Lakehead U Engineering Students Win Three Awards at Provincial Competition

(Thunder Bay - February 28, 2006) Seven Lakehead University Engineering students picked up awards at the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC), which pitted the abilities of Engineering students across the province in a three-day event leading up to the Canadian Engineering Competition in March.

The OEC is an annual engineering event that showcases innovative and talented engineering students from universities across the province. This February, the 27th annual OEC was hosted at the University of Toronto. This competition provides an opportunity for undergraduate engineering students to develop, demonstrate and test their skills in technical design, problem solving, teamwork, and communication.

There are six competitions in the OEC, focusing on Consulting Engineering, Engineering Communications, Entrepreneurial Design, Parliamentary Debate, Junior Team Design, and Senior Team Design.

Graham Shrive picked up first place in the Engineering Communications category. This category requires students to develop and present a viewpoint on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of any current technological issue. The students must make their presentation in language that the general public would understand by simplifying Engineering terms, technical processes, and issues. Shrive's presentation was entitled "MicroCHP Applications of Modern Stirling Engines." He competed against eight other presentations.

Lakehead's next award at the OEC was a second place in the Entrepreneurial Design category. Andrew Glover and Grant Wilburn took this award home for their project "Composite Leaf Springs." This category encourages undergraduate Engineering students to utilize their creativity and education by developing a new marketable product and a business plan for its commercialization. The winner is based upon originality, technical and economic feasibility, a solid marketing plan, and a high-quality presentation and exhibit. Lakehead's team was one of six projects in this competition.

Four students took home the third place award in the Senior Team Design. Andy Valentine, Dan Dechene, Dustin Smith, and Noel Quinn worked against 12 other teams to produce a feasible design with limited materials and preparation time. The competitors in this category design, construct, test, and present a solution on a previously undisclosed project using a combination of teamwork and problem solving skills.

"Competitions like this help students apply their knowledge to situations outside of the regular classroom work," says Dr. Henri Saliba, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Lakehead University. "It helps them think on their feet and present themselves as professionals. These students exhibited a great deal of innovation, and I am proud of their accomplishments at the OEC."

These students will all be taking part in Canadian Engineering Competition in March. Some of these winner will be speaking with Grade 7 and 8 students during National Engineering Week (Feb. 26 to March 6).

Members of the Media: Dr. Saliba and some students are available for interview by calling Heather Moynihan with the Faculty of Engineering at 343-8252. National Engineering Week runs on the Lakehead University campus from February 26 to March 4, 2006.