VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 SPRING 2003 D E P A R TMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY F A C U L TY OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 M e s s age from the Chair 2 B o a rd of Adv i s o rs 3 Campaign New s 4 U n d e rgraduate New s 5 Graduate New s “It was my luck to have a few 6 Faculty New s good teachers in my youth, men 9 Alumni New s and women who came into my dark head and lit a match” 1 1 Fa m i ly New s Life of Pi by Yann Martel 2002 Man Booker Prize Winner 1 2 Upcoming Events 1 3 Thanks to our Support e rs Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry University of To r o n t o 200 College Street Toronto ON Canada M5S 3E5 T 416 978 3063 F 416 978 8605 w w w. ch e m - e n g . u t o ro n t o . c a E [email protected] M e s s age from the Chair “Interfaces” is a new venture which seeks to engage the wider Chemical Engineering Department community: alumni, students, f a c u l t y, staff, and friends. “Interfaces” celebrates all the people whose vitality makes our Department a success. Welcome to Volume 1, Number 1. In 2002, our emphasis was on building teams. The whole team was out in force at the Annual Dinner, with many alumni and former staff in attendance. You are invited to the next A n n u a l D i n n e r, to be held March 28, 2003. Please join us. Last May 27, we organized a highly successful (first Annual) Spring Cleaning Day. Lab and office teams cleared out a formidable pile of “precious objects” that we had been carefully saving all these years. The Wallberg Building was lightened by several tonnes, and some sensed it rise perceptibly; certainly, spirits rose. From February to September, teams of professors laboured to meet the challenges of the future, creating the “Strategic Plan 2002-2006” and forging a shared vision: “We will be among the top ten chemical engineering departments in the world, educating leaders of tomorrow”. To act on our commitment to nurture leadership in our students, we initiated a Summer Leadership Program, in which nineteen students spent sixteen Friday afternoons engaged in special programs, including team building. Pursuing another strategic direction, on October 17, we held the first meeting of our new Board of Advisors, an outstanding team of community leaders. “Interfaces” is also about removing boundaries between university and industry, between students and alumni, and between the Wallberg communities of today and yesterday. “Interfaces” brings you news and an invitation to share your good stories. We welcome your participation. All the best, Doug Reeve Frank Dottori Professor of Pulp and Paper Engineering Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry w w w. c h e m - e n g . u t o r o n t o . c a P.S. Don't forget to mark your calendar for the Annual Dinner on March 28, 2003 and to send in the enclosed RSVP l e t t e r. B o a rd of Adv i s o rs The first meeting of the Department's dynamic new Board of Advisors was held on October 17, 2002. The members engaged faculty and students to gather information and encourage discussion of pertinent issues. The student response was highly enthusiastic: “I just wanted to thank you for the invita- tion to mingle with the Board of Directors. It was a very enjoyable experience and I appreciate the opportunity to meet such successful Chemical Engineers.” Sonya van Vliet, Third Year “ T h ey really impressed me. I have a re n ewed enthusiasm for chemical e n g i n e e r i n g, and for that I thank you.” Mark Pingal, Second Ye a r Board of Advisors for the Department: Back row (l to r): Claire Kennedy, John Vos s , and Sonia De Buglio (Director of External Relations); Middle row (l to r): Ted Cross, “It was very inspiring to be among such David Colcleugh, Michael May, and Larry Seeley; Front row (l to r): Robin Korthals, people!” Rocky Simmons, Nadine Riley, and Doug Reeve. Not present: Michael Charles, Katie Higgins, Second Ye a r Frank Dottori, Raminder Gill, Paul Godfrey, and Bob Steele. The purpose of the Board is to provide guidance and counsel to the Department’s leadership, to act as ambassadors, to undertake mentoring for students and faculty, and to assist in reaching out to our alumni. We are fortunate to have so many successful and committed alumni and are especially grateful to those who have agreed to serve on the Board. (See page 12) 2 Campaign New s We have a vision. We have a plan. And now we have a campaign. Our Mission: • We will be leaders in the development of modern chemical engineering, a central discipline integrating chemistry, biology, mathematics and engineering. • Our students will graduate with a high level of scholarship, strong professional capability, and sophisticated skills in learning, planning, problem solving, communication and l e a d e r s h i p . • Our research will be recognized as excellent, innovative, m u l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y, and of significant social and economic b e n e f i t . • Our Department will be renowned for its ethical standards and its friendly, supportive and spirited atmosphere. We are campaigning to raise funds for student scholarships, new teaching laboratories, special professorships, and world- class facilities and programs. It’s all about students realizing their dreams and becoming leaders of tomorrow. We need your help. For more information about getting involved, please contact Sonia De Buglio, Director of External Relations Telephone: 416 978 8770 Fax: 416 978 8605 email: [email protected] The Department has identified i n formation engineering as a high priority for the future. Building on the expertise of present faculty in information engineering, computational methods, and applied mathematics, we have formed a key research cluster, “Informatics”. Chemical Engineering Professor Joseph C. Paradi, leader of the Informatics Cluster and Director of the Centre for Management of Te c h n o l o g y and Entrepreneurship, has won support for an endowed Chair in Information Engineering. The Chair’s sponsors have committed $2 million. 3 Undergraduate News 2003 Formula SAE Racing Te a m The University of To r o n t o F o r mula SAE team challenges The Department is moving through a significant review students to exercise their knowledge, creativity and skill by of the u n d e rgraduate pro g r a m to continue to meet the designing and building a single-seater race car for annual needs of graduating chemical engineering students. international competitions held in Pontiac, Michigan and We have begun with a revision of the first-year curriculum Birmingham, England. The project requires technical knowl- and the introduction of two new first-year courses. edge, business acumen, and good communication within the Concepts in Chemical Engineering team and with industry. Our students have a superb track The motivation for this course is to ensure that first-year record, last year placing second overall out of a field of 30 students are exposed to the core chemical engineering teams in the British competition. competencies and the diversity of the discipline. The For 2003, two second-year Chemical Engineering students, Department has been organized into research clusters, and Nadia Boin and Jennifer Aiello, are Business Manager and every year, four of them will be responsible for the course, Public Relations Director, respectively. They are responsible each presenting a research overview based on a “case study”. for managing public events and preparing cost reports, as Engineering Strategies and Practice: well as fundraising and networking with sponsors. A New Firs t - Year Cours e The Formula SAE team welcomes the Department of Engineering Strategies and Practice (ESP) is an innovative Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry and the Faculty-wide course designed to foster excitement for Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering as new sponsors. engineering through projects that combine creativity and Thanks to their financial and technical support, the team is logical methodology and that explore the role of engineering well on the way to building another winning car. in society. Students will be introduced to professional For more information about this exciting student project, communication skills, team work, and the social impact of please visit the team’s web site: t e c h n o l o g y. In ESP I, short hands-on projects give students a chance to grapple with the challenges of engineering design. w w w. f s a e. u t o ro n t o . c a In the second half of the term, students will participate in a technology related topical seminar. In ESP II, students will work in teams on a design project to develop a viable solution that meets a client's needs. In 2003/04, a pilot program will be run with one hundred students drawn from all programs in the Faculty, except Engineering Science. 4 Graduate New s Reaching New Heights Phillip Ta n , PhD 2002, won the Governor General's Gold Medal award upon graduation in recognition of his work on In June 2002, partially funded by the Department of an aerosol Laser Ablation Mass Spectrometer (LAMS), the Chemical Engineering and the Birmingham Medical Research first of its kind in Canada and one of only a handful around Expeditionary Society, a team of five researchers, including the world.