News

On Wednesday December 6th, MTE & Faculty judges evaluated the top 6 presentations from ENVE and GEOE student design teams.

A few weeks ago, MASc student, Thiruni Thirimanne presented at the Latornell Convservation Symposium. Take a look at how amazing this is!!!

Title: Assessing Erosion Risk in Urban Watersheds: A Stream Power-Based Approach with SPINpy 1

Abstract: Managing the increasing erosion risk in urban watersheds and mitigating its adverse effects on infrastructure and river systems necessitates a watershed-scale approach. Stream power, or the rate of energy expenditure of flowing water per unit length, is related to river erosion, channel instability and morphologic change.

The Stream Power Index for Networks (SPIN), a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based toolbox, is valuable for assessing the potential impact of land use changes on river networks. By leveraging straightforward inputs, SPIN computes total and specific stream power (stream power per channel width) across river networks, utilizing digital elevation models (DEM), land-use data, and HEC-RAS information. This versatile tool currently aids decision-making processes for conservation authorities and municipalities in Ontario, where it has been integrated into the Credit Valley Conservation's Risk and Return on Investment Tool (RROIT) for estimating damage costs due to erosion. The latest iteration, SPINpy 1, brings refinements that enhance processing speed and expand the tool's capabilities.
 
Preliminary case studies in Southern Ontario employing SPINpy 1 have yielded promising results. This poster aims to 1) outline how SPINpy 1 calculates stream power metrics at the watershed scale, 2) provide insights into recent enhancements and anticipated future capabilities, and 3) present results from an urban river within the Greater Toronto Area. 

Incredible work, Thiruni!!!

Wayne Parker was pleased to encounter Bruce Hutchinson, long time faculty member in the Department and former Department Chair at Convocation 2023! Bruce was there to hood the third generation of PhD's in the family.
 

Last weekend, from September 22nd to 24th, a group of University of Waterloo Architectural Engineering students participated in the Timberfever Design Build Competition at Toronto Metropolitan University. Celebrating its 9th anniversary, Timberfever is an annual competition funded by Moses Structural Engineering and sponsored by 30 leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.

There were days Robert wondered why he had left a full-time job as a water resources consulting engineer, particularly when he wasn’t successful in applying for a couple of entrepreneurial awards related to his hydrologic modelling research.

But now as a recent recipient of the Jain Family Award for Entrepreneurship, he is no longer questioning coming back to the University of Waterloo for his third environmental engineering degree.

For Robert, the award made possible by a gift from the Vijay Anand Foundation to encourage student entrepreneurship at Waterloo is providing financial assistance and, perhaps more important, confirmation that his research has significant potential.

“Before I received the award, I definitely had some moments of self-doubt,” he said. “Part of receiving the award was validation that I had made the right decision to pursue a PhD.”

Continue reading here. 

Dr. Chul Min Yeum, an assistant professor in the civil and engineering department at the University of Waterloo, leads a team of researchers using technologies like 5G and augmented reality to identify structural issues in bridges, buildings and other infrastructure before disaster strikes.

Thanks to the University’s Rogers 5G Partnership, Yeum's team can use data-hungry technologies like computer vision and deep learning to improve disaster mitigation tools for civil engineers. 

5G cellular networks provide more bandwidth and higher speeds to send more data across the network faster. But the real value is the technology’s ability to significantly reduce the power requirements for 5G-enabled mobile and wearable devices used for field inspection.

“The major issue of using AI technologies like deep learning and computer vision in remote civil engineering is the level of trust in their accuracy. AI can be up to 99% accurate, but engineers want it to be 100%, so they end up visiting a site in person,” said Yuem.

“5G is helping us create a platform where humans and AI work together to improve structural safety through an enhanced visual inspection process."

Go to Detecting infrastructural issues in time for the full story

Waterloo Engineering’s Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program gets students from different countries and disciplines to tackle real-world issues together. 

One of the greatest threats to the health of the Great Lakes is the increasing frequency of algal blooms, occurring in response to excess nutrients in the water due to a warming climate.

In response to the urgent need to better understand and mitigate human impacts on water quality, Dr. Nandita Basu, a civil and environmental engineering professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology, has been awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alliance grant for one such approach.

Basu's research is developing Poseidon, an innovative web-based water quality portalthat changes the way in which we monitor and analyze stream nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, loads, and landscape inputs, and will empower stakeholders with invaluable insights to drive conservation efforts.

"We cannot manage what we do not measure," said Basu. “Nutrient pollution management is challenging given limited water monitoring data and large gaps in available datasets. By combining comprehensive data and advanced analytics, Poseidon will empower scientists, policymakers, and communities to make evidence-based decisions and implement targeted interventions to address nutrient pollution effectively.

Go to New funding to support development of AI-powered nutrient load prediction system for the Great Lakes for the full story.

"The Wayne Gretzky of the Water Industry"

Dr. Peter Huck, Civil and Environmental Engineering professor and Water Institute Member, is celebrating 30 years as NSERC's Chair in Water Treatment. What an amazing accomplishment!!!

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gUZaxdMW

Congratulations to MASc candidate Saida Rezaee who was awarded an American Concrete Institute (ACI) Foundation Fellowship (https://lnkd.in/g5vZpgZ2), which provides funds to attend two ACI conferences and a $10,000 USD educational stipend. The ACI Foundation supports students’ education, research, and innovation throughout the concrete industry to contribute to keeping the industry at the forefront of technological advances in material composition, design, and construction.

“I am very excited and honored to be receiving such a prestigious award. This fellowship ensures I can dedicate more of my time in engaging with student and professional organizations and enables me to learn and connect with experts in the concrete industry.”

Saida is working under the supervision of Assistant Professor Trevor Hrynyk, pursuing research on the application of steel fibre-reinforced concretes in an effort to improve the in-service performance, durability, and constructability of concrete bridge decks in North America.

Congratulations Saida!!!!