The open house at Polytechnique is the ideal opportunity for future students to meet professors, students and representatives of the school's various research units, allowing them to discover all that Poly has to offer them. On the agenda:

• Demonstration of the S3 spine surgery simulator for scoliosis patients
  Visitors will be able to view a demonstration of S3, a powerful 3D software application developed by a team led by Carl-Éric Aubin, PhD, Eng., a full professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and with the Biomedical Engineering Institute, as well as a  research fellow at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre. S3, which stands for Spine Surgery Simulator, aims to revolutionize the approach to planning scoliosis treatment by letting surgeons test different interventions for a given patient. The simulator allows them to insert virtual implants into a 3D reproduction of a patient's spine, and simulate various manoeuvres so as to observe the impact of interventions on his or her posture. Since 2001, Professor Aubin has also been the holder of the Canada Research Chair in CAD/CAM Innovation in Orthopedic Engineering. He is director of Sainte-Justine's Computer-Assisted Surgery and Biomechanical Modelling Laboratory, which he founded in 1998. Professor Aubin collaborates with other professors of Polytechnique.
• Presentation of smart medical devices
  Students of Dr. Mohamad Sawan, Professor of Microelectronics in the Department of Electrical Engineering, holder of a Canada Research Chair in Smart Medical Devices and Director of the PolySTIM neurotechnology laboratory, will also be demonstrating a number of their research projects, including:
   -  a miniature ultrasound display device the size of a book on which visitors can, for example, see their own heart beating;
   -  a catheter developed for respiratory system measurement;
   -  a cortex-implantable solution that provides a certain degree of visual perception to blind patients;
   -  components of  a new urinary implant under development.
• The art and science of Sudoku
  Under the supervision of Gilles Pesant, associate professor, and two of his students, fans of Sudoku, the hugely popular mathematical puzzle game, will enjoy the chance to take part in a competition to complete a grid design using a software application adapted by the Constraint Programming Lab of the Computer Engineering Department. The more adventurous can try their hand at inventing their own puzzle--setting their own specific constraints on all or part of the grid--all while learning about the various algorithms used by the software.
  
• Viewing visitors heads in 3D!
  Open house visitors can also take a look at their faces like they've never seen them before thanks to a 3D biomedical imaging system that uses a combination of cameras and structured light projectors, being demonstrated by computer engineering students from Polytechnique's 4D Laboratory for Imaging and Vision (LIV4D).
  
• Women and Engineering component
  As part of activities scheduled for the open house's Women and Engineering component, a roundtable bringing together young women graduates will give visitors a taste of the diversity of career options open to them. In addition, thanks to an electronic mentoring program, participants will be able to pair up with other women Polytechnique students in the specialty of their choice and learn more about the academic path leading to a career as an engineer. The roundtable will be led by Patricia Lesieur, Chemical Engineering, Class of 1995, and now a project engineer at Bombardier Transport, and Karyne Courtemanche, Materials Engineering, Class of 2002, who is a Materials and Process Specialist with Rolls-Royce Canada.
  
• Parents component
  Parents of aspiring engineers are invited to a conference designed especially for them that explains the history and reputation of the institution, its revamped study programs, guidance and success strategies for students, career perspectives and the job-placement rate.

Also featured:

• the 11 completely overhauled undergraduate programs;
• our approximately 70 graduate studies programs;
• fascinating demonstrations and research projects;
• information on the dynamic, active student life at Poly;
• around 30 information kiosks covering all aspects of studies offered on campus and abroad, conditions for admission and financial aid possibilities; 
• projects by some 15 student committees ready to share their passion and details of their technical, cultural and international projects.

Founded in 1873, École Polytechnique de Montréal is one of Canada's leading engineering institutions, in terms of both teaching and research. It is the largest engineering school in Québec in terms of its student population and the scope of its research activity. École Polytechnique provides instruction in 11 engineering specialties and is responsible for nearly one-quarter of university research in engineering in Québec. The School has 220 professors and nearly 6,000 students. Its operating budget is $85 million, in addition to a $66.7-million research and infrastructure fund. Polytechnique is affiliated with Université de Montréal.

-30-

Datebook:

WHAT  École Polytechnique open house

WHEN  Sunday, November 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE  École Polytechnique de Montréal
2500 Chemin de Polytechnique
(access via 2900 Édouard-Montpetit Blvd.)
Université-de-Montréal metro station

Source:   
Chantal Cantin, Director
Communications and Public Relations Office
(514) 340-4711, ext. 4970 - www.polymtl.ca/jpo/en

Media info:     
Andrée Peltier
Relations publiques Andrée Peltier
(514) 846-0003
apeltier@ca.inter.net