Engineering Physics Newsletter - May 2016

NEWS LET TER DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING PHYSICS VOLUME ONE - ISSUE TWO // AUGUST 2016

04 - 11

12 - 17

12

HAPPENINGS

COMMUNITY

Letter from the Chair..................................................04 The Quantum Tunnel...................................................08

Community outreach initiatives................................12 High School internship................................................14 Year of Light lecture series........................................14 Alumni events...............................................................15 Co-op program..............................................................15 2

18 - 23

24 - 29

34

UNDERGRAD DEVELOPMENTS

GRAD UPDATES AND EVENTS

A balancing act.............................................................18 Resource room progress...........................................22

What’s up in graduate studies..................................24 Other developments....................................................27 Events and articles to catch.....................................28

3

Letter from the Chair

A message from the Chair of our department, Dr. Ray LaPierre.

Hi Everyone!

I wish to thank everyone for a very successful 2015-16 academic year. I especially wish to tha co-Presidents, Viktor Kapetanovic and Andrej Radonjic, for their continuous support. I look forw eville, to continually improve the student experience. Many thanks also go to the many underg numerous departmental events such as our lecture series, recruiting, and appreciation events. gram, where qualified undergraduates will assist in departmental recruitment events.

As your Department Chair, my focus since starting has been to improve the undergraduate exp gineering Physics. The Department has received over $26000 in macLAB funding, and will be Some of these upgrades will be implemented by two of our undergraduates, Leanne Dias and velopment Assistants.

The Department has also hired a large number of Undergraduate Summer Research Assistant search Awards (USRA) awarded to Engineering Physics out of a possible 38 in the entire Facu undergraduates to try their hand at research.

Our new Engineering Physics Undergraduate Student Centre, named the “Quantum Tunnel”, h collaborate, study and learn together. In the Fall of 2016, the Department will launch its Tutorin tutoring services in the Quantum Tunnel. The Department is also launching its Ambassador Pro partmental recruitment events. You can read more details in this edition of the newsletter.

I am very pleased to welcome a new technician to our Department, Daniel FitzGreen, who will Unit 1 Chairperson with Unifor. Daniel completed his Ph.D. at York University with extensive ex the summer, Daniel will be working to improve our labs in 3L04, 3D03, 3O04, and 4U04 nuclea

The Department has been host to three High School co-op students this term, Jennifer Azariah Tonnas, and Celine Michael from Bishop Tonnas. You can read about their projects in this new

Last but not least, the Department’s Capstone Expo was a huge success. I am very impressed proven that Engineering Physics students are capable of tackling any engineering or scientific

Congratulations to our graduands! I hope you will keep in touch, and consider participating in f Have a great summer, Ray LaPierre, Professor and Chair

ank our Engineering Physics Society and the outgoing ward to working with the new President, Dawson Bongraduate and graduate students who volunteered for The Department is also launching its Ambassador Pro-

perience and to continue recruiting top students into Enadding another $67000 in undergraduate lab upgrades.

Bryan Padilla, hired by the Department as Course De-

ts, with over 14 NSERC Undergraduate Student Reulty of Engineering. This is a fantastic opportunity for our

has been opened. This is space for undergraduates to ng Program where senior undergraduates will provide ogram, where qualified undergraduates will assist in de-

be replacing Barry Diacon while on temporary leave as xperience in particle physics and radiation science. Over ar.

h from St. Mary’s High School, Janeska Gill from Bishop wsletter.

d with the capabilities of our undergraduates. They have challenge.

future Alumni events.

Winter 2016

,

WHAT

HAPPEN IN ENG PHYS

T’S

NING

?

S

7

[ introducing the ]

engineer physicsQ

ring Quantum Tunnel

The Quantum Tunnel Eleven months of multiple blueprints, design proposals, and the destruction of former lab spaces has cumulated in the EP Quantum Tunnel - a sleek study space for our undergraduate students to use, for any and all of their academic needs. Equipped with a 60� television for presentation preparation and screen sharing, white board walls that span half the room intended for breakout brainstorm sessions, a kitchenette complete with an area to socialize with friends and colleagues, and several sets of desks for group-work and independent study, the Quantum Tunnel will provide our undergraduates with the tools (and space) they’ll need to collaborate with their peers and succeed academically.

The space allows for collaboration on group projects and academically challenging problems. Notably, it will house our upcoming Tutor Program (read more on page xxxx), which promises to not only bring students from a variety of disciplines within the Engineering Physics program together, but will also challenge the perception that Engineering Physics is one of the most difficult programs offered in the Faculty of Engineering.

We had a soft opening of the room to give summer students a sneak peak at their new study space. For the rest of the summer, we have our summer students using the room for their research projects, however, the room is scheduled to open for all undergraduate Engineering Physics students in the upcoming fall semester. Stay tuned for our official launch in September 2016!

11

PREVIOUS

EVENTS jan 27 feb 11 feb 24 feb 29

JANUARY - JUNE 2016]

Graduate Recruitment Event Level Two Information Session in ETB Dean’s Honour List Dinner Engineering Physics Information Night

mar 1

Eng Grad Studies Open House

apr 4

End of Year Party

may 7

May at Mac

apr 8

4A06 Capstone Expo

Graduate Recruitment Event This past January, to inspire students to apply to the NSERC USRA research positions available in the Department and to consider graduate studies here in Engineering Physics, we held our first “Research Information Night”.

Our undergraduates had the opportunity to listen to different faculty members and their research teams present their research as “elevator pitches” – that is, in two minutes or less. Once students gained insight regarding the caliber of research produced by the Department, we welcomed a panel of current graduate students to answer any and every question prospective graduate program applicants may have had. Questions as broad as, “Could you describe the day in the life of a grad student?”, or as specific as, “what are the dynamics with you and your supervisor like?” were asked.

In the weeks following the event, we were pleased to find out that we not only had the highest applicant rate within our Department for NSERC USRA scholarship in years, but 14 of our students had also received the summer research scholarships – one of the highest number of awards distributed to students in any one Department within the Faculty.

Given the large turnout and success of this event, we look forward to holding this event on an annual basis!

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Level 2 Information Session This year, our Department viewed the Engineering One Fair as an opportunity to unveil our new rebranding initiative. Armed with our new program view books, 7.5 x 10-foot banner display, and several enthusiastic undergraduate leaders in our community, a revitalized and confident Eng Phys arrived at the fair eager to recruit the next generation of Eng Phys undergraduates.

With our view books flying out of our volunteers’ hands and Level One students engrossed in displays like capstone projects of previous years and solar panel displays, it is safe to say that Engineering Physics experienced what was one of our greatest presences at the Level One Fair in years. But what could we attribute this success to? We used the fair as an opportunity to practice Ambassador marketing – that is, we positioned our students as the go-to source for any and all Eng Phys-related information.

While our faculty members remained on-call, our undergraduate volunteers unreservedly shared their enthusiasm for the program and the larger community happenings and involvements that take place in our Department.

Once again, a huge thank-you to all of our volunteers – you are all shaping Engineering Physics into the program to be in.

Engineering Physics

Information Night

This past January, to inspire students to apply to the NSERC USRA research positions available in the Department and to consider graduate studies here in Engineering Physics, we held our first “Research Information Night This February we invited Engineering 1 Students to our Info Session to learn more about our program straight from the source! Students had the opportunity to partake in a Q & A panel with our current undergraduates, learn about the type of research our Department produces from different faculty members, take tours of the different lab spaces, win prizes, and of course, eat lots and lots of pizza! After this successful recruiting event, we look forward to seeing lots of new faces in our program next year!

Dean’s Honour List Dinner

This past January, to inspire students to apply to the NSERC USRA research positions available in the Department and to consider graduate studies here in Engineering Physics, we held our first “Research Information Night This February we invited Engineering 1 Students to our Info Session to learn more about our program straight from the source! Students had the opportunity to partake in a Q & A panel with our current undergraduates, learn about the type of research our Department produces from different faculty members, take tours of the different lab spaces, win prizes, and of course, eat lots and lots of pizza! After this successful recruiting event, we look forward to seeing lots of new faces in our program next year!

End of Year Party This year our end-of-term party had a twist! Colin Beswick put together a Trivia game in which faculty, staff, and students went head to head! In the end, the student team Technolojesus took home the gold. Questions ranged from history to geography, to arts and science, and finally, to pop culture. Colin even snuck in a few physics questions, so our students could be studying at the same time! This was a very successful night of fun and networking and we look forward to doing this again in the future.

May @Mac Our Department had an active role at May @ Mac. We gave potential future students a chance to meet and mingle with faculty members and speak directly with undergraduate and graduate students in Engineering Physics. Our volunteers were great at answering questions about the Engineering Physics courses and research opportunities, as well as what jobs to expect after graduation.

They also had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the design projects and research projects completed in Engineering Physics. We had a variety of demos including optical communications, microscopic micro-device imaging, an LED cube, and solar panels. The solar panels were used to power a Nintendo gaming system!

The University-wide open house was a success, and the Engineering Physics table attracted a lot of potentially new students. Our volunteers were engaging, enthusiastic, and informative and certainly made a big impact on future students!

4A06

Capstone Expo

This year, Eng Phys decided to take a “go big or go home” approach with our annual Capstone Expo. Strategically positioned in the Student Centre’s “Marketplace”, our seven groups attracted a diverse set of members from McMaster’s community. Diverging from the “race day” tradition, which customarily took place in the Eng Phys wing, this year’s Expo had a particular theme: students had to conceive of autonomous robots that employ sensors and actuators via microcontroller-implemented control systems to solve problems without the need for human instructions. With a theme that was accessible to a larger audience, students from an array of faculties were able to understand the value of the contribution our students have made to the larger scientific landscape.

Also present at our event were representatives from McMaster’s start-up incubator, The Forge, who we are currently establishing a partnership with Engineering Physics for the next Expo.

Due to the unprecedented success we experienced, our Department intends to establish a new tradition and has already reserved the same space to showcase projects that promise to be brilliant next year.

See more about the capstone profiles on our website

updates

UN

GRADUATE 19

new engphys outreach programs

TUTOR

&

AMBASSADOR

PROGRAMS 23

What does our Tutor Program entail?

?

Our Resource Room in BSB/B204 (officially named the Engineering Physics Quantum Tunnel) will be officially available for use in September 2016. One of the functions of this room will be to serve as a hub for our new Tutor Program, which is scheduled to begin in September 2016. The program will be ideal for students to discuss academic-related concerns, seek out help with certain course-based problems, and collaborate with other students who may be experiencing similar problems, in a collaborative environment. Moreover, the tutor service will be free of charge to those who have a need for it.

Logistically speaking, the program will operate on a drop-in basis, whereby students may seek help during designated hours of each school day, with access to a variety of tutors, who will specialize and offer assistance in different courses. We hope that this tutorship program will position Engineering Physics at McMaster University as a community of learning, increase departmental awareness, enhance the Engineering Physics student experience, and subsequently, increase recruitment.

27

What does our Ambassador Program entail?

To position Engineering Physics at McMaster University as a community of learning, increase departmental awareness, enhance the Engineering Physics student experience, and drive up recruitment numbers, the Department will implement a Student Ambassador Program, which is scheduled to begin in September 2016.

This program strives to inspire interest, involvement, and industry/alumni investment in the Engineering Physics community. It is our intention for the program to establish meaningful, long-term relationships with its students, develop a noteworthy brand for the department, and gain resources that benefit the Engineering Physics community. Our ambassadors will put the Department on the engineering, university campus, and larger community map. They will act as the go-to person for current and prospective students’ questions and concerns, and serve as representatives at all relevant departmental, faculty, and university-wide events. As the program evolves, it is our hope that our ambassadors will also solicit and solidify alumni and new industry and academic partnerships.

What’s in it for the students involved in the program? Aside from the experience of working with other like-minded leaders in the Engineering Physics community, students will have the opportunity to hone in on their leadership, networking, communication, as well as project and event management skills – all of which are invaluable when a prospective employer reviews a CV. As of now, we are in the recruitment stage. For those of our students who are in good academic standing and have consistently proven themselves as willing volunteers at recruitment or departmental events, stay tuned!

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EPS

ENGINEERING PHYSICS SOCIETY

The role of the undergraduate Engineering Physics Society (EPS) is to improve the undergraduate experience, both academically and socially. This year, the EPS continued to carry out some of the traditional Eng Phys events, as well as collaborate with the Department office to organize new events for undergrads, grads and faculty. Our yearly events included the undergrad versus grad softball game and Career Night, where representatives from Amec Foster Wheeler, Bruce Power, Semtech and L-3 Wescam were invited to present opportunities with their companies. The EPS also distributed Eng Phys t-shirts with a new design that portrayed our illustrious professors in a depiction of The Last Supper painting.

Although the EPS this year was not large in size, we were fortunate to have such a collection of bright individuals. Their creativity and passion for their education was evident in the development of three new events that really brought out what the EPS stood for. The end-of-semester Ping Pong Event and Trivia Night successfully brought together students from different levels and faculty members to participate in some friendly competition. In addition to these, the first ever Research Night was created to give undergrads an opportunity to learn about research (and life) in graduate school directly from professors and students in the Department. As a result, these events have allowed for a more tightly knit community and will hopefully evolve into new Eng Phys traditions.

INCOMING EXECUTIVES: PRESIDENT Dawson Bonneville VP FINANCE Leanne Dias VP COMMUNICATIONS Brian McCrindle VP SOCIAL AND 3RD YEAR REP Steven McKiel MES REPRESENTATIVE David Philpott SECRETARY Annmarie Tong

RA

AD

STUDENT UPDATES AND EVENTS 25

DEFENCE [PROFILES]

Three of our students successfully defended, and suceeded in getting their Masters/PhD...

Congratulations!

1 Martin Gerber

The first person is Martin Gerber who successfully defended his Ph.D. on the thesis topic: “A Study of Recombination Mechanisms in Gallium Arsenide using Temperature-Dependent Time-Resolved Photoluminescence.”

2 Sylwia Lyda

The next person is Sylwia Lyda who successfully defended her M.A.Sc. on the thesis topic: “Decorative And Protective TiN Coatings On 304 Stainless Steel Using Cathodic Arc Pvd.”

3Barnabus Fung

Finally, Barnabus Fung who successfully defended his M.A.Sc. on the thesis topic: “A Study Of Porous Electrodes For DNA Electrochemical Detection And The Development Of A Hybridization Efficiency Characterization Technique.”

A huge congratulations goes out to all candidates.

grad uate

Ontario Graduate Scholarship for 2016-17 Two of our graduate students, Simon Younan and Jeremy Miller, were awarded Ontario Graduate Scholarship for 2016-17.

Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation Scholarship for 2016-17 Jeremy Miller is the recipient of a Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation Scholarship for the academic calendar year of 2016-2017.

We couldn’t be more proud of our students!

ENG PHYS COMM UNITY

MACLAB APPLICATIONS

SUMMER PROGRAMMING

HIGH SCHOOL INTERNSHIP

ARTICLES TO CATCH 13

An overview of our efforts to involve our department within the larger scientific and Hamilton communities.

1.

MACLab Applications Two of our MacLAB Applications were approved for this year; Drs. Ayse Turak and Leyla Soleymani .

The two Engineering Physics Applications were: the Engineering Physics 2H04 statistical thermodynamic labs, and the Engineering Physics 4U04 bio sensor project.

The funding for Dr. Ayse Turak will add four novel thermodynamic experiments for Engineering Physics 2H04, and upgrade existing infrastructure in the laboratory.

Dr. Leyla Soleymani’s funding will integrate semiconductor devices traditionally used for computing with bio-receptors to create biosensors used for monitoring health-related markers in patients.

This new laboratory equipment will provide students with hands-on experience that is required in the semiconductor industry and Biomedical Engineering.

There is a variety of summer programming for younger prospective engineers! The Faculty of Engineering holds the Venture program, for students in grades 1-8 and the Learning Enrichment Advancement Program, or LEAP, program, for grades 9-12.

2.

Summer Programming

In particular, the Department of Engineering Physics has specific LEAP programming for grades 1012. LEAP introduces High School students from all over the world to McMaster and to areas of engineering, science and technology through hands on experiments and projects. It is dedicated to developing creativity, innovation, and excellence while encouraging critical thinking, personal growth, and a passion for learning. This lets students have a head start on exploring options for university degrees and careers.

The Engineering Physics program includes topics in electricity and magnetism, solar electricity, nanotechnology, and biomedical engineering. In this stream students will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of laboratory activities and explore current advancements in the application of physics.

New curriculum includes Optical Communicator, Dual Axis Solar Tracker, Heart Rate Monitor, Magnetic Levitation, Cloud Chamber Demo, Voltage Meter, and much more! http://leap.mcmaster.ca/ courses/Engineering_Physics.html

3.

High School Internship Nicholas Vadivelu, a very lucky grade 11 high school student has been selected for the paid summer internship during the summer of 2016! It will be a six-week internship, supervised by one of McMaster’s Engineering Physics faculty members,Dr. Jonathan Bradley, in areas of research such as photovoltaics, nuclear engineering, biomedical engineering, microelectronics, and photonics.

4.

Articles to Catch: End-of-term Party Gregory De Launday and Tron Club Are Finalists Leyla Soleymani Honored with Canada Research Chair in Miniaturized Biomedical Devices Eng Phys Chair One of Two Researchers Acrss Canada to Acquire Two Grants from NSERC LEAP on CHCH

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we said farewell

to two wonderful people this year

Glen Leinweber We said goodbye to our senior lab technician, Glen Leinweber, who retired in January 2016. Glen has been central to the operations of the undergraduate labs including EP 2A04, EP 2E04, EP 4U04 computer systems, and EP 4A06. Glen recently celebrated his 40th anniversary at McMaster. He began his career at McMaster in Engineering Physics in 1975. He came to us from Muntz Canada, where he worked as an Electronics Technician, after receiving his diploma from Mohawk College in Electronics Technology. Congratulations to Glen on his 40 years of service, and we wish him well as he begins his retirement.

Linda Wilson Linda Wilson retired on April 1, 2016 after 18 years of service to the University. Although Linda only worked for Eng Phys part-time, her contributions were overwhelmingly apparent.

She was a dedicated staff member who made long-lasting relationships with many faculty, staff, and students, who will be greatly missed.

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look forward to these events

The forge Info Night engineering and science olympics

dean’s honour list dinner engineering 1 fair eng phys information night

end of year party 4a06 capstone expo MAY @ MAC weekly lecture series and much more!

ISSUE TWO

macdonne@mcmaster.ca, rizzardc@mcmaster.ca

https://www.youtube.com/user/engphysguy

https://twitter.com/macengphys

https://www.facebook.com/macengphys/