What's New @ Engineering & Computer Science Library

Our December book display at Engineering & Computer Science Library features biographies of famous engineers. Drop by and take a look!

We also have a great selection of online biograhical resources. Here is a sampling:

• A Dictionary of Scientists
• Biography Resource Center
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online – Dictionnaire bibliographique du Canada en ligne
• Encyclopedia of World Biography
• Marquis Who’s Who
• Who’s Who in the Twentieth Century
• World Biographical Index

Sandford Fleming is quoted as saying that steam and electricity were the “twin agencies of civilization”. Read more about this very influential engineer:

History by the Minute (has a video clip)

Articles on Sir Fleming:

…from Dictionary of Canadian Biography

…from the Canadian Encyclopedia

…from Canada Science & Technology Museum

…from the Canada Science & Technology Museum

…from Virtual Museum Canada

Our Summer book display at Engineering & Computer Science Library features a wide range of books on climate change, greenhouse gas mitigation, sources & sinks, and air quality issues. Drop by and take a look!

We also have a good selection of e-books and e-journals. Here is a sampling:

• International Journal of Greenhouse
  Gas Control
• Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
• Water, Air & Soil Pollution
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading and Project-based Mechanisms
• Greenhouse gas emissions–fluxes and processes hydroelectric reservoirs and natural environments

Here are some additional resources from the open web:

• Canada vs the OECD: an Environmental Comparison
  [University of Victoria]
• Information on Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks
  [Government of Canada]
• Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 1998-2010
  [Natural Resources Canada]
• David Suzuki Foundation: Greenhouse Gases

Engineering & Computer Science Library has an excellent range of materials on all aspects of ergonomics, human engineering and human-computer interaction. Come in and browse our book display!

Take advantage of our Ergonomics Research Sources guide to discover relevant journal databases, books, handbooks and dictionaries.

Also available through our APS112 Research Sources site is a sampling of reference books on human factors and ergonomics.

You will find many more books in the Book Stacks, upstairs area of Engineering Library by browsing the book shelves in the following call number areas:

QA76.9 .H85….[books on human-computer interaction]
TA166….[books on human engineering]
TS171….[industrial design aspects]

Rollerbladers photo courtesy of www.bigfoto.com

This month marks the thirty-year anniversary of the Sandford Fleming Building Fire. On Friday February 11 1977 at 2:30am, a devastating fire began in a lecture hall in the northeast wing of the building.

The fire burned for eight hours before being brought under control. This was the largest fire in Toronto that year. Approximately 100 firemen and 1/3 of Toronto’s fire engines were needed to control the blaze, and flooding extended all the way to Queen’s Park Subway station.

After it was finished, 49,000 square feet of space were lost. Approximately 30% of the library’s collection was lost, and a number of professors and graduate students lost years’ worth of research when their offices were destroyed.

During the month of February we have a display of photos of the fire and the library’s book recovery efforts as well as copies of some newspaper articles. Drop by Engineering & Computer Science Library and take a look!

This month’s theme is biomass energy, i.e., plant or animal matter grown for use as biofuel or for industrial production of chemicals and other materials. We have a number of excellent books on this topic – come into Engineering & Computer Science Library and check out our book display!

Here are some additional authoritative library resources on this topic:

Biomass & Bioenergy
The online journal Biomass and bioenergy is “an international journal publishing original research papers and short communications, review articles and case studies.

Key areas covered by the journal:

• Biomass: sources, energy crop production processes, genetic improvements, composition
• Biological Residues: wastes from agricultural production and forestry, processing industries, and municipal sources (MSW)
• Bioenergy Processes: fermentations, thermochemical conversions, liquid and gaseous fuels, and petrochemical substitutes
• Bioenergy Utilization: direct combustion, gasification, electricity production, chemical processes, and by-product remediation
• Biomass and the Environment: carbon cycle, the net energy efficiency of bioenergy systems, assessment of sustainability, and biodiversity issues

The scope of the journal extends to the environmental, management and economic aspects of biomass and bioenergy.”

Other journals
You can also browse any of these online and hardcopy journals in our library collection:

• Biomass
• Bioresource Technology
• Industrial Bioprocessing
• Bioprocessing Technology (available in hardcopy at Engineering & Computer Science Library)
• Progress in Biomass Conversion (available in hardcopy at Engineering & Computer Science Library)

Keyword searches for articles
Alternately, you can also keyword search for articles on any particular subtopic. Simply go to the
U of T Libraries’ home page and type your search terms in the search box at centre:

US Department of Energy (DOE) Information Bridge
An excellent resource for full text government reports online, including those on topics such as biomass energy, is the DOE Information Bridge. It includes full text links and bibliographic records for reports detailing R&D in environmental sciences, energy technologies, renewable energy, engineering, physics, chemistry, materials, and other areas.

Photo of field courtesy bigfoto.com.