Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Formula Hybrid team wins with right combination

Waterloo’s Formula Hybrid edged out other top university race cars at this year’s Formula Hybrid International Competition taking first place overall, winning another top award and setting a new all-time record in the total number of completed endurance laps.

Over 27 teams from as far away as Turkey and India took part in the competition held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway at the end of April. Part of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Design Series, the annual event challenges university students to design an open-wheel, single-seat, electric or hybrid-electric race car.

Besides taking the top award, Waterloo came first in the competition’s autocross event and the endurance category setting a new all-time record of 33 laps.

It takes a team

Comprised mainly of engineering students, Waterloo’s Formula Hybrid team is based in Engineering 5’s Sedra Student Design Centre that houses more than 20 student design teams.

"The main goal of the team members was to make their vehicle robust so that it could go through all the tests without any hiccup,” says faculty advisor Amir Khajepour, a Waterloo mechanical and mechatronics engineering professor.

What propelled Waterloo’s race car to victory? Rishi Chatterjee, project manager and business lead for the team, says it was the hardworking and dedicated team members who were knowledgeable about the vehicle.

“They knew how to go about sourcing solutions to new and existing problems,” says Chatterjee, a second year mechanical engineering student and a core mechanical team member.

Completely redesigned

One of those problems was the race car’s electrical system. It was completely redesigned from the ground up after disappointing past competition results.

“Our electrical team is what provided us with the cutting edge with features such as a custom battery management system, new vehicle and driver control units,” explains Chatterjee. “Complementing those design changes, our mechanical team implemented various weight reductions in components throughout the vehicle.”

Vehicle weight was also decreased with additions such as a lighter gas tank and a new limited slip differential designed by members Ping Cheng Zhang and Jacob Van Dorp as part of their fourth-year engineering Capstone Design project.  The weight reductions allowed for more batteries to be added, which in turn increased the vehicle’s power output and efficiency.

According to Chatterjee Waterloo is a great place for student teams because team members gain real engineering experience.

“Members learn how to work on a schedule, with fixed costs and constraints,” he says. “Students also gain a vast amount of experience in design, manufacturing and testing. The support received from the University provides Waterloo Hybrid the push to achieve better results.”

Fueled by their recent victory, the team’s 38 members are already thinking about next year’s race car.

 “The focus for 2016 will be design and ultimately implementing state-of-the-art systems such as hub motors, new motor controller, more batteries and less fuel,” Chatterjee says.

Staff association celebrates 45 years

Your University of Waterloo Staff Association is turning 45.

"In honor of us turning 45 we would like to invite our members to celebrate with us!" says a note from the UWSA. "Join us Monday, June 22, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the University Club for light refreshments and hors d’oeuvres.

We look forward to celebrating with past and present members.

Please RSVP by Monday, June 8.

Art installation shone a light on the Berlin Wall

by Lori Straus.

We use lights to mark many holidays – Christmas lights, Diwali candles, Canada Day fireworks.

German filmmakers Marc and Christopher Bauder used light to mark the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 2014.

With approximately 8,000 large balloons, each one mounted on its own self-powered light post, Marc and Christopher lit a 15.3 kilometre stretch of the former border between East and West Berlin. On November 9, the anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall, spectators helped release the balloons. Marc and Christopher named their project Border of Lights (Lichtgrenze).

On Friday, May 29, Marc Bauder will visit the University of Waterloo as part of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies’ annual conference. He’ll talk about how he and his brother conceived and executed the public art installation. The presentation will be in English, and all are welcome. Simply come to HH2107 at 3:30 p.m.

For more information on the event, visit the Waterloo Centre for German Studies website. For more information on the project itself, visit the Lichtgrenze Project web site. Although much of it is in German, the photos will show you the size, scope, and impact of the 8,000 lit balloons.

Senate meets today and other notes

The University's Senate meets today at 3:30 p.m. in NH 3001. Agenda items include:

• Approval of the undergraduate admission requirements for 2016;
• Approval of amendments to the Honours Recreation and Leisure Studies academic plan;
• Approval of amendments to the Honours Therapeutic Recreation plan;
• Approval of amendments to the Parks Option and Tourism Option plans in the Faculty of Environment;
• The second reading of Senate Bylaw 4: A bylaw relating to the naming of additional ex officio members of Senate;
• Approval of a proposed change to the name and acronym of the PhD and MSc degrees in the School of Public Health and Health Systems from “Health Studies and Gerontology” (HSG) to “Public Health and Health Systems” (PHHS);
• Approval of amendments to the Master of Social Work plan that will add the milestone “Master’s Seminar Presentation,” and to amend the text of the degree requirements in the graduate calendar; and
• Senate will be asked to delegate the approval of the Roster of Graduands to its Executive Committee for its June meeting.   

In addition, Senate will hear a presentation from the Advisory Committee on Sustainability on its progress and next steps. 

"The Federation of Students will be hosting the Feds Open House on Wednesday, May 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre," writes the federation's Jacqueline Martinz. "The University of Waterloo community is invited to attend and enjoy a free BBQ. Everyone will have the opportunity to meet staff within Feds, and undergraduates will be able to discover the vast array of opportunities for them to learn, grow, and explore. From clubs to services to societies, there is something for any undergrad."

More information about the Open House is available online.

The Registrar's Office has sent a notification to students that official academic standings and final grades for winter 2015 will be available on Friday, May 22.

A students' grades and academic standing determine whether they can proceed to the next term of study. They are kind of a big deal. Students can check their grades and academic standing on their unofficial transcript in Quest and are asked to check their emails for possible updates regarding their academic standings and options. Students are invited to contact their academic advisor if they have questions, and refer to Student Awards & Financial Aid to ensure their eligibility for financial aid is not impacted.

The Waterloo Centre for for the Advancement of Co-operative Education (WatCACE) will be hosting Professor Phil Gardner on Friday, May 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in TC 2218 for a talk entitled An Examination of Social Networks and Work-Integrated Learning. 

"Internships and co-op work terms have become critically important both as a corporate talent acquisition strategy and as an opportunity for students to gain firsthand knowledge of the workplace," says the talk's abstract. "While some outcomes have been documented, we really don’t know what fosters some of the soft skills or boundary spanning abilities. How do the students’ networks, those they bring and those they develop, contribute to those outcomes?"

Gardner is the Director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University and is well-known and respected in the co-op and work-integrated learning research community. All are welcome to this free event.