The total amount of money to be received by Carleton researchers is nearly $2 million. The Leaders Opportunity Fund will help Carleton acquire infrastructure for research faculty to undertake cutting-edge research. It will also help Carleton create competitive packages of research support in the form of infrastructure and a portion of the operating and maintenance costs from the CFI, coupled with direct research costs from partner organizations.

Rayhani will receive support for a proposed earthquake simulator facility with network interface capabilities for collaborative earthquake and vibration research. By creating a device that can reproduce the earthquake ground-shaking loading, seismic tests of large-sized soil-structure models, such as high-rise building, bridges and other critical infrastructure, can be performed.

Ben Pascolo-Neveu and Gosego Motukwa presented the winning project “Carling Avenue Light Rail Transit” on behalf of the team comprised of Nyishi Muchima (Project Manager), Naser Snobar, Pubudu Herath, and Saeid Matin. Fourteen Canadian universities entered their best capstone project to be evaluated by three judges on reports, posters, quality/efficiency of oral presentations, and quality of answers to questions from evaluators.

Preservationists take heart—the demolition work taking place on Parliament Hill’s West Block is part of a reconstruction project that will restore the stone building’s historical and structural integrity and upgrade its ability to withstand seismic shock.

The rehabilitation project includes restoration of exterior load-bearing stone walls and sculptural stone elements, as well as the replacement of older building systems and the copper roof.

The West Block was opened in 1865 with two significant additions following. The recent demolition effort targeted much of the later work, particularly remodeling that occurred in 1965.

Nearby, a laser tool is being employed by Carleton University in cooperation with the heritage director at PWGSC to provide detailed interior measurements of each room prior to reconstruction.

“The data will help to create an accurate three-dimensional digital drawing of each room down to the bare bones showing every original nook and cranny,” says Ezio DiMillo, director general, Major Crown Projects, Parliamentary Precinct Branch. “These drawings can be overlaid with photographs for historical records.”

Much of the West Block was built in the Gothic Revival style, marked by a wealth of stone carvings. However, years of soot, smoke, dirt, and copper and iron stains have caked the fine details of the sculptures under a layer of grime. Again, both traditional and high-tech methods are being used to restore the carvings.

Adopting a novel approach, the study combined air quality models with epidemiological models to relate the health impacts of air pollution to individual sources. The researchers assigned a dollar value to premature mortality associated with short-term exposure to ozone air pollution (also known as smog). In Canada, that number is $5.7 million Canadian per statistical life, while in the U.S. it is $8.1 million American per statistical life.

“This is the first time we have been able to relate air pollution health impacts to individual sources such as vehicles,” said Hakami. “The novelty of this approach is in its ability to differentiate between the health effects caused by emissions of the same pollutant but at different locations.”

“I think this research is really valuable,” said Pappin. “We now have the ability to identify and preferentially target emission sources, down to the level of a single vehicle, that have the largest impact on human health.”

For instance, the study estimates that in the Greater Montreal and Toronto areas, the cost of driving one average vehicle, in terms of mortality due to ozone exposure, is $770 and $440 per year respectively. In comparison, the health cost of an average vehicle in much of coastal California is $300 to $800 per year.

Pappin and Hakami were able to work with the numbers to estimate how much reductions in emissions in a given city might benefit North American public health. In Atlanta for example, a 10 per cent reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides leads to savings of about $180,000 in terms of premature mortality per day. These benefits are estimated at $250,000 and $210,000 per day for emissions near Toronto and Montreal, respectively.

The study also sheds some light on how pollution moves across the Canada-U.S. border.

“Our results suggest that there is significant cross-border influence on air pollution mortality by both countries,” said Hakami. “For instance, the U.S. contributes about as much to air pollution mortality in Canada as Canadians do. This truly underlines the importance of transnational efforts and collaborations for reducing air pollution.”

The researchers were also able to provide insight into how much benefit mass-transit systems add to a city by removing vehicles from the road. In Toronto for example, they estimate the benefit of the subway is about $130-million per year. “This is an underestimation of the benefits as it does not include health effects related to particles, long-term effects or climate related benefits,” said Hakami. These results will have local implications in Ottawa once the new light-rail system is implemented.

“The new light-rail system in Ottawa will result in reduced numbers of vehicles on the road, and we can estimate the resultant impact on human health,” said Pappin. “We weren’t able to do that with such level of detail before.”

Hakami cautions that the public’s conception and official costs of pollution may be drastically undervalued.

“The damage that we assign to pollution is probably much lower than it should be,” said Hakami, pointing to permit costs associated with cap and trade systems that regulate nitrogen oxide emitting power plants in the U.S. “Under this system, the permit cost for each ton of nitrogen oxides was under $1,000 in our study year. The damage that we associate with one ton of nitrogen oxides, however, is upwards of $10,000 per year for many power plants in the U.S.”

Hakami and Pappin hope that the research will allow policy-makers to devise more effective policies that account for both the costs and benefits of cutting emissions.

“Using our approach, you can compare the benefits of reducing pollution with the costs very readily,” said Pappin. “This is the first time we’ve been able to have this information available for policy-makers on a source-by-source basis.”

Hakami has some thoughts to share with policy-makers and the public about the way we consider the costs of pollution on human health.

“While reducing emissions from vehicles and power plants is costly, not reducing emissions also costs money. Our research suggests that ignoring pollution will cost much more in the long term.”

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The project is led by Dr. George Hadjisophocleous at Carleton and involves a number of graduate student researchers. Dr. Hadjisophocleous is industrial research chair in fire safety engineering and a professor of civil engineering.

Currently studying environmental engineering at Carleton, Rutledge is the senior editor of The Iron Times, the official newspaper of the Carleton Student Engineering Society (CSES).  Through CSES, Rutledge also participates in a high school orientation program promoting engineering at Carleton.  She is the co-founder of Generation Green, an initiative to develop environmental awareness and practices within the school.

Along with financial support, Vale offers its scholarship recipients an opportunity to work in summer job placements across Canada.

Two dozen guests, members of the building industry, government and education partners gathered in the dining and living room of home builder Urbandale Construction’s new two-storey demonstration home to announce the 2012 version of the R-2000 standard.

The updated program, a partnership effort by Natural Resources Canada and the home-building industry, and backed by the federal government, will make R-2000 homes twice as energy-efficient as they were when the standard’s program was last updated in 2005.

Urbandale’s involvement came about in part because of general manager Matthew Sachs’ long-standing interest in energy-efficient building techniques and technology. Since 2007, the company has been building to R-2000 standards.

Sachs said the intention in the design process of the demonstration home was to build a high-performance house that felt like a home, “not a science project.”

A member of Natural Resources Canada’s R-2000 committee, Sachs struck up a friendship with Carleton University professor Ian Beausoleil-Morrison while considering pursing a graduate degree in energy efficiency.

That friendship led to Beausoleil-Morrison collaborating with Urbandale and his fourth-year engineering students to dream up as many innovative ideas as possible for the demonstration home.

“For the past couple of years, I’ve been giving the mechanical engineering students Urbandale’s floor plans and specifications, and challenging them to redesign our homes in costeffective ways to save energy,” said Sachs.

“Many of the concepts used in this house actually came about through brainstorming sessions and discussions with the students

The students will continue to monitor the performance of this house to make sure it matches our expectations.”

“From the outside, the fourbedroom brick home looks just like others in the neighbourhood.

Even looking at the finishes inside, there’s only a hint of the green features, like the bamboo cabinets, quartz countertops and triple-glazed windows.

Everything that makes this home cost $25,000 to $35,000 more than counterparts built to the Ontario Building Code is either in the walls – with its tighter building envelope and plastic vapour barriers – or the basement, where you’ll find the geothermal heat pump, instantaneous water heater, drain-water heat recovery and mechanical ventilation system.

The result is a noticeably quieter home with even temperatures and better indoor air quality. It conserves wood, water and energy.

R-2000 was launched in 1982. Since then, more than 14,000 homes have been certified by the government.

Sponsored by the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation, the scholarship is awarded to one outstanding female engineering PhD student in Canada who demonstrates leadership skills, is involved in her own community and encourages others to contribute to bettering Canadian society.

Read more here.

On May 29, 2012, representatives from Carleton and Delta Controls opened a new facility for teaching and research, housed in a building containing sensors and actuators from Delta Controls to monitor building energy use and respond to occupant needs for light, temperature control and air quality. More than convenience, this monitoring and adjustment ensures that Carleton is using energy efficiently, saving both power and expense.

With Delta Control’s equipment and the expertise of Carleton’s researchers, the building is providing data to further predictive and simulation modeling to enable building managers and designers create smarter, more efficient, sustainable buildings for Canadians.

“Delta Controls has chosen Carleton as a research partner and is investing in our students and researchers by providing them with collaborative space and equipment for discovery and innovation,” says Rafik Goubran, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design. “The Delta Controls Laboratory will be hub of research to explore and develop new sensor and building automation technology.”

Occupants and visitors to the building can also keep an eye on the building’s performance. A display in the lobby shows current energy uses, weather factors and other variables. “Just seeing this type of data has been shown to decrease energy use by occupants,” says Liam O’Brien, assistant professor in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering.