Summer 2010 - University of Guelph

peoplein around• research • highlights&Engineering recruitment officer JasonTyszka says the school gets mileage fromits branded car.PHOTO BY REBECCA KENDALLEngineering is on a rollJason Tyszka, recruitment officerfor the School of Engineering, lovesthe reaction when he arrives for a recruitingvisit driving the school’s speciallybranded Toyota Yaris. It’s hard to miss thecrimson four-seater with the stylized flamesemblazoned on both sides.Tyszka says the car draws eyeballs, butit’s the school’s new engineering majorsthat are actually drawing in more students.There are 24 per cent more applicants tothe School of Engineering this year comparedwith 2009.Many of them are applying to newdegree majors in computer engineering andbiomedical engineering that will begin thisfall. Add in a surge of undergraduates whoarrived last fall for the first year of the school’smechanical engineering degree, and you’relooking at a bigger presence for Guelphamong Ontario’s engineering programs.“That’s changing our place amongOntario engineering schools from being asmall player to being a mid-sized school,”says Prof. John Runciman, who helped leadthe planning and debut of the two newestmajors.While the mix of existing and new programs— seven in all, compared with fourprograms just two years ago — raisesGuelph’s engineering profile, accommodatingthe increased enrolment poses achallenge. More than 300 students enteredthe school last year, raising total enrolmentto about 675 undergraduates and 160 graduatestudents. Those numbers are expectedto double in four years.A planned multi-phase expansion willsee new lab space added this year at boththe north and south ends of the ThornbroughBuilding. Plans for the next twoyears also call for renovating existing labsand the adjoining Richards Building.PHOTO COURTESY LOBLAW COMPANIES LIMITEDGalen G. WestonLOBLAW, U OF G PURSUE SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMSThe University of Guelph hasreceived a $3-million gift from LoblawCompanies Limited to establish the LoblawCompanies Limited Chair in SustainableFood Production. The chairholder will helplead change in food production systemsthrough education, research, practice andoutreach within the context of the essentialelements of sustainability: the environment,communities and the economy.“Working together, we can address thevery issues that are at the root of today’s globalpressures around food sustainability,” saidGalen G. Weston, executive chair of LoblawCompanies Limited. “Through this initiative,we believe we can help to increase Canada’scapacity to produce food sustainably, traintomorrow’s industry leaders, contribute topolicy development, meet consumers’ needsand nurture our environment.”Among other things, the Loblaw chairwill lead a national program in sustainablelocal food production, develop roundtableson the topic and create an industry advisorygroup to guide novel curriculumdevelopment. The chair will also assemblea core of researchers, lead collaborations inthe public and private sectors and serve asa key resource for food and agricultural policydevelopment in Canada.4 The Portico