Suzuki Opens Engineering Conference
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ell-known Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki was the keynote speaker at the 9th annual Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Student Conference that focused on the theme of sustainability. The two-day gathering of engineering students, held on January 31 and February 1, 2003 at McMaster, emphasizes the connections between civil engineering and environmental issues. Members of the public, including area high school students, joined Mac students and faculty in the Ivor Wynne Centre gymnasium to hear Suzuki’s talk entitled “Web of Life”. In his address, he made no apologies for his harsh condemnation of our mistreatment of the world around us. And he challenged engineering students to put the
battered environment ahead of the bottom line when they assume their careers. The host of the TV show The Nature of Things said the world cannot sustain constant growth spurred on by a penchant for disposable consumer goods. Suzuki painted a picture of the drastic environmental changes that have occurred in his life time such as valuable farmlands turned into apartment complexes and tap water that can’t be trusted. “We have forgotten the fundamental realities in Canada,” he said. “We live in a series of myths and misconceptions that lead us to environmental degradation.” Other speakers included McMaster engineering professors Brian Baetz and Cameron Churchill who spoke about sustainable communities.
The purpose of the conference, which attracted almost 100 engineering students from six universities in Ontario, is to increase students’ awareness of the environmental impacts of civil engineering projects. “Sustainability is part of engineering and we are future engineers,” says conference coordinator Aaron Ward, a fourth-year civil engineering student. The Department of Civil Engineering also used the conference to kickoff an environmental engineering stream which will be offered to second-year civil engineering students beginning fall 2003. The stream is intended to equip graduates with knowledge of municipal engineering, water quality engineering, water and wastewater treatment and environmental policy and sustainability.
Engineering Better Body Parts
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hemical engineering professor Heather Sheardown gave a presentation on The Role of the Engineer in Health Care on March 4th as one of the Science in the City lectures sponsored jointly by McMaster University and the city newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator. The presentation focused on the engineering of two very different tissues – blood vessels and corneas – including the background into the rationale and need for these tissues, and some recent develop-
Professor Heather Sheardown, Chemical Engineering, is studying biomaterials, including the use of polymers to treat cornea blindness. M
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ments from her laboratory at McMaster. “I’ve always been very interested in the body and the medical aspects of engineering, understanding the biological system and then using that. That’s really what engineers do – understand what’s going on and then translating that into something that can be used.” Sheardown, who received a BEng in chemical engineering at McMaster in 1989, went on to pursue interests in biological and medical aspects of engineering, obtaining a PhD from the University of Toronto (1995) in the study of blood contacting biomaterials. In the past 20 years, there have been rapid advancements in the fields of biology and biochemistry, she elaborated. Examples include the mapping of the human genome, the cloning of a sheep and the discovery of stem cells that are able to, in theory, become any cell in the body. “As our understanding of biology increases, there is a growing need for engineers who are able to translate these findings into treatments or cures for diseases.” Biomaterials engineering and tissue engineering are new and exciting fields that combine biology, biochemistry, chemistry, immunology with an understanding of the materials into the development of replacement organs and tissues – off the shelf hearts, livers, blood vessels, to name a few. The potential impact of tissue engineering is enormous. It has been estimated that over one half trillion dollars are spent on an annual basis in the United States alone caring for patients suffering from end-stage organ or tissue failure. U
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David Suzuki emphasizes the connections between civil engineering and environmental issues.
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