The Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to welcome Dr. Srikanth Phani to the Department. Dr. Phani joins the Department following receipt of a B. Tech. from Nagarjuna University, a M.Sc. from the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) and a Ph.D. in Engineering from Cambridge University in 2004. While attending Cambridge, Dr. Phani was the recipient of several fellowships, including the Cambridge Nehru Fellowship and the Ford of Britain Fellowship. Following 3 years as a Research Associate at Cambridge, Dr. Phani joined the University of Bath for 2 years as an Academic Research Fellow, prior to accepting a position as Assistant Professor at UBC in November 2008.
Dr. Phani is author or co-author of 12 journal publications in prestigious journals such as the Journal of Sound and Vibration, the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, IEEE Sensors, and the ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics. Dr. Phani has research interests that encompass applied mechanics of materials, dynamics and vibrations, MEMS, and biomedical devices. The Department of Mechanical Engineering is extremely pleased to have a scholar of Dr. Phani’s calibre join our Department.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Faculty members awarded Strategic Grant from NSERC
Two Mechanical Engineering faculty members and their co-investigator have been awarded a Strategic Grant from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for their proposed work in improving human-computer interaction.
The project, entitled “HALO: Transparent Guidance of Networked Interactions through a Haptic-Affect Loop,” will be investigated by Drs. Karon Maclean (Associate Professor in Computer Science and a recently reappointed Associate in Mechanical Engineering), Elizabeth Croft (Professor in Mechanical Engineering) and Joanna McGrenere (Associate Professor in Computer Science).
The project will address a challenge many people face – sensory and cognitive overload from computers, phones, iPods and all of the other interfaces we deal with from day-to-day to receive networked information and communications. The core innovation is the Haptic-Affect Loop (HALO), which will sense the users reaction to an environment or situation to trigger positive changes while providing immediate, unintrusive feedback to the user about the change through vibro-tactile signals. Ultimately this will lead to devices that will automatically respond to our changing needs and interests – in a truly personalized way.
The project, entitled “HALO: Transparent Guidance of Networked Interactions through a Haptic-Affect Loop,” will be investigated by Drs. Karon Maclean (Associate Professor in Computer Science and a recently reappointed Associate in Mechanical Engineering), Elizabeth Croft (Professor in Mechanical Engineering) and Joanna McGrenere (Associate Professor in Computer Science).
The project will address a challenge many people face – sensory and cognitive overload from computers, phones, iPods and all of the other interfaces we deal with from day-to-day to receive networked information and communications. The core innovation is the Haptic-Affect Loop (HALO), which will sense the users reaction to an environment or situation to trigger positive changes while providing immediate, unintrusive feedback to the user about the change through vibro-tactile signals. Ultimately this will lead to devices that will automatically respond to our changing needs and interests – in a truly personalized way.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Pro-Neck-Tor named Popular Science’s Best of What’s New
A sports helmet invented by UBC researchers has been named a Winner of a 2008 Popular Science Best of What's New award in the Personal Health category.
The Pro-Neck-Tor helmet, co-developed by Mechanical Engineering Prof. Peter Cripton and PhD candidate Tim Nelson, has been shown in preliminary testing to reduce direct impact to the neck by up to 56 per cent.
Revealed every December, the Popular Science magazine's Best of What's New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies spanning 11 categories.
Link to UBC Pro-Neck-Tor press release
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2008/mr-08-086.html
Link to Popular Science article
http://www.popsci.com/bown/2008/product/pro-neck-tor
Link to Pro-Neck-Tor web site: http://www.pronecktor.com/
The Pro-Neck-Tor helmet, co-developed by Mechanical Engineering Prof. Peter Cripton and PhD candidate Tim Nelson, has been shown in preliminary testing to reduce direct impact to the neck by up to 56 per cent.
Revealed every December, the Popular Science magazine's Best of What's New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies spanning 11 categories.
Link to UBC Pro-Neck-Tor press release
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2008/mr-08-086.html
Link to Popular Science article
http://www.popsci.com/bown/2008/product/pro-neck-tor
Link to Pro-Neck-Tor web site: http://www.pronecktor.com/
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