OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2020 - 20

COVER STORY

Beatrice Sze, P.Eng.

Dr. Tibor Turi, Ph.D., P.Eng.

"Many of my clients were already investing in the use of data and
AI technology to help their customers before COVID-19 hit. As a
result, they were well-equipped to (1) prioritize worker health &
safety and (2) maintain business continuity during the shut-down.
Consequently, many of them have seen little disruption in their
businesses. Some have even seen an improvement in their ability
to deliver on new projects. It is refreshing to litigate on behalf of
such nimble and dynamic organizations."
- Beatrice Sze, P.Eng., Member, Research and Innovation Task
Force, Civil Litigator, Toronto

"Although Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation
Platform (SOSCIP) has moved to a work-from-home reality,
our day-to-day operations, including our advanced research
computing platform activities and project onboarding, fortunately,
have remained largely unaffected. We continue to work to enable
industry adoption of AI and data science technologies. However,
we quickly responded by pivoting our portfolio, putting out a
special call for proposals and fast-tracking projects related to
COVID-19 across any sector including advanced manufacturing,
bioinformatics, molecular modelling, vaccine development,
epidemiology, and supply chain management. In addition, we
are also focusing on the economic recovery of Ontario SMEs by
streamlining access resources as they navigate their way through
this unprecedented crisis."
- Dr. Tibor Turi, Ph.D., P.Eng., OSPE Past President, Executive
Director, SOSCIP

"Within the information security industry, things have gotten
busier. Cyber attackers do not take a break just because there is a
lockdown in place. Changes in the work environment can lead to
security vulnerabilities which need to be mitigated."
- John Wang, P.Eng., Subject Matter Expert, OSPE's Research and
Innovation Task Force, Consultant, Intelligent Connections Inc.

20

THE VOICE Fall 2020

John Wang, P.Eng.

Jonathan Hack, P.Eng.

"Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our research teams
at Centennial College have been forced to work remotely. Many of
our research teams have engineers in leadership roles, which have
required these leaders to shape the work differently, with a greater
reliance on analytical models, predictive algorithms, and virtual
collaboration tools. During the pandemic we have also been able
to work remotely to contact small and medium sized companies
(SME's) and facilitate results-based discussions on how to help
their companies face challenges associated with the pandemic. We
have also been able to help these companies adapt, innovate and
grow in focused areas of activity."
- Jonathan Hack, P.Eng., Executive Director - Applied Research,
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Services (ARIES), Centennial
College

"Our company consists of 120+ engineers, designers, technicians,
and support staff. On March 10, 2020, a decision was made that
everyone would work from home. Our IT team quickly implemented
the necessary changes to our systems to enable remote access for
the entire team. Employees took home the equipment and furniture
that they needed to work remotely. This was all successfully done
within one week which attests to the resilience of our team and
our company culture.
It was recognized that communications were critical to
the success of the new set up. Daily touch points were set up
with everyone using Microsoft Teams. A "WhatsApp" Team
was established which allowed everyone to exchange pictures,
jokes, videos, and general banter to help keep up our spirits and
camaraderie.
OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2020
