Marit Mitchell

Air quality in Toronto’s subways improves with new trains, reduced friction braking: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 20:48:04 +0000

Air quality in Toronto’s subways improves with new trains, reduced friction braking: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 08/04/2021 - 16:48

Cutline

A box contains instruments to measure fine particulate matter on the Toronto Transit Commission's St. George subway station platform (photo by Keith Van Ryswyk)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Breaking Research

Chemical Engineering

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

Research & Innovation

Air quality on Toronto subway platforms improved substantially with the rollout of new cars on Line 1, according to a new study by the ��Ƶ’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and Health Canada.

The researchers measured levels of fine particulate matter – the mass of tiny airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres (known as PM2.5) per cubic metre of air – on subway platforms, as well as inside the trains. They compared levels of PM2.5 from 2010-2011 against levels measured in 2018-2020, which is after the adoption of more modern subway cars for Line 1.

The results show that air quality on an average Toronto subway platform is better than PM2.5 levels measured in the New York City and Boston subway systems, but not better than systems in Washington D.C., or Philadelphia. Concentrations varied across platforms within the Toronto system as well, with better air quality in those partially open to the outside such as Victoria Park Station.

The research team includes U of T Engineering Professor Greg Evans and Health Canada researcher Keith Van Ryswyk, who has been studying air quality in subway systems for over 10 years and is now completing a PhD in U of T’s department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. Their work was recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

The team found that PM2.5 levels on Toronto’s Line 1 platforms decreased by about 30 per cent and that levels inside Line 1 trains dropped by about 50 per cent compared to 2010-2011 levels. The finding is likely due to the switch to newer trains.

“The good news here is that air quality inside the trains, where people are spending more of their time, has improved and is much better than out on the platform,” says Evans, who also serves as director of the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research.

On Toronto’s Line 2, by contrast, where the new trains have not yet been rolled out, the results were more mixed. The researchers initially observed an increase in the levels of PM2.5 by almost 50 per cent on the platform and 13 per cent inside the Line 2 subway cars compared to 2010-2011. The cause of the increase was identified as being related to brake dust, with subsequent changes in braking patterns after 2018 corresponding to PM2.5 levels below those measured in 2010-2011.

The researchers also compared PM2.5 in newly built subway stations against older stations to see whether dust built up over the decades was a factor. They observed that it didn’t take long for the air in new stations to become like the old ones — indicating that legacy dust was not an issue, and that new dust from braking materials and behaviour were likely the two biggest contributors to air quality levels.

The composition of the airborne particles inside Toronto Transit Commission stations and trains also provided a clue as to their origins: they’re high in certain metals, such as barium and iron oxides, suggesting that they’re likely thrown off by the trains’ friction brakes – more so on the older model subway cars.

“What we’re seeing is that both the designs of the trains, and patterns of subway operation are contributing factors,” says Evans. “This points to opportunities to further improve air quality.”

“The health and safety of our customers and our employees has always been and continues to be a top priority for the TTC. The latest data are a positive indicator that the investment we’ve made is paying dividends in terms of improving air quality,” said Betty Hasserjian, acting chief safety officer of the TTC. “The TTC is committed to continuing to improve air quality across its system, through monitoring and implementing lessons learned.”

“This study involved long-term PM2.5 monitoring on a large sample of subway platforms,” says Van Ryswyk. “The resulting dataset is a wealth of data that has taught us a great deal about the nature of subway air pollution.”

U of T Engineering Academy supports students whose final year of high school was disrupted by COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 22 May 2020 14:01:00 +0000

U of T Engineering Academy supports students whose final year of high school was disrupted by COVID-19

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 05/22/2020 - 10:01

Cutline

The U of T Engineering Academy is an optional and not-for-credit program that is free to all incoming students for in the fall 2020 semester, offering a suite of learning modules in math, physics and chemistry (photo by Mia Baker via Unsplash)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Our Community

Coronavirus

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate Education

The ��Ƶ’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering is launching a new program designed to give incoming students all the material they need to shine in their first-year courses – particularly those who faced pandemic-related disruptions to their high school education.

The U of T Engineering Academy is an optional and not-for-credit program that is free to all incoming students in the fall 2020 semester. Participating students gain access to a suite of established learning modules in math, physics and chemistry that they can move through at their own pace.

They will have regular opportunities to check in with mentors – upper-year U of T Engineering students who can help them navigate the material and coach them on how it will be applied in first-year courses. If a student wants extra instruction on a particular topic, they can also request to participate in a session with a celebrated high-school teacher.

Designed in close consultation with high school teachers and curriculum leads in the U of T Engineering First-Year Office, as well as the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (Troost ILead), the program was launched to support students who may have had their final year of high school disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“U of T Engineering Academy gives students what they need to fill in any gaps in their Grade 12 year, as well as a friendly introduction to our faculty with the support of our incredible students and professors,” says Micah Stickel, vice-dean, first year engineering. “And because it’s optional and not-for-credit, it’s a great way to gain some experience with online learning and explore what kinds of approaches work for you.”

When a student accepts their offer of admission, they’ll also have a chance to register for the U of T Engineering Academy through the same Engineering Applicant Portal. They will then receive an email with access details and any tech requirements. Access to the learning materials will be available in early June, and students can move through at their own pace through July.

For students who feel they might benefit from a little extra support after completing U of T Engineering Academy, the First Year Foundations program provides that boost. The program is a suite of optional sessions, workshops and courses to help incoming students prepare for several aspects of university life – from developing effective study and learning skills, to getting ahead with introductions to concepts like computer programming, the engineering design process and communications.

“The year so far hasn’t gone the way any of us expected,” says Chris Yip, dean of U of T Engineering. “We’re here to make sure that no matter what happened in the final year of high school, we’re giving our students the tools and supports they need to be comfortable, prepared and ready to have a terrific experience when they start this fall at Skule.”

'One of our most successful deans ever': U of T celebrates Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering's Cristina Amon

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 15:56:30 +0000

'One of our most successful deans ever': U of T celebrates Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering's Cristina Amon

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 07/02/2019 - 11:56

Cutline

Cristina Amon oversaw significant growth and change at U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, where she was the faculty's longest-serving dean in the last half-century (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Our Community

Diversity and Inclusion

Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Artificial Intelligence

Entrepreneneurship

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

Research & Innovation

Robotics

Startups

Undergraduate Students

UTIAS

More than 400 professors, staff, students and alumni recently gathered at the ��Ƶ to reflect on the lasting impact of Cristina Amon, who was the longest-serving dean of the university’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering in the last half-century.

Under Amon’s leadership, the faculty became a global leader in multidisciplinary research, education and innovation.

It also nearly tripled the number of women faculty members (from 20 to 57) and was successful at recruiting outstanding undergraduate women, with incoming classes over the past three years consisting of more than 40 per cent women.

“The past 13 years have been a remarkable journey – one we have taken together,” said Amon at the event held at the Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

“I find myself moved to have arrived at this momentous occasion in our faculty’s history. Through our collective will, we have built a strong and vibrant community and elevated our standing as Canada’s top engineering school, and truly one of the very best in the world.

“I am tremendously proud of all we have accomplished.”

More than 400 professors, staff, students and alumni recently gathered at the Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship to celebrate Cristina Amon’s leadership and legacy (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

In recognition of Amon’s impact, Paul Cadario, a distinguished fellow in global Innovation at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, announced the creation of the Cristina Amon Decanal Chair in Innovation, an endowed chair to be held by all future deans of the faculty that will seed innovative projects in perpetuity. That includes Christopher Yip, who assumed the role of the faculty’s dean on July 1.

“What a brilliant run for Cristina – not only the longest serving dean in the last half-century of the ��Ƶ's stellar Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, but one of our most successful deans ever,” said University Professor of philosophy Cheryl Misak, who is a former vice-president and provost.

During Amon’s tenure, the engineering faculty strengthened international and industrial partnerships and established two startup accelerators – The Entrepreneurship Hatchery and Start@UTIAS – which provide a comprehensive suite of programs to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Amon also enriched experiential, collaborative and active learning opportunities, and evolved the faculty’s undergraduate and graduate programming to cultivate new generations of makers, innovators and leaders.

Under Amon’s direction, the faculty created opportunities for students to build on their technical foundations by developing professional competencies such as leadership, entrepreneurship and global fluency. It also created 19 undergraduate minors and certificates on topics ranging from engineering business and advanced manufacturing to global engineering, music performance, robotics and artificial intelligence. And the faculty introduced five new majors in engineering science, including the latest in machine intelligence – the first undergraduate engineering program of its kind in Canada.

U of T’s engineering faculty more than doubled graduate enrolment during the same period, launching new graduate programming from the PhD in clinical engineering and the master’s degree in city engineering and management, to the 12 professional master’s degree emphases, from the ELITE (Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Innovation in Technology and Engineering) to the most recent in analytics.

One of the many hallmarks of Amon’s deanship has been her unwavering commitment to increasing diversity and creating an inclusive environment.

“Dean Amon has had a lasting impact on me, both as a U of T student and as a young woman in engineering,” said Shivani Nathoo, president of the Engineering Society, 2018-2019.

“Through her amazing leadership, she has shown what it means to stand up for your beliefs and make a difference. U of T Engineering today looks very different from when she started, and it’s credit to her hard work and dedication towards students and the student experience.”

At the event, Professor Emeritus Ron Venter unveiled a portrait of Amon that will hang in the foyer of the Myhal Centre. The centre was envisioned and spearheaded by Amon as a world-class facility for the 21^st century engineer. The building elevates engineering experiential education and research through technology-enhanced active learning spaces, prototyping facilities and design studios where students, faculty and external partners can exchange ideas and launch new ventures.

The Myhal Centre is also home to leading multidisciplinary research centres and institutes created in recent years, including the Centre for Global Engineering, the Institute for Water Innovation, the recently relaunched Robotics Institute and the newly established Centre for Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Engineering.

“Dean Amon has led extraordinary growth and change at U of T Engineering,” said Yip, who was previously U of T’s associate vice-president of international partnerships.

“Through her inspired efforts and engagement, we now have the unparalleled talent – from students to staff and faculty – innovative educational programming, as well as the facilities and partnerships in place to drive the innovations, technologies and industries that will come to define our future.”

U of T alumnus uses automation, robotics to keep Canadian Tire's operations rolling

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 28 May 2019 20:53:40 +0000

U of T alumnus uses automation, robotics to keep Canadian Tire's operations rolling

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 05/28/2019 - 16:53

Cutline

Carlos Menezes, Canadian Tire’s vice-president of distribution and operations planning, is working with U of T researchers to automate the process of unloading shipping containers in its Brampton, Ont. distribution centre (photo by Jason Bailey)

Topic

Dublin Awards. Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

Robotics

It’s Carlos Menezes’s job to keep things moving. Thousands of things: tea kettles, barbeques, car parts, sleeping bags, garden gazebos. From his vantage at the centre of Canadian Tire’s vast supply chain, he tracks products from more than 2,000 suppliers worldwide. They’re shipped across oceans, transported by railway to four national distribution centres and loaded onto trucks that deliver them to 500 Canadian Tire stores, where you lift them off the shelf in perfect condition and take them home.

Like any extraordinarily complex system, the retailer’s supply chain benefits from precision engineering – and Menezes, Canadian Tire’s vice-president of distribution and operations planning, has built his career on continuously fine-tuning it.

“If you think about industrial engineering happening wherever there’s people, systems and process, there’s always an opportunity to improve and to optimize,” says the ��Ƶ engineering alumnus.

“With the Canadian Tire supply chain being as large and as complex as it is, there’s no shortage of opportunities to find ways to make our operation run optimally.”

The way products are designed, created and moved through today’s global marketplace has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. Advanced manufacturing – which encompasses innovations in materials, processes and distribution logistics – combined with escalating transportation costs, has made the retail industry more competitive than ever. And for a company with locations spread coast-to-coast across the second-largest country in the world, even minuscule improvements in operational efficiency can yield big savings and confer a valuable edge.

“When you factor in our inbound transportation costs, outbound transportation costs and the handling of our goods in our distribution centres, we’re into hundreds of millions of dollars,” says Menezes.

“Even if we could figure out a way to shave a point or two off, we’re talking tens of millions. I’m always thinking of ways to make our operations more efficient while maintaining service, quality, and above all, the safety of my workers.”

To help hone that competitive edge, Menezes turned to his alma mater and Goldie Nejat, an associate professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering and director of the Institute for Robotics & Mechatronics.

Menezes and his team had developed a list of 17 projects they thought might benefit from the introduction of robotics and automation to their workflow. They then toured Nejat through Canadian Tire’s distribution centre located in Brampton, Ont. and settled on the ideal place to start: automating the process of unloading shipping containers.

When a 53-foot shipping container arrives at the distribution centre, it’s been loaded floor to ceiling, back to front, with whatever else came off the ship. “It might be 6,000 kettles,” says Menezes. “It might be 3,000 kettles, in two different models, and 3,000 coffee makers in five colours and a dozen different kinds of exercise equipment.”

A human then needs to start removing each item and sorting it into pallets. Forklift drivers move full pallets to the designated section of the distribution centre, where the products are available to be re-packed into trucks and delivered to stores. The distribution centre runs 20 hours a day, with staff working in two shifts from 5:45 a.m. through 1:45 a.m., seven days a week. It’s hard, physical, repetitive work.

“The current process is very time consuming, and that costs us a lot of money. It’s also tying up a receiving door for probably 20 hours a day – if that container of kettles is tying up that door, guess what: something else can’t get in there,” says Menezes.

“So what we’re trying to do is twofold: one, we’re trying to see if robotics could speed up the offloading process; and the other piece is we think there’s going to be a big health and safety benefit for our folks.”

Menezes and his operations team are no strangers to robots in their midst. Five years ago, they introduced automated guided vehicles (AGVs) into the A.J. Billes Distribution Centre in Brampton, Ont. and, in the summer of 2017, they added them to Bolton as well. The AGVs are driverless forklifts that automatically deliver pallets around the floor along pre-programmed paths. The Brampton distribution centre is also home to an elaborate custom robotics system that receives shipments of vehicle tires and sorts, moves, puts away and retrieves them – entirely without human intervention.

“You can imagine if your role was to be handling tires for 10 hours a day… with all of the SUVs and light truck tires on the road today, the tires are getting bigger and heavier to handle,” Menezes says. “We definitely had to find a way to make life easier for our staff. And being Canadian Tire, we handle a lot of tires.”

Menezes hopes to have his newest robotic prototype in place in the next 12 to 18 months. And, like a true industrial engineer, he’s already considering how to scale and make his system smarter and more efficient – he and Nejat even discussed the potential of integrating artificial intelligence into a robotic packing system.

“I think in the past year here at Canadian Tire, robotics and automation has really taken off, in terms of us thinking about it, being much more open to the ideas.” Menezes says. “You’ve got to continually move with where the industry is going, and continually push the envelope to find better ways to do things, new ways to do things, and if you’re not trying that, you’re going to be left behind.”

First-year U of T students engineer solutions to complex city challenges

noreen.rasbach — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 15:15:09 +0000

First-year U of T students engineer solutions to complex city challenges

noreen.rasbach Wed, 04/24/2019 - 11:15

Cutline

Engineering Eli Scott (centre) presents her team’s design for expediting the use of reusable bags at Longo’s grocery stores (photo by Liz Do)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Undergraduate Students

Each year Toronto Fire Services responds to more than 100,000 emergencies throughout the city, according to a 2017 report. For firefighters arriving at the scene of an active fire, controlling who enters the building and when can mean the difference between life and death.

That’s why a team of first-year students in the ��Ƶ's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, worked closely with Toronto Fire Station 322, responsible for the densely populated downtown area, to develop a smarter solution.

“We spent a lot of time in the station to learn about their existing entry control process and their needs before we began developing our prototypes,” said Haochen Zhang, one of the first-year students. “We heard a lot of concerns around the cost and reliability of their current technology.”

Zhang and her team developed a solution that focuses on minimizing human error in chaotic situations by allowing fire captains to monitor the location of each member of his or her team simultaneously.

From left: Aman Bhargava, Amy Xin, Haochen Zhang and Yannis He developed a smarter means of entry control for firefighters at Toronto Fire Station 322 (photo by Liz Do)

Their project was among the prototypes and renderings showcased earlier this month at the Praxis Showcase. The first-year engineering science students unveiled their design solutions to 15 of the Greater Toronto Area’s most pressing and persistent problems.

The event is the culmination of Praxis, a unique first-year course that challenges students to collaborate with Toronto communities, agencies and companies to find innovative ways to improve their city.

“In the end I think it was a much more enriching process than just doing an in-class assignment,” said Aman Bhargava, a member of the team addressing entry control for firefighters. “Working with real people on a pressing challenge of importance to them was a very rewarding experience for us.”

The students took on a diverse mix of projects and clients, including:

Streamlining the assembly of harm-reduction kits
Improving firefighters’ navigation during active fires
Prioritizing safety at the Toronto Tool Library’s Makerspace
Developing phone charging stations in the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s women’s in-patient unit
Designing an aviation-concept game to improve flight cadets’ knowledge retention
Developing a more accurate fermentation test to tell bakers when a batch of dough is ready
Preventing the intrusion of dementia patients into other patients’ rooms
Creating an easier way of packing reusable bags at cashier stations
Preventing false Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) alerts among Toronto firefighters
Collecting and organizing shuttlecocks at KC Badminton Club
Improving removal paint mechanisms at Sgt. Splatters
Reforming the motorboat transportation system at the Richmond Canoe Club
Improving the frying station in food trucks
Containers capable of transporting frozen and fresh food across Canada
Improving sidewalk salting practices for business owners in areas of heavy foot traffic

“This course doesn’t just challenge students to use their engineering design thinking and communication skills – it challenges them to think about what type of engineer they want to be and how they want to contribute to improving both their local and global communities,” says course co-ordinator Jason Foster, an associate professor, teaching stream, in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

“Every year, I’m impressed by both the projects our students find and the designs they present at the Praxis Showcase.”

A front-row seat to space: U of T alumna earns elite designation by CSA/NASA to control space robotics missions

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 13:20:54 +0000

A front-row seat to space: U of T alumna earns elite designation by CSA/NASA to control space robotics missions

noreen.rasbach Fri, 10/26/2018 - 09:20

Cutline

Kristen Facciol in the Mission Control Center of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Facciol has become the 14th Canadian to earn a CSA/NASA Robotics Flight Controller Certification (photo courtesy of Kristen Facciol/NASA)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Global Lens

Alumni

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Global

Space

Subheadline

When Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques is on the International Space Station this winter, Canadian space roboticist Kristen Facciol will likely be at the controls.

The alumna of ��Ƶ's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has just become the 14^th Canadian to earn a CSA/NASA robotics flight controller certification, putting her in charge of timeline management, procedure development, and overall situational awareness for the robotics systems onboard the space station during real-time operations.

“Of the 14 Canadian flight controllers, five of us are U of T Engineering grads, which I think is amazing,” says Facciol. “What was really cool to me was that we now have 14 Canadian astronauts and 14 Canadian flight controllers, so that similarity just shows you what an honour it is to be a part of this group.”

Facciol is an operations engineer with the Canadian Space Agency’s Mission Control Group and is stationed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Next year she will return to the CSA to support operations from the control centre in Saint-Hubert, Que. She launched her career with MDA (now Maxar Technologies), the company that designed and built the world-famous Canadarm, which provided the initial opportunity to work with the CSA.

“That was when I learned about the flight controller position,” she recalls. “It was the first time I realized there were actually Canadians controlling Canadian hardware in a Canadian facility, and that was completely surreal. And then I set my eyes on that career goal.”

The certification is the culmination of a year-long training process, involving self-study, classes within the robotics group and with other NASA teams, “knowledge review” sessions that resemble a verbal thesis defence, and ultimately, a series of six to 10 simulations of varying complexity. Facciol’s final simulation was a spacewalk with a crewmember on the end of the Canadarm2, in which she had to effectively work with other teams to negotiate and resolve a series of failures or anomalies introduced into the scenario in real time.

The intense experience demands a balance of strong technical knowledge and what NASA calls the seven foundations of flight operations: competence, confidence, discipline, responsibility, teamwork, toughness and vigilance. It’s a combination for which Facciol says her education in engineering science prepared her well.

“It really teaches you to work in a multidisciplinary environment, to work with people from different backgrounds and different strengths, and to be able to manage an overwhelming number of things,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without U of T Engineering as a background.”

In addition to acting in her new role as mobile servicing system-task officer for the upcoming spacewalk Saint-Jacques will support, Facciol has been assigned to three other missions scheduled for fall 2018 and winter 2019: receiving a new set of batteries from a Japanese cargo vehicle for installation on the space station, designing the procedures for a robotics refuelling mission demonstration, and supporting a SpaceX commercial resupply mission with their Dragon vehicle.

For Facciol, having a front-row seat to space is awe-inspiring. “To walk through buildings and cross paths with astronauts and people who have had such a huge influence on human spaceflight…it’s almost like this dream world that you knew existed but never thought you could be a part of.

"I still pinch myself every day.”

'Be ahead of the game': How two accomplished athletes balance sport and studying at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 17:12:15 +0000

'Be ahead of the game': How two accomplished athletes balance sport and studying at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 10/10/2018 - 13:12

Cutline

Kirti Saxena (left), who is in her first year of mechanical engineering at U of T, has represented Canada at several world championships (photo courtesy of Kirti Saxena)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Sport

Undergraduate Education

For many students starting university, a question lurks in the back of their minds: how will they conquer this new challenge? For Kirti Saxena and Mehdi Essoussi, thriving under pressure is just part of their training.

The two first-year students are elite athletes who compete on the world stage — Saxena is a seasoned wrestler who has represented Team Canada at several world championships, and Essoussi is a midfielder with the Toronto Football Club feeder team TFC III.

Now, they’re ready to apply the work ethic, determination and perseverance they’ve each developed over years of practice and training to their next challenge: first year in U of T's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

Essoussi and Saxena sat down with U of T's Marit Mitchell to share their plans for the year ahead — both in and out of the gym.

Kirti Saxena

Why did you choose to join mechanical engineering at U of T?

I always preferred understanding how a problem was solved, rather than memorizing the the solution. I specifically chose mechanical engineering because in addition to being more science- and math-oriented, I am big on art and design. I’ve always wanted to be able to create and learn not only a design, but the mechanics and underlying factors that are crucial to the functioning of any structure or system.

What has been your most memorable moment in your sporting career to date?

I represented Canada internationally throughout most of my high school years [at Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont.], and trained and competed in many tournaments around the world. My most memorable moment would have been when I competed in the Cadet World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. I was still a year younger than the qualifying age for a cadet, so there were no expectations on me — it was more for the experience. I ended up performing the best out of everyone on Team Canada that year and qualified for the bronze medal match. I finished the tournament with the official placement of fifth in the world. Because of this, I also received the award for "Best Cadet Wrestler" in all of Canada.

What are you most looking forward to about athletics at U of T?

I’m looking forward to the experience of being on a university team and being able to bring in some school pride by competing.

Will you continue wrestling for the national team during school?

If I qualify, I hope to be on one or two Team Canada teams for two different age groups: under 19 and senior-all. I train two to three times a day, and my ultimate goal is to compete and place at the Olympics. I intend to wrestle at the trials for 2020, but since I will still be fairly young and am currently recovering from knee surgery, the more realistic goal would be 2024 and various world championship medals throughout the years.

Can you share your approach to balancing school with competitive sport?

Time management, dedication and perseverance. Being able to strictly follow a pre-determined schedule is a must. There are certain times to eat, go to lectures, do homework and attend practice, and it’s vital to follow the schedule, even when you would rather stay at home wrapped in a blanket, sleeping all day.

Being able to follow such a busy and intense schedule calls for dedication, especially in a high-demand program such as engineering. Spending so much time working towards something so physically and mentally draining; it’s not an easy thing. Sometimes it takes away from being completely 100 per cent during other aspects of your life, but the important thing is learning how to find the balance — or for all the engineers out there, the equilibrium. That’s when perseverance plays its part. You always have to be ahead of the game, especially academically. Procrastination is never an option, and preparing when you can is crucial, because you never know when you may miss a whole week of class due to a training camp abroad.

Mehdi Essoussi

Why did you choose to join electrical and computer engineering at U of T?

The engineering program at U of T is one of the best and renowned. I choose electrical and computer engineering because I like the combination of science and technology with creativity and innovation, and the applications of ECE are endless in many sectors. Also, the fact that I play soccer with Toronto FC made it easier for me to make the decision to stay in the city.

What has been your most memorable moment in your sporting career to date?

There are several memorable moments in my soccer life, like playing with Team Ontario, being called to a Canadian national team identification camp and being recruited by Toronto FC Academy.

But signing a United Soccer League professional contract this year is my most recent memorable moment and one of the most exciting.

Will you continue playing with TFC during school — how often, and what are your goals with that group?

Yes, I will continue playing during school. I have practice on a daily basis and games on weekends (mainly in Canada or in the U.S). I am now participating with the TFC III team in the USSDA U18/19 league. My goal is to constantly work hard in every single training and game to continue evolving as a player, perform well with my team, and reach the maximum of my potential.

Do you have any unique approaches or tricks for balancing school with competitive sport?

It is challenging to do both, so I manage it like a project. This allows me to plan my days and study in advance as much as possible, organizing and managing my time efficiently. Putting maximum effort and concentration in everything I do helps me not lose precious time and keep the balance between studies and soccer.

Study and exam times, practices, games, days away – they have to all fit in a tight schedule. Self-discipline and perseverance is what helps me continue my journey. Since expectations are high for both soccer and studies, it takes commitment and dedication, and it’s all driven by self-discipline and passion.

Preventing a plane crash: New U of T research helps pilots train for aerodynamic stalls

ullahnor — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 20:06:31 +0000

Preventing a plane crash: New U of T research helps pilots train for aerodynamic stalls

ullahnor Thu, 06/07/2018 - 16:06

Cutline

U of T Engineering's Peter Grant practices responding to an aerodynamic stall in a flight simulator at the ��Ƶ Institute for Aerospace Studies (photo by Marit Mitchell)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Breaking Research

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

UTIAS

On a winter night in February 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed just outside of Buffalo, N.Y., killing all 49 passengers and crew aboard and one person on the ground. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the turbo-prop aircraft experienced many factors contributing to the crash, including an aerodynamic stall from which the aircraft couldn't recover.

“In most cases, a lot of things go wrong before a plane actually crashes,” says Peter Grant, an associate professor at the ��Ƶ Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) and a leading expert on flight simulation. “Part of the challenge is that pilots are often trained on simulations that take an aircraft right up to the point of aerodynamic stall but not past it.”

To help improve pilot training – especially as it relates to recognizing stalls and maneuvering out of them – Grant and his research team from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering have designed a new methodology that can be used to create new simulations.

Aerodynamic stall occurs when the stream of air flowing over an aircraft’s wings becomes separated from the curve of the wing and no longer generates enough lift to counteract the plane’s weight. This is caused by reaching too steep an angle of attack – when the nose of the plane aims up too sharply. When an airplane reaches aerodynamic stall it often begins to roll and becomes harder to control, further complicating the situation for a pilot.

Commercial aircraft have various safeguards in place to prevent stall, such as alarms, a “shaker” mechanism or built-in “pusher” system that prompts the pilot to direct the nose down to lower the angle of attack. By lowering the aircraft’s nose, it re-establishes lift, making the airplane easier to control and giving pilots a chance to correct even a severe roll. Some large jets are also equipped with “envelope protection” measures designed to keep the plane flying within safe parameters.

But even with these preventative measures, catastrophes still occur such as the June 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447, which killed all 228 aboard.

For pilots, manoeuvering out of a stall may not be intuitive in an extremely chaotic situation.

“Automation in aviation has really reduced the incidence of crashes and made flying a lot safer, but currently, it can’t do everything,” Grant says. “Besides take-off and landing, most commercial flight is on autopilot, until unless the situation becomes critical. Suddenly, the autopilot switches off and we’re putting pilots in a position where they need to take over under the worst possible circumstances.”

Following the Air France and Colgan Air disasters, and several similar incidents worldwide, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) called for researchers from industry and academia to design a new methodology for developing representative models of aerodynamic stall. Grant and fellow researchers answered the call.

Their first challenge was a scarcity of data on aircraft behaviour past the point of stall that could be used to build their model. To overcome this challenge, the team worked with Bombardier Aerospace to source data from wind-tunnel testing and from the test flights aircraft manufacturers conduct to have their aircraft certified. These flights are flown by trained test pilots and push aircraft outside of their typical flight envelopes, including stall, to ensure the aircraft post-stall behaviour is manageable.

Once they had developed a representative model, they extrapolated two alternate versions: one that simulated a version of aerodynamic stall where it came on more quickly, affecting the plane more severely than the average predicted by the data. The goal was to determine whether their representative model would be sufficient for training pilots past stall.

Grant and the team then recruited a pool of 15 pilots – all volunteers from Air Canada, Jazz and WestJet. After being divided into three groups, they were trained to recover from four different stalls in the UTIAS flight simulator. After training, all 15 were tested to study how well their respective training regimens had prepared them.

“We found no statistically significant difference between the three groups,” says Grant. “Once we had trained them on what to look for and how to respond, all 15 were equally capable of performing under stall conditions – this suggests representative modelling is sufficient for full-stall recovery training.”

The new simulations for stall recovery are expected to be incorporated into new pilot training programs that the FAA plans to roll out starting in 2019.

“Per mile flown, air travel is incredibly safe,” says Grant. “But as demand for commercial pilots continues to increase, we need to keep engineering improved simulations that allow for better training.”

U of T AI researchers design ‘privacy filter’ for photos that disables facial recognition systems

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 17:31:13 +0000

U of T AI researchers design ‘privacy filter’ for photos that disables facial recognition systems

noreen.rasbach Fri, 06/01/2018 - 13:31

Cutline

The ‘privacy filter’ that disrupts facial recognition algorithms relies on two AI-created algorithms: one performing continuous face detection, and another designed to disrupt the first (photo by Avishek Bose)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Global Lens

Artificial Intelligence

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

Research & Innovation

Subheadline

Each time you upload a photo or video to a social media platform, its facial recognition systems learn a little more about you. These algorithms ingest data about who you are, your location and people you know – and they’re constantly improving.

As concerns over privacy and data security on social networks grow, researchers at U of T's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, led by Parham Aarabi, an associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, and Avishek Bose, a master's degree candidate, have created an algorithm to dynamically disrupt facial recognition systems.

“Personal privacy is a real issue as facial recognition becomes better and better,” says Aarabi. “This is one way in which beneficial anti-facial-recognition systems can combat that ability.”

Their solution leverages a deep learning technique called adversarial training, which pits two artificial intelligence algorithms against each other. Aarabi and Bose designed a set of two neural networks: the first working to identify faces, and the second working to disrupt the facial recognition task of the first. The two are constantly battling and learning from each other, setting up an ongoing AI arms race.

The result is an Instagram-like filter that can be applied to photos to protect privacy. Their algorithm alters very specific pixels in the image, making changes that are almost imperceptible to the human eye.

“The disruptive AI can ‘attack’ what the neural net for the face detection is looking for,” says Bose. “If the detection AI is looking for the corner of the eyes, for example, it adjusts the corner of the eyes so they’re less noticeable. It creates very subtle disturbances in the photo, but to the detector they’re significant enough to fool the system.”

Aarabi and Bose tested their system on the 300-W face dataset, an industry standard pool of more than 600 faces that includes a wide range of ethnicities, lighting conditions and environments. They showed that their system could reduce the proportion of faces that were originally detectable from nearly 100 per cent down to 0.5 per cent.

"The key here was to train the two neural networks against each other – with one creating an increasingly robust facial detection system, and the other creating an ever stronger tool to disable facial detection," says Bose, the lead author on the project. The team’s study will be published and presented at the 2018 IEEE International Workshop on Multimedia Signal Processing later this summer.

In addition to disabling facial recognition, the new technology also disrupts image-based search, feature identification, emotion and ethnicity estimation, and all other face-based attributes that could be extracted automatically.

Next, the team hopes to make the privacy filter publicly available, either via an app or a website.

“Ten years ago these algorithms would have to be human defined, but now neural nets learn by themselves – you don’t need to supply them anything except training data,” says Aarabi. “In the end they can do some really amazing things. It’s a fascinating time in the field, there’s enormous potential.”

New catalyst developed at U of T upgrades greenhouse gas into renewable hydrocarbons

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 17 May 2018 17:48:27 +0000

New catalyst developed at U of T upgrades greenhouse gas into renewable hydrocarbons

noreen.rasbach Thu, 05/17/2018 - 13:48

Cutline

Cao-Thang Dinh (left) and Md Golam Kibria of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering demonstrate their new catalyst (photo by Laura Pedersen)

Marit Mitchell

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Global

Research & Innovation

Subheadline

A new technology from the ��Ƶ's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering is taking a substantial step towards enabling manufacturers to create plastics out of two key ingredients: sunshine and pollution.

Today, non-renewable fossil fuels not only provide the raw material from which plastics are made, they are also the fuel burned to power the manufacturing process, producing climate-warming carbon dioxide (CO₂). The International Energy Agency estimates the production of the main precursors for plastics is responsible for 1.4 per cent of global CO₂ emissions.

A team led by University Professor Ted Sargent of the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering, is turning this process on its head. They envision capturing CO₂ produced by other industrial processes and using renewable electricity – such as solar power – to transform it into ethylene. Ethylene is a common industrial chemical that is a precursor to many plastics, such as those used in grocery bags.

The system addresses a key challenge associated with carbon capture. While technology exists to filter and extract CO₂ from flue gases, the substance currently has little economic value that can offset the cost of capturing it – it’s a money-losing proposition. By transforming this carbon into a commercially valuable product like ethylene, the team aims to increase the incentives for companies to invest in carbon capture technology.

At the core of the team’s solution are two innovations: using a counterintuitively thin copper-based catalyst and a reimagined experimental strategy.

“When we performed the CO₂ conversion to ethylene in very basic media, we found that our catalyst improved both the energy efficiency and selectivity of the conversion to the highest levels ever recorded,” said post-doctoral researcher Cao-Thang Dinh, the first author on the paper published Thursday in the journal Science. In this context, efficiency means that less electricity is required to accomplish the conversion. The authors then used this knowledge to further improve the catalyst and push the reaction to favour the formation of ethylene, as opposed to other substances.

Next, the team addressed stability, which has long been a challenge with this type of copper-based catalyst. Theoretical modelling shows that basic conditions – that is, high pH levels – are ideal for catalyzing CO₂to ethylene. But under these conditions, most catalysts, and their supports, break down after less than 10 hours.

The team overcame this challenge by altering their experimental setup. Essentially, they deposited their catalyst on a porous support layer made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, better known as Teflon) and sandwiched their catalyst with carbon on the other side. This new setup protects the support and catalyst from degrading due to the basic solution, and enables it to last 15 times longer than previous catalysts. As an added bonus, this setup also improved efficiency and selectivity further.

“Over the last few decades, we’ve known that operating this reaction under basic conditions would help, but no one knew how to take advantage of that knowledge and transfer it into a practical system,” said Dinh. “We’ve shown how to overcome that challenge.”

Read the research in the journal Science

Currently their system is capable of performing the conversion on a laboratory scale, producing several grams of ethylene at a time. The team’s long-term goal is to scale the technology up to the point where they are able to convert the multiple tonnes of chemicals needed for commercial application.

“We made three simultaneous advances in this work: selectivity, energy-efficiency and stability,” said Sargent, who is also U of T's vice-president international. “As a group, we are strongly motivated to develop technologies that help us realize the global challenge of a carbon-neutral future.”

“Upgrading CO₂ to value is the next frontier in renewable energy storage and renewable chemicals,” said Shaffiq Jaffer of TOTAL, a French major energy operator sponsoring this research. “The Toronto breakthrough proves that electricity and waste CO₂ can be transformed into valuable chemicals for the petrochemicals sector. The possibility to close the carbon loop in a manner analogous to nature’s photosynthesis is closer to industrial reality today thanks to this advance.”

The multidisciplinary group, which also includes Professor David Sinton, combines strengths in materials science, chemical engineering, chemistry and mechanical engineering, and is providing new perspectives on the field. Several members are also involved in CERT, the ��Ƶ team that just advanced to the final round of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. The Carbon XPRIZE competition challenges groups from industry and academia to capture carbon emissions from power plants and efficiently convert them into valuable chemical products.