Experts to steer the new General Motors of Canada Automotive Centre of Excellence at UOIT
March 11, 2010
OSHAWA, ON - The new General Motors of Canada (GM) Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) will have two highly experienced professionals at the wheel with the addition of Gary Elfstrom as the director of business development and John Komar as the director of engineering and operations. Both men are engineers with extensive experience having worked in Canada and abroad designing, building and managing proving grounds and technically advanced test facilities, particularly in the area of aeronautical and automotive testing.
"To operate a complex testing, development and innovation centre like ACE you need highly specialized people, and we are thrilled to have both Gary and John on board," said Tom Austin, vice-president of Finance and chief financial officer at UOIT. "They both have a wealth of global experience designing, starting up and operating wind tunnels and world-class proving grounds."
Among his many accomplishments, Elfstrom was a co-founder and later vice-president of business development at Aiolos Engineering, a Toronto-based global company that designs, builds and maintains test facilities around the world including wind tunnels. In fact, Aiolos designed the climatic wind tunnel in ACE. Elfstrom holds a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of London (Imperial College) in England.
For more than 23 years Komar has worked at GM in various capacities. In his most recent assignment, Komar was overseeing the design, development and construction of all aspects of the ACE facility while managing GM's Cold Weather Development Centre in Kapuskasing, Ontario. Komar holds a Master in Mechanical Engineering degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
The new team will also include Dongyool Jung, a mechanical engineer who has worked for GM and the Hyundai Motor Company in Korea; Warren E. Karlson, a mechanical engineer and Randy Burnet, an electrical engineer, who both worked for GM in various capacities. Combined, this group of engineers brings more than 100 years of wind tunnel, proving ground and test lab experience to the ACE facility.
"ACE will be a one-of-a-kind facility where the next generation of clean and green vehicles, the latest energy technology and innovative products we haven't even thought of yet will be developed," said Austin. "Before that can happen we must get ACE up and running and I'm confident we have the right people with the necessary skills and breadth of experience to get the job done."
ACE is being developed in partnership with UOIT, General Motors of Canada Ltd., the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE), the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada. It will be a multi-level centre with an area of approximately 16,300 square metres. The centrepiece of ACE will be one of the largest and most sophisticated climatic wind tunnels on the planet. In this test chamber wind speeds will exceed 240 kilometres per hour, temperatures will range from -40C to 60C and humidity will fluctuate from five to 95 per cent anytime of the year. The climatic wind tunnel will have the ability to simulate conditions like driving a car up a steep hill in dry desert heat or in an arctic blizzard.
ACE is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in 2010. It will operate as an independent test facility, available for rent by manufacturers of all descriptions, start-up companies and researchers in Canada and around the globe. When funding for all aspects of the facility is secured, the total project cost will be more than $123 million.
To learn more about ACE or to take a tour of the facility, please visit the website at:
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About UOIT
As an innovative university, UOIT delivers a leading-edge learning environment that uniquely combines academic knowledge, research opportunities, hands-on skills and a vibrant student life. UOIT's more than 6,500 students are taught by professors who are experts in their fields from around the world. As Ontario's first laptop-based university, the university offers a diverse array of challenging undergraduate and graduate degree programs through its faculties of Business and Information Technology; Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies; Education; Energy Systems and Nuclear Science; Engineering and Applied Science; Health Sciences; and Science. UOIT's commitment to research excellence has resulted in millions of dollars in grants and awards, including six Canada Research Chairs. To find out more, visit www.uoit.ca or call 905.721.8668.
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Media contact
Dan Miles
Communications and Marketing
Ontario Tech University
905.721.8668 ext. 2979
dan.miles@uoit.ca
