[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/uno.jpg” caption=”Ben Gulak rides the Uno, an electric street bike with side-by-side wheels. Photo courtesy of Faculty of Engineering.”]It's a wheel cool invention. Nineteen-year-old Ben Gulak of Milton, Ont., who was enrolled in McMaster Engineering's summer LEAP program, has developed an electric street bike with side-by-side wheels called the Uno.

Popular Science has just named the Uno one of the top 10 inventions of 2008. And his invention has caused quite a stir in the media, including an invitation to appear on The Tonight Show.

Gulak was enrolled in the Learning Enrichment Advancement Program (LEAP) in 2005. He was a team leader in the robotics program and led his team to victory in the robot-building competition.

“He just loved the robotics program,” said his mother in a telephone conversation. “It opened up a whole new world of ideas to him.”

LEAP is a four-week intensive summer program offered in both July and August to top high school students who have a strong academic record and who excel in science or engineering. Students planning to enroll in the engineering program at McMaster in the fall can earn up to two credits in advance through a new Headstart option.

LEAP combines lectures, design projects and laboratory experiments. Five topic streams are offered, including mechatronics & robotics, sustainable mechanical & civil design, biomedical engineering, nano materials to high performance components and gaming in a virtual world.