News
Engineering student's invention featured in Olympic Opening Ceremony
There was a collective gasp of excitement when the snowboarder flew through the Olympic rings to open the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. For UBC Engineering student Aaron Coret, the moment was especially exciting. Coret invented the Landing Pad used in the Opening Ceremonies.
After a 2005 snowboarding injury left him quadriplegic, Coret invented the Landing Pad to prevent others from facing a similar fate.
"This project is directly inspired by my desire to give something back to the sport I love so much," says Coret.
The cultural legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics
Sport wasn’t the only winning act of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Music, art, performances and programs riveted hundreds of thousands of onlookers who gathered in official venues and on city streets to enjoy Olympic-inspired culture. [Read more...]
Snowboard Landing Pad prevents freestyle accidents
Wednesday marks the start of the 2010 Olympic half-pipe competitions and the University of British Columbia has an engineering student available to discuss how he’s working to make the sport safer. [Read more...]
UBC Engineering wishes all the best for Canadian athletes!
The area on which this image was created is smaller than a snowflake, yet it contains over 100 million carbon nanotubes. Nanotubes are not just tiny as their name suggests: Each is around 10 thousand times thinner than human hair and highly flexible. They also posses many other amazing properties: They are almost as light as air, better conductors of electricity and heat than copper, stronger than steel and tougher than diamond.
It is no surprise that across many fields, scientists and engineers work on this exceptional material. They explore revolutionary applications of nanotubes in future generation electronic devices and circuits; ultra-strong, light-weight composites; flat-panel displays; high-sensitivity chemical and bio sensors; clean energy technologies and disease treatment, to name a few.
The attached design was patterned on a nanotube “forest” - a collection of nanotubes aligned parallel to each other, similar to a grass field. Because nanotubes are exceptionally tough yet flexible, it is very hard to create free-form shapes in the forests once they are “grown”. The patterning of the Olympics logo has been realized by creating extremely tiny electrical discharges between the forest and a micromachined tool scanned over the forest. Such patterning is key in realizing many of the above applications.
This work is the result of a collaborative effort between assistant professors Alireza Nojeh, nanotube expert, and Kenichi Takahata, micropatterning expert, of the department of electrical and computer engineering. The image was created by graduate student Masoud Dahmardeh with assistance from graduate students Parham Yaghoobi and Mohamed Sultan Mohamed Ali.
SALA Alum to Compete in 2010 Olympic Games
Jeff Pain [BLA ‘94] will be competing in his third Olympics Games in the men's skeleton event. The 39-year-old is hoping to improve on his silver medal win in Turin.
For Alumni spotlights on Jeff Pain, please visit:
Best wishes to Jeff Pain in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games!
The Richmond Olympic Oval. Photo by: Hubert Kang.
Olympic Oval designed by UBC Engineering alumni
The internationally recognized Richmond Olympic Oval is a multipurpose sports and recreation facility that will serve as the Long Track Speed Skating venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The one-of-a-kind 6.5 acre roof structure features hollow, triangular-shaped composite wood-steel arches, which span 310 feet and conceal mechanical ducts, electrical conduits and sprinkler pipes. Spanning between the arches are novel, prefabricated “wood wave” panels consisting of pine beetle kill 2x4’s and plywood. The roof structure not only provides an economical design solution but also a striking aesthetic quality and enhanced acoustic performance. It has won numerous awards including a gold medal for engineering excellence from the Institution of Structural Engineers.
The Oval was designed by Fast + Epp, led by UBC Engineering alumni Paul Fast (BASc CIVL’81) and Gerry Epp (BASc CIVL ’81, MEng ’83).
Co-op Students take part in Olympics
Competition is not just for athletes. Graduating students
and companies are facing increasingly competitive
landscapes, and the UBC Engineering Co-op Program
is designed to help both. [Read more...]
Engineering a competitive edge
In international competition, the difference between a gold medal and missing the podium is often measured in split seconds. A team of UBC engineers is developing solutions to trim milliseconds from finishing times with the goal of providing a competitive edge for Canadian athletes. [Read more...]
Securing the Games
Preparing for the unexpected: Games responders supported by UBC simulation system. Led by UBC Electrical Engineering professor José Martí, the Infrastructures Interdependencies Simulation (I2Sim) team aims to minimize human suffering should a disaster occur. [Read more...]
Engineering a place on the Olympic team
Thriving on challenges, Matt Tunnicliffe (BASc ‘09 MTRL) is not only working on his master’s thesis, he’s aspiring to make the 2010 Olympic snowboard
cross team. "Right now, I think I could leave a legacy for snowboard cross as putting a brain to the brawn. As an engineer, I think I can step up the reputation of snowboard cross as a respectable sport." [Read more...]
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Events
ROBOstudio student-designs on display at YVR during Olympics
A collaboration between architecture, mechatronics (mechanical engineering) and engineering physics students, ROBOstudio will be on display at the Vancouver International Airport from January 17 throughout the Olympics in the international departures area. ROBOstudio features two sets of studio projects designed by collaborative teams: the first projects (PS1 SKIN) are retrofits for buildings on UBC campus whose envelopes have problems with their performance. These problems result in poor conditions for the building occupants (ie there is too much sun, it is too hot or too cold). The speculative projects propose mechatronic facade systems which respond both to occupation and environment. The second projects (PS2 TRANSFIGURATION) dealt broadly with the resolution of contested public space by an infrastructural intervention at any scale, be it building, bridge or seat. These projects are based on Granville Island and feature students’ analysis and responses to the cultural and social aspects of the dense use of urban space.
There will be models, videos and poster boards on display.
For further information, feel free to contact AnnaLisa Meyboom in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at meyboom@interchange.ubc.ca
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Past News & Events
Keith Martin, Engineering Physics student.
Photo by Scott Collins.
Applied Science torch bearers
The following Applied Science people took part in the torch relay:
- Carol Jillings (NURS)
- Jack Gin (BASc '82 CIVL)
- Monty Raisinghani (BASc '07 CHML)
- Keith Martin, Engineering Physics student, 5th-year
High Performance: Evolution and Innovation in Canadian Design
Opening January 19 - 7:00pm
Presented with support of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad
Curated by Greg Bellerby
The exhibition and the installation, inter/section, were designed by Campos Leckie Studio and Oliver Neumann in collaboration with the University of British Columbia School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the Design and Computation Group at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto.
More info.
Katal Innovations, co-founded by engineering students Aaron Coret and Stephen Slen (BASc '07), will be featured at:
Sports Technology & Innovation Reception, 2010 Commerce Centre
Friday, February 26, 2010 at the BC Showcase at Robson Square
Photos from the courtyard opening.
Bright Light to showcase art and events during the 2010 Winter Games
Bright Light—a series of temporary public art works and events during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics—will feature a collection of 14 commissioned projects that will take place along and around Vancouver’s Carrall Street Greenway before and during the 2010 Winter Games. The project is a joint effort of artists and arts organizations based in the Downtown Eastside, who are collaborating to produce installations and events that will light up the neighbourhood and showcase the community’s cultural vitality.
UBC Architecture Professor Inge Roecker's ASIR Studio will team with two other local studios: Organelle and RUF project to present:
GO! A Temporary Gallery for Permanent Change, in which one of Chinatown’s oldest and almost-forgotten courtyards will be transformed into an illuminated space for performances and unexpected discoveries.
Where: Yue Shan Courtyard, accessible via East Pender St & Market Alley
When: Multiple events from Feb 12 - 28, 2010, 6 – 10 pm
Contact:
Inge Roecker, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
604.822.4509; roecker@interchange.ubc.ca
604.688.5611—Asir Studio, 529 Carrall Street www.asirarch.net
To learn more about Bright Light programming, dates, times and locations, visit www.bright-light.ca
UBC Engineering Olympic Torch Celebration Booth
Thursday, February 11, 4-8pm
Intersection of University Boulevard and East Mall (UBC Campus)
Come experience the Olympic spirit at the UBC Torch Relay Celebration with UBC Engineering. Loads of activities and booths showcasing faculties and student groups will keep you warm and entertained while waiting for the flame to arrive. This night market-inspired celebration is a campus-wide effort, planned by the UBC 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Secretariat and UBC REC. Bring friends and family to cheer on the Torch runners at the corner of University Blvd and East Mall (Old Bus Loop and UBC Bookstore Parking Lot).
Work Hard, Play Hard: The Ultimate Engineering & Bobsledding Experience
Wednesday, February 3, 1-3pm
Kaiser 2020/2030
Kat Louman-Gardiner is going to make your ice melt when she tells you her incredible stories and teaches us all a thing or two about raising the bar a few inches higher. As a woman with a Bachelor’s Degree of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from UBC, Master’s Degree of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Calgary, and a former member of the Canadian Bobsleigh Team, Kat’s story is an inspiration to all of us engineers.
Join us for a FREE Greek lunch and listen to Kat’s words of wisdom. Afterwards, compete in the Engineering Bobsled Competition in which your team will build a bobsled and race for glory! Prizes will be awarded to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze teams.
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