McMaster earns a third in Ontario Engineering Competition

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/OEC2008.jpg” caption=”McMaster Engineering’s Junior Design team placed third in last weekend’s Ontario Engineering Competition. From left to right: Brad Gregus, Jennifer Stoneburgh, Ben Willemse, Anthony Tsikouras. Photo by Brendan Frisina.”]Engineering students on McMaster's Junior Design Team took third place at last weekend's Ontario Engineering Competition.

Jennifer Stoneburgh, Brad Gregus, Ben Willemse and Anthony Tsikouras had four hours to harness the power of a stream of water to lift a set of weights. Queen's University took first and the University of Guelph second. The top two teams in each of six competitions move on to compete at the Canadian Engineering Competition in March.

The McMaster parliamentary debate team made it to the semi-finals, but lost out to the University of Ottawa. Congratulations to Assya Moustaqim-Barrette and Winston Alejandro De Armas for completing seven grueling debates in one day. Western and Waterloo move on to the national competition.

McMaster engineering student Adrienne Reader was presented with a Social Awareness award by the judges of the Engineering Communications competition for her essay addressing the prevention or coronary artery disease. The award is presented at the discretion of the judging panel.

While McMaster's other teams may not have fared as well in the other competitions, participants were proud to play host to the 29th annual competition.

More than 230 engineering students from 15 universities participated in the annual event to determine the top competitors in Ontario and to decide who will represent the province at the national championship. Some 35 judges, 20 observers and 35 volunteers ensured that the event ran smoothly.

“OEC gave students a fantastic opportunity to showcase the skills they have learned,” said event co-chair Deborah Lee. “The event also provides a chance to develop new skills that every engineer will need in industry, such as teamwork, leadership and creativity.”

Stephen Elop, newly-appointed president of Microsoft Business Division, was the keynote speaker for the awards dinner. He is an alumnus of McMaster, graduating in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and management.

“He focused on how the problems you are given at OEC are similar to problems that you will face in the real world,” said Jim Morris, public affairs representative for the event. “He gave a lot of pointers on how to be a good leader. He talked about how you have to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses and to be open about them with other people so that you can build their trust.”

The deans of engineering from universities across Ontario were also in attendance. The Council of Deans of Engineering organizes a semi-annual meeting to coincide with the competition each year. Acting dean Peter Smith played host to the group.

Hatch, a Canadian-based global engineering consulting firm, was the presenting sponsor of this year's competition. Major sponsors included Bereskin and Parr, Cameco, Consulting Engineers Ontario, Hydro One, Ontario Centres of Excellence and The Sandford Fleming Foundation. Another 19 sponsors helped to support the event.

“Our sponsors' continuous support and generosity provided a platform for students to come together and network with academics, members of industry and their peers,” said Evan Stevens, co-chair of OEC 2008 and vice-president of sponsorships. “We send out a big thanks to them and to all the volunteers and participants for making this possibly the best Ontario Engineering Competition ever.”