnt hesitate

to urge young people to recognize the range

of opportunities available to those who

graduate with an engineering degree.

Many of us have stayed in engineering

for our entire careers, but many also choose

a different line of work, says Stephanie.

Having an engineering degree really pro-

vides you with opportunities. Its a hard four

years, but well worth the work. n

A World-Wide Vision of SuccessWhen Arif H. Somji (El.Eng.&Mgmt.95) says

Mac Engineering opened a world of oppor-

tunities for him, hes not kidding. Currentlybased out of Arizona, USA, Arif has lever-

aged his degree into a consulting business

that offers high-tech engineering and tele-

communications solutions to multi national

companies. My career has taken me around

the world, says Arif, who believes todays

students should keep their eyes open to

prospects beyond Canadas borders.

Consider how you can contribute glob-

ally or on an international scale, if that is

your choice, he suggests. We all know how

the worlds economies have become glob-

ally connected. Practically speaking, this

means your career wil l likely involve doing

business across multiple regions and dealing

with a multitude of cultures, laws, and busi-

ness and technical practices.

As the owner of AHS Peak Consult-

ing, Arif provides clients with a variety of

globally-focused marketing, product man-

agement and business development servic

The wide-ranging skill set he uses daily wa

developed during his years at McMaster,

where he says he learned to problem-solve

work effectively as part of a team and to

learn and re-learn, constantly, consistentl

and with speed.

The importance of skills in time manag

ment and focus were also honed during hi

earliest university days. It was very shortl

after frosh week, as we hit full-steam with

course-work and labs, that I had to figure o

how I was going to optimally manage my

time to get through the program, he says.

Despite the programs challenging work

load, Ari f says he always felt the schools

caring faculty and support staff truly wantto see all engineering students succeed.

As an avid supporter of STEM (Science

Technology Engineering Math), Arif

volunteers in a number of initiatives and

networking events to promote STEMs

advancement. He encourages young peopl

to recognize the importance of these disci

plines for their future.

Its no secret that many of the worlds

challenges from energy, climate change

and food security, to global health, transpo

tation, and even interplanetary exploration

will require ingenious minds capable of

analyzing and working across disciplines

he says. n

Arif H. Somji

Stephanie Powers


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The MacEngineer

Society Program buildsSolid Foundation for Work inSustainable DesignWhen Stephen Childs set his sights on

post-secondary education, McMastersEngineering and Society program seemed

to offer the intriguing possibility of com-

bining his interest in engineering with a

well-rounded education in subjects beyond

the technical.

Eleven years after his 2004 graduation

from the Civil Engineering and Society

Program with a minor in the Theme

School on Science, Technology and Public

Policy he recognizes that his choice was

instrumental in shaping him into the engi-

neer he is today.

The program, which explores the hu-man side of engineering and the complex

interactions between technology and

society, aims to developbroadly educated

engineers with a multidisciplinary outlook.

Developing the non-technical aspect

of engineers is crucial to the growth and

development of the engineering profes-

sion, says Stephen. It opens up the ability

to converse and contemplate designs and

their impact in a broader context, which is

a cornerstone of sustainable design.

A post-graduation summer spentexploring the surfing, hiking and cycling

opportunities on Vancouver Island, as well

as an interest in working in the growing

green building movement, led Stephen

and his partner Jennifer to decide to build

a life in Victoria.

Employed at a local civil engineering

firm, he has spent the last decade workin

on variety of municipal infrastructure pro

ects, as well as a number of LEED project

At a recent International Living Future

Institute conference in San Francisco,

where he had the opportunity to engage

with some of the leading thinkers on the

next frontiers of sustainable design, the

value of both his technical knowledge an

his ability to recognize its impact on soci

issues was highly evident.

Being surrounded by a design com-

munity that had come together to discuss

and debate how to move beyond isolated

sustainable design and instead wrestle wi

the interdependencies between buildings

communities and nature was inspiring,

says Stephen.

Im thankful for both the depth andthe breadth of the education I gained

through the Society program. My experi-

ence at McMaster nurtured and develope

the ideas of inquiry and exploration,

and those will undoubtedly continue to

serve me well. n

McMaster engineering alumnus Sean

Donnelly(Metallurgical Eng., 1981) has

been named President and CEO of Hamiltons

ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

After graduation in 1981, Donnelly joined

Dofasco as a production engineer. Over his

34-year career with the company, he has held

various leadership positions. His most recent

title was Vice President, Manufacturing.

A member of the McMaster University

Board of Governors, Donnelly also serves onthe boards of the McMaster Innovation Park,

and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

With Donnellys appointment, McMaster

graduates now hold seven key executive posi-

tions at Hamiltons ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

Other alumni include:

Science grad Brian Benko, vice-president

of procurement and information technology

Engineering and MBA grad Andrew

Connor, vice-president commercial

MBA grad Katrina McFadden,

vice-president corporate administration

and human resource

Mechanical engineering grad Angela

Pappin, vice-president technology

Tony Valeri, vice-president corporatecommunications and public affairs

Engineering and MBA grad Tom Vert,

vice-president manufacturing

Business grad Graham Reid,

Chief Technology Officer

Its wonderful for us that so many of our

graduates have done so well, David

Wilkinson, McMasters Provost and vice-pres-

ident academic told the Hamilton Spectator.

Its great to see how well they have done.

McMaster grad named ArcelorMittal Dofasco president

Stephen Childs

Sean Donnelly


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The MacEngineer6

MAC FACULTY CONTRIBUTES

MILLIONTO CANCER RESEARCH NETWORKMcMaster researchers, including two

engineering faculty members, will play

key roles in a recently announced national

research network investigating biothera-

peutics for treating cancer.

Biologically-based therapies (or biothera-

peutics) are considered among the most

promising of cancer treatments to emerge

over the last decade. The innovative treat-

ments mobilize and activate the bodys

natural defence mechanisms to attack

cancer cells, without the toxic side effects

of many current treatments.

The Biotherapeutics for Cancer Treat-

ment (BioCanRx)

network will receive$25M from the federal

Networks of Centres

of Excellence Canada,

and an additional $35M

from partners.

Three researchers

with McMasters Im-

munology Research

Centre are involved in

the project, including

Dr. Brian Lichty, who

will lead the research

into oncolytic virus therapy. The therapy

employs replicating cancer-killing viruses

to target, infect and kill tumour cells

while encouraging anti-tumour immune

responses.

Two chemical engineering faculty

members, Dr. Raja Ghosh and Dr. David

Latulippe, are on teams involved with the

design and development of efficient and

cost-effective technologies for the manu-

facture of cancer biotherapeutics such as

monoclonal antibodies.

The network will bring together more

than 40 researchers from 17 academic

institutions, as well as several dozen indus-

try and community partners, to accelerate

the development of biotherapeutics.

This is the single biggest funding

commitment the federal government has

ever made to cancer immunotherapy, an

this will significantly speed up Canadian

development of the next generation of

cancer care, said Dr. Lichty. This will b

important to many Canadians. n

$60

David Latulippe Dr. Raja Ghosh


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The MacEngineer

Its not surprising that public interest in

energy-efficient, cleaner-air vehicles has put

the spotlight on innovative research under-

way at the McMaster Automotive Research

Centre (MARC) on Longwood Road.

Led by Dr. Saeid Habibi, the NSERC/

Ford Canada Industrial Research Chair in

Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Powertrain Diag-

nostics, more than 100 researchers at the

facility are working on ways to produce

more affordable and efficient vehicles.

The centres research into the components,

design and batteries of electric and hybrid

vehicles was most recently highlighted in

a feature on CTVs popular morning show

Canada AM.

As he showed off the facility, Dr. Habibi

predicted that within the next five years,

consumers will be able to purchase an

affordable electric car capable of travelling

300 miles on a single charge. Such vehicles

will not only be cheaper for drivers, but

greener for the planet, he noted.

If you put $10 of gas in your car,

between $1 and $2 is the amount used

to take you from A to B. The other $8 to

$9 goes to warming the environment,

said Dr. Habibi.

The breakfast television spotlight also

allowed engineering student William

Long to show off McMasters 2014 Formula

Hybrid race car, designed and built by

engineering students.

Students took the vehicle, which features

an internal combustion engine in the rear

and electric motors in the front, into

competition against several dozen other

North American universities at the New

Hampshire Motor Speedway last spring.

The Mac racer was awarded for its design

and business elements, while the student

were honored with the Skip Barber award

for teamwork.

Noting the breath-taking speed

of research and development in the

field, Dr. Habibi says he expects to see

the electric vehicle soon move beyond

its current niche market status to

become a very important segment of the

automotive market. n

Automotive Research in the


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The MacEngineer8

Dr. Milica Radisic (B.Eng. 99) is one

of 91 inaugural inductees into a prestigious

new College created by the Royal

Society of Canada (RSC) to recognize

the emerging generation of Canadian

intellectual leaders.

A world leader in the field ofcardiovascular tissue engineering,

Dr. Radisic was recognized by the RSC

for her work in developing new heart

tissue derived from stem cells. Her re-

search has attracted multiple national

and international prizes, including an

NSERC Steacie Fellowship in 2014

She joins scholars, artists and scien-

tists from 52 Canadian universities and

other institutions in the College of New

Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The intent

is to encourage interdisciplinary interac-

tion among members who are working at

highly productive stages of their careers

are have earned their Ph.D. or equivalent

qualification within the last 15 years.

Dr. Radisic earned a B.Eng. in ChemicalEngineering from McMaster in 1999, and

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology in

2004. In 2008, she was named one of the

worlds Top 35 Innovators Under 35 by

MITs Technology Review.

A Canada Research Chair in Functional

Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering, Dr.

Radisic is a researcher in the University of

Torontos Institute for Biomaterials and Bio-

medical Engineering and the Department

of Chemical Engineering and Applied

Chemistry. n

World leader in cardiovascular tissueengineeringrecognized

Its what you cant see that keeps

Dr. Michael Noseworthy, PhD,

PEng, searching for answers that w

improve the diagnosis and treatmen

of diseases and physiological prob-

lems using advanced medical imagi

techniques.

Professionally, he wears many ha

Associate Professor, Electrical and

Computer Engineering at McMasteCo-Director, McMaster School of

Biomedical Engineering and Direct

of Imaging Physics and Engineering

at the Imaging Research Centre, St.

Josephs Healthcare, and a long list

medical and academic activities aro

the world. The titles dont tell you t

what he does is hands-on work, de


9/32

The MacEngineer

A team of McMaster students has taken

up the EcoCAR 3 chal lenge and will spend

the next four years re-engineering the

iconic Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric car. But along with making the

car more environmentally-friendly, the

team must find a way to maintain the

muscle and performance features that have

always been associated with the vehicle.

Students will research, design and

implement advance vehicle technologies

into an existing Camaro powered by

fossil fuels, in an effort to bring old

school muscle into the 21st century,

explains Chris Mak, the teams Electrical

Mac team takes up

EcoCAR 3CHALLENGE

veloping hardware and software solutions

that will reveal the previously unseen to

improve medical treatments.

Consider that it was the mid-80s before

research centres and large hospitals gained

access to MRI technology and that Dr.

Noseworthy has been developing MRI

hardware and software for more than two

decades. By his own admission, in his

26 years developing this technology hesundergone approximately 1200 MRIs test-

ing his hardware and software on himself.

He calls one of the rooms at St. Joseph

Healthcares Imaging Research Centre

the garage where his students go about

building materials that wil l help them

capture the images they need for particular

medical issues for every part of the body.

The equipment includes everything from

complicated electronics for making and

receiving MRI signals, to exercise ma-

chines that go inside the large MRI magnet.

These days, Dr. Noseworthy is chal-

lenged to solve mysteries that are still un-

detectable by the most advanced imaging,

like the brain-fog often experienced by

chemo patients, or what causes the symp-

toms of concussions that dont show on anMRI scan.

Hes part of an interdisciplinary team

of McMaster researchers studying concus-

sions and traumatic brain injury caused

by everything from slips and fal ls and car

crashes to recreational and professional

sports injuries and blast injuries to soldiers.

The team is particularly interested in trau-

matic brain injuries to children.

Today most clinical CT and MRI scans

of people with concussions show what

looks like a normal image. Yet Nosewor

thy knows from his own experience with

concussions that the patient doesnt feel

normal. He and others want to know why

Structural images of the brain usually don

provide those answers. New MRI softwar

and hardware, and image processing toolare being developed to probe metabolic

changes in the brain that hopefully will

provide new insights. Says Nosewor-

thy, We need to discover new imaging

techniques that help us better understand

whats really going on, so we can monitor

the recovery properly and reduce the risk

of re-injury. n

CAD and Powertrain lead.

McMaster will compete against 15

North American universities in the latest

Advanced Vehicle Technology Competit ion

(AVTC) challenge, recognized as North

Americas leading collegiate automotive

engineering competition.

The team will work closely with the

McMaster Institute for Automotive Re-

search and Technology (MacAUTO) and

the McMaster-based Canada Excellence

Research Chair (CERC) in Hybrid Pow-

ertrain Program research group. n


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The MacEngineer10

Its been 30 years since graduation, and

while the Engineering Class of 1985 may

not raise the roof in celebration, they are

planning to raise a few walls.

Graduates from three decades ago are

hoping to make a bright and modern glass

atrium entranceway to the John Hodgins

Engineering (JHE) building their legacy

gift to McMaster.

Momentum is growing in support of

the JHE Atrium project, which will more

than double the size of the buildings lobby

while creating an eye-catching entrance to

McMasters proud engineering tradition.

The vision is to enclose the space under-

neath the auditorium to create an attractiveand comfortable community space that

fosters collaborative learning, networking,

studying and relaxing.

The Class of 1985 is hoping to raise

half of the estimated $600,000 cost of

the project, with Dr. Ishwar Puri, Dean

of Engineering, promising to match alumni

donations with funds from the Faculty

of Engineering.

A New Gateway

to Engineering:The class of 1985 Reunion Project

Im very excited about the energy

Dr. Puri is bringing to the faculty, so when

he spoke to a few alumni about his idea

to expand and renovate the JHE entrance,

we decided to rally our classmates to

sponsor this project in the form of a class

gift something that has never been done

before on this scale at McMaster, says Brad

Merkel (Chem Eng 1985).

Among the ideas being considered for

recognition of alumni donors is an interac-

tive digital atrium display that could allow

contributors to share their Mac memories

and subsequent career stories, with the

hope of inspiring and motivating todays

engineering students. Im excited to join my McMaster Engi-

neering 85 classmates and pay it forward

in a very tangible way, says Duncan

Hannay (Mech Eng 1985). I look forward

to christening this new project with my

classmates and celebrating all that

McMaster has given us.

For more information on the project

or how you can contribute please contact

Terry Milson, email: [email protected]

or online at www.MacEng85.ca n

Why Get Involved?

I am pleased to support the JHE

Atrium Project as it reciprocally honors

the institution of McMaster Engineering

and its people of the Class of 85.

Tim Nohara, (Electrical 1985)

The JHE Atrium project could have

been given to any other Engineering

class -- 80s or 90s. However, I am very

pleased that the Class of 85 received

the privilege to be part of this historic

project, which allows me to make a

meaningful contribution for an institu-

tion which I dearly owe my success.

Quang Nguyen (Electrical 1985)

1981 - We all met in JHE 376.

1985 - We all left McMaster from HH

after the Kipling ceremony. 2015 - Time

to return to JHE bearing gifts. My gift

will be bigger than Duncans gift.

Dave Armstrong(Mech Eng 1985).

We feel supporting engineering

students is an important way to ensure

that the brightest and best students

thrive at McMaster.

Chedo Sobot (Civil 1985) and

Vlad Sobot(Civil 1980)


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The MacEngineer

In summer 2016, 100 McMaster Engineer-

ing undergraduate students will have an

opportunity to work alongside their profes-

sors, on cutting-edge research projects.

The Faculty of Engineering has

created 100 ful l-time summer research

projects, to give students the opportunityto experience life in the lab while being

mentored by some of the countrys top

engineering researchers.

Augmenting classroom activities

with hands-on research opportunities

gives students a career head start, says

Dr. John Preston, associate dean, research

and external relations and chair of engi-

neering physics.

We push our students to do cutting-

edge research for a number of reasons.

In addition to being highly engaging, the

experience more accurately reflects the

kind of real-world situations they are going

to find themselves in when they gradu-

ate, whether that be in government orcorporate laboratories, or perhaps even

in an academic setting such as McMaster,

said Dr. Preston. They learn how to work

collaboratively and critically assess the

work they are doing, all the while making

valuable contributions in the development

of real-world applications.

The research projects are available in a

wide array of areas, ranging from micros-

copy, x-ray technology, photovoltaics and

biomedicine, to automotive design, harvest-

ing solar energy and app development.

When fourth-year materials engineering

and society student Michael Chatzidakis

took an undergraduate summer research

position at Mac, he hardly expected to be

come an integral part of a research group

working on a groundbreaking project

examining the nanoscale phase stabilityof bimetallic particles.

You go in thinking youll be at the

bottom of the ladder, but I found myself

working collaboratively with some of the

brightest minds in the field, all of whom

treated me as an honoured member of the

team, he recalls.

After participating in the research

program, he was invited to the University

of Notre Dames nanoengineering compet

tion, NDConnect 2014, where he placed

second in the competition.

It was valuable to get a taste of researcbecause I realized how much I enjoyed it,

says Chatzidakis. I always understood tha

there were a lot of directions I could go in

but now Im seriously considering becom-

ing a professor. I learned that I like teach-

ing, explaining and research, so I think it

would be a good fit. n

Summer Students Join

GroundbreakingResearch Teams


12/32

The MacEngineer12 The MacEngineer12

AWARD WINNERS

Ryan LaRue, a third-year ChemicalEngineering and Management student,

was the winner of the Robert G. Auld

student paper competition at the 2014

Canadian Chemical Engineering Confer-

ence. The award is given for the best oral

presentation of a paper in the field of

chemical engineering.

Drawn from his summer research as

an NSERC undergraduate researcher in

the ChemEng department under Drs.

Emily Cranston and David Latulippe,

Ryans paper addressed the development

of a protocol to manage the use ofwastewater chemicals in municipal

treatment operations. n

Paul Santerre(Ph.D, 1990) was the

principal award winner of a 2014 Ernest

C. Manning Innovation Award for his work

in developing surface modifying macro-

molecules that stop blood platelets from

forming clots as a reaction to plasticmedical devices.

The patented molecules, which inte-

grate with a PICC (peripheral inserted

central catheter) or other plastic medical

device, can be added during the manufac-

turing project. Shown to effectively pre-

vent blood clots, the innovation replaces

the need for expensive coating of PICCs

and has been approved for medical use in

Canada and the United States.

The surface modifying molecule tech-

nology is now available in a patented PICC

catheter that has sold thousands and isexpected to help reduce complications

and costs related to blood clots.

Santerre, who earned his Ph.D in chemi-

cal engineering at McMaster, is now a

professor at the University of Torontos

faculty of dentistry, and the Institute of

Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering.

The annual $100,000 award is given

to a Canadian who has demonstrated

recent innovative talent in developing and

successfully marketing a new concept,

process or procedure.n

Juste Fanou, a B.Tech student in theCivil Engineering Infrastructure Technol-

ogy stream, was one of the recipients of

the Drs. Jolie Ringash and Glen Bandiera

Renaissance Award for 2014.

The award provides up to $25,000 in

funding to McMaster students looking to

expand their horizons by studying some-

thing outside of their academic area.

Fanou will study how popular music

has shaped, and been shaped by, ongoing

conflict in Ivory Coast. He spent much of

his childhood in the West African country

but left with his parents in 2000, two yeabefore civil war broke out. n

Rajendra Singh(Ph.D, 1979) has been

honoured by the White House as a

Champion of Change for his efforts to

promote and expand the use of solar

energy in the residential, commercial

and industrial sectors.

Paul Santerr


13/32

The MacEngineer

Dr. Singh, director of Clemson

Universitys Centre of Silicon Nanoelec-

tronics and the D. Houser BanksProfessor of Electrical and Computer

Engineering, devoted his 1973 doctoral

thesis to solar cells. Over the last 40

years, he has worked to advance the

technology of photovoltaic (PV) module

manufacturing.

Singh is considered a local hero

leading the charge across the country

to create jobs and economic opportunity

in solar power, and driving policy chang-

es at the local level to further advance

solar deployment, according to ClemsonUniversity president James Clements.

The Champions of Change program

was created to allow the White House to

highlight individuals doing extraordinary

work to empower and inspire members

of their communities. Dr. Singh was giv-

en McMaster Universitys Distinguished

Alumni Award in 2005. n

McMasters School of Engineering

Technology (SET) was shortlisted for a

2014 Reimagine Education Award from

the Wharton School of the University of

Pennsylvania.

The newly-created teaching innovation

awards recognized international leaders

in presence learning, e-learning and

combined presence and e-learning.

It attracted 426 applications from

43 countries.

The McMaster engineering applica-

tion, in the category of Nurturing

Student Employability, was submitted

under the leadership of SET executive

directorAlan Murray. McMasters iSci (Integrated Science)

program won a Reimagine Award for

presence learning. n

Keeping a pizza oven heated to a baking

temperature of about 260C throughoutthe day is an operational requirement

for a pizzeria, but one that results in a

significant amount of energy lost through

the chimney.

The success of a research team led

by McMaster engineering professor

Dr. James Cotton(Ph.D., McMaster

University 2001) in developing a low-cost

system to efficiently recover waste heat

from the ovens and convert it to energy

was recently profiled in the Ontario

Centres of Excellences (OCE) 2014

Annual Report- Return on Innovation

and website.

With the support of OCE, Dr. Cotton and

his research team partnered with Canadas

largest pizza chain, Pizza Pizza, to develop

the Pizza Oven Waste Energy Recovery

(POWER) system. Mounted on existing

ovens, the system uses thermal electric

generator technology to lower the restau-

rants energy costs.

In lauding the system, OCE noted,

The energy harvested can be used in-stoto meet lighting, point-of-sale terminals

and hot water and heating needs. The de-

vice sets a new standard in energy conser

vation and offers resiliency in the event o

a power outage.

The system, which is being integrated

into three restaurants in 2015 could even

tually make its way into as many as 400

Pizza Pizza stores across Canada. Project

partners are now working on phase two

the program, which wil l investigate using

the clean, hot water produced as a by-pro

uct of the electricity generation system to

replace hot water heaters and pre-heat ai

entering the ovens.

Cotton and his team recently received

an NSERC Ideas to Innovation grant to ac

celerate the development of this promisin

technology and establish a new Canadian

start-up company. n

PIZZ

APOWER

EARN

SP

RAI

SE

The popularity of the piping hot

pizza comes at an energy cost.


14/32

The MacEngineer14

F I N D I N G V A L U E I N

Water science has a friend in McMaster

Chemical Engineering Professor Dr. David

Latulippe(Ph.D. Chemical Engineering

2010). Hes one of a generation of scientistswho understand that sustainable environ-

ments require new ways to mitigate the

impacts on natural resources of modern

industrial practices.

Dr. Latulippes research efforts are

focused on separation processes for

biopolymer processing and wastewater

treatment. In particular, his interests in

wastewater lie at the water-energy nexus,

which includes the treatment of water

from hydraulic fracturing operations for

natural gas production, commonly calledfracking, and water demands in renewable

energy production. He is intent on work-

ing with his industrial partners to find new

ways to convert low value wastewater into

clean water that that can be re-purposed

or recycled to reduce the demand for fresh

water. Recently he has begun a collabora-

tion with Hatch on developing advanced

separation processes for oil sands opera-

tions. The goal of his work is to l iberate

the huge volumes of water that are cur-

rently stored in tailings ponds and allow

for greater water reuse, thus decreasingthe total amount of fresh water that

must be withdrawn from the surrounding

watershed.

Dr. Latulippe is quick to point out there

are people across the university as passion-

ate as he is about water science. Hes par-

ticularly excited by the creation last year

of the McMaster Water Network, which w

formed to connect water science, techno

ogy and policy to deliver local and global

impacts involving water issues. The firstMcMaster Water Week last fall attracted

students, faculty and community leaders

events aimed at promoting water researc

teaching and engagement. A second Mc-

Master Water Week is already scheduled f

October 2015.

Some of Dr. Latulippes projects have a

definite community connection and hes

impressed by local efforts towards envi-

ronmental improvements. His research

on the development of a high-throughput

dewatering test for sludge processing cou

help provide solutions for the treatment omunicipal wastewater and solid waste. Th

$138.9 million clean up of Randal Reef se

ment in Hamilton Harbour to improve wa

ter quality by removing contaminants als

provides opportunities for water scientis

like Latul ippe to contribute solutions tha

will benefit future generations. He doesn

have to look far to find problems that nee

solutions.

Much of the funding for Dr. Latulippe

research comes from the Natural Sci-

ences and Engineering Research Councilof Canada (NSERC) and Ontario Centres

Excellence (OCE) funded by the Ontario

government. The projects also offer great

experiential learning opportunities for bo

undergraduate and graduate students to

work with Dr. Latulippe and his industria

partners on the development of new wat

treatment technologies.


15/32

The MacEngineer

WATER

Water treatment and contamination detec-

tion technologies are at the centre of a new

international agreement that McMaster

University has signed with several Canadian

and Chinese partners. The agreement will create the McMaster-

Jiangsu International Technology Develop-

ment and Translation Centre, which will

undertake research and development, tech-

nology transfer and commercialization of

technologies in the area of water treatment

and monitoring.

A Hamilton campus will be located in

the McMaster Innovation Park and led by

Chang Qing Xu, professor of Engineering

Physics and Qiyin Fang, associate professor

of Engineering Physics. A second campuswill be located in Jiangsu Province, China.

This agreement brings together the

very best in the field and will allow for

the two-way flow of technology, talent and

capital between partners, said Mo Elbestawi,

McMasters Vice-President, Research and

International Affairs.

These kinds of partnerships are criti-

cal to fuel innovation and ensure that new

technologies, which have the potential to

positively impact human health, are

developed and commercialized for the

benefit of all.

The Centre will build on existing

partnerships with leading Chinese academand research institutions, as well as Ontari

based and Chinese industrial partners.

The partnership will help translate

McMasters expertise in sensor technologi

into real-world technologies, added

Peter Mascher, McMasters Associate

Vice-President, International. Its only

by working together that we can continue

to make progress on developing these

critical technologies.n

P A R T N E R I N G F O R C L E A N


16/32

The MacEngineer16

The W Booth School

is always looking for new

innovation challenges; if you are

interested in collaborating as a

community partner please email

[email protected] .


17/32

The MacEngineer

Do you ever drive on the highway beside a

transport truck and wonder how long-hauldrivers manage to stay alert for extended

periods of time?

Are you one of the thousands of local

residents who visit the Hamilton water-

front and dream of sustainable community

development?

Do you know anyone who has uncov-

ered buried utility wires

while landscaping or build-

ing and discovered how

it can quickly turn into a

dangerous situation?

If so, then you will be

interested to know that

McMasters W Booth School

of Engineering Practice

students are on it.

Thanks to a fresh ap-

proach to graduate degree

programs, students in the

W Booth School explore

real-world problems while

they are earning a masters

degree. W Booth students

are taking learning out ofthe classroom and engaging with actual

stakeholders, not in a traditional, transac-

tional way, but as Community partners.

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary

of the W Booth School of Engineering

Practice, its clear that something new and

inspiring has taken root. Driven to educate

and train tomorrows leaders, the W Booth

School supports collaborative, creative

problem solving that includes empathy as a

key ingredient. Students are taught to look

at problems in a way that keeps any impacton society and human beings top of mind.

Using a holistic, interdisciplinary ap-

proach, the newly developed Innovation

Studio teams up students from three mas-

ters programs: entrepreneurship and inno-

vation, engineering and public pol icy and

engineering design. A true demonstration

of community engagement,

the Innovation Studio pres-

ents students with significant

issues or innovation chal-

lenges faced by businesses

and organizations looking to

partner with W Booth School.

These challenges are not just

a way for students to earn

academic credit; they provide

an opportunity for them to

have a real impact on their

world, now, not just after

they graduate.

For instance, how do you

keep long-haul truck drivers

alert at the wheel? Carter,

Felipe and Israel are threeW Booth students who are exploring a

complex, industry-wide problem. As they

peel away the layers of a problem, new

issues come to light. So, after numerous

interviews with key industry representa-

tives and senior management of a leading

transportation firm, the students recognize

they must consider multiple conflicting

interests. How will they do this? Whi le

they consider innovative solutions that may

involve in-cab technologies or electroni

time-log systems, they keep the end usein mind and consider the behavioural

changes instrumental in achieving a

positive outcome. The team is consider

multiple aspects of a real-life problem t

is important to the transportation indus

the drivers and the public-at-large.

This is just one example of the many

educational experiences W Booth stude

are provided with which enable them t

build on technical expertise gained in

undergraduate studies and time spent in

the work world. A master of engineerin

degree from McMaster University provi

graduate students with a world-class ed

tion; a master of engineering degree fro

W Booth School takes that education an

adds in professional, practical experien

How do you inspire graduate studen

transform the world? Give them a techn

problem and ask them to view it throug

human-focused lens.

Watch for a special celebration event

for the 10th Anniversary of the W Boot

School of Engineering Practice coming

October 2015. n

INNOVATION STUDIO BRINGS

W BOOTHSCHOOL STUDENTS

AND COMMUNITY TOGETHER

We learn from the

community and they

learn from us.

Its a collaborative

effort that results in

sustainable changes

to better our world.

Dr. Robert Fleisig,Assistant Professor,

W Booth School


18/32

The MacEngineer18

You may want to think of Dr. Saiedeh

Razavi, Assistant Professor, Civil Engineer-

ing and Chair in Heavy Construction, thenext time you drive through a construc-

tion zone on the highway or wonder about

the traffic conditions ahead of you on your

daily commute. Her work could eventually

change how we interact with constantly

changing and often dangerous conditions

around us.

Dr. Razavis research is looking for ways

to use connectivity and rapid advances in

sensing technology to improve safety, mo-

bility and environmental sustainability

and in doing so, reduce the risk of injuries

and death. It will contribute to improvedoperation and management of construction

and transportation systems.

Her main area of research involves wire-

less sensing for heavy construction and

transportation management. Dr. Razavi

believes modern technology can be better

utilized to provide meaningful, real-time

information that can alert construction

workers, and drivers to danger. She be-

lieves road crews should know if on-com-

ing drivers or equipment operations

pose imminent danger or if vehicles are

detecting conditions that could lead tocollisions or congestion. If theres a way

to capture such information, theres a

way to put it to use.

Connected/automated vehicles, adapti

algorithms, new sensors, smart phones,

cloud computing and big data are rapidly

changing the way we are involved in con

struction and transportation managemen

and operation. Building the infrastructur

of the future demands innovative ideas,

Knowing the Dangers


19/32

The MacEngineer

Applause &

AccoladesAN AWARDS CELEBRATIONThe accomplishments of the

Faculty of Engineering award

recipients will be celebrated on

Thursday, May 7, 2015

6:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m.

LIUNA Station

360 James Street North

Hamilton, Ontario

PRESENTING

McMaster University Faculty

of Engineering Leadership Award

Trueman Goba, Chairman Africa, Europe

and Middle East, HatchGoba, South Africa

L.W. Shemilt Distinguished

Engineering Alumni Award

Sean Donnelly, President & CEO,

ArcelorMittal Dofasco,

(B.ENG 81 Metallurgical Engineering)

Tickets $150.00 or table of eight $1,200.00

Black Tie Optional, for directions visit:

www.liunastation.com

To register, please contact Terry Milson at

905.525.9140 extension 27391 or

email [email protected]

Can SAVE LIVESpartnership, and advanced solutions to

the modern problems and challenges.

She and a team of five doctoral stu-dents are investigating the benefits and

impacts of connected/automated systems

in transportation and proposing solutions

for heavy construction on how best to gain

benefits from connectivity and automation.

She has a wide range of sponsors and

research partners including equipment

manufacturers, industries, regulators,

governments, and academics.

Two of her students currently work on

site with a partner in the construction in-

dustry. Theyre looking at the potential of

an alert system to or by heavy equipmentoperators when theres a risk of collision

with people or objects.

Other members of her team are looking

at ways that the mi llions of vehicles on

the road can actually probe the traffic and

the infrastructure condition for meaning-

ful data and how that information can be

shared for more accurate diagnostics and

traffic management. n


20/32

The MacEngineer20

You are Here maps taunt the best of us,

because what we really want to know

is how to get somewhere else when we

arrive, whether its inside a mall, an office

tower, a sprawling hospital, an airport or

an industrial complex. For example, GPS

directions to the airport dont tell you how

far you are from your gate or how to get

to the nearest Tim Hortons beyond the

security area.

Dr. Rong Zheng, tenured Professor in

Computing and Software and an associate

member of the Electrical and Computer

Engineering department at McMaster, is

working on ways to use existing buildinginfrastructure to develop indoor naviga-

tion systems that will not only direct visi-

tors efficiently within a building, but can

track inventory and other assets within

buildings.

Essentially shes developing indoor

GPS without satellites, as satellite signals

are typically too weak to be useful inside

buildings.

The proliferation of smart phones has

raised expectations by users that the

tools they need will be at their fingertips

on demand but so far no one has solved

the challenge of location

guidance within buildings.

Not yet. Dr. Zheng and her

research team are closing in

on ways to develop indoor

location systems that are suffi-

ciently accurate for end-users

and cost-effective for orga-

nizations to deploy for their

buildings.

Dr. Zheng acknowledgesthe challenges of the proj-

ect lack of digitized indoor

maps and diverse device capa-

bilities. Her team is looking at ways to take

advantage of Wi-Fi, light sources, magnetic

fields as well as sensors available on hand-

held devices already on the market.

She foresees demands for indoor

location systems coming from a variety

of sources including retailers in a mall

who could push directions and possibl

coupons to customers searching for a

particular product, an industry trackin

inventory in their warehouse, or hospi

looking for the nearest av

able crash cart. Her team

also working with OverA

a start-up company by a M

Master graduate on proxi

ity detection.

The McMaster campu

itself offers opportunities

to develop and test some

of their ideas. Dr. Zheng

is hoping to find ways forsmartphone users to help

her team profile indoor e

vironments and evaluate

performance of their algorithms.

Vendor and industry sponsorship for

the research will also enable the

development of customized apps for

indoor location systems. n

Where Do I Go When I Get There?


21/32

The MacEngineer

Long before double-double was Canadian

slang and the Tim Hortons brand was

recognized in every corner of the country,

there was a coffee shop in Hamiltons east

end. It was store #1, the first location in

what has grown into an astonishingly

successful Tim Hortons franchise.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of

the birth of the business last year, Tim

Hortons decided to redevelop that first

store into a landmark location that would

tell the companys story and show off a

collection of its artifacts.

In May 2014, the contract to manage

that project landed in the hands of

McMaster engineering grad Joseph

Konney, project director with Element

Project Services.

Celebrates Its Hamilton Birthplace

The main objective was for the store

to open in 2014, as part of the companys

50th anniversary, so we had six monthsto go from the design conception stage to

serving coffee again, says Konney, a 2001

graduate of the Bachelor of Technology

program. We didnt want to open the

50th anniversary store in the 51st year.

The project required the demolition

of the original store, as well as build-

ings on two adjoining properties. In

the meantime, design development and

permitting work were under way. Ground

was broken on the project in September,

and despite the challenging timelines,

the two-storey glass restaurant opened itsdoors to customers on December

20, 2014.

The unique building combines the

usual features of a Tim Hortons restaurant

with second floor displays of memorabilia,

including a replica of the 1964 storefront,

and local historical and pop culture items.

I believe its also the first ever two-storey

Tim Hortons, complete with an elevator.

Helping Tim Hortons celebrate its Ham-

ilton birthplace has special significance

to Konney, who spent most of his life inthe city after immigrating to Canada from

Ghana as a teenager. Having eaten donuts

in that first store as a youngster, hes now

proud to be able to show off the one-of-a-

kind coffee shop to his daughter, family

and friends.

To me, the legacy will be having the

store stand here for the next 50 years and

knowing I was able to contribute to mak-

ing it happen, he says. n

ADAMDICKSONWAS DRAWN TOMCMASTER

As a high school student in Niagara F

Adam Dickson was drawn to McMast

on the strength of both its engineeri

program and its football team.

Now a fifth year Engineering Phys

ics and Management student with th

experience of three national football

championships under his belt, Adam

no doubt he made the right choice.

Weve enjoyed so much success on

the football field, and Im getting an

education at one of the worlds top

universities, he says.

Its not always been easy juggling

his academic workload with the 30 t

40 hours a week he spends in the

athletic centre during football season

but the Marauder defensive tackle sa

both his coaches and teachers have

been supportive.

And while the football teams 201Vanier Cup win was the highlight of

time at Mac, Adam is philosophical a

this years last-minute loss in the big

game against the Montreal Carabins.

We gave it a great game, he says

It came right down to the wire. n


22/32

The MacEngineer22

Faculty Leadership FellowsDr. Shahram Shiraniand Dr. AntoineDezahave been being inducted Faculty

Leadership Fellows under the Faculty of

Engineerings new Faculty Leadership

Program. The program was established to

provide faculty members the opportunity

to shadow individuals in leadership posi-

tions in order to build academic leadership

in the Faculty.

Dr. Shirani received his Ph.D. in Electri-

cal Engineering from the University of

British Columbia in 2000. Since July 2000,

he has been with McMasters department

of Electrical and Computer Engineering,

where he holds the L. R. Wilson/Bell

Canada Chair in Data Communications.

His research is mainly focused on image

and video processing, multimedia com-

munications, medical image processing

and hardware architectures for image and

video processing. Dr. Shirani is a senior

member of the IEEE, an associate editor

and member of editorial board for IEEE

Transactions on Multimedia and an associ-ate editor and member of editorial board

for IEEE Transactions on Circuits and

Systems for Video Technology.

Dr. Deza has been a faculty member in

McMasters Department of Computing and

Software since 2004. He holds a Canada

Research Chair in Combinatorial Optimi-

zation. Since 2008, he has served as Head

of the Advanced Optimization Laboratoryand since 2009 served as Graduate Associ

ate Chair. He previously held a faculty po-

sition at the Tokyo Institute of Technology

Japan. He has served as Chair of the Fields

Institute Industrial Optimization Seminar

since 2008, and has been a co-organizer

of several conferences including the 2011

Fields Institute Thematic Program on Dis-

crete Geometry and Applications. He has

also been an Associate Editor for Optimiz

tion Letters, Discrete Applied Mathemat-

ics, and the Journal of Discrete Algorithm

and guest editor for four others interna-

tional journals. Dr. Deza was elected a

Fields Institute Fellow in the 2014 cohort

of Fellows. He has held visiting positions a

the Universit Paris Sud, Universit Pierre

et Marie Curie, and Ecole Nationale des

Ponts et Chausses, Paris. n

March 9

Dr. Paul Santerre

(Ph.D90 Chemical Engineering)

will provide A Perspective on University Derived Innovation

and Entrepreneurship.A professor with the University of

Torontos Faculty of Dentistry and the Institute of Biomaterials

& Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), Dr. Santerres research

focuses on developing new materials for medical use.The final speaker for the Spring session will be Dr. Karim

Lakhani (B.Eng.M93 Electrical Engineering), who will speak

on Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors, and Data are

Revolutionizing Business.

The upcoming season of Caf X of fers a menu of inspiration and innovation thats sure to entice

the appetite of Macs engineering community.

The program, which invi tes distinguished guest speakers to the campus to share their experienceswith McMaster s tudents, faculty and the broader community, was launched in 2013 with the

motto Caf X: Percolating Ideas.

April 9

Dr. Lakhani

is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Har-

vard Business School. His research focuses on how compani

and communities and communities manage technological

innovation.

Caf X talks are given in Room 535 of the Engineering Te

nology Building from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on the scheduled datesQuestion and answer sessions follow the formal presentatio

The events are free, but seating is limited and registration is

required at http://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/cafex/index.html

Upcoming speakers

for the Winter and Spring

2015 session:

Shahram Shirani Antoine Deza


23/32

The MacEngineer

Rocky Jainis an unabashed cheerleaderfor innovation and collaboration. Since

graduating with a computer science degree

from McMaster in 2000, Jain has spent

most of his career developing technology

solutions for everyday problems for several

leading tech companies including Black-

Berry and Desire2learn.

Today, Jain is the Direc-

tor of Manulifes Research,

Exploration, and Develop-

ment (RED) Lab, which

opened last August in

Kitchener. The RED Lab shares spacewithin a hub alongside technology compa-

nies, multinationals and start-ups of various

sizes in a unique environment that encour-

ages collaboration and robust discussion of

ideas. The very design of the space encour-

ages the collision of people and ideas in

casual encounters with each other.

We have tremendous freedom here to

create customer-centric solutions, says

Jain. Manulife is a financial services giantthat serves 1 in 5 Canadians. As Director of

Manulifes RED Lab, Jain is responsible for

operations and to keep his team focused

on the vision to provide people with intui-

tive, quick, and transparent access to their

financial services by creating innovative

solutions using emerging

technologies. He meets

regularly with Manulife

Canada CEO, Marianne

Harrison and is grateful

for the support he gets to

innovate and think differently. Including Jain, the team is made up

of three software developers and three

students on a four-month work term who

are paired with mentors to first identify

problems and then come up with solu-

tions to those problems. The students then

present their solutions to senior Manulife

executives for consideration.

In selecting students for the RED Lab,Jain is looking for young entrepreneurial

minded talent from various backgrounds

including computer science, business an

systems design. The make-up of the team

will change about every four months and

Jain is hoping to soon add a fourth stude

to the RED Lab team. Many applicants

come through a competition sponsored b

Manulife and a local tech hub and is ope

to all post- secondary students in Ontario

First prize in the Smart Tech Challenge

includes prize money, laptops and the

opportunity for a four-month work-termfor the winning team members.

Jain is proud of the RED Lab and

the work his team is doing to break

new ground in financial services.

As Jain explains, Our students learn

quickly that working hard and solving

problems equals success. n

Finds Solutions

We have tremendous

freedom here to create

customer-centric solutions


24/32

The MacEngineer24

Haider Razi

(B.Eng 2010 Computer Engineering),Program Manager, Microsoft

After finishing his final exam of his

undergrad career, Haider Razi left the

Ivor Wynne (Hamilton) and headed west,

all the way to Seattle.

Seattle was a city known to me for the

Tom Hanks movie Sleepless in Seattle and

its rainy winter, he admits. What brought

me to west coast was an opportunity at a

leading tech company that I simply could

not pass. I took the leap!

One year later, he found himself back in

the Ivor Wynne centre extolling the virtues

of life on the west coast for people interest-

ed in cutt ing-edge technology work. Along

with the employment, he loves the nearby

ski mountains, the west coast pace and

lifestyle and the incentive its given him to

take up hiking, running and triathalons.

Peter Antal

(B.Eng 2005 Software & Mgmt), SoftwareDay Engineer/Test, Microsoft

Peter joined Microsoft, located in the

Seattle suburb of Redmond, shortly after

graduation. He started with the company

as a software development engineer, and

in 2010 took on a design engineering role

for software teams, delivering features for

team collaboration and data visualization.

Its common here for folks to rant about

cloudy-rainy winters, but the Seattle area

is evergreen and the views of the Cascade

mountains are fantastic, he says. I find

Seattle strikes an excellent balance be-

tween being a hub for culture and technol-

ogy, while still being a really accessible city

with vibrant neighborhood cultures.

He adds that proximity to Vancouver

gives the city an international character

that shares many Canadian values, and of-

fers interesting after-work pursuits.

As a long time geek, there are many

venues here catering to non-mainstream

interests, notably a good variety of board

gaming restaurants, Barcades, and the

Sci-FI Museum/Experience Music Project

Seattle Center, he says.

John F. Loman

(M.Eng 91 Electrical Engineering), ProgramManager, Astronics Advanced ElectronicSystems

John Loman has spent his career on the

West Coast, and isnt shy about encourag-

ing other Canadian engineers to look for

opportunities in the region.

The Seattle area is a fantastic place

to combine work and play, he says. It

houses world-class competitive companie

in a variety of industries, is geographicall

central to a tremendous variety of outdoo

pursuits and is home to a large number of

Canadian engineers who competitive in t

US corporate environment.

Since 1992, he has indulged his passion

for developing new products and services

in both design and team lead positions

within the communications, mil itary and

SuccessfulinSeattle

If coffee, grunge music and the Space Needle are the first things to come to mind when

you think of Seattle, it might be time to give the city and its stunning natural geography

a second look. A burgeoning technology hub, the city ranked seventh on a recent Forbes

List of Cities Creating the Most Tech Jobs.The Forbes list ranked 52 metropolitan areas based on changes in employment at

companies in high-technology industries, such as software and engineering, as well as

the number of workers classified as being in STEM (science, technology, engineering

and mathematics) occupations.

With corporate giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Boeing, as well as a myriad

of start-up tech firms, calling Seattle home, a growing number of Mac grads have found

success in Seattle. Here are the stories of just a few of them:


25/32

The MacEngineer

currently, aerospace industries. In his cur-

rent position, he is often hiring for power

supply, IC, SW (embedded) and digital

(FPGA, ASIC) expertise and is interested in

hearing from Mac grads.

Outside of work, John is an active rock

climber, mountaineer, skier and kayaker.

Dr. Titus Lo

(MA 89 & Ph.D 96 Electrical Engineering),Consultant and affiliate professor

Now a consultant and affiliate professor in

the Seattle area, Dr. Titus Los 25 years of

varied experience qualify him as a veteran

in the wireless industry.

Along with pioneering the field of smart

antenna technology for wireless communi-

cations, Tituss career spans work in R&D,

IP development, product development,

deployment, and services. He holds 20 US

issued patents, has published numerous

technical papers in international peer-re-

view journals, and presented and lectured

more than 50 times.

He has worked in executive positions

with tech companies Neocific, Walbell

Technologies and NextComm, and is co-

author of Digital Beamforming in Wireless

Communications, the first technical refer-

ence book of this kind.

He is now an affiliate professor in the

Department of Electrical Engineering of

the University of Washington, Seattle and a

consultant to private equity firms interest-

ed in understanding the technical viability

of companies. He is a senior IEEE member.

He currently serves as the Chair of IEEE Se-

attle Communications Society and Vehicu-

lar Technology Society Joint Chapter.

Dr. Stephen Elop

(B.Eng. 86 Computer Engineering & Mgmt& 2009 D.Sc.), Executive Vice President,Microsoft Devices Group, Microsoft

Stephen Elop heads the Microsoft Devices

group overseeing the hardware develop-

ment for Lumia Phones, Microsoft Band

and Health Platform, Xbox hardware, Sur-

face, Surface Hub products, and the new

Microsoft HoloLens. He rejoined Microsoft

in April 2014 after the companys acquire

the Nokia Devices and Services business

As Nokias president and chief execu-

tive officer from 2010 to 2013, he led that

company through a major strategy chang

where Nokia and Microsoft formed a

partnership to build a third ecosystem in

mobility with Windows Phone. He fo-

cused the smart devices business around

industry-leading strengths in imaging,

location-based services, and design. At th

same time, he forged a strategy to conne

the next billion people, bringing afford-

able smartphones and sophisticated featuphones to global consumers.

Stephen is a father of five, an active pil

and a dedicated hockey fan. Along with h

bachelors degree in computer engineerin

and management, McMaster awarded him

an honorary doctorate in 2009.

Seattle is a remarkable city in which t

live and work, he says. Professionally, th

business community is diverse with tech-


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The MacEngineer26

nology leading companies, aeronautical

icons and paper and pulp manufacturers,while a lso being home to many universities

creating a stimulating environment.

Plus, Seattles environment offers end-

less outdoor sports and activities, including

being a fan for one their many professional

teams. Although, we are stil l waiting for

the hockey team to arrive.

Dr. John Saw

(B. Eng 85, M.Eng 86, Ph.D Electrical Engi-neering), Chief Network Officer, Sprint

As Chief Network Officer at Sprint, JohnSaw is responsible for network engineer-

ing, deployment and operations. He also

serves on the advisory boards to the Global

TDD LTE Initiative (GTI), an international

industry consortium, and the School of

Electrical Engineering and Computer

Science at Washington State University.

He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engi-

neering from McMaster, and his disserta-

tion on low loss surface acoustic wave

(SAW) devices is recognized as pioneering

work that has helped enable a new genera-

tion of RF signal processing elements used

in all mobile phones today.

Over the intervening decades, he has

continued to make his mark in the tech

world. He holds six U.S. patents in wireless

technologies, and in 2009 and 2010, led the

Clearwire Corp. team that built the first 4G

network in North America, covering more

than 130 mill ion people.

Named one of Seattle Business Maga-

zines Top Innovators in 2010, John recipro-

cates the enthusiasm the city has for him.

Seattle is an amazing place to live andwork a tech mecca of some of the worlds

leading companies along with a vibrant

start-up community. Add into the mix the

natural beauty of the area and its really

quite wonderful, he says.

Rick Bohdanowicz,

(B.Eng 81 Electrical Engineering), Director,Enterprise Technical Sales, Microsoft

Rick Bohdanowicz started his career as a

system software developer at Honeywell

in Toronto. His focus was communications

software, a specialty that led to an oppor-

tunity in Silicon Valley three years later.

After moving to California to work on

IBM-compatible peripherals with Memorex

Communications group, he later took posi-

tions with Excelan and Novell.

In 1996 he moved up to Seattle, first to

act as GM at MathSoft, running their data

analysis division and then joined Microsoft

sales where he is currently acting as Direc-

tor of Enterprise Sales Strategy for Produc-

tivity, Collaboration and Communication.

My family and I very much enjoy the

Seattle area, with its r ich outdoor ameni-

ties, readily-available city experiences,

talented and diverse workforce, and

proximity to good old Canada, he says.

A Molson Canadian and a Coffee Crisp

bar are only a three-hour drive away.

David Squires

(B.Eng 80 Electrical Engineering), VP Busi-ness Development, BEEcube

David Squires headed west immediately

after graduating from Mac, obtaining a Mas-

ters in Electrical Engineering from Caltech,

specializing in analog IC design. After sev-

en years at National Semiconductor as an

IC designer, working with luminaries such

as Bob Widler and Bob Pease, David found

his true cal ling in marketing, working for

several startups in the Electronic DesignAutomation space. The next 18 years were

spent with Xilinx, working in marketing,

managing the DSP Division and wrapping

up his Xilinx time as Chief Strategist.

Despite an attempt to retire in the Port

Angeles area of Washington, including

building a house on the Strait of Juan de

Fuca and indulging in kayaking, hiking and

biking, David found the lure of the work-

ing world too strong. Hes now VP of Business Development for BEEcube, a startup

focused on selling into the 5G wireless

design space.

Despite his hard work, hes found time

to raise two children and tramp through

the jungles of Belize on two National Geo

graphic caving expeditions, watch the su

rise from the top of Kil imanjaro, and mak

numerous trips to Europe, Asia and Africa

He and his wi fe love the Pacific Northwe

taking advantage of some of the best kaya

ing, hiking, climbing and mountain bikin

opportunities in North America.

Brent Robertson

(B.Eng.Mgt. 92 Comp Eng & Mgt, M.A.Sc.94, M.B.A. 99), Principle, Automatic SyncTechnologies

After completing an MBA and selling h

industrial automation business in Calgary

in 1999, Brent headed to the Silicon For-

est of Seattle to participate in the ventur

funded start-up craze. Alas the dot-com

bubble burst no too long thereafter, but h

stayed in Seattle.

Brent runs a virtual web business

with a fellow Canadian engineer ex-pat.

Small businesses thrive on the broad set

of skills gained from the Engineering and

Management program. Brent can be foun

as a software architect, sales engineer,

tech support, sales manager, ... or janitor

depending on the day.

I live on an island between Seattle and

city of Bellevue to the east, so lake and

mountain view is r ight there. Like Vancou

ver, it gets no shortage of gray and rain inthe winter, but skiing in the mountains is

less than an hour away (were not talking

Chedoke either). The lack of snow also

affords year around soccer and cycling.

Unfortunately Seattle is pretty much a

hockey vacuum. n


27/32

The MacEngineer

McMasters Jamal Deen has been

elected President of the Royal Society

of Canadas Science Academy.

Deen, a professor of electrical

and computer engineering, haspublished extensively in the areas of

micro-, nano- and optoelectronics and

is a fellow of nine national academies

and societies.

In 2013 he was given the McNaugh-

ton Gold Medal - the highest award

for engineers in Canada.

That same year, he was also

given a McMaster Engineering

Research Award and a Vice Chancel-

lors Award from the University ofthe West Indies.

Deen is senior Canada Research

Chair in Information Technology and

director of McMasters Micro- and

Nano-Systems Laboratory. n

In this talk, Dr. Kilpatrick will explore

the purpose and meaning of a Univer-

sity education and how students and

faculty can and perhaps should derive

that meaning. In addition, we will explore

the special character of an engineer-

ing education and what its meaning and

purpose is and how we can ensure that

our students and faculty have adequately

bought into that purpose. Ultimately,

engineering students and faculty should

be able to articulate clearly why they are

engineers (or engineers in formation) and

how their education enables and informs

that purpose. Engineers enjoy a unique

position in society in that their profession

both equips them to understand the nature

of the very technical and interdependent

world in which we now live and enables

them to make innovations and changes to

that world, hopefully for the better. This

twofold capability places extraordinarily

sombre obligations on engineers to ensur

that they use their abilities with wisdom,

prudence, and grace. n

For further information please visit http:/

www.eng.mcmaster.ca/hodginslecture/

Deen named Presidentof Royal SocietysScience Academy

31st Annual J.W. Hodgins Memorial Lecture presentsDr. Peter Kilpatrick, McCloskey Dean of Engineering, Notre Dame UniversityThursday, March 10, 2015 4:30 pm University Club Great Hall

The Meaning & Purpose of Higher Education, and Engineering Education in Particular

J.W.HodginsMEMORIAL LECTURE


28/32

The MacEngineer28

First-year computer science student Alys-

sia Jovellanos has simple advice for young

women considering studying engineering:

Get involved.

Since arriving at McMaster University last

fall, the 18-year-old Brampton native has

sought student clubs with people who shareher passion for technology, design and help-

ing others. Shes a member of HackitMac, a

group comprised mainly of computer science

students with a mission to learn about tech-

nology through coding, typically in intense

24 to 48-hour bursts called hackathons.

In February, Alyssia helped organize

deltaHacks, a weekend-long hackathon

designed to build real-world applications

to help foster change. Ideas like helping

a food bank keep track of its inventory.

More than 300 students registered for the

event at McMaster.

Getting involved is a way to forge friend-

ships and find mentors, particularly support-

ive females, Alyssia says.

I know that really helped me to not really

notice the kind of gender gap between men

and women in software, Alyssia says.

Thats how I met a lot of my female

friends in computer science. n

Congratulations to Tom Jenkins (Bachelor

of Engineering and Management Engineer-

ing Physics and Commerce 82) who was

recently appointed as chair of the National

Research Council of Canada (NRC). Indus-

try Minister James Moore and Ed Holder,

Minister of State for Science and Technol-

ogy, made the announcement on Feb. 5.

Jenkins, who pioneered many of the

technologies used to manage digital

information to increase productivity and

governance, has served on several key

panels and boards, including his current

role as chairman of the board of Waterloo-

based global software company OpenText

Corporation. The NRC is the premier re-

search and technology organization of the

government of Canada. n

My name is Ryan

Rogers and I am inmy third year of

Mechanical and

Management. I was

recently elected

President of the M

Master Engineering

Society for the 2015-

2016 year. I have been

heavily involved with

the MES over the past

three years, and have

held the positions of V

External and AssociatVice President of Clu

and Sponsors. As an

active member of the

McMaster Engineer-

ing Community,

I have worked at

Venture Engineer-

ing and Science

Camp for the past two years. I have also

volunteered for the McMaster Engineering

Musical and Eng 1 Outreach. As President

I hope to bridge the gap between theMcMaster Engineering Society, McMaster

Student Union and Engineering Alumni, a

well as create a student wellness position

within the MES to advocate for mental

health awareness in the engineering com-

munity. I am thrilled to begin my term lat

this year and I cannot wait to start giving

back to the community which has given

me so much over the past years. n

Notable

MacEngineers


29/32


30/32

The MacEngineer30

A new McMaster engineering building

designed to foster hands-on learning and

nurture big ideas is on track for a fall 2016

completion date.

The first architectural renderings of the

24,000-sq. foot Gerald Hatch Centre for

Engineering Experiential Learning were

revealed recently to a group of faculty,

staff and students.

Designed by award-winning Diamond

Schmitt Architects, the $11-million, three-

storey centre adjoining the John Hodgins

Engineering Building wil l offer studios,

a lounge, meeting and work spaces to

students.

We have made excellent progress onthis exciting project, said Ishwar Puri,

McMasters Dean of Engineering. The

Hatch Centre will be the central hub for

student-focused experiential learning. Not

only will the centre provide much-needed

space for students to collaborate with one

another, by using it, they will also be able

to actively take charge of developing their

skills and competencies as future leaders

in engineering, entrepreneurship and

innovation.

The release of the design puts the

project on schedule to start construction

this fall, with the goal of opening the

building in late 2016.

Named for the late Gerald Hatch,

founder of global engineering consultancy

Hatch Inc., the centre will house student

clubs, including the McMaster Engineering

Society. Special design bays will offer space

to work on larger projects such as solar

cars and prepare for competitions such

as bridge building.

While the initial concept was aimed

primari ly at students, staff who providefront-line services, including academic ad-

visors and co-operative education support,

will a lso have offices in the centre.

An additional $2.5 million was added

to the original $8.5 mill ion budget to offset

the cost of the newly-added staff offices.

Engineering student Ryan Rogers said

its exciting to see the project come to life

after years of planning. Engineering stu-

dents contributed $2 million through

a special levy.

This is the final draft where we were

able to make all the constraints accept-

able, said Rogers, McMaster Engineering

Society VP of External A ffairs. Its on

budget, serves the students and the facul

well, and theres space for everyone. Its a

good feeling.

Funding for the project was provided

by Gerald Hatch ($2 million), Kurt Stro-

belle, chair of Hatch ($500,000), and the

Hatch company ($500,000); $1.5 million

from Former Gennum Corporation CEO

Doug Barber and his wife, June; $1 millio

from Walter Booth and $1 million fromother donors.

Grant money is being sought from the

Canadian Foundation for Innovation to

fund research on leading-edge sustainabl

building technologies. CFI is expected to

make a decision on the grant application

this spring. n

Hatch CentreENGINEERINGS

WILL OFFER STUDENTS DESIGN BAYS, WORK SPACE AND MORE


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The MacEngineer

ALUMNI REUNION DAYSaturday, June 13, 2015Mini Tour: 11:30 a.m.

BBQ: 12:00 p.m.

Where: John Hodgins Engineering Building Lawn

Cost: $35.00

Dress Code: Casual

ALUMNI REUNION DAY (JUNE 7, 2014) Alumni from the Class 64 gathered on a sunny summer afternoonto have their 50th class reunion in a tent in front of the Engineering Building. Years of tradition, camarade-

rie and memories. Some had not seen each other in 50 years.

Documents

macengineer_spring_2015.pdf