News and Recent Events

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Awards Night - November 9th, 2011. 

For further information on available Awards see Undergraduate Program/Awards and Bursaries.

Celebration of a Decade of Graduate Studies

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Ryerson University celebrated the 10th anniversary of its graduate programming on May 19th, 2011. Over three hundred and thirty graduate students have passed through the department since the launch of the MASc, MEng, and PhD programs. Currently, there are about two hundred graduate students in the department, supporting a vibrant array of research activities. The celebration included keynote speakers, presentations by distinguished graduates, a research poster session by current students and a social reception.

Astronaut lands on campus

Bob Thirsk returns to debrief students, researchers on their space station experiment

Astronaut Bob Thirsk, right, was on campus last week for a debrief about a Ryerson experiment aboard the International Space Station. From left, Ziad Saghir, researcher and professor in mechanical and industrial engineering; Liping Fang, chair, mechanical and industrial engineering; Mohamed Lachemi, dean, Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science; and Thirsk.

Astronaut Bob Thirsk landed at Ryerson last week to debrief a Ryerson research team on their experiment aboard the International Space Station.

During his record-breaking six months on the space station last year, Thirsk was responsible for assembling and managing the experiment of the team led by Ziad Saghir, researcher and professor in mechanical and industrial engineering.

Though the experiment was complicated "Ziad provided great training," Thirsk said, and the students have proven to be "active, energetic and talented."

"I set up a video camera so Ziad's team could look over my shoulder as I assembled the experiment, I thought it would be helpful for them to see," Thirsk said.

Saghir's team worked in collaboration with colleagues from Perm State University (Russia) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium). Funders include the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

The experiment, known as SODI-IVIDIL, is the first of two European experiments involving Saghir and his team of five graduate students and two research scientists. IVIDIL examines the influence of vibration on the diffusion of liquids in a weightless environment. It contributes to Saghir's research on the Soret coefficient in crude oil, important in evaluating underground oil reserves.

Gravity disturbs earth-bound experiments on the coefficient, and it's only in the weightlessness of space that it can be accurately measured. Saghir's goal is to find the Soret coefficient's true value, which would prove extremely valuable to the petroleum industry.

Thirsk's extensive debrief was helpful for Saghir's team. For example he described how astronauts would exercise near the experiment, creating vibration that the team saw reflected in the data. They can now better evaluate and understand the results they received.

For Saghir, the space experience is invaluable to his research.

"It means we get top quality, high-precision data that cannot be achieved on earth," he says.

Next up for the team is a launch of another phase of their experiment aboard a Russian rocket in 2011.

Ryerson IE students winning at the 2010 IIE Canada Student Conference

Congratulations to the students who won competitions at the 2010 Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) Canada Student Conference held in Windsor on January 14-17.  Ryerson Industrial Engineering students won in the following competitions:

Engineering Design Competition, 1st place                 
  Jessica Chan
  Patrick Mazzawi
  Nahid Samadi
  Christian Schlegel

Technical Paper Competition, 1st place
  Ghadir Siyam
  Mahsa Shateri

Ghadir and Mahsa are now eligible to represent Canada and compete in the Undergraduate Technical Paper Competition International Finals at the IIE Annual Conference and Expo in June 2010 in Cancun, Mexico.

 
Those who are familiar with this conference know it well that having the same university in the 1st place for both competitions is not very usual. Our students have been the stars of this year's conference and we are very proud of their achievements.
 
The MIE Department would like to extend their most sincere congratulations to the winners and to all of our students on a job very well done.

You've got to break a few eggs ...

In 2001, the students in the fourth year Mechanical Systems Design course were challenged to design a portable device to pique the interest of local secondary school students in the field of engineering.  Thanks to a grant from the McConnell Foundation, the winning design was subsequently constructed. 

The crash car launcher hurls a student-constructed popsicle stick car into a massive steel bar.  With good design, the raw egg in the driver’s seat survives the collision.  This project has visited many Etobicoke schools since its completion, and received rave reviews from the school kids.

In November 2009, the apparatus was taken to the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) Chapter Leaders' Conference. Licensed engineers from across the province built their own cars, thus providing themselves with a fun example of how to enhance their own secondary school visits, and to introduce them to PEO's Engineering Idol.

Ryerson students to the rescue of imperiled pumpkins

On October 16, some 20 Ryerson engineering students from all years and programs visited Frank Whittamore's Berry Farm in Markham in an effort to save pumpkins that were scheduled to be launched from a large trebuchet. The event was intended to show how science and engineering can be fun and educational.  The Discovery Channel's Daily Planet host Alan Nursall challenged Ryerson engineering students to design and build devices that would stop pumpkins from exploding on impact after flying between 40 and 80 metres. 

The story airs on Daily Planet October 29.  (Spoiler Alert:: About half of the pumpkin protection devices were successful ...) See pictures.

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Departmental Newsletter

2009-2010 (.pdf)

September 13, 2009 - Volume 5, Number 4-6

2008-2009 (.pdf)

March 4, 2009 - Volume 5, Number 1-3

August 31, 2008 - Volume 4, Number 4-6

 
2007-2008 (.pdf)

March 4, 2008 - Volume 4, Number 2-3
October 24, 2007 - Volume 4, Number 1

2006-2007 (.pdf)

July 1, 2007 - Volume 3, Number 9-10
April 15, 2007 - Volume 3, Number 7-8
March 4, 2006 - Volume 3, Number 6
January 28, 2007 - Volume 3, Number 5
December 17, 2006 - Volume 3, Number 4
November 5, 2006 - Volume 3, Number 3
October 1, 2006 - Volume 3, Number 1-2
October 24, 2007 - Volume 4, Number 1