Engineering Explorations at University of Waterloo

On the evening of March 12th, 2012, the University of Waterloo opened its doors to local elementary school students for the Faculty of Engineering's annual Engineering Explorations night. Thousands of grade 6-8 students and their parents descended upon Waterloo Engineering to experience the faculty by viewing a mix of displays in a tour of the various departments. The three main objectives of Explorations are to excite students about engineering and technology in hopes of sparking an interest in continuing their math and science studies throughout high school, to provide the public with an opportunity to see what engineers do at the University of Waterloo, and to promote the Faculty of Engineering.

The University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) had a booth set up and engaged in interactive presentations to groups of students and their parents about UWAFT, EcoCAR 2, and advanced vehicle technologies. "The students asked many questions about UWAFT, EcoCAR 2 and even alternative fuels, so we knew they were well engaged during these discussions" said Rachael Morin, Director of Youth Outreach. This exemplified their interest in UWAFT's project goals such as reducing fuel consumption, tailpipe emissions and well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions. According to Mark Goody, Director of Outreach "many students were actually very knowledgeable about the problems that exist from society's dependence on fossil fuels, the environmental risks associated with their extraction, and the environmental damage caused by their emissions."

UWAFT was very happy to give young students and their parents an opportunity to learn more about advanced vehicle technologies and the EcoCAR 2 program. Getting students interested in engineering and science is important as it ensures that there will be a next generation of passionate students, dedicated towards solving real-world problems that society is currently facing.

Austin Texas - The Winter Workshop Recap

As mentioned in "What a month!" here's the recap from UWAFT's participation in the Winter Workshop...

The University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team kicked off February by attending the EcoCAR 2 Winter Workshop in Austin, Texas. Two of the engineering competition’s sponsors, Freescale and dSPACE, co-hosted the workshop for the 16 teams, which was held at Freescale’s headquarters.

The Winter Workshop was designed to provide the teams with detailed sessions from competition organizers (such as General Motors, the U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory). Also, sponsors who donated components and software tools to all the teams provided detailed training - dSPACE, A123 Systems, Freescale, AVL Powertrain Engineering, CD-adapco, Siemens, and Vector.

The workshop was also opportunity to put UWAFT and the other teams to the test in their first in-person scored presentations for technical, outreach, and business.

For the technical team, they successfully presented their Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) progress on controlling the stock vehicle in a simulated environment. While the outreach presentations were given to groups of middle school and high school students from the Austin area. There was also a judged youth outreach presentation.

Overall, the Winter Workshop was a hit for everyone involved. Students from each team had plenty of opportunities to network among themselves as well as with representatives from the sponsoring organizations. It also provided an exciting opportunity for the sponsors to learn more about the progress each team as made so far!

UWAFT team at the Winter Workshop pose with the EcoCAR 2 Chevrolet Malibu

Commercializing Innovation with UWAFT

Recently, the University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) participated in The Canadian Institute’s Forum on Commercializing Cleantech in Toronto, Ontario. The Forum consisted of a series of panel discussions filled with a variety of distinguished industry and government representatives. The event began with a keynote address by Albert Behr, President of Behr and Associates Inc. – a consulting firm that specializes in the commercialization of ‘clean’ technology. Concluding the event was the Honourable Glen Murray, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation, who spoke about due diligence and the cleantech regulatory framework in Canada.

Outreach Coordinator Mark Goody

Team Captain Gurhari Singh and Outreach Coordinator Mark Goody represented UWAFT during the two day event. Unlike past events, which have been focused on campus and community outreach, the forum on Commercializing Cleantech was an industry-based conference. It provided UWAFT with significant learning and networking opportunities. It was also an ideal environment to speak with potential sponsors for UWAFT!

In addition to acquiring valuable business knowledge and industry contacts, Singh and Goody had the opportunity to promote the team and the EcoCAR 2 competition. Alternative fuel technology was a large part of the conference and it is clear that Canada’s industry and government are committed to building a more sustainable transportation future!

UWAFT Spreading the News of EcoCAR 2

The University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) has kicked off its outreach program in full force for EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future. Since October’s kickoff workshop in Detroit, Michigan, UWAFT has been travelling throughout Ontario, promoting awareness of EcoCAR 2.

On October 28th, UWAFT attended CareerMash at the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, Ontario. CareerMash promotes information technology (IT) careers to high school students. This was an exciting opportunity to discuss IT careers in the automotive industry and showcase both UWAFT and the EcoCAR 2 competition.

UWAFT also attended a TEDxUW event hosted by the University of Waterloo on November 12th which showcased presentations of prominent innovators and pioneers in their respective fields. Speakers shared their ideas and provoked vibrant discussions and conversations around the challenges of taking action, turning ideas into reality and making change happen.

Furthermore, on November 16th, UWAFT attended the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance (PEYA) EcoBuzz Conference in Brampton, Ontario. This event was targeted at GTA high school students, with the aim of encouraging them to explore environmental issues by using alternative forms of media. PEYA inspires student action projects with peer support. The EcoBuzz Conference featured David Suzuki as a keynote speaker!

David Suzuki (left) speaking to Outreach Coordinator Mark Goody (middle) and Team Captain Gurhari Singh (right)

Today, UWAFT will be attending Pollution Probe’s Annual Gala Dinner at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ontario. The Gala brings together 400 to 500 leaders from industry and government for an evening of networking and celebration. This year’s theme is ‘innovation,’ which will allow UWAFT to promote hybrid electric vehicles of the future and its participation in EcoCAR 2.