鈥淗ey, what鈥檚 up with your back-up beeper?鈥� Some 番茄社区 staff have been hearing that a lot lately as they operate service vehicles recently retrofitted with new reverse alarms. UVic is one of the first organizations on Vancouver Islan鈥�
Creating cutting-edge technology isn鈥檛 that different from learning to play a musical instrument, building a car from scratch or even writing a sports slogan鈥攜ou just do it.
Any parent with a computer in the house knows the warnings鈥攌eep the device in a central place, like a kitchen, so children can surf the internet under the supervision of an adult.
At first, the idea was a futuristic pipe dream. It popped into Dr. Quentin Mackie鈥檚 head while the 番茄社区 researcher was attending a conference on underwater archeology and the first peopling of the Americas. One day, he thought, arc鈥�
As part of Canada's ecoEnergy Innovation Initiative (ecoEII), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced on Aug. 8 $600,800 in funding for the 番茄社区's plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) smart grid project, led by Dr. Curran Crawford, associate professor in UVic鈥檚 Institute of Integrated Energy Systems.
On Aug. 23, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Laureen Harper were with UVic President Jamie Cassels and Ocean Networks Canada鈥檚 President Kate Moran to view the latest instrumentation that showcases Canadian technology and science applied in the Arctic at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
The most effective vaccines against disease are those that expose our immune systems to live pathogens. But how do we do that without causing the very disease we鈥檙e trying to avoid?
Researchers all over the world dream of making new discoveries in well-established fields, but engineering grad Ana Zehtabi-Oskuie鈥檚 path has gone straight to the edge of an emerging field. While studying Electrical Engineering at the University of Tehran, Zehtabi-Oskuie became intrigued by optical trapping, a method pioneered in 2009 by electrical engineering professor Dr. Reuven Gordon, a team of UVic grad students and Dr. Romain Quidant at the Europe-based Institute of Photonic Sciences.
UVic鈥檚 world-leading Ocean Networks Canada embarks on a bold new phase of ocean monitoring. 聽 The British Columbia coast is about to become the 鈥渟martest鈥� on the planet. Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), an initiative of the 番茄社区, is partnering with Western Economic Diversification Canada and IBM Canada on a three-year multimillion dollar project known as Smart Oceans BC. Smart Oceans BC builds on the know-how and proven technologies of VENUS and NEPTUNE鈥攖he world鈥檚 most advanced cabled ocean observatories鈥攖o develop and install a series of mini-observatories, high-frequency radars, and automated vessel information systems at key points along the BC coast.
Denis Luchyshyn, a first-generation Canadian who moved to Vancouver from Belarus with his pregnant mother when he was seven, credits his adaptability for much of his success. 鈥淚 attended six or seven different schools growing up,鈥� he explains, 鈥渢hat has had a lot of impact on who I grew up to be. I had to take care of my sister a lot, too, before my dad moved out to Canada as well.鈥� Graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce from the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business this June, Luchyshyn has already received numerous accolades both at school and in the workplace. At work, he has been acknowledged for achieving high sales goals and having the 鈥淢ost Positive Attitude.鈥� And at UVic, Luchyshyn competed in Canada鈥檚 Next Top Ad Exec, along with classmate Kyle Kozma, and was also on a winning team that presented a mobile app to the United Way.
UVic鈥檚 EcoCAR 2 team of engineering students aren鈥檛 just getting hands-on experience while they study鈥攖hey鈥檙e getting their hands dirty. Since April 2011, close to 60 students in mechanical, electrical, computer and software engineering, and business have been hard at work鈥攗sing multi-million dollar dSPACE, Siemens and MathWorks modelling and testing tools, and a mechanic鈥檚 full suite of wrenches and ratchets鈥攔e-designing and retrofitting a GM-donated 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco into a next generation plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
Calling all citizen scientists! 番茄社区 researchers need volunteers to help them analyze deep-sea videos鈥�60 seconds at a time鈥攁nd help expand our understanding of marine ecosystems. Digital Fishers is a crowd-sourced ocean observation鈥�
UVic鈥檚 EcoCAR 2 team of engineering students are not just getting hands-on experience while they study, they鈥檙e getting their hands dirty. Since April 2011, close to 40 students in mechanical, electrical, computer and software engineering, and busin鈥�
An energy harvester that converts knee bends into battery power for cell phones; a wireless personal ECG monitor that transmits electrical signals to a remote cardiologist; a smart hard hat that sends data to a safety station; a bracelet that transf鈥�
Invisible worlds exist all around us. And UVic biology undergrad James Tyrwhitt-Drake has made it his mission to reveal the smallest of those worlds, with spectacular results. The invisibility of microscopic creatures, much like the perceptual invisibility that comes with the speedy flapping of a hummingbird鈥檚 wings, requires special equipment to capture and appreciate. For Tyrwhitt-Drake, that equipment is the scanning electron microscope (SEM) in UVic鈥檚 Advanced Microscopy Facility.
Dozens of employers from the high tech sector will be on campus February 4 and 5 during the Hi-Tech Co-op and Career Fair. Stop by the Engineering Lab Wing lobby between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to network. www.uvic.ca/coopandcareer/hitechfair.
