Renovations roundup

Facilities upgrades and efforts to revitalize valuable space are being tackled all around the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS), with the shared goal of improving learning for students and supporting leading-edge research. What follows is a quick roundup of some recent activities and improvements.

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

A major renovation on the first floor of the McLaughlin Hall addition resulted in 3,000 square feet of undergraduate design space. An anonymous donor provided $500,000, which was topped off by a $200,000 investment from the FEAS.

“We have been able to provide project space for all our design courses,” says Gabrielle Whan, Departmental Manager. “The space is attached to our machine shop, so students have access to tools. It’s a big open space with room for 50 or 60 people.”

In addition, two major renovations have taken place in Nicol Hall. The first, completed in 2014 with a $300,000 investment from the FEAS, provides meeting and workspace for graduate students. The new fourth-floor rooms feature new furniture and air conditioning, replacing the previous warren of hot attic rooms with open space.

As well, with a $40,000 investment from the FEAS and the department, a former lab has been transformed into an active collaborative research lab for the materials group’s professors, undergraduate and graduate students.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Walter Light Hall is the future site of ePOWER’s renewable energy lab, to be up and running by fall 2016.

Renovations of the 2,000-square-foot space on the main floor—previously dark, cluttered and used for storage— were recently completed. Next, researchers will move into the open, bright room, and wind turbines and solar panels will be installed on the roof.

The renewable energy lab’s creation was funded by a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grant of $1 million, plus the department’s contribution of $116,000 in matching funds.

The new lab brings the promise of pioneering discoveries in renewable energy from its director, Dr. Praveen Jain, and his team and is a welcome addition to ePOWER’s integrated facilities.

The images below show some of the renovations in Goodwin Hall.

Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining

In Goodwin Hall, upgrading space has become part of everyday life. “We’ve done four major upgrades in the past three years,” confirms Departmental Manager Wanda Badger.

The explosives lab was renovated three years ago. Then last summer, both Goodwin’s second-floor Rock Mechanics Lab and its basement lab were transformed from inefficient spaces into state-of-the-art student-learning facilities.

“It was depressing down there,” Badger says. “We didn’t like to show students and say, ‘Look, this is where you will be doing research or doing a twohour lab every day under dim faltering lights and in crowded, noisy conditions.’”

“It was a neglected area in our building,” says Senior Program Coordinator Oscar Rielo. “We brought it back to life. Students returning after the summer couldn’t believe the transformation.”

The labs were painted and reorganized, and new technology such as computers and data acquisition systems were introduced. Funding included $40,000 from the departmental budget, plus a $300,000 investment from the FEAS.

In addition, this past summer renovations began for the new hydrometallurgy lab. The project was funded partially by a CFI grant of $125,000, as well as $190,000 from the department. This area is led by Assistant Professor Ahmad Ghahremaninezhad and will focus on the hydrometallurgical processing of resource materials.

“The facility upgrades have greatly enhanced our student experience,” says Badger.

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