News archive for April 2012

Students at Marianopolis College got to experience first-hand what it's like to attend a university level class in electrical engineering through a special lecture series held this spring. Concordia's Sheldon Williamson gave up his lunch hour to bring his expertise to students eager to learn more about what kind of sustainable research is going on at Concordia.



For Williamson, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the talk represented an opportunity to discuss the timely topic of electric vehicles in terms of global energy concerns. "Shortage of petroleum is considered as one of the most critical worldwide issues today. At the same time, car owners spend more money at the gas station than ever before. The most practical solution to the oil crisis problems lies in commercially available electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles" says Williamson, who was happy to share his views with an engaged audience of potential future electrical engineers at Marianopolis.

This marks the fourth year that Concordia and Marianopolis have teamed up for a special lecture series showcasing the work of the university's professors. More lectures are planned for the fall.

Concordia engineering students have a reputation for flying high when it comes to academics. Thanks to the Red Bull Paper Wings contest, that reputation will soon soar onto the international stage because of the paper plane engineering skills of Zsean Qureshi.

Competitors assembled at Mississauga's MX Aerospace Centre.

On April 2, the undergraduate student headed to Mississauga's MX Aerospace Centre, where he competed against 25 of the country's top paper plane engineers. At stake was the chance to represent Canada in the Red Bull Paper Wings World Championship taking place at Hangar-7 in Salzburg, Austria on May 4 - 5.

Students from 10 universities across Canada competed in one of three categories: distance, airtime and aerobatics. Qureshi earned top spot in the distance category: his paper plane flew an impressive 37.4 metres. "Now that I'm headed to the international championships, I'll need to find a higher ceiling to practice!" remarked the 24-year old.

Related links:

• Red Bull Paper Wings National Final
• Red Bull Paper Wings Contest Announcement