At the heart of Concordia is a central mission to be welcoming, engaged and committed to innovation and excellence in education, research, creative activity and community partnerships. Ours is a university that dares to be different and draws on its diversity to transform the individual, strengthen society and enrich the world. Within Concordia's Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, these core values are upheld by our students and faculty members on a daily basis. In this edition of the Concordia Engineering News, we pay tribute to the drive towards excellence in research and the goal of strengthening society and enriching the world by sharing stories on the groundbreaking projects that are redefining our Faculty.
As you'll see from our cover story, the research being undertaken by our professors is putting Concordia on the map on a national scale. Having secured significant new federal funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, professors Andreas Athienitis, Suong Van Hoa and Ferhat Khendek have their sights set on the future of their respective fields. From increased reliance on solar power to improved cellular technology to revolutionized aircraft manufacturing, my three colleagues are transforming our future through cutting-edge research.
Exciting approaches to today's most intriguing research topics are also being pursued by our students, as you'll read about in our in-depth profiles. Through a summer internship at Canada's National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, undergraduate student Nick Zacchia learned firsthand how proton therapy is helping put an end to eye cancer. Concordia's drive to be different resulted in graduate student Andrew Blakney's collaboration with communications researchers on fascinating new approaches to 3D modeling. Finally, our central goal of providing real education for the real world allowed Co-Op student Yasmin Al-Ayech Barquin to spread her wings with Lockheed-Martin and begin on a promising career path while pursuing her studies.
The winter 2012 edition of the Concordia Engineering News also proves that our staff members are just as dynamic as our faculty and students. In our staff profile, you'll meet the winners of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science 2012 Staff Excellence Awards. These four individuals are prime examples of the tenacity and dedication required to bring excellence into the workplace.
Alongside these in-depth profiles, you'll also find a digest of all the latest news and events from the faculty. We've been busy these past few months!
Happy reading and best wishes for a positive term,
Robin A. L. Drew, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
