News archive for May 2012

On May 28, faculty members and staff of ENCS gathered to recognize Sudhir Mudur, who is stepping down as Chair of Computer Science and Software Engineering after leading the department for five years.

Mudur joined ENCS in 2002, after having been the Associate Director of the National Centre for Software Technology in Mumbai, India.  He holds a PhD from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay where he was also a research scientist. His impressive CV includes over 40 published papers, 16 book chapters and 85 publications for conferences or workshops.

His time at the helm of Computer Science and Software Engineering was marked by considerable progress. He guided the department through rigorous accreditation processes. He was dedicated to the renewal of department, knowing the importance of adding new faculty members. Most recently his efforts have culminated in two new hirings for this year.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Sudhir and he has left the Department in good shape and on the right track," said Robin Drew, Dean of Engineering and Computer Science.

Nematollaah Shiri, who has coffee with Dr. Mudur almost every day, describes his colleague as "a man of vast experience, fairness, dedication, and big heart," and lauds his ability to "professionally and patiently deal with and resolve different issues in our 'multicultural' department."

Peter Grogono will serve as Interim Chair of Computer Science and Software Engineering while the Faculty searches for a full-time Chair. Mudur will be going on sabbatical and will return to the Faculty afterward.

Please join us in expressing our appreciation for Sudhir Mudur's contributions and wish him success in his next endeavours.

Twenty-six researchers, 11 universities, 114 undergraduate and graduate students and postgraduate fellows... all add up to one very big reason to celebrate. On May 17, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)-funded Solar Buildings Research Network (SBRN), led by Dr. Andreas Athienitis of the Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, was recognized as a model for collaborative research between academia and industry.

On behalf of the nationwide SBRN, Athienitis, Hydro-Québec, Natural Resources Canada, Régulvar and Murs EcoTerra Walls were honoured by the Association pour le développement de la recherche et de l'innovation du Québec (ADRIQ) and NSERC. The SBRN was one of eight university-industry partnerships celebrated at a ceremony held at Marché Bonsecours in Montreal.

"I am delighted this progressive partnership his received such positive attention," says Dr. Athienitis. "Our efforts to build a greener Canada - and world - are the result of a collective investment of time, money and talent."


Established in 2005, the SBRN was then the largest Canadian research effort focused on solar energy and buildings.  Due to the fragmented nature of the building process, the research undertaken by the SBRN could only have been conducted through a network partnership approach - collaboration between university research groups with industry and government partners.

Building on the success of the SBRN, Dr. Athienitis was recently awarded a second prestigious NSERC strategic network in this field. The Smart Net Zero Energy Buildings Strategic Research Network (SNEBRN) boasts a 40% increase in industrial participation over SBRN. Funding received from the federal and provincial governments under the Knowledge Infrastructure Program enabled the establishment at Concordia of the Solar Simulator/Environmental Chamber, the only facility of its kind worldwide.  This-state-of-the-art facility will allow the SNEBRN partners to continue and expand upon the excellent work conducted under the SBRN.

A complete list of SBRN partners is presented below.

Universities: Concordia University (host institution), Queen's University, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, University of Calgary, University of New Brunswick, Ryerson University, Dalhousie University, McMaster University, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Carleton University, University of Western Ontario, Saint Lawrence College.

Industry: Hydro-Québec, Murs EcoTerra Walls (formerly Les Maisons Alouette), Regulvar Inc., EnerWorks Inc., ARISE Technologies, SOMFY Canada, Thermotech Windows, Ltd., Phillips/Canlyte Inc., Advanced Glazings, Unicel, Sevag Pogharian Design, Aeroports de Montréal, Matrix Energy, Agence de l'efficacité énergetique, EPOPD Solar, Conserval Engineering, Day4Energy, Xantrex Corporation.

Federal: NSERC, Natural Resources Canada, and Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

A linear particle accelerator, nicknamed MEGA, built in the lab of Rolf Wüthrich with the help of six undergraduate engineering students, has been impressing audiences far and wide. Already featured in The Montreal Gazette and other media, the accelerator wowed a more specialized crowd at this year's Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference and is poised to be one of the most popular contest entries in the Project of the Year competition organized by Dassault Systèmes. The project is also entered into another competition at the International Congress of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers, June 4-6.



The goal of the device is to accelerate electrons to an energy of 100,000 electron-volts and shoot them in the form of a beam onto an electrolytic solution. In this way the accelerator allows the controlled production of solvated electrons.  Dr.  Wüthrich's team aims to study these with the long-term goal of improving related technologies in the field of micro-machining and nano-particle synthesis for green energy converting systems.

Graduating student and project manager, Jad Saleh, is excited about his team's contribution to this leading-edge research, not to mention its enthusiastic reception at the Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference.

"We got to see the reaction of students from other universities and they were all impressed," says Saleh.  In fact, Saleh and his fellow team members stayed at the conference's technology exposition a whole extra 90 minutes in order to field the large number of questions from attendees. "Many delegates were stunned to see the kind of project undergraduates can do."

Saleh was joined at the conference in Waterloo by teammates Stephen Jacobs, Sabrina Ibarra and Giovanni Fancello. In addition to showcasing their creation, they also enjoyed many other conference activities. Saleh believes that Concordia students should strongly consider participating in the conference every year and hopes ENCS attendance will increase.

Vote for MEGA

Just a few days of voting remain in the Dassault Systèmes competition, which recognizes designs that were built using the company's software. Voting takes place via Facebook, and at last count, the Concordia particular accelerator (MEGA) was in the top three.

Suong Van Hoa's research into composite materials is blazing a new trail in aviation. His work has remarkable promise in lowering the weight of aircraft, increasing durability, reducing fuel use, and cutting overall operational costs. Dr. Hoa's research just received a major boost from the federal government and industry in the form of a new Industrial Research Chair in Automated Composites Manufacturing. This will help make the Canadian aerospace even more competitive in the global marketplace, and will keep Concordia at the leading edge of aerospace teaching and research.

At a very special event on May 11, Dr. Hoa was honoured by Suzanne Fortier, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Concordia leaders Graham Carr, Interim Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, Robin Drew, Dean of Engineering and Computer Science, as well as industry leaders from Bombardier, Bell Helicopter Textron Canada, Delastek Aerospace, Composites Atlantic and Emergia Aerospace.

At the event, Dean Robin Drew said, "I am sure this project will have a very bright future and will ensure Concordia's place on the world stage of innovative composite manufacturing well into the next decade and beyond."

NSERC, the industry partners and Concordia provided $3.4 million for the new Chair, to which Hoa has been appointed as inaugural chair-holder. He will oversee further research and mentor a new generation of engineers who will have advanced skills in this exciting new field.

Read the NOW story at Concordia.ca.

A group of Concordia engineering students has brought home a trophy from the prestigious Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International Aero Design East Competition, held in Marietta, Georgia. Concordia's team, Stingers, earned second place in the Micro Class category.

"This was my third competition during my studies at Concordia University and it was a thrill to succeed at this level against competitors of such high calibre from around the world," said team captain, Hadi Alaee.

Contest entries had to be radio controlled flying aircraft and were judged according to how well they responded to two criteria: lowest empty weight and highest carrying payload. Each aircraft had to fit into a 24x18x8 inch box and was launched either by hand or elastic mechanism. During inspection, Concordia's team was complimented for using an elastic launch system and for the innovative application of a camera tripod equipped with a cradle to launch the plane. Their entry was the second lightest and carried one of the heaviest loads.

Martin Pugh, Chair of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, said, "I'm very proud of our students. Their hard work and creativity truly paid off."

The Concordia team took their truck, emblazoned with the Stingers logo, for the 22-hour drive down to Georgia and on the way back from their success at the competition stopped off at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to see the space shuttle Discovery. Hadi says, "This made our trip just perfect."

Hadi's fellow team members were Nicholas Major, Serge Kudinov, Billy Marquez, Vishaan Gungah, Neil Roy Choudhury, Fabio Bandera and Ejen Eskhandari.

"I'm thrilled for the team that they not only performed superbly but also that their experience in the United States was so instructive and rewarding," said Dean Robin Drew.

Maria Elektorowicz has accomplished what many scientists previously believed to be impossible. She created a hybrid device that can remove all impurities from sewage water. Elektorowicz is graduate program director and a professor at the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Recently, Le Devoir profiled this engineer and her many accomplishments (article in French).

The developed device is called a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor or SMEBR. It was created at Concordia and tested in l'Assomption, Quebec. The SMEBR removes more impurities from water -- and with greater efficiency -- than pre-existing devices. It is more environmentally sustainable since it eliminates the use of chemical compounds, occupies less land due to elimination of many operation units, and uses less energy. It also operates at a lower cost.



Beyond the immediate implications of this invention, namely, possible commercialization and use across Canada and beyond, Elektorowicz is interested in further possible breakthroughs. She speculates about a future in which each home is self-sustaining in its water usage -- being able to purify and re-use whatever it creates in the form of waste.

Shadi Hasan, Sharif Ibeid, Khalid Bani Melhem, Walaa Hirzallah and Negin Salamati were also participants in the SMEBR project, which was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Strategic Grant Program.