October, 2006
Dear Colleagues,
The October’s News is coming with the announcement for the next ABEC Meeting.
November 19, 2006, 12.30 noon the Bulgarian born physicist Prof. Marianna Shepherd, PhD from York University will present a lecture about her latest R&D publications.
The meeting will take place in the small hall of the Macedono Bulgarian Orthodox Cathedral “Sts. Cyril and Methody”-
237 Sackvill Street, Toronto, ON, M5A 3G1.
Parking available on the streets around the Church.
Macedono Bulgarian East Orthodox Cathedral “Sts. Cyril and Methody” is built in 1949.
September 29, 2006
Volume 7 Issue 09
Circulation 7,018
Subscribers
Free Information Sessions
Settlement Information Session for Newcomers - Tuesday, October 3 at 1:30 pm
Information Session for Engineers - Tuesday, October 10 at 1:30 pm
Information Session for Accountants - Tuesday, October 17 at 1:30
Information Session for Accountants - Tuesday, Nov 14 at 1:30 pm
For more information, click here, http://www.skillsforchange.org/information_sessions/index.html
Sector Specific
Information Sessions are held monthly for foreign-trained engineers,
engineering technicians, technologists, accountants, and teachers trained
outside Canada.
Participants receive information about their sector - an overview of their
profession, the licensing required, where to get language and upgrading
programs, how to research and apply for jobs, and get labour market
information.
Presentation on the licensing requirements is done by the licensing bodies such
as the Professional Engineers of Ontario, Ontario Association of Engineering
Technicians and Technologists, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario,
and the Ontario College of Teachers.
Contact Us
( 416 658-3101 x0
To view a complete list of our programs and services, click here
http://www.skillsforchange.org/programs/index.html.
Schools of the coop-education:
Brown Fleming Catholic Adult Center
870 Queen Street
West
Tel.905-891-3034
Website: www.dpcdsb.org/coopcentre
MEDIA RELEASE
For your consideration, I have attached two news releases concerning orders obtained by Professional Engineers Ontario against a Barrie area contractor and a former professional engineer in Toronto.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Best regards,
David Smith
Media Specialist
Professional Engineers Ontario
1000-25 Sheppard Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario M2N 6S9
416-840-1068
Engineering Licensing Body Obtains Order Against
Barrie Area Contractor for Using Restricted Title
Toronto – (September 22, 2006) – An order under the Professional Engineers Act has been obtained by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Antonio Salazar and his company Christonbel Enterprises Ltd., of Barrie, Ontario, for using the restricted title “engineer” on their business cards. Mr. Salazar has never held a licence as a professional engineer in Ontario, and Christonbel Enterprises Ltd. has never held a PEO Certificate of Authorization.
Under the Professional Engineers Act, a public protection statute, only individuals who are licensed as professional engineers by the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) or hold a temporary licence from PEO may represent themselves as professional engineers or use the titles “professional engineer” or the abbreviation “P.Eng.”.
PEO brought the application after receiving information from a homeowner in Kitchener, Ontario, who had hired Christonbel Enterprises to perform renovations to his home under the mistaken belief that Mr. Salazar was a professional engineer. Mr. Salazar had used the title “civil engineer” on his business card although he did not hold a licence with PEO.
After reviewing the affidavit evidence, the Honourable Mr. Justice Hoilett of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice agreed to the order consented to by PEO and Mr. Salazar, and declared that Salazar and Christonbel Enterprises Ltd. had breached several sections of the Professional Engineers Act Mr. Salazar has been ordered to refrain from engaging in the practice of professional engineering, or from holding himself out as engaging in the practice of providing to the public in Ontario services that are within the practice of professional engineering. He has also been ordered to refrain from using the terms “civil engineer”, “professional engineer” or “P.Eng.”, as an occupational or business designation until such time as he satisfies the requirements for professional engineering licensure in Ontario and is granted a licence by PEO.
Christonbel Enterprises has been ordered to refrain from offering or providing to the public in Ontario services that are within the practice of professional engineering unless and until it obtains a Certificate of Authorization from PEO. It has also been ordered to refrain from using the title “civil engineer”, “professional engineer”, “P.Eng.” or any abbreviation or variation thereof as an occupational or business designation in Ontario unless and until it obtains a Certificate of Authorization from the PEO.
Mr. Salazar and Christonbel Enterprises also agreed to pay PEO’s costs in this matter in the amount of $2,500.
Neil J. Perrier of Perrier Law Professional Corporation represented PEO on the application.
Professional Engineers Ontario Obtains Order Against Former Professional Engineer for Unlicensed Work
Toronto – (September 22, 2006) – An order under the Professional Engineers Act has been obtained by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Wiktor (Viktor) Kwiatek, 76, of Toronto, Ontario, for engaging in the practice of professional engineering while not being licensed. Mr. Kwiatek’s professional engineering licence was revoked in 2004 as a result of a disciplinary hearing.
Under the Professional Engineers Act, a public protection statute, only individuals who are licensed as professional engineers by the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) or hold a temporary licence from PEO may represent themselves as professional engineers or use the titles “professional engineer” or the abbreviation “P.Eng.”.
PEO brought the application after receiving information that Mr. Kwiatek had used a facsimile of a professional engineer’s seal to approve a crane inspection report at a project in Mississauga, Ontario.
The crane had been erected despite there being visible cracks in the structure, and resulted in a Stop Work Order from the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The Ministry brought charges against Mr. Kwiatek, who was convicted for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Subsequent investigation revealed that Mr. Kwiatek had sealed approximately 60 other inspection reports after his licence was revoked, and had also sealed a stormwater management report for a site plan submitted to the City of Brampton.
After reviewing the affidavit evidence, the Honourable Mr. Justice Hoilett of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice agreed to the order consented to by PEO and Mr. Kwiatek, and declared that Mr. Kwiatek had breached several sections of the Professional Engineers Act. Mr. Kwiatek has been ordered to refrain from engaging in the practice of professional engineering, and from holding himself out as engaging in the practice of providing to the public in Ontario services that are within the practice of professional engineering. He has also been ordered to refrain from using the terms “engineer”, “professional engineer” or “P.Eng.”, as an occupational or business designation until such time as he satisfies the requirements for professional engineering licensure in Ontario and is granted a licence by PEO. He was further ordered to return his seal, or any seal in his possession resembling the seal of a licensed professional engineer to PEO, and to refrain from using any seal containing the words “engineer”, “professional engineer”, “engineering” or any abbreviation or variation thereof.
Mr. Kwiatek has been ordered to pay costs in the sum of $2,500.
Neil J. Perrier of Perrier Law Professional Corporation represented PEO on the application.
Engineering Jobs
http://www.maple-reinders.com/careers.php
http://www.mypowercareer.com/powerfulopps/powerfulopps_fs.html
The New Niagara Tunnel Project
http://www.opg.com/power/hydro/new_projects/ntp/index.asp
September 14, 2005
Ontario Power Generation
Begins Niagara Tunnel Project
http://www.opg.com/news/releases/NewsSept14_05.asp
Buckypaper: FSU pioneering development of amazing material
Research has shown promise in a variety of applications
A material 10 times lighter than steel—but 250 times stronger—with amazing properties that make it highly conductive of heat and electricity. Sounds like something out of a science fiction novel. But "buckypaper" is fact, not fiction, and an FSU research group is working to develop real-world applications for the extraordinary material.
Ben Wang, a professor of industrial engineering at the Florida A&M University-FSU College of Engineering, serves as director of, the Florida Advanced Center for Composite Technologies (FAC2T) which works to develop new, high-performance composite materials, as well as technologies for producing them.
Wang is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the growing field of nano-materials science. His main area of research, involving an extraordinary material known as "buckypaper," has shown promise in a variety of applications, including the development of aerospace structures, the production of more-effective body armor and armored vehicles, and the construction of next-generation computer displays. The U.S. military has shown a keen interest in the military applications of Wang's research; in fact, the Army Research Lab recently awarded FAC2T a $2.5-million grant, while the Air Force Office of Scientific Research awarded $1.2 million.
"At FAC2T, our objective is to push the envelope to find out just how strong a composite material we can make using buckypaper," Wang said. "In addition, we're focused on developing processes that will allow it to be mass-produced cheaply."
Buckypaper is made from carbon nanotubes—amazingly strong fibers about 1/50,000th the diameter of a human hair that were first developed in the early 1990s. Buckypaper owes its name to Buckminsterfullerene, or Carbon 60—a type of carbon molecule whose powerful atomic bonds make it twice as hard as a diamond. Sir Harold Kroto, now a professor and scientist with FSU's department of chemistry and biochemistry, and two other scientists shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, nicknamed "buckyballs" for the molecules' spherical shape. Their discovery has led to a revolution in the fields of chemistry and materials science—and directly contributed to the development of buckypaper.
Among the possible uses for buckypaper that are being researched at FAC2T:
If exposed to an electric charge, buckypaper could be used to illuminate computer and television screens. It would be more energy-efficient, lighter, and would allow for a more uniform level of brightness than current cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) technology.
As one of the most thermally conductive materials known, buckypaper lends itself to the development of heat sinks that would allow computers and other electronic equipment to disperse heat more efficiently than is currently possible. This, in turn, could lead to even greater advances in electronic miniaturization.
Because it has an unusually high current-carrying capacity, a film made from buckypaper could be applied to the exteriors of airplanes. Lightning strikes then would flow around the plane and dissipate without causing damage.
Films also could protect electronic circuits and devices within airplanes from electromagnetic interference, which can damage equipment and alter settings. Similarly, such films could allow military aircraft to shield their electromagnetic "signatures," which can be detected via radar.
FAC2T "is at the very forefront of a technological revolution that will dramatically change the way items all around us are produced," said Kirby Kemper, FSU's vice president for Research. "The group of faculty, staff, students and post-docs in this center have been visionary in their ability to recognize the tremendous potential of nanotechnology. The potential applications are mind-boggling."
FSU has four U.S. patents pending that are related to its buckypaper research.
In addition to his academic and scientific responsibilities, Wang recently was named FSU's assistant vice president for Research. In this role, he will help to advance research activities at the College of Engineering and throughout the university.
"I look forward to bringing researchers together to pursue rewarding research opportunities," Wang said. "We have very knowledgeable and talented faculty and students, and I will be working with them to help meet their full potential for advancement in their fields."
For more information on buckypaper and FAC2T, see the Spring issue of Research in Review, "Paper Promise." (www.rinr.fsu.edu/spring2006/features/paperpromise.html)
By Barry Ray, News and Public Affairs
Invention: Invisible drones
12:11 02 October 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Barry Fox
http://www.newscientisttech.com
Invisible drone
Can a surveillance drone be made virtually invisible? VeraTech, based in Minnesota, US, thinks so. And patent applications filed by the company explain how.
The Y-shaped aircraft has propellers at the end of the two short extensions – point 4 is the centre of gravity (Image: United States Patent and Trademark Office)
"Persistence of vision" turns the fast-moving rotors of any helicopter into a near-transparent blur, while the slow-moving body looks solid. Inventor Michael Dammar has come up with a way of making the whole body of an aircraft spin as it flies, turning it into a single blur in the sky. This would not evade radar but should help the aircraft avoid visual identification.
An artist's impression of the aircraft (Image: VeraTech)
The so-called Phantom Sentinel aircraft is Y-shaped, consisting of a single long wing attached to two short aerodynamic extensions which each end in a propeller. And the weight is carefully balanced so that the centre of mass is positioned between the two extensions. When the motors are running, the solid part of the aircraft spins around this centre of mass, and the longer wing generates lift. The whole thing moves so fast that persistence of vision turns it into a single blur.
Making the plane sky blue, or largely transparent, should help conceal it further, Dammar claims. He adds that a camera can be placed near the centre of mass and used to build a panoramic picture of the ground below, after software processing.
The company’s website has streaming video footage of early prototypes in flight.
Read the full invisible drone patent application.
Hot-foot computing
The idea of wearable computing is appealing. A head-mounted display can show information processed by a small portable computer while speech-recognition software can replace keyboard typing. But how do you move a cursor without a holding a mouse?
Simply move those feet, say three researchers working for Hewlett Packard in the UK. A magnetic sensor can be attached to one foot and a transmitter emitting pulsed magnetic signals clipped onto the other one. As the sensor foot is moved around it continually calculates its position relative to the other foot, using these magnetic pulses.
So, moving each foot can correspond to movements of a cursor on the head-mounted display. Foot-twisting can be used for right or left mouse clicks and sliding one foot over the ground can be translated into dragging and dropping. This would allow someone to use a wearable computer while keeping their hands free for other tasks.
Read the full hot-foot computing patent application.
Self-healing cables
Threading a cable through the chassis of a car, boat or plane can be tricky. Sharp metal edges can cut the cable insulation, shorting power and even starting a fire.
Researchers at the University of Vermont, US, have been working with NASA on a type of cable insulation that heals itself when breached. The healed section also adds a protective layer against further damage in future.
The central live wire within the cable is surrounded by a layer of insulation laced with a soft resin. Glue hardener is also sealed inside microcapsules that are dispersed within the insulation layer.
Under normal circumstances the microcapsules keep the hardener away from the resin, so the cable remains soft and easy to thread. But if the cable insulation is chafed or breached, the microcapsules break open to release the hardener. This heals the insulation and adds a solid section that should prevent further damage.
http://www.newscientisttech.com
Solar flares will disrupt GPS in 2011
14:29 29 September 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Jeff Hecht
Navigation, power and communications systems that rely on GPS satellite navigation will be disrupted by violent solar activity in 2011, research shows.
A study reveals Global Positioning System receivers to be unexpectedly vulnerable to bursts of radio noise produced by solar flares, created by explosions in the Sun's atmosphere.
When solar activity peaks in 2011 and 2012, it could cause widespread disruption to aircraft navigation and emergency location systems that rely heavily on satellite navigation data.
Particularly intense solar activity occurs roughly every 11 years due to cyclic changes to the Sun's magnetic field – a peak period known as the solar maximum.
Solar flares send charged particles crashing into the outer fringes of the Earth's atmosphere at high velocity, generating auroras and geomagnetic storms.
Radio noise
Charged particles from solar flares also produce intense bursts of radio noise, which peak in the 1.2 and 1.6 gigahertz bands used by GPS. Normally, radio noise in these bands is very low, so receivers can easily pick up weak signals from orbiting satellites.
In 2005, however, Cornell University graduate student Alessandro Cerruti discovered a puzzling failure in GPS reception while operating a receiver at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
Along with Paul Kintner, from the university's electrical engineering department, Cerruti traced the problem to a radio burst induced by a solar flare. They found that GPS receivers operated by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Brazilian Air Force experienced similar disruption during this burst of solar activity.
The researchers say the problem has escaped detection before because GPS systems have spread in popularity during a time of relatively low solar activity.
For more see:
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn10189-solar-flares-will-disrupt-gps-in-2011.html
Details will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Space Weather
ABEC’s News
On September 28th 2006, ABEC was invited by the Association of Polish Engineers in Canada to attend their meeting – Lecture “Renewable Energy Resources”. The lecture was presented by Mr. Allan Jenkins from The Government of Ontario - Energy Sector. The presentation was interesting enough to start debates and questions. Members voiced sharp questions about the future Energy options and lack of planning.
The meeting took place in Toronto Polish Veteran Club.
On September 30th 2006 in Bayview Village Plaza the Council of ABEC had Meeting.
The Agenda included discussion of:
ABEC’s Budget,
Membership,
Website,
Administration of the
Insurance Policies.
Organization of the next
meeting.
New Members are welcome.
Association of Bulgarian Engineers in Canada – ABEC
The Council of the Association of Bulgarian Engineers in Canada is bringing to the attention of all Bulgarian Engineers in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, the signed Agreement between TD Meloche Monnex and the Coalition “European Engineers”. The Coalition is formed from the Associations of Bulgarian, Polish, Romanian and Hungarian Engineers in Canada.
The Group Insurance Affinity Agreement provided to “European Engineers” by Meloche Monnex allows the Members to participate at preferred group rates to obtain home, automobile, travel and small business (micro enterprise) insurance coverage for the members, their spouses and children living at home.
See - http://www.melochemonnex.com
The program conditions, administration, marketing, confidentiality, indemnifications are similar for all professional and alumni association programs (CIM, PEO).
The TD Meloche Monnex home and auto program offered to groups is underwritten by Security National Insurance Company and distributed by Meloche Monnex Financial Services Inc. Due to provincial legislation, the automobile insurance program is not offered in British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba. The group auto insurance rates are not applicable in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island
Please note that we are in the process of preparing an “Eligibility List” for Meloche Monnex. Only Members of ABEC in good standing will have their name activated into the group of the “European Engineer”. To be a Member of ABEC you must possess a Degree from Technical Engineering Universities and paid-up membership fees of 50 dollars CDN.
New Members are always welcome! www.abec.ca
Please communicate this announcement to your friends, colleagues and compatriots, so more Bulgarian Engineers could use this Insurance Program.
The Bulgarian Engineers are highly knowledgeable professionals working with honesty, competence and integrity all over the world.
This Program may be for you!
From the ABEC’s Council
What to Visit
See - http://www.abec.ca/what_to_visit.htm
Best Regards to all ABEC Members
Pauline Loultcheva-Lawrence