UBC researchers to lead two NSERC Strategic Networks worth $10.3M

UBC researchers to lead two NSERC Strategic Networks worth $10.3M

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have received $10.3 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to lead and coordinate two Strategic Networks in machining and biomaterials technology.

NSERC today announced $56 million in grants for 11 Strategic Networks. The grants fund large-scale, muliti-disciplinary research projects that could significantly enhance Canada’s economy, society and environment within the next decade. There are currently 36 strategic networks across the country, including those announced today.

“We are grateful to NSERC and the Government of Canada for their continued investment in research collaborations that will generate new and immediately applicable knowledge to some of the most pressing and intriguing technological questions of our day,” said John Hepburn, UBC Vice President Research and International.

“UBC has a stellar track record of multi-disciplinary research and the addition of two new NSERC Strategic Networks hosted here will further enhance our capacity to contribute to research excellence in Canada.”

The new Strategic Networks to be hosted at UBC are:

NSERC Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology (CANRIMT)

Led by Yusuf Altintas, mechanical engineering professor and NSERC-P&WC Industrial Research Chair Professor in Virtual Machining, CANRIMT aims to develop the world’s most advanced Virtual Machining Technology and a state-of-the-art five-axis mezzo milling machine. The technology will enable the design and manufacturing of products without first resorting to costly physical trials and will benefit the Canadian aerospace, automotive, power generation, mould-making and automation systems industries.

The CANRIMT team will receive $5 million from NSERC and $400,000 from industry over five years. The network includes 20 researchers from seven universities in B.C., Alberta, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec. Approximately 100 engineers are expected to be trained through the network.

NSERC Biomaterials and Chemicals Strategic Network

Led by Wood Science Prof. John Kadla, the Biomaterials and Chemicals Strategic Network aims to develop technologies to better utilize lignin, one of the primary components of wood. Approximately 20 per cent of wood is dissolved as lignin when pulped. The complex biomaterial is currently used as fuel in pulp mills but has the potential to become part of carbon-fibre composites for strong and light-weight automobile parts, carbon aerogels for hydrogen storage and new bio-based polymers.

The Biomaterials and Chemicals Strategic Network will receive $5.3 million over five years and includes 16 researchers from 11 universities.

UBC already hosts two other NSERC Strategic Networks:

RES’EAU-WaterNet has received $5.2 million over five years to make technology available that ensures clean water for all Canadians. Currently, water quality in 1,700 small and rural Canadian communities can be as bad or worse than that in developing countries. (More information)

MagNet has received $4.8 million over five years to work with the automotive industry to develop knowledge to produce magnesium components that may significantly reduce the weight of vehicles and in turn reduce fuel consumption. (More information)

NSERC is a federal agency whose vision is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators to the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 28,000 students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 11,800 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.

The NSERC announcement is available here

Technical Award presented to Dr. Clarence De Silva

Dr. Clarence De Silva from the Mechanical Engineering Department along with a list of fellow contributors recently won the Technical Award for their paper, “Distributed DSP for Fault Monitoring and Control” with the associated paper: De Silva, C.W., Tan, K.K., Huang, S., Lee, T.H., and Wu, R., Proceedings of the Digital Signal Processing Creative Design Contest, Tinan, Taiwan, pp. 59-65, November 2009.

The contest was held on November 19th in Tinan, Taiwan. This Project is carried out in collaboration with Professor K.K. Tan and his laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), National University of Singapore (NUS). Wu is an undergraduate student at NUS under joint supervision of Tan and de Silva. Tan and Lee are professors, and Huang is a post-doctoral fellow at NUS. The design contest was sponsored by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan.

Congratulations to Dr. Clarence De Silva and to all the other contributors!

Dr. Carl Ollivier-Gooch receives the Shahyer Pirzadeh Memorial Award

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to announce that Dr. Carl Ollivier-Goochs technical paper "Assessing Validity of Mesh Refinement Sequences with Application to DPW-III Meshes" which was presented at the 2009 AIAA Aerospace Sciences meeting, AIAA 2009-1174, "has been selected by the AIAA Meshing Visualization and Computational Environments (MVCE) Technical Committee to receive the Shahyer Pirzadeh Memorial Award for Outstanding Paper in Meshing Visualization and Computational Environments.

AIAA proudly presents Certificates of Merit to recognize such technical and scientific excellence.

Congratulations on this well deserved honor!

International Research Mobility Award presented to Ario Madani

The International Research Mobility Award was established to support the development of highly meritorious international research partnerships and exchanges with research-intensive institutions outside North America. Since the program began in April 2009, 26 PhD students have received the award (21 outbound UBC students, 5 incoming).

This year’s recipients include Ario Madani from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Ario Madanis host institution will be VTT Technical Research Institution of Finland.

Congratulations.

Professor Hongshen Ma receives $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations Grant for Innovative Global Health Research

Professor Hongshen Ma, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has received a $100,000 (USD) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This grant is part of the Grand Challenges Explorations program to support research in Global Health. Professor Ma’s grant will support his work in the development of a low-cost device to detect malaria infection in low-resource regions.

Professor Ma’s approach is to apply microfluidics technologies to create a low-cost and portable diagnostic tool to detect infection levels from a finger-prick blood sample. This device could eventually be used to direct treatment until clearance of the disease and to evaluate the effectiveness of new drugs and potential vaccines.

To view more information on Professor Ma's research and work you may view his webpage here.

Mechanical Engineering Alumnus Brent King wins the Manning Innovation Award for inventing the SPIDER

Mechanical Engineering alumnus Brent King (B.A.Sc. ’96) has won the $10,000 Manning Innovation Award for inventing the SPIDER, a device that accurately and securely positions a patient's limb during surgery.



The SPIDER Limb Positioner is used for specialized procedures such as rotator cuff repairs or wrist arthroscopy. Not only does the SPIDER improve the surgeon’s ability to do delicate work, it reduces costs in the operating room. The surgeon can reposition the limb in seconds simply by stepping on a foot pedal. Staff who would otherwise need to hold the limb during the surgery are free to perform other tasks.



Brent King is Co-Owner and Vice President of Operations of TENET Medical Engineering, Inc. and conceptualized and developed the SPIDER after joining TENET’s staff of two in 1997.



Further information on Brent King and the SPIDER is located here.



The Department of Mechanical Engineering congratulates Brent on such a prestigious accomplishment.

David Goosen, Dr. James Olson and Dick Kerekes are awarded the Van den Akker prize.

Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student David Goosen, Dr. James Olson and fellow collaborator Dick Kerekes were awarded the Van den Akker prize for advancements in Paper Physics at the Fundamental Research Symposium in Oxford UK. The contribution was for their paper entitled:

Goosen D.R., Olson J.A. and Kerekes R.J. “Role of heterogeneity in compression refining” J. Pulp Paper Sci., 33(2):110-114, 2007

The Johannes A. Van den Akker Prize for Advances in Paper Physics was created by the Institute of Paper Science and Technology at Georgia Tech, and was made possible through the generous donations of the family, friends, and students of Dr. Van den Akker, a former senior research associate and Chairman of the Department of Physics and Mathematics at the Institute of Paper Chemistry (IPC). Dr. Van den Akker was known for his brilliant mind, demand for excellence, and leadership in the field of paper physics for over 40 years.