John Gales

The air transportation industry is challenged to address airport curbside delay problems that affect landside service quality and can potentially impact check-in operations. Methodological advances guided by industry requirements are needed to support curbside improvement studies. Existing methods require verification of assumptions prior to application or need expensive surveys to acquire data for use in microsimulations. A probability-based macrosimulation method is advanced for the evaluation of the level of service and capacity of the curbside processor. A key component of the method is the simulation of the stochastic balance of demand and available curb space for unloading/loading tasks using the Monte Carlo simulation model. The method meets the planning and operation requirements with the ability to analyze conditions commonly experienced at the curb area. Example applications illustrate the flexibility of the method in evaluating existing as well as planned facilities of diverse designs and sizes. The developed method can contribute to curbside processor delay reduction and due to the macroscopic nature of the method, the data requirements can be met by an airport authority without costly surveys.

Universities are facing financial challenges, impacted by declining enrollment and political policy. One way of increasing enrollment, while also fostering a more inclusive study environment, is through leveraging EDI programs and outreach programs geared towards recruiting underrepresented groups. An analysis of existing STEM outreach programs offered by CEAB-accredited universities by the authors demonstrated that while there are many programs available in Canadian universities, the availability and accessibility of the programs have areas of improvement. Expansion of program availability outside of major urban centres is recommended by the authors to reach rural and remote communities. Additionally, expanding program demographics to target participants younger than high school, as well as providing more targeted programs towards underrepresented groups is also recommended. Furthermore, the improvement of information available to potential participants, such as the availability of financial aid for at-cost programs is recommended.

This study aims to evaluate how different university institutions approach their final year Civil Engineering capstone design course and will evaluate how well capstone courses across Canada prepare students for their careers post graduation. The overarching goal is to propose a national curriculum for this course. Using both an extensive literature review and a targeted survey across Canada, as well as answers provided by current capstone course directors from several institutions, a larger picture of how capstone courses are run from one school to another was constructed. The survey was used to identify both strengths and weaknesses in the way that each course is run and identify opportunities for curriculum development. Findings include that gaps identified by course instructors are positively impacted by more industry involvement. The results from this study will help the scholarly community design capstone courses that align with industry needs and prepare students to enter the engineering workforce.

: Air transportation industry is challenged to address airport curbside delay problem that affects landside service quality and can potentially impact check-in operation. Methodological advances guided by industry requirements are needed to support curbside improvement studies. Existing methods require verification of assumptions prior to application or need expensive surveys to acquire data for use in microsimulations. A probability-based macrosimulation method is advanced for the evaluation of level of service and capacity of the curbside processor. Following problem definition and literature review, the theoretical foundation of the method is described as the simulation of the stochastic balance of demand and available curb space for unloading/loading task. The method meets the planning and operation requirements with ability to analyse conditions commonly experienced at the curb area. Example applications illustrate the flexibility of the method in evaluating existing as well as planned facilities of diverse designs and sizes. The developed method can contribute to curbside processor delay reduction and due to the macroscopic nature of the method, the data requirements can be met by an airport authority without costly surveys.

Localized nonuniform fires occur impacting the structural response of steel structures, with the nonuniformity of localized fires to induce both longitudinal and transverse temperature gradients. These nonuniform effects are important in both, evaluating the performance of structural details, and in the design methodology of more severe and complex scenarios such as travelling fires. Exploring the localized effects allows for more informed decisions about appropriate design strategies and reduces risk of failure of the structure. Therefore, finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted to produce a thermal response of a steel beam–column connection. Utilizing a decoupled thermo-mechanical analysis, the mechanical response of the assembly was found and both temperatures and midspan deflections were validated against three fire exposures of an experimental steel beam–column connection. The FEA results are in agreement with the experimental data, suggesting the capability of the FEA model to simulate the maximum influence of a localized fire event.

There is currently minimal data that may be used for retention and recruitment strategies for timber professional engineering in Canada. A comprehensive survey performed in 2022 to address this lack of data are discussed. The survey was generated and analyzed by York University (Canada) and distributed through the Canadian Wood Council’s membership directory. This survey explored participants’ motivations for working on timber-based structural projects and the existing state of EDI training within the workspace. Findings from the context of analysis illustrated that retention in the work force appears not to be affected by gender, with participants overwhelmingly indicating their plan is to continue to work in the timber structural engineering sector. Gender specific findings suggest that most men who practice timber structural design have had more recorded work experience, whereas women were more likely to obtain a PhD when pursuing graduate school.