CUE appoints three visiting fellows
Ryerson's Centre for Urban Energy (CUE) announced the appointment of three visiting fellows at CUE this year.
Sean Conway, Ontario member of provincial parliament from 1975 to 2003, was minister of education, deputy leader of the Ontario Liberal party and energy critic, among other roles. He's currently the chair of Ontario Centres of Excellence and a public policy advisor at law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson. As a Visiting Fellow at CUE until Feb. 2013, Conway will mentor students, help build relationships with external partners and develop strategy on the education, certification and training of highly qualified personnel required for the rapidly expanding workforce in this sector.
Also joining CUE is Gamal Refai-Ahmed, a visting professor at SUNY and chief scientist at PreQual Techologies Corp. His area of specialization is thermal management of electronic and optical packaging and green energy. During his three-month appointment as a Visiting Fellow at CUE, he will help develop strategy, business and partnership opportunities in the area of energy applications.
The third new Visiting Fellow is Jim MacDougall, an energy professional with more than 20 years of experience. Currently president of Compass Renewable Energy Consulting Inc., MacDougall has been a manager with Ontario Power Authority, Ontario Energy Board and Toronto Hydro Energy Services. As Visiting Fellow at CUE until Feb. 2013, MacDougall will supervise projects and students and host panels on topical energy issues such as storage, renewable and smart grid, engaging key industry stakeholders.
The addition of these three visiting fellows will support CUE in its mission to investigate innovative, next-generation technologies and techniques to provide cities with sustainable power. CUE aims to attract the world's leading experts in urban energy to work collaboratively with Ryerson faculty, students and the centre's founding partners.
Ryerson's CUE research teams are investigating renewable power generation, energy storage, electrical power systems, smart grid systems, and their related business and social policy issues. Through the CUE, Ryerson intends to play a leadership role in helping to find solutions to the challenges of urban environments.
Hydro One has contributed $2.5 million over five years as a CUE founding partner, along with similar contributions from Ontario Power and Toronto Hydro, providing funding for student awards, visiting fellows and research projects.