Events

Along with the Faculty of Arts and Science and  in collaboration with the Educational Alliance for Science & Technology, the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science is pleased to host the 2010 Bell Montreal Regional Science & Technology Fair.

The Science Fair is Québec's major science and technology competition. Each year, more than 15,000 young people under the age of 20 exhibit a science project they have developed during the school year before an audience. Over 40 schools from Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Lanaudière and the Laurentians are participating. During this exciting three day event, more than 300 students from secondary one to secondary five and CEGEP levels are displaying their exhibits in the design and experiment categories.

This year is extra special as it marks the 50th anniversary of Quebec's Science Fairs: a half-century spent promoting young people's interest in science, and training impassioned new generations who have passed their enthusiasm on to emerging cohorts.

The schedule is as follows and all events are open to the public.

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Time: Open to the public from 2 to 5 pm
Place: MB Atrium and EV Atrium

Date: Monday, March 22, 2010
Time: Open to the public from 1:30 to 4 pm
Place: MB Atrium and EV Atrium

Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Time: Open to the public from 8:30 am to 12 pm and from 1 to 4 pm
Place: MB Atrium and EV Atrium

For more information about the event, visit the Bell Expo-science website.

The final-year undergraduate students of Concordia's Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science have spent months hard at work on special Capstone projects, which they must complete in order to earn their bachelor's degree. Working closely with a faculty advisor either individually or in teams, students see their project through from problem formulation and analysis to preliminary and final design of their project, system, or device.

Because of the collaborative nature of engineering, teams are often interdisciplinary. As they work on their capstone project, students have the opportunity to manage a project from beginning to end, learning how to deal with unexpected outcomes along the way. An excellent training ground for working in industry, the Capstone project mirrors the type of experiences graduates will face when they begin their careers in engineering.

The culmination of Capstone project comes when students formally present their work during the annual Capstone Presentation Days. This year's event will be held in Concordia's Engineering and Visual Arts Atrium located at 1515 St. Catherine Street, West (corner Guy) on Wednesday March 24, and Thursday March 25, from 1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Projects on display include:

• Solar Carport for Charging Electric And Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles
• Smart Universal Battery Charger
• Wireless Gesture Recognizing Human Interface Device
• Bluetooth Home Telephone System
• Redesiging the Decarie Interchange   
• Human Powered Vehicle
• Wind Turbine
• Pneumatic Powered Robotic Arm

This is an excellent opportunity for students who are thinking of pursuing undergraduate degrees in Engineering or Computer Science to see firsthand what kind of projects they can expect to work on and to meet final-year undergraduates. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet with professors who will explain their research areas and interests, and talk about their current research activities at Concordia. It's also the perfect chance for potential employers to recruit fresh new minds to work in industry.

Come to Concordia and see the best of what the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science has to offer! For more information and a full list of projects that will be on display, contact Cléa Desjardins, Communications Advisor for the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science at clea@encs.concordia.ca or 514-848-2424 ext. 4063.

The Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering is pleased to present the following guest lecture in the CIISE Distinguished Seminar Series:

Dr. Sophie D'Amours, Professor
Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Planning Forest Sustainable Networks, Laval University


The Canadian forest industry has always relied on its massive fibre supply, capturing economies of scales through its processes and a low cost commodity business model. The implemented business model is no more sustainable for the industry, either economically, environmentally or socially. We believe that a full understanding of the Value Chain is needed in order to synchronize and optimize forest with business decisions so that market opportunities are optimally exploited while sustaining and improving Canada's forest assets. This presentation will first review a value chain optimization framework. Then, value chain decisions in which network economies can be captured through integrative and collaborative planning approaches will be discussed. Business cases will be used to showcase potential benefits of using OR methods such as MIP and Integrated optimization/simulation approaches.

Biography: Sophie D'Amours holds a mechanical engineering bachelor degree, a MBA and a PHD in Mathematics for engineers. She joined University Laval in 1995 and is now full professor. She holds a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Planning Forest Sustainable Networks as well as an NSERC Industrial Chair on Collaborative Integration and Synchronization of the Forest Products Supply Chains. Professor D'Amours recently was named scientific director of the NSERC Strategic Network on Value Chain Optimization in the Forest Products Industry. She is actually leading the FORAC Research Consortium and is the co-director of the CIRRELT. Over the years, professor D'Amours has served on different committee such as NSERC Grant Committee; FPInnovations Advisory Board and the Board of the Foundation pour l'alphabétisation du Québec. Finally, Professor D'Amours was awarded the YWCA Women Award in Technology (2003), the Practice Award from the Canadian Society of Operational Research (2007) as well as the "Distinction Henri-Gustave-Joly-de-Lotbinière" for an exceptional contribution to the forest sector in Québec.

ENCS Faculty members may be interested in attending the 5th CRIAQ Research Forum, in which industries and researchers will collaborate and define the next round of aerospace projects.

Thursday April 8, 2010
Hyatt Regency Montreal
(1255, Jeanne-Mance, Montreal, H5B 1E5)

Starting at 8:00 AM

Registration Fees: FREE
Registration is *MANDATORY*
Deadline: March 31, 2010

To register, please follow the link visit the official website and fill out the on-line form. In accordance with past editions, industry presentations will be held in a plenary morning session, followed by workshops grouped by theme, and concluded with an afternoon plenary wrap-up session.  The definitive program will be available on the CRIAQ website at the end of March. You may consult the research themes here
 

Should you intend to attend, please inform Dora Iordan at Iordan@encs.concordia.ca

The 8th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Software Engineering Research, Management and Applications (SERA2010) will take place on May 24 - May 26, 2010, here in Montreal.

The event will take place at Concordia University.

To find out more about the SERA2010, please visit their website.