Faculty of Engineering

With light and flowers, U of T remembers the women killed 30 years ago at École Polytechnique de Montréal

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:52:27 +0000

With light and flowers, U of T remembers the women killed 30 years ago at École Polytechnique de Montréal

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 12/06/2019 - 14:52

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A spotlight shines above King’s College Circle during an event to mark the 30th anniversary of the 14 women killed at École Polytechnique de Montréal (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Engineering

Hart House

Meric Gertler

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Victoria College

A giant spotlight illuminated the sky above King’s College Circle Friday evening as the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering marked the 30th anniversary of the worst act of gender-based violence in Canada’s history with a poignant display of solidarity.

U of T Engineering was one of 14 engineering schools across the country to participate in the light-shining ceremony.

The event took place around 5 p.m. (EST), which is around the time a gunman entered École Polytechnique de Montréal on Dec. 6, 1989 and killed 14 women before taking his own life. He professed his hatred of feminists and targeted female engineering students.

The date has since come to be commemorated as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Marisa Sterling, the assistant dean and director of diversity, inclusion and professionalism at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, speaks at the evening event outside Convocation Hall (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

U of T President Meric Gertler attended the ceremony outside Convocation Hall. He joined Claire Kennedy, chair of Governing Council, and 12 other representatives of the university’s administration, faculty, student body and members of the broader engineering community in placing 14 flashlights – representing the 14 victims of the attack – into a new memorial installation designed by the U of T Engineering Society’s Blue & Gold Committee.

U of T President Meric Gertler places a flashlight into a memorial for the 14 women (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Earlier Friday, a commemoration was also held at Hart House. The program included the presentation of the Award for Scholarly Achievement in the Area of Gender-Based Violence to Sydney Narciso Wilson, a fourth-year Victoria College student who is double-majoring in history and peace, conflict and justice.

Sydney Narciso Wilson poses with her award for scholarly achievement in the area of gender-based violence (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Following the ceremonies, attendees were invited to place roses on a pair of benches across from Hart House that were set up in 2009 to mark the 20^th anniversary of the tragedy.

U of T Scarborough held its own remembrance event on Nov. 28 and mobilized attendees to assemble wellness kits for donation to women in need in Scarborough. U of T Mississauga, meanwhile, held a tribute on Dec. 2, with attendees putting together wellness kits to be donated to Nisa Homes, a transitional home for Muslim women and children.

See below for more photos of Friday’s commemorations on the U of T St. George campus:

Fourteen white roses, representing the 14 victims of the 1989 massacre, are placed on benches across from Hart House (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

White roses are carefully laid on the benches across from Hart House (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

The names of the victims of the Dec. 6, 1989 massacre at École Polytechnique de Montréal are lit up on U of T’s St. George campus (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Attendees looks on during an event at Hart House to mark the 30th anniversary of the École Polytechnique de Montréal shootings (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Benches were installed in 2009 for the 20th anniversary of the mass shooting at École Polytechnique de Montréal, where 14 women were killed (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

U of T entrepreneur to put reliable power in the hands of Nigeria's people

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 19:15:37 +0000

U of T entrepreneur to put reliable power in the hands of Nigeria's people

geoff.vendeville Wed, 07/03/2019 - 15:15

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Olugbenga Olubanjo and his startup Reeddi aspires to supply clean, affordable and portable power to Nigeria. He's holding two electricity capsules containing lithium-ion batteries (photo by Phill Snel)

Phill Snel

Topic

Global Lens

Alumni

Faculty of Engineering

Global

Hatchery

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Startups

Olugbenga Olubanjo remembers fist-pumping in celebration on Victoria Day when he found out his startup had won an award of US$10,000.

Olubanjo, a master’s student in civil engineering at the University of Toronto, and his team at Reeddi (pronounced “ready”) aim to bring clean, affordable and portable power to the people of Nigeria, freeing them from an expensive and unpredictable energy grid.

The Reeddi team includes two other U of T students: Osarieme Osakue, a master’s student in civil engineering and the company’s director of communications, and Joshua Dzakah, who is completing a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering.

Reedi Inc was a runner-up in the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge, its third award this year. It also secured a provisional patent.

The seeds of Reeddi were sown in 2017 while Olubanjo was in Toronto. While speaking to friends or family back home, he was often suddenly disconnected. He found out the interruptions – and the source of his frustration – were caused by all-too-frequent power outages in Nigeria.

Olubanjo recalls being “at Massey College at night with light everywhere” and couldn’t imagine returning home where it was like “going back to darkness.” In his native Nigeria, there was sometimes access to just two hours of electricity a day. Olubanjo set out to find a solution to a daily problem faced by many back home.

Some 600 million Africans, including 70 million Nigerians, live without access to electricity. Alternatives for household lighting, cooking and other needs can be dangerous and expensive. Kerosene lanterns are hazardous when used indoors due to the risk of fires or air poisoning. They also often require travelling long distances to obtain fuel.

Vast amounts are spent on creating electricity from polluting sources, further degrading air quality in Nigeria.

Olubanjo’s initial idea was to create a solar “umbrella” capable of charging mobile phones, but after discussion with friends and engineering colleagues he began to envision something on a larger scale.

The current project proposal outlines a large standalone, solar-powered structure that is about half the size of a bus shelter. It has interactive screens at eye-level that control the user experience and provide access to removable Reeddi capsules. Each watertight capsule is about half the size of a 12-pack of soft drinks and comprises a lithium-ion battery with external USB and AC plug.

Customers would pay rent of up to 50 cents (US) per 24 hours for a 250 watt-hour (Wh) capsule. A standard 250Wh capsule is enough to provide a combined seven hours of lighting via two 150 lumen LED bulbs, fully charge three mobile phones and provide four hours of laptop power. Capsules can also be connected and scaled up in a modular fashion. Doubled-up, they would create a 500Wh unit, and so on, for greater power needs such as running appliances.

The capsule can be returned within the rental period or earlier if depleted. As an incentive to return the capsule on time, customers are awarded points to be used towards future exchanges.

“The impact it can bring really drives me and makes me excited,” said Olubanjo. The clean and affordable power source would provide households with more stable energy with scalable options.

As proof of concept, Reeddi created a mock-up prototype of one capsule last December, then created a working prototype of a capsule as a contest entry. The company is on track to run a micro-scaled pilot in Nigeria with five interactive working capsule prototypes this summer.

Reeddi has been internationally recognized for its innovative technology and business model. In February, it won the North American Regional Award for the Best Emerging Startups in Decentralised Energy Track at the IEEE Empower a Billion Lives Challenge held at Georgia Tech. And, in April, Reeddi won $5,000 as the winner of the MIT 2019 Clean Energy Prize, in the national grid track.

Olubanjo says he’s had a lot of help with the project. Ideas, prompts, expertise and questions from friends, colleagues and faculty contributed to its development.

He also benefited from U of T Engineering’s Hatchery NEST program, which provided 3D printing, business questions and opportunities for collaboration.

Yu-Ling Cheng, a professor in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, acted as an adviser and mentor, as did Bill Nussey, the CEO of Solar Inventions.

Olubanjo says the project has led to a “lot of sleepless nights.” But, he adds, “what kept me going was the possibility of having an impact on millions of lives.”

U of T students represent Canadian youth at UN climate summit

ullahnor — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 17:49:00 +0000

U of T students represent Canadian youth at UN climate summit

ullahnor Thu, 11/10/2016 - 12:49

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Christa Croos is one of two U of T students attending COP22 in Marrakech

Don Campbell

Marit Mitchell

Author legacy

Marit Mitchell and Don Campbell

Topic

Faculty of Engineering

Environmental Science

International

COP22

Global

Since 2005, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition has sent delegates to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the group has often included U of T students.

This year, COP22 or the Conference of the Parties is being held in Marrakech, Morocco, and two U of T students and an alum are among a group of 17 young delegates selected from across Canada to attend.

The group includes Christa Croos, a U of T Scarborough student, and Sam Harrison, a third-year engineering student. U of T alumna Maya Menezes, who has worked on divestment and environmental justice organizing, is also attending as a youth delegate.

The 22nd annual conference, which began this week and runs through Nov. 18, is aimed at driving the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The youth delegates will be authorized to attend most of the sessions.

U of T engineering student Sam Harrison is attending COP22 this year (photo by Marit Mitchell)

At COP22, Harrison will be serving on the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition’s policy and research team, where he hopes to hold politicians accountable for their promises – and help them devise practical steps forward.

“We want change to be made in a way that provides a just transition to a low carbon economy for everyday citizens, Indigenous peoples and workers. People in the fossil fuel industry shouldn’t get left behind,” he says. “There has to be support for retraining.”

He and his co-delegates have four goals for COP22: to urge Canada to develop a stronger policy framework for mitigating climate change at home, to devise ways to divest from fossil fuels that increase equality in the Canadian economy, to work intimately with Indigenous communities and other environmental stewards, and to examine Canada’s role in global financial support for climate change action.

Harrison has been a vocal advocate on climate change, energy and sustainability issues since high school.

In Grade 11 he became director of Kids for Climate Action, a group founded by his sister Sophie Harrison, who will also be attending COP22 as part of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition.

Although they were too young to vote, the siblings saw decisions being made that would affect them and their futures, so they formed Kids for Climate Action to speak directly to policymakers.

“Sam is unique in that he has a passion for understanding policy as well as technology – I’ve been thrilled to see him bring this unique perspective to the classroom,” says Aimy Bazylak, an associate professor in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. “I’m certain that he will provide a key contribution to the conference and serve as an outstanding representative of Canadian youth.”

When Croos, an immigrant from Sri Lanka, visited her native country this summer, she witnessed the destructive effects of global warming. It fueled her passion for environmental activism.

“I applied on a whim because I didn’t think I had enough experience,” says Croos, a fourth-year environmental science and chemistry student. “It’s a huge opportunity for me, and I was so excited to be given this platform to use my story and my skills to further the climate movement.”

Croos’s story starts with immigrating to Toronto in 2001 at age seven. Right away, she missed the seaside village where she grew up.

“We tried in those first few years to remain close to nature, but with a newly immigrated family lifestyle there just wasn't the time or the means,” she says.

To renew that connection, she joined every school club and activity that focused on environmental sustainability, from promoting recycling to building butterfly gardens.

When she travelled to Sri Lanka several years after leaving, she was saddened to see her country confronting sea level rises, drought and other long-term consequences of climate change.

“On my most recent trip a few months ago, I tried to see some of the country’s natural wonders, but everything had been affected in some negative way,” she says. “It painted a grim picture of the future of Sri Lanka’s environmental health. And it’s the same in many countries in the global south.”

At U of T Scarborough, she’s a member of the Environmental and Physical Sciences Students’ Association, plays an active role in the Divest Fossil Fuels campaign at U of T and has participated in various marches and sit-ins protesting global warming. She's hoping the delegation gets a chance to sit down and talk with Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna and Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

Set to graduate this spring, she is currently applying to law school, hoping she can practise environmental law.

“We’re inheriting all the problems, and we’re often dismissed as not caring enough, knowing enough or being realistic enough. I’m excited to use my voice as a young person at this conference, and join the chorus calling for climate justice.”