University of Western Ontario Faculty of Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
Former names
  • Department of Engineering Science
  • Faculty of Engineering Science
Established 1954 (1954)
Type Faculty
Academic affiliation University of Western Ontario
Location London, Ontario, Canada
43°00′20″N 81°16′35″W / 43.005612°N 81.276287°W / 43.005612; -81.276287Coordinates: 43°00′20″N 81°16′35″W / 43.005612°N 81.276287°W / 43.005612; -81.276287
Dean Andrew N. Hrymak
Website www.eng.uwo.ca

The University of Western Ontario Faculty of Engineering, also known as Western Engineering, is an accredited engineering faculty within the University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario. It currently offers 9 undergraduate programs.[1]

History

Early Development

The Department of Engineering Science was created within the Western Faculty of Science in 1954. This was under the leadership and guidance of Professor L.S. Lauchland. At this time, Western became the third university to offer engineering courses in Ontario,[2] behind the University of Toronto and Queen's University.[3] The starting class enrolment was 20, with the faculty being housed within the Natural Sciences Building.[3] Original tuition fees ran at $350 for the first class, and were the same standard for the Arts and Sciences students as well. When first established, Western only offered the first two years of the engineering program and for any student to continue pursuing their professional degree, they would need to further their schooling at another university with accreditation.[4] This changed in March 1956 when the university extended their program to four-year honour degree.[3]

Faculty Designation, Accreditation, and Increased Enrolment

The first fully accredited undergraduate degrees in Engineering were offered to the class of 1958. 12 students graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering Sciences, under the accreditation of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. The first two years of the program were common amongst all students, with selection for courses into the different specializations being offered a little bit in the third year, but primarily in the fourth year.[3] Four programs (specializations) were offered initially; Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. This was also the first year the Iron Ring Ceremony was administered in the spring.[3] Construction on the Faculty of Engineering building (Alexander Charles Spencer Engineering Building) began in May 1958,[5] and was opened the following year on October 30, 1959.

The Engineering Science department was formed into the Faculty of Engineering Science in 1960, with Richard M. Dillon as the first Dean of Engineering.[2] At this time, the faculty moved into the newly constructed engineering building and left the Faculty of Science it once belonged to. Enrollment reached 186 students and by 1966, the first female students were graduating with bachelor's degrees.[2]

Masters of Engineering Sciences (MESc) degrees were first awarded to three graduates in 1964.[2] The one-year, post undergraduate degree of a Masters of Engineering (MEng) was first offered three years later in 1967.[3] PhD degrees began to be awarded with two in 1969, although the PhD program was approved 4 years earlier in 1965.

The first Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel (BLWT1) was constructed in 1965 and quickly received global attention, testing scale models of hundreds of buildings including the CN Tower and the Hong Kong Bank (HSBC) building.[3]

By 1968, the graduate engineering programs were well underway and approval of more engineering space was submitted. By 1971, the addition of the Spencer Engineering Building was completed.[2] This new extension was built to not only house some Engineering Science facilities, but also became the new home for the emerging Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.[3] The second dean, Dr. Ab I. Johnson, was appointed in this year (1971) as well.

The early to mid-1970s saw a large increase in students in the program, reaching over 400 for full-time enrolment. Many of the participated in the growing number of engineering-specific clubs and teams that were starting to be formed during this time. The Undergraduate Engineering Society was well-established and became a voice for the undergraduates at the faculty level.

The third Dean of Engineering Science was appointed in 1977. Dr. Gordon F. Chess. Chess was an active professor at Western ever since his employment in 1958. During his time as Dean, Chess lobbied hard to encourage women participation within the engineering program and, with the help of Jean Surry and Doreen Dinsdale, established the Women in Engineering, Science and Technology program. This program is still active but now known as Women in Engineering (WiE).[3]

The faculty started to offer the now very popular Industry Internship Program in 1982 under the leadership of Dr. Hugh Peacock.[2] Starting with only 2 participants, the program garnered attention and started to reflect other internship programs being offered at other major engineering faculties such as the University of Waterloo or McMaster University. In 2017 over 120 undergraduate students were enrolled in the program, typically extending the graduation of their degrees by one year.

In July 1987, Dr. Mohan Mathur accepted the position of fourth Dean of Engineering Science. The next year, Mathur helped facilitate the install of the Computer Assisted Learning Laboratory for Engineering (CALL-E). CALL-E was a brand-new system in 1988 developed by IBM and the faculty acquired it due to the support of John Thompson (BESc '66) the IBM Canada president at the time.[3] This new computer system along with the expansion of ethernet cables and IT infrastructure inside the Spencer Engineering Building, helped modernize the university into the STEM environment.

Lynda Shaw Tragedy

In 1990, Lynda Shaw was brutally murdered driving back to London from her home in Toronto. Shaw was a third-year mechanical engineering student. The tragedy hit hard throughout the faculty and the entire university. Articles depicting Shaw's outgoing personality and involvement with extra-curriculars were written in the Gazette and London Free Press. Shortly after, the faculty developed the Lynda Shaw Memorial Distinguished Lecture. This annual lecture brings in leaders, educators, scientists and philanthropists to speak.

Expanding the Faculty

By the early 1990s, many of the large engineering clubs were established.[3] The Formula SAE team, solar car team (known as Sunstangs), Baja SAE team, and concrete toboggan team were all established around this time and allowing engineering students to get heavily involved with technical work outside of their educational and lab experience. In 1996, the Material Science and Mechanical Engineering departments merged after being reviewed by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), citing insufficient resources.

The faculty actively started to offer dual degrees with other Western faculties in 1996. Although done previously, the process was difficult and not formalized. Requiring an extra 1–3 years of school, students had the possibility to take more courses in other faculties and earn a separate degree, as credits earned within the Engineering faculty could become equivalent credits earned in other faculties. The Computer Science, Sciences, and Medical faculties all saw easy transitions, but also dual degrees were being offered with the Western Law School and Ivey Business School through the concurrent study program.

By 1998 however, the University Senate approved three more programs, all with BESc distinction; Computer Engineering, Software Engineering and Integrated Engineering.[2] The Integrated Engineering program was the first of its kind in Canada, and was developed after extensive surveying was done with hundreds of employers across Ontario. From this survey, it was discovered on what curriculum points were the most desired for companies.[3] The program was developed to allow engineering students enrolled in it to experience and have knowledge a wide breadth of engineering subjects, something not done in Canada at the time.

Dr. Franco Berruti became the fifth Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Science in 2000. At this time, the accreditation for the newly implemented Computer, Software and Integrated engineering programs was finalized through the CEAB.[2] In 2001, the faculty removed the "Science" portion of the name and officially became the Faculty of Engineering.

Building expansions came in 2003 when the Spencer Engineering Building (SEB) got an addition along the left wing with new lecture hall spaces. Construction in the new Thompson Engineering Building also began this year and was completed in 2004. Renovations were being implemented into SEB shortly after in 2005, which included a cafeteria and new lecture hall seating.

In 2009, Dr. Andrew N. Hrymak started his position as the sixth Dean.

Undergraduate Programs

Western Engineering currently offers 9 undergraduate programs, within 4 departments. Some undergraduate programs offer specific options within the degree to further specify an area of interest.

The undergraduate programs offered are:

Program Year Established Options Offered Department
Chemical Engineering 1956 Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Civil Engineering 1956 Structural, Environmental, International Development Civil and Environmental Engineering
Computer Engineering 1998 Electronic Devices, Software Systems for Ubiquitous Computing Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering 1956 Wireless Communication, Power Systems, Biomedical Signals and Systems Electrical and Computer Engineering
Green Process Engineering 2009 Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Integrated Engineering 1998 *Managed jointly through all departments equally
Mechanical Engineering 1956 Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Mechatronic Systems Engineering 2011 *Managed jointly through the Mechanical and Electrical Departments
Software Engineering 1998 Health Informatics Electrical and Computer Engineering

Undergraduate Engineering Society

The Undergraduate Engineering Society (UES) was formed in 1957[6] and acts as a student council, representing the undergraduate engineering students within the Engineering Faculty and Western University Students' Council (USC).

Every student enrolled in a Bachelor of Engineering Science at Western is a member of the Undergraduate Engineering Society. The UES Council exists to ensure that every society member, every Western Engineering student, has the best undergraduate experience possible. This purpose is manifested in action:

  • The UES Council puts on social events to further strengthen the community among our Engineering students. Small encounters spark lifelong friendships.
  • The UES Council supports clubs where students can embrace their passions and hone true technical expertise. Discovering what you love to do unlocks your potential.
  • The UES Council provides academic and career support. You’re enabled to perform inside the classroom and change the world outside of it.
  • The UES Council is the voice of students to the Faculty of Engineering at Western. When the school’s interests are aligned with the students’, progress is possible.

Clubs

Western Engineering hosts a variety of engineering clubs, SAE teams, and societies. These clubs are distinct from the University Students' Council's main club system, and do not receiving their funding and support from the USC but rather Western Engineering. While Western Engineering mostly follows the same infrastructure and guiding values as USC and other Western programs, Western Engineering is largely its own entity by choice and is not bound by many University policies.

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Teams are a very notable reason for joining Western Engineering. The teams are generally composed of students from the faculty of engineering, but they also work with business students for non-technical roles as well. These diverse groups of students spend their school year and summer designing and building the cars from welding the frame, to manufacturing complex drive train parts, while generating their own financial support. This gives the students an opportunity to gain practical hands-on training, build team work skills and work through each stage of design through to completion.

Aero Design

The Aero Design Team at Western is a completely student-run mega project that was created in 2001 and has been active ever since, designing and building radio controlled aircraft for competition every year. They participate in the SAE Aero Design Competition, which is held in the USA, every year. This competition consists of a heavy lift contest between aircraft from universities all over the world. Teams can build planes for 3 different categories with different rules and constraints, generally focusing on carrying as much payload as possible while completing an air circuit of the flying field. Every year, they build a new plane for the SAE competition, where students apply aerodynamic analysis, material selection and precise construction to design and build a plane that can withstand the competition.

Baja SAE

Western Baja SAE is an extra-curricular design team dedicated to completing the SAE challenge of designing and building an off-road race vehicle. Baja SAE consists of three regional competitions each with unique challenges simulating real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Teams are required to design, build, test and race an all-terrain vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of bolder rock crawls, sheer hill climbs, sharp maneuverability and a 4-hour endurance race filled with any number of the above challenges. By participating in these and other local competitions for the last 3 years, Western Baja is slowly climbing the international ranks.

Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering - Western

The Western branch of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME Western) was formed in 2015 as part of the affiliate group; the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME), under the Engineering Institute of Canada. The group acts as a way to engage the mechanical engineering students at the faculty and industry level. CSME Western hosts a number of different events throughout the year including faculty meet-and-greets, resume workshops, industry tours, and special guest presentations.

Chem Club

The Chem Club is a Student Chapter at Western affiliated with the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC).

The club is for undergraduate students considering or currently enrolled in chemical, biochemical, or green process engineering. The club is a great way to meet other chemical engineering students as well as other faculty and staff in the department.

Additionally, it is an opportunity to participate as part of a team on the Club's MegaProject, The Aquaponics Project. Meetings are held every other Thursday. The chapter is proud to be the 2011 recipient of CSChE's Student Chapter Merit Award, offered as a means of recognizing and encouraging initiative and originality in Student Chapter programming in chemical engineering.

Engineers Without Borders (EWB)

EWB Western is Western's chapter with Engineers Without Borders. EWB Western prides itself on making an impact in the local, regional, and global communities. Overseas, they strive to provide long-term, systemic solutions to problems affecting the global south. At home, they are active in educating youth, advocating to all levels of government, and partnering with local organizations to tackle current issues of sustainability.

The Mechanical and Materials Engineering Society

The Mechanical and Materials Engineering Society (MMES) as the student-run organization for the Mechanical and Materials department. The MMES has a small executive of undergraduate students which make up the roles of president and year reps (2nd, 3rd, and 4th). These executive members meet at the department level with the undergraduate department Chair to discuss issues, concerns or general inquiries the undergraduate student body may have. The president of the MMES also acts as the undergraduate representative during department meetings and will meet regularly with the department Chair to address any concerns. All undergraduates enrolled in the Mechanical and Materials engineering department are automatically members of the MMES.

SunStang

The Western University SunStang Solar Car Project is a student-run mega project in which students design and build a solar powered car to partake in international solar races. The team welcomes undergraduate and graduate students from all faculties and currently consists of members from multiple disciplines including Engineering and Business. Since its founding in 1991, SunStang has competed in 8 international competitions - the greatest accomplishment finishing 2nd in North America at the 1996 World Solar Challenge. SunStang creates opportunities for members to not only learn about developing solar technologies, but to apply these acquired skills to future projects. In July 2017, the solar car created by the Western University team will be returning to Austin, TX for the Formula Sun Grand Prix.

WE Bots

WE Bots is a robotics club in the faculty of Engineering at the University of Western Ontario. It is the intent of the club to provide a comfortable and open environment to build autonomous robots and learn how they are designed and constructed. The club aims to promote a positive university experience for its members and promote intellectual growth for the long-term benefit of the club and members, and ultimately to the university as a whole.

The club is open to all students, faculty, and staff of Western with a spirited engineering desire to promote the creation of robot devices. Experience is not necessary, only a desire to learn and to use one’s imagination. The goal is to design and build robots for fun. Members can join an ongoing project, initiate a new project, or work on personal robotics projects.

Western Engineering Toboggan Team (WETT)

The Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) is an annual event that challenges the creativity of engineering students. Since 1974 GNCTR has grown to include universities and technical schools from across Canada with occasional entries from the United States and Europe.

The project involves designing and constructing a toboggan with a metal frame and a running surface made completely out of concrete. The sled must weigh less than 350 pounds (159 kg), have a working braking system, working steering system and be fitted with a roll bar to protect its five passengers. Each competing team must complete a technical report summarizing the design, which is presented at a public technical exhibition.

Teams are judged on the design and performance of their toboggan in the categories of speed, steering, and braking. Aesthetics and sustainability are also factored into a toboggan's score. Team theme and spirit are scored at the competition. The team that accumulates the most points from all of these categories is crowned champion, and awarded the CSCE Cup.

WETT has been awarded overall champions at GNCTR in 2013 (hosted by University of British Columbia) and most recently in 2016 (hosted by University of Ottawa). WETT also placed 2nd at the GNCTR in 2017 in Winnipeg.

Western Formula Racing

Western EngiQueers

The Western EngiQueers is a social connection and advocacy group for the LGBTQ+ and ally communities within Western Engineering. The main goals are to provide education surrounding relevant topics to the faculty, provide professional development opportunities, help local LGBTQ+ charities, and ultimately create a safe space within Western Engineering where the students feel comfortable being themselves. They are connected to similar clubs that exist across Canada which are currently being united under the banner of 'EngiQueers Canada'. Locally, they are affiliated with Pride Western as well as other faculty specific LGBTQ+ groups throughout the Western campus. The Western EngiQueers have been marching in Pride Toronto celebrations alongside other engineering schools as a float since 2016.

Women in Engineering

Women in Engineering (WIE) at the Western University is a student group working to provide social and academic support for future and current females students. WIE was created in 1989 to increase the female representation in Western's engineering program. Since then, female enrollment in Engineering at Western has increased from 9% to 18%. WIE has initiated activities and events to encourage female engineering students to get to know each other, to help orient new female students to university life, to encourage female high school students to enter engineering, and to provide a support network for career development.

Although they have made significant strides in the last 50 years, women in engineering are still an unrepresented group and support services and outreach programs are necessary. WIE groups are important to give girls the knowledge, confidence, and opportunities required to consider engineering, and to succeed as engineers. It is important to address the gender stereotypes that prevent girls from studying in male-dominated fields and to provide female role models to give girls confidence and inspiration to reach their full potential. Women in engineering groups are an excellent medium through which to empower young girls, support female engineering students, work towards equality, and achieve a more balanced professional workforce.

Western Society of Civil Engineering

The purpose of the Western Society of Civil Engineering (WSCE) is to enrich the experience of students enrolled in civil engineering at the University of Western Ontario. The WSCE organizes social events, competitions (both athletic and academic) and field trips in order to promote extra-curricular involvement with the faculty. The WSCE is also affiliated with the CSCE – London Chapter, as we communicate all of their events to students. All undergraduate students enrolled in the civil program at UWO are welcome to join. The WSCE acts as a liaison between the student body and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) by hosting and organizing a variety of academic events, social activities, and educational trips and tours throughout the school year.

Pranks

Like most engineering schools, Western has a history of pranks and ever since the inception of the program in 1954, the engineering pranks would make the headlines of the Western Gazette and even sometimes the London Free Press. The basis of the pranks were simple: They were to be harmless and to not cause injury, be reversible and not cause permanent damage, and not be done with ill-intent or for mean-spirited reasons.

Pranks tended to be far-less extreme after the 1980s and into the 1990s. During this time the administration went to greater lengths to find out perpetrators and lay academic charges on them.

Some of the most noted pranks are listed in the table below:1

Year Target Prank Description Aftermath
1957 Various Western women A group of engineering students acquired a wind tunnel machine as well as an X-Ray machine. With labcoats and clipboards on, they pretended to be testers for a chest X-Ray study being done just down the hall. As soon as a women stood in front of the X-Ray machine thinking they were getting an X-Ray they turned on the powerful wind tunnel fan, blowing huge gusts of wind at the woman in front. After about 20-30 X-Rays, Professor Foreman shut down the machine and operation after hearing complaints from some of the women.
1959 Medway Hall During the construction of the Medway Hall residence, a small group of engineering students went on top of the roof and wrote "Opening Soon: Engineers Pub", in large white painted letters. The paint was painted on the roof tar paper and was done before the final roof was installed.
1960 Western Law Building The day before the ceremonial cornerstone was to be placed in newly built Law Building, a group of engineering students stole the stone and placed a note demanding $50 ransom donation to be paid to United Way in order for the stone to be returned. A maintenance worker noticed deep tire marks on the practice football field, leading to stone being placed by a riverbank surrounded by trees.
1962 Western Campus Over the course of a couple weeks, various engineering students slowly loosened all the bolts to the over 100 toilet seats on campus, but not remove them. Later, at a co-ordinated time, they took just 10 minutes to run an finish removing the seats and stashed them away in a secure location. The seats were held at ransom, which requested the Frosh Queen to accompany a particular engineering student on a date. One day later, all 104 seats were returned to their positions and secured in place. No reprimand from the faculty.
1960's Cronyn Observatory This prank had been done a variety of times over the course of the 1960s. Due to the domed-shape of the observatory top, engineers would climb to the top of the observatory and, with black and orange paint, paint the top of the observatory to look like a Jack-o-Lantern face. Although mostly harmless, one such instance used more permanent oil-based paints. It was suggested through the head of security that if they were to attempt it again to use water-based paint instead.
1977 Middlesex College Clock-tower A group of engineering students convinced a janitor to let them into the internals of the clock-tower to help with a study on clock mechanisms. Once in there, the pranksters modified the door to the tower to stay unlocked and came in after-hours to attach a relay switch, battery, and timed clock to the clapper of the bell. At noon the next day, the clock bell rang continuously over 1200 times until the timer shut it off at 12:30. The door was sealed shut and maintenance could not get in to stop the ringing during the entire time. Although blame got passed around, no charges were filed.
1980 Middlesex College Clock-tower After an unsuccessful attempt the year before, a group of engineering students managed to affix a large plywood Mickey Mouse cartoon to the front of the Middlesex College Tower clock, with the arms of the clock acting as Mickey's arms. (much like the very popular Mickey Mouse-themed watch) At 6:30am (so that both hands were pointing down), two people went over the top with long ropes and slipped the plywood cartoon overtop. This prank did receive large amounts of backlash due to the very dangerous nature of the activity. The cartoon was removed shortly after.

1This list of various pranks is compiled from Peter Emmerson's book, Expansion & Innovation: The Story of Western Engineering 1954-1999, which recounts a number of first-hand accounts of different pranks and historical events over the years.[3]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.eng.uwo.ca/undergraduate/programs/index.html
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 http://www.eng.uwo.ca/comms/history.htm
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Castle, Peter; Emmerson, George (2014). Expansion & Innovation: The Story of Western Engineering 1954-1999. Lulu Press Inc. ISBN 978-1-4834-1502-4.
  4. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/occidentalia56univ
  5. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/occidentalia59univ#page/168/
  6. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/occidentalia59univ#page/146/
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