Dr Paul Gauvreau has been named the inaugural chairholder of a new NSERC Chair in Design Engineering for the Urban Environment. Gauvreau, an associate professor of civil engineering at the Univ of Toronto, will use the Toronto area as a source of design opportunities, focusing on the design and development of new materials and urban structures suitable for northern climates. NSERC is providing $1 million for the chair, augmented by $893,000 in cash and $295,000 in-kind from the U of T and several construction companies. Gauvreau is recognized for his research into new structural systems for bridges using materials such as high-performance concrete. The chair will also have a design training component....