Nakajima wakes up early in the morning to allow for more recharge time at night. (Photo by: Seyran Mammadov/Varsity Blues)

How do you possibly balance the demands of an engineering degree while doing sports at U of T? On a windy yet pleasant Thursday afternoon, I sat down with my teammate, Rena Nakajima, to chat about it.

Growing up in Whistler, British Columbia, Nakajima has always had an inclination to be active. She grew up skiing, biking, and, of course, playing soccer. Her passion for the game started by playing with friends after school and grew from there.

Nakajima reflected on how interpersonal connections with her coaches and with other players growing up helped her: “I meshed really well with them, and I really enjoyed [soccer], not just as a sport for myself, but [also] as… personal development.”

The interpersonal skills developed through soccer have served Nakajima well both on and off the pitch. She is an impressive person because of her strong time management skills, which she credits to her commitments to the Varsity Blues women’s soccer team and her mechanical engineering major. She is specializing in mechatronics and energy systems and minoring in sustainable energy and business.

Nakajima was initially motivated to attend U of T for its engineering program but, since she knew some players on the soccer squad, she thought, “Maybe I could actually try out and take this on.” In order to stay on task and motivated, Nakajima keeps a schedule that she makes before every week, and she wakes up early in the morning to allow for more recharge time at night.

Her education has also allowed her to gain skills in working under tight time constraints. “Engineering has really been all about just learning how to juggle a lot in a short amount of time,” she explained. Those takeaways are, to Nakajima, more valuable than the technical information that the engineering program has to offer.

Nakajima also spoke about meeting like-minded people through academics and athletics. She found that her peers in engineering who are also varsity athletes tend to be highly organized and have a “perseverance factor and a desire to push [to] accomplish more than just school.”

These same qualities that Nakajima admires in her friends can certainly be found in herself. Miranda Badovinac, a fourth-year student who is a midfielder on my team, vouched for Nakajima in a written interview with The Varsity: “Rena is someone you can always count on. Whether it be on or off the field, the hard work she puts in and dedication she invests into everything she does is unparalleled. This, amongst many other reasons, is why the team looks up to her.”

When asked what she is most looking forward to post-pandemic, without hesitation, Nakajima chose practising. She was integral to the success of the women’s soccer team in fall 2019, in our exciting push to qualify for the national championship and in our bronze medal finish.

As a centre back, Nakajima defended for us well, playing heavy minutes into the playoffs and games at the national championship.

When asked about playing with Nakajima on defence, my teammate and third-year defender Alessia Cusimano wrote, “Getting to play alongside Rena last year (especially) at Nationals was huge. On and off the field, she’s worked super hard to get where she is. Trust is important for the defensive line, and Rena makes that feel effortless!”

While COVID-19 has tested the mental and physical strength of my team this year, Nakajima has continued to develop both on and off the pitch, and she’s looking forward to taking the next season by storm.

– This story was originally published on The Varsity on March 14, 2021 by Erin Kelly

Top row (left to right): Hisan Shafaque, Pranay Shrestha, Jason Chan Bottom row (left to right): Taylr Cawte, Vikram Soni, Hisan Shafaque

The heat engines lab in MC120 is a unique space in the Mechanical Engineering building. Jason Chan and Raymond Guan, lead teaching assistants for the Fall 2020 MIE303 and Winter 2021 MIE311 course on thermal energy conversion taught by Professor Aimy Bazylak, remember being impressed to see the engines, air compressors, and turbines they learned about through textbooks in their undergrad in person when they started their graduate studies at MIE.

“It’s so valuable for students to see these machines in person, you can really see the mechanics up close and it helps them to understand the ins and outs of how they work,” Chan said. “When we realized MIE 303 and MIE311 would be taught online for Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 we wanted to make sure the next group of students wouldn’t miss out on that experience.”

In the summer of 2020 the teaching team began working on a plan to bring the in-person experience to the virtual classroom. In previous terms, the labs take place over five weeks with each session lasting three hours. The teaching assistant would demonstrate all of the working principles behind each of the machines and show how the heat engines are used in industry. To recreate this experience, the teaching team created a series of in-depth video recordings for each of the machines.

“The preparation for this term was really challenging and different from what we normally do as TAs. We had to prepare scripts in advance of each recording and the TA would need to move through the demos as though they were in a classroom full of students,” Chan, who led the filming side of things, explained.

“There was also the added pressure of working with tight deadlines, arranging the time we could be in the lab and of course following all of the safety precautions for working on campus. The lab technicians, Tomas Bernreiter, Tony Ruberto, and Osmond Sargeant, were essential collaborators. They made sure all the filming equipment was set up and helped to guide the TAs through the demos,” Guan, who led the video editing process, added.

The virtual labs in their final form are very similar to the in-person experience. The TAs lead the class through a slide presentation and have students watch the accompanying video recording. The videos have been broken down into segments that reflect how they would see the demonstration in-person. This allows for plenty of time for students to ask questions as they move through the demo, much as they would in person.

“I received feedback in our tutorial chat that this was the best virtual lab a student had experienced so far, it’s a great feeling to know we brought some normalcy to our students and they didn’t have to miss out on the in-person experience,” said Chan.

The successful transition to online was only possible through the great collaboration between the teaching team and the Undergraduate Laboratory Support team. The teaching team for MIE303 and MIE311 included Jason Chan, Raymond Guan, Hisan Shafaque, Taylr Cawte, Vikram Soni, Pranay Shrestha, and Eric Chadwick. The Undergraduate Laboratory Support Team consists of Tomas Bernreiter (Laboratory Engineer & Manager), Tony Ruberto (Senior Student Lab Machinist), and Osmond Sargeant (Laboratory Technologist).

-Published March 12, 2021 by Lynsey Mellon, lynsey@mie.utoronto.ca

U of T Engineering is Canada’s top-ranked engineering school and among the best in the world. (Photo: Daria Perevezentsev)

U of T Engineering remains Canada’s top-ranked engineering school and is now in the global top 20, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject for 2021. 

The rankings, released March 4, placed U of T Engineering 18th globally in the category of Engineering & Technology. This marks an increase from last year’s position of 22nd and the fourth consecutive year where the institution improved its ranking. Among North American public universities, our closest competitors, U of T Engineering now ranks 3rd. 

 “Our rankings and reputation are a direct result of the hard work and dedication of our community: faculty, staff, students, alumni and partners,” said Dean Chris Yip. “From the world-leading impact of our research to the richness of our student experience — including opportunities to develop leadership and global perspectives — we can all be proud of everything we do to shape the next generation of engineering talent.” 

In terms of overall institution-level rankings, U of T placed 25th in the world. It also placed first in Canada in 30 out of the 48 specific subjects on which it was measured, and in the global top 10 internationally in areas ranging from education (third) to anatomy and physiology (sixth). 

 “This latest international subject ranking reflects the University of Toronto’s strength across a wide array of disciplines, from the humanities and social sciences to medicine and engineering,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. 

“It is also a testament to our unyielding commitment to research, innovation and academic excellence.” 

 Quacquarelli Symonds evaluates universities by looking at five broad fields — Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences & Medicine, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences & Management — and 51 specific subjects. The results are based on four measures: academic survey results, employer review survey results, citations per faculty and an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar. 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 8, 2021 

U of T Engineering alumna Marie Floryan continues to focus on global engineering challenges while pursuing mechanical engineering research at MIT. (Photo courtesy Marie Floryan)

During the pandemic, Marie Floryan (MechE 1T9 + PEY) has been analyzing and comparing COVID-19 mitigation strategies in different countries around the world.

She worked on the side project while pursuing her master’s in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Floryan was driven by a deep interest in studying global challenges — a passion sparked during her time at U of T Engineering.

In 2020, Floryan was selected as one of 25 recipients of the Engineering for Change (E4C) Fellowship. The fellowship, founded by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Engineers Without Borders (U.S.) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, aims to deepen engineering students’ and early-career engineers’ leadership and global development.

“The fellowship was a real deep dive into the global engineering space, and it’s been eye-opening,” says Floryan. “It expanded what I know about how engineers operate around the world. When I’m going about solving a design problem, I’m learning to think more about the stakeholders and how I should be engaging with them to get to the actual root of solving it.”

For the COVID-19 project, her E4C cohort studied how engineers responded to the pandemic in high-, medium- and low-income countries, with Floryan comparing mitigation strategies in Canada, the U.S. and Ghana.

“It was interesting to learn that, although the three countries had a lot of similarities in terms of government support, the progress was much quicker in Canada and the U.S. because the governments were able to provide the financial incentives more quickly,” explains Floryan. “Ghana had to rely more on private partners to get funding and are still reliant on the importation of certain products to fight the pandemic.”

The E4C Fellowship supports more than 400 hours of research, 30 hours of networking opportunities with peers and mentors, as well as 30 hours of learning modules designed to advance their knowledge in sectors such as health, transportation and agriculture.

Floryan says applying for the fellowship was the natural next step upon graduating from U of T Engineering, where she zeroed in on global engineering during her final year in mechanical engineering. Through the Centre for Global Engineering, she took courses on technology and global development, as well as designing a food-growing strategy for an Indigenous community in Northern Ontario.

For her fourth-year capstone project, her team worked with international disaster relief charity GlobalMedic (GM) to design a more efficient sandbagging machine for flood-prone areas. Their solution repurposed snowblowers with just a few cost-effective mechanical adjustments.

“One single ‘sandblower’ is able to produce at least 56 sandbags per hour, compared to the current standard of 12 sandbags per hour using shovels,” explains Floryan. “The work was very rewarding and what led me to explore global engineering further.”

In addition to her COVID-19 case study, E4C also provided her an opportunity to research products designed for low-resourced settings, studying how different engineers approached their solutions, from concept to manufacturing.

“There are so many design challenges that we just don’t have to think about in Canada,” says Floryan. “Sanitary pads, for example, is a product that is seen, in some communities, as taboo. This means certain design and distribution considerations must be applied to not only make them safe, but discreet.”

Though there is usually a travel component to the fellowship, Floryan has yet to go abroad due to the pandemic. She is hopeful to visit members of her cohort post-pandemic, and plans to apply her current graduate research — designing a microfluidic device to study cancer metastasis — to a global context.

“The world is becoming more connected and it’s important to shift our perspectives to think more globally as engineers,” says Floryan. “It’s our duty to think about how our actions affect the future and promote more positive, sustainable growth around the world.”

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 4, 2021 by Liz Do

Photo by Nina Riggio – The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine published a list of entrepreneurs, academics and executives who are working towards finding solutions for the world’s problems. Kristina Menton(MechE 1T5) is featured on this impressive list of changemakers. Menton is currently the Director of Operations at Opener, a company that is developing an all electric personal vertical take off and landing aircraft. Read her profile from the Globe and Mail article below:

Kristina Menton
Director of Operations, Flight Test & Propulsion, Opener LLC

The story of Kristina Menton and Opener is one fit for a Hollywood blockbuster: While studying mechanical engineering at the University of Toronto in 2015, she was headhunted by a mysterious company in Silicon Valley. “I wasn’t even allowed to know the product before I signed the offer,” recalls Menton, who couldn’t resist the suspense. “I got the sense this was groundbreaking technology, but I couldn’t have imagined this.” Spoiler alert: Kristina Menton is building flying cars.

“It’s actually an electric personal vertical takeoff and landing aircraft,” she explains. “That’s not really a flying car because it’s not on a road, but for all intents and purposes, it’s a personal flying car.” When she tells people about her work, most think about a faraway future à la The Jetsons or Total Recall, but Menton’s very likely flying in the sky right now somewhere over California—she says she has “extraordinary privilege” to moonlight as a test pilot. The black-and-white-striped BlackFly looks part drone and part submarine, with eight propellers across wide wings. Already approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Canada, the BlackFly has thus far logged over 48,000 kilometres in the air.

When she’s not behind the wheel—which is actually more of a joystick and totally programmable to run autonomously—Menton is focusing on the design, testing and production of what could be the world’s most energy-efficient electric motor. It currently weighs in at two kilograms and generates 32 kilowatts, enough power to move the 225-kilogram BlackFly (and a single passenger) as much as 50 kilometres. While this distance can’t compare to an airplane’s range, imagine hopping into your flying car and soaring from one end of Toronto to the other with exactly no traffic.

But it’s one thing to make a single flying aircraft that works and another to mass-produce a product that reaches actual consumers. “Once we move into production, we’re going to have to learn to create aircraft that are accessible to regular people,” says Menton. So far, the BlackFly weighs half as much as its nearest competitor and doesn’t require a fancy pilot’s licence or any intense training. With any luck, the BlackFly could be yours for the price of a swanky SUV.

The real-world applications of the BlackFly are endlessly mind-blowing: among them, surveying, navigation, transportation, fire prevention, law enforcement and emergency response. Until then, the aircraft is being tested and retested daily. “We need to make sure everything is perfect, safe and reliable. There’s no margin of error here,” says Menton. Opener now hopes for a 2021 launch to the public, but until then, the thrill will be mostly hers. “To be an engineer and have this wild dream and then get in the air is just—just wow.”

Read the story in full and explore all of the changemakers in the Globe and Mail Report on Business article Changemakers: Canada faces serious challenges, but these leaders show that solutions are possible by Rosemary Counter and Katie Underwood

Ali Dolatabadi is joining the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering as a Professor in Mechanical Engineering.  Professor Dolatabadi received a BASc from University of Science and Technology, MASc from University of Tehran, and PhD from the University of Toronto (2002). Prior to joining the University of Toronto, he was a Tier 1 Concordia University Research Chair in Multiphase Flow and Thermal Spray. His research focuses on multiphase flows develops fundamental understanding of sprays for thermal spray processes, and of droplet dynamics, heat transfer and phase change for development and characterization of novel functional coatings.

Why did you choose MIE at U of T?

One of the main reasons I chose to join MIE is that I am a graduate from the department’s PhD programs, I was one of the first CACT (Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies) alumni. From my own experience, I know MIE is one of the best engineering departments in the world and is well-recognized both within North America and internationally.

U of T is also known as a hub for multi-disciplinary research and for the highly qualified personnel that attend and work at the university. My research allows for a high degree of collaboration and I am looking forward to working with so many exceptional people within the Faculty and beyond.

Can you share a little about your research and what you like about it?

My research originally focused on computational and experimental analysis of multiscale multiphase flows and development of novel functional coatings via thermal spray processes. Thermal spray is a leading surface engineering technology due to its ability to produce coatings from tens of microns to millimetres in a large range of materials at moderate cost. Functional coatings are extensively used in various industries such as aerospace, automotive, and power generation to provide protective coatings on components that are exposed to heat, corrosion, erosion, and wear, etc. Coating developments involve thermofluids, materials science, chemistry, etc. – this is why multidisciplinary research plays a key role in my day to day activities.

What do you hope to accomplish, as an educator and as a researcher, over the next few years?

I’ve always found my role as educator one of the most satisfying parts of my job. I feel most successful when I can positively influence my students. My biggest goal is to continually focus on the next generation of students and how we can do the best for them. While I can’t wait to return to in person teaching, I can also see the opportunities COVID-19 has given us to rethink how we are doing things. We can take these lessons and integrate them into our future teaching and learning capabilities to provide our students with the best learning experience possible.

As a researcher, my biggest goal is to add another dimension to surface engineering and additive manufacturing. There is such a wide range of applications to the research I do and I’m looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues within industrial engineering, materials, chemical engineering, and UTIAS. I also hope to continue to focus on developing more environmentally friendly coating processes and applications.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I love horses – and I have participated in many show jumping competitions.

Do you have any favourite spots from your time at U of T?

I have many good memories of my time in Toronto and I’m looking forward to being back on campus. During my PhD you would often find me at the Second Cup on College Street. I also used to love going to restaurants on Baldwin Street with my colleagues for lunch.

-Published March 2, 2021 by Lynsey Mellon, lynsey@mie.utoronto.ca

Professor Goldie Nejat is featured in the March 2021 issue of Reader’s Digest Canada. The article titled Should R2-D2 Replace My Caregiver? explores Nejat’s work on socially assistive robots that help seniors with the activities of daily living.

A subscription is required to read the article though a preview is available through the Magzter website.

Professor Timothy Chan is the Canada Research Chair in Novel Optimization and Analytics in Health, a Professor in the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the Director of the Centre for Healthcare Engineering, and the Director of the Centre for Analytics and AI Engineering at the University of Toronto. Chan was recently featured in a Vancouver Sun article where he shared his expertise on the subject of mass-vaccination clinics:

Dr. Timothy Chan, an engineering professor and director of the Centre for Healthcare Engineering at the University of Toronto, said establishing a recreation centre such as the one in Langford as a mass-vaccination site is exactly what should be done now before the ramp-up in vaccine rollout later this spring.

“Do dry runs if we need to work out the kinks,” said Chan, who is the Canada Research Chair in novel optimization and analytics in health.

The key to managing this mass vaccination program is ensuring there are no bottlenecks that create idle time, he said.

That can include ensuring there are enough people to run mass-vaccination clinics and ensuring timely delivery of the jabs to the clinics, said Chan.

Those organizing the vaccine rollout will also need to consider the time it takes for record keeping, figuring out how to communicate with people, and ensuring there are not long queues at the clinics, he said.

Chan said his biggest concern, however, continues to be whether the promised vaccine supply will be delivered to Canada.

Read the full news story, ‘COVID-19: Mass-vaccination clinics being established in municipalities, but province mum on details‘ on the Vancouver Sun website.

Congratulations to Ata Artan (IndE 2T0+PEY), who is among the 18 Engineering recipients of the 2021 University of Toronto Student Leadership Award (UTSLA).

Throughout his time at U of T Artan has been heavily involved in leadership roles in the faculty. He is the current President of You’re Next Career Network, was the Student Clubs Liaison for Troost ILead (2019-2020) and the Vice-Chair Finance for Orientation (Frosh) Week (2018-2019).

“It is an honor to be recognized as a recipient of the University of Toronto Student Leadership Award. In reflecting on my experience leading high-impact student organizations, I am very proud of tenaciously advocating for students within U of T’s professional development and student life ecosystems. It has been a pleasure being part of a force for driving positive change and fostering a growth-inducing community at U of T Engineering and the University at large.”

Upon graduating, Artan will begin a career in management consulting where he looks forward to furthering his interest in how tech and business domains interact with each other in shaping the future of digital.

The UTSLA continues U of T’s long-standing tradition of recognizing outstanding student leadership, service, and commitment to the university. This tradition began with the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award, which was established in 1994 by the University of Toronto Alumni Association in honour of Mr. Gordon Cressy, former Vice-President, Development and University Relations.

-Published February 24, 2021 by Lynsey Mellon, lynsey@mie.utoronto.ca