Four Engineering Professors Named AAAS Fellows
By Carolyn Farrell
Congratulations to Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Professors Will Cluett (Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry), Bryan Karney (Department of Civil Engineering), Javad Mostaghimi (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering) and Edward (Ted) Sargent (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering), who have been elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest international organization dedicated to advancing science or its applications on a global basis. The University of Toronto received four of the 48 Fellowships awarded in the Engineering Section, more than any other single institution.
Currently the Chair of the Division of Engineering Science, Will Cluett is the former Vice-Dean, Undergraduate for the Faculty. He is a respected member of the Canadian process control community and is well-known for his work in process identification, control and design. Professor Cluett has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of engineering education; one of his most significant achievements was leading the creation and introduction of the groundbreaking First Year course ‘Engineering Strategies and Practice’ in 2003. Professor Cluett was elected an AAAS Fellow for “distinguished contributions to process control and design, and to undergraduate engineering education through curriculum design and innovation.”
Bryan Karney is the Associate-Dean, Cross-Disciplinary Programs and Director of the Division of Environmental Engineering and Energy Systems. An outstanding researcher in the field of water transient analysis, he has recently focused his research on energy and energy distribution systems. A leader in curriculum development, Professor Karney spearheaded an initiative to create minors in Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, and partnered with the University’s Centre for the Environment to create a new Arts and Science minor in Environment and Energy. His election to AAAS Fellowship is based on his “distinguished contributions to engineering education and to the study of transient analysis in water supply systems.”
Javad Mostaghimi is the University of Toronto Distinguished Professor in Plasma Engineering and co-founder of the Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies. Internationally recognized as a leader in his field, he was elected an AAAS Fellow for his “distinguished contributions to thermal plasma processing, particularly the development of mathematical models of plasma sources and thermal spray coating formation”. Professor Mostaghimi’s advances in the understanding of the thermal spray process could lead to more effective methods of protecting combustion engines and turbines from heat by improving their thermal efficiency and resulting in substantial savings in fuel and lower emissions of greenhouse gases.
A Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology, Edward (Ted) Sargent was elected to AAAS Fellowship for “distinguished contributions to the development of solar cells and light sensors based on solution-processed semiconductors.” Professor Sargent has created a process which effectively transforms the sun’s infrared rays into electricity by means of a semiconductor paint, a process which has the potential to turn solar power into a practical and cost-effective energy source. His research also has important applications in the area of light sensors, and could lead to substantial advancements in the performance of digital cameras and other electronic devices. Recently Professor Sargent made world-wide headlines for co-developing a microchip that detects the presence of cancer.
“We are extremely grateful and proud that AAAS has honoured four of our colleagues with Fellowship,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. “The calibre and breadth of these professors’ accomplishments demonstrate our Faculty’s strength in both research and engineering education.”
This year’s AAAS Fellows will be announced in Science on December 18, 2009 and will be honoured at the AAAS Fellows Forum in San Diego on February 20, 2010.
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