December 2003




Drilling complete for UOIT geothermal well field
The drilling of a geothermal well field, one of the largest in North America, has just been completed on the campus of Canada's newest university, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Some 380 holes, each drilled 213 metres (700 feet) into the earth will be linked to mechanical systems that will provide eight new university buildings with a highly efficient and environmentally friendly heating and cooling system. The drilling is just the first step in the development of a thermal energy storage system that uses the earth's relatively constant temperature to provide a stable, low maintenance and efficient energy source. In winter, fluid circulating through tubing extended into the wells will collect heat from the earth and carry it into the buildings. In summer, the system will reverse to pull heat from the building and place it in the ground. The ground source thermal system will be ready in May 2004.

Mining camp to house first on-site VRL
Laurentian University's Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) has teamed up with Goldcorp Inc. and Placer Dome Canada to build the first virtual reality laboratory (VRL) in an active mining camp. The new facility, to be built at the Red Lake Mine located at Red Lake in Northwestern Ontario, will provide a state-of-the-art research and development facility that will help with ongoing mining and exploration. VRLs offer high-end projection and viewing technologies using a large screen "immersive 3D" format. MIRARCO designed and manages Laurentian University's $1.25 million VRL, the first virtual reality facility in the world designed to support mining and mineral exploration. Placer Dome Canada is one of the first companies to use virtual reality technology in mining exploration. For more information about virtual reality in the mining industry, visit www.mirarco.org.

New head of strategic computing at U of T
The University of Toronto has appointed a director of strategic computing. Marden Paul, who has worked in the information systems field for the past 18 years, will assume the position on Jan. 5 2004. The directorship is a redefinition of the position of provost's adviser on information technology, a position held by the late Jack Gorrie, a member of the ORANO Board of Directors. The position's broader mandate includes providing co-ordination, direction and guidance to the provost and U of T's computing divisions in implementing administrative and academic computing systems. He will also advise on the strategic use of information technology resources in fulfilling U of T's research and teaching mission. Most recently, he served as client services manager in the Department of Administrative Management Systems.

SNOLAB gets green light
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory is receiving $50 million to expand the facility and support a new project - SNOLAB - to conduct experiments that build on the success of the original SNO project. The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) recently announced a $39 million contribution towards the project. The CFI’s investment will cover the cost of excavation of a new underground experimental cavern, surface support, new labs at Laurentian University, experimental equipment as well as operational support for the next five years. The Government of Ontario has already announced a $10 million contribution for surface buildings to support researchers working on experiments. SNOLAB project brings together a consortium of researchers from six Canadian universities. The administrative centre will be located at Carleton University where the project leader, Dr. David Sinclair, is a Professor of Physics (College of Natural Sciences at Carleton University). Other Ontario-based participating researchers are from Queen's, Guelph, and Laurentian.


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