CU-WISE Blogs

W ell this is it, the end of summer 2020.    Summer 2020 will definitely go down in history as one of the most memorable summers for all of us. It was the first summer where we couldn’t meet up with friends, there were no concerts or BluesFest, and summer jobs were extra scarce.    However, it was also a summer consisting of self-reflection and community togetherness. There’s something beautiful about sacrificing your own plans and time for others safety. I personally feel as though I have grown as a person and learned so much this summer, and that’s partially thanks to social distancing. Social distancing required everyone to stay in, self-reflect, and spend time with ourselves, which I found to be very refreshing; As the well-known quote goes, “Love yourself first, because that’s who you’ll be spending the rest of your life with.”   At this point, with only one week of summer left, a lot of professors are reaching out and explaining how Carleton University’s very first social distanc

by Fareen Lavji We miss her so much; we could not help but feature her again. She is one of our favourites, it’s Franny! Francesca recently, and successfully, defended her master’s thesis entitled, “Design and Validation of a Force-Sensing Piano Key to Assess Pianist Biomechanics.” Her research began with an interest in musician injury. Although playing the piano is a common activity, the physical demand of playing is often overlooked. One study found that up to 71% of professional musicians and 87% of music students experience a performance-related musculoskeletal disorder at some point in their career. Francesca’s research looked to gain an understanding of why injury rates are so high at the base level of a finger-key interaction. She developed a novel force-sensing piano key. Her integrated sensing equipment inside of a replica piano key developed a method of measuring the position and 3-axis force application on the key. Francesca is also the recipient of the 2019-20 C

My first blog for the 2020 - 2021 year! I'm going to start off this blog by giving a quick introduction to myself. My name is Zoya and I’m currently finishing up my undergraduate degree in Computer Systems Engineering. I’m super excited to be a part of the CU-WISE team this year and to be bringing you blog posts every month! 2020 has been quite the year so far, from a global pandemic, to everything else that’s been going on around the world, it can be a lot to take in. It’s normal to feel scared, helpless, nervous, sad, and any other emotion during this time. The lockdown started right around the most stressful time for university students - the end of the semester and exam time. Students and professors alike had to quickly get used to this new normal and adapt to virtual learning platforms. I think we can all go our lifetime without hearing the term “zoom session” again. This whole experience can be very stressful and take a toll on everyone in different ways. I personall

As we enter a new decade, we are quickly approaching what many call the new Millennium bug. It’s being called Y2038 , with a clear reference to Y2k. What is Y2k? For those unaware of Y2k, it was referred to as the bug of the millennia. The year 2000 was not short of its many conspiracies. The issue with Y2k was the entry into a new millenia, the year 2000 was to be represented in many date formats with 2 digits. This issue was real for many programs and systems that used dates in 2 digits rather than 4 digits. Fortunately on January 1st, 2000 the world did not end and Y2k did not crash and burn, planes did not drop out of the sky, and banks did not dispose of all its cash as it had been exaggerated to accomplish. There were minor consequences that occurred, and a few dates around the world did read as January 1st, 19100.  What will happen in 2038? Although the issue was solved, I recently came across an article explaining why we may have a bigger is

Nervous . Edgy . Anxious . Butterflies . That’s how I usually feel when I’m not confident about how I’ve studied for a final. Over the past 4 years, I think (& hope) that I’ve almost mastered good study tips for finals. And with a few weeks left until the first day of exams, I hope I can share a few tips.

The Representation of Female Engineers in Canada In the field of engineering, women are becoming ever so present. Unfortunately, this was not always the case. Traditionally, STEM related careers were predominantly occupied by men. Underrepresentation of women in academic spaces and in the workplace has pushed for action. In Canada, this initiative is called 30 by 30.  Engineers Canada Existing for over 80 years, what is now known as Engineers Canada stands as the national engineering body across Canada. The purpose of Engineers Canada is to advocate the profession of engineering, regulate the engineering practice and license the members of the engineering profession. As part of the Strategic Plan for 2019-2021, Engineers Canada plans to diversify the workplace by increasing the amount of licensed female engineers to 30% by the year 2030. This plan involves 3 major areas: recruitment, retention and professional development.  Recruitment We can already begin to