Benchmarks spring 2016 by Memorial University

Spring 2016

Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Smartest Person (IS AN ENGINEERING STUDENT, BY THE WAY)

Engineering Co-op Education awarded six-year accreditation

Biofuels: A clean energy alternative

Engineering SailBOT team wins international sailing competition

FROM THE DEAN

Welcome to the spring 2016 issue of Benchmarks. The faculty’s co-operative education programs recently received full accreditation by the Canadian Association for Co-operative Dr. Greg Naterer Education (CAFCE). This includes our P. E N G . , P H D , F C S M E , undergraduate programs in civil, computer, FA S M E , F E I electrical, mechanical, ocean and naval Dean, Faculty of Engineering architectural and process engineering. We and Applied Science have one of the first and best engineering cooperative programs in the country. The CAFCE assessors were impressed with the quality of our programs and student placement rates. This success is a testament to our passionate and dedicated co-operative education team. We are at the halfway mark in our eight-year strategic growth plan, with a projected increase of 300 graduate students and an increase from 170 to 250 undergraduates per year between 2012 and 2020. In 2015, we welcomed 11 new faculty members, nine new staff members and two additional academic staff members in our co-operative education office. We also welcomed a new Teaching and Learning Chair, Dr. Janna Rosales. This past year, several of our faculty members received local, national and international honours. The head of our Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering, Dr. Wei Qiu, was named Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects while Dr. Amgad Hussein, department head, civil engineering, was named Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. The head of mechanical engineering, Dr. Yuri Muzychka, was named Fellow of the American Society for Mechanical Engineering. Electrical engineering professor Dr. Octavia Dobre was elected to IEEE’s Administrative Committee. Civil engineering professor Dr. Hodjat Shiri was appointed the new Wood Group Chair in Arctic and Harsh Environment Engineering. Drs. Claude Daley and Wei Qiu were named Fellows of the Society of Naval Architect and Marine Engineers. We continue to establish major partnerships and collaborate with industry partners and other organizations, nationally and internationally. We attracted a large number of research grants and contracts totalling more than 19 million of external research funding support in 2015. Fourth-year electrical engineering student Katy Warren competed on CBC Television’s Canada’s Smartest Person and won! Graduate student Jonas Roberts received the prestigious Chancellor’s Award with the Fry Family Foundation Leadership Award, and the MUN SailBOT Team hosted and placed first in an international sailing competition.

FA C U LT Y O F ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE NEWSLETTER

S P R I N G 2 016 EDITOR Jackey Locke GRAPHIC DESIGN Mike Mouland CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Moira Baird Krista Davidson Jeff Green Jackey Locke Cathy Newhook PHOTOGRAPHY CBC Adam Day Dennis Flynn Chris Hammond Kathryn Hong David Howells Jackey Locke Darryl Pike Benchmarks is published by the Division of Marketing and Communications for the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Please address any questions, comments or suggestions to: Jackey Locke, editor, Benchmarks, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University, 240 Prince Phillip Drive, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5 email: jackey.locke@mun.ca or telephone: 709 864 8287 Faculty-of-Engineering-andApplied-Science @MUN_Engineering

W W W. M U N . C A / E N G I N E E R I N G

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007-16001-500

Once again, I’m very proud of the team-focused approach of our professors, staff and students. We continue to work together to make our faculty one of the best places in which to work, learn and grow. I hope you enjoy reading about our accomplishments over the past year as we look forward to more success in 2016. ■■■

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Memorial University has one of the premier

The faculty also offers a graduate diploma in:

engineering schools in Canada. Using a co-operative

Safety and Risk Engineering

Contents

education model, the faculty has six accredited, five-year, undergraduate engineering programs.

The faculty is home to state-of-the-art laboratories,

Our co-op programs are among the best in Canada

such as the Autonomous Ocean Systems Laboratory;

and provide students with valuable experiential

Health,

learning opportunities and up to two years of

Manufacturing

practical work experience prior to graduation.

Engineering Research Laboratories; Thermo-Fluids

Safety

and

Risk

Research

Laboratory;

Centre;

Computer

Technology

FEATURES

CIVIL ENGINEERING

Laboratory; Structures Laboratory; Enhanced Oil Our undergraduate programs include:

Recovery Laboratory; Advanced Drilling Laboratory

· · · · ·

Civil Engineering

and Multimedia Communications Laboratory, among

Computer Engineering

numerous others. Also, two prominent centres

Electrical Engineering

are housed in the faculty – the Ocean Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Research Centre and a new Centre for Risk, Integrity

Ocean and Naval Architectural

and Safety Engineering.

AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING 11

The faculty has a strong and proud history and

Process Engineering

reputation for excellence in engineering research Students also have the option of taking offshore

and education. Our researchers aim to make a

oil and gas engineering electives, which are

major positive impact on the community, economy,

available in all six undergraduate programs.

job creation, and the environment – with a special

Annual Research Funding – Millions of Dollars (Moving 3-year Average)

obligation

the

people

strategic areas of focus are energy, ocean

technology,

environment

$18

and sustainable infrastructure, and

$16

information

$14

technology.

$12

opened

$10

square-foot R&D centre for offshore

and In

communication

2014,

major

the

new

which

11,700-

engineering,

collaborative environment whereby

our

collaborate with industry to solve

researchers

supports and

challenging engineering problems.

$ 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

One of the primary outcomes of

The Faculty’s graduate programs include research

our research is the education and training of highly

thesis-based programs at the master’s (M.Eng.)

qualified

and doctoral (PhD) levels in:

to generate new knowledge and understanding

· · · · ·

Civil Engineering

that will lead to the creation of new products and

Computer Engineering

technologies. It combines the efforts of researchers,

Electrical Engineering

graduate students and entrepreneurs. Our research

Mechanical Engineering

programs are finding new solutions to global

Ocean and Naval Architectural

problems and educating future innovators and

Engineering

leaders in society.

personnel.

Our

researchers

also

aim

Oil and Gas Engineering Our faculty members are leading researchers,

In addition, the faculty also offers course-based

internationally

master’s programs in:

· ·

Computer Engineering

have secured an increasing number of research

Environmental Systems Engineering

grants and contracts from industry, government

and Management

and other organizations. The faculty’s total external

Oil and Gas Engineering

research funding has grown from about $2 million

their

renowned,

respective

fields

and of

award-winning research.

They

per year in 1999 to over 19 million annually in 2015. ■■■

ENGINEERING 16

PROCESS ENGINEERING

AWARDS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

students

OCEAN AND NAVAL ARCHITECTURAL

faculty

Fiscal Year

Newfoundland and Labrador. Our

TOTAL EXTERNAL RESEARCH SUPPORT 2003-2014

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Engineering

ELECTRICAL

GRADUATE STUDENTS

ALUMNI

F E AT U R E

T H E E N G I N E E R I N G C O - O P E R AT I V E E D U C AT I O N T E A M W I T H D R . G R E G N AT E R E R , D E A N , FA C U LT Y O F E N G I N E E R I N G A N D A P P L I E D S C I E N C E .

Engineering Co-operative Education awarded six-year accreditation The Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) has awarded the faculty’s co-operative education programs full accreditation to December 31, 2021 for its undergraduate programs in civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, ocean and naval architectural and process engineering. “This is exceptional news, and a fitting testament of the hard work and student-focused dedication of the entire team in the engineering co-operative education office, “said Anil Raheja, director. “As we move forward, the most rewarding aspect of this strong endorsement of the quality of our programs would be the generation of even more “real” work integrated learning opportunities for our undergraduate engineering co-operative education students.” CAFCE fosters and advances post-secondary co-operative education in Canada. Its members work in partnership to develop resources to promote the highest quality of post-secondary co-operative education programs through a national forum of professional co-op practitioners; by establishing national standards and promoting the value of postsecondary co-operative education; and by delivering opportunities for learning and sharing of best practices. The Faculty of Engineering and

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Applied Science at Memorial adopted one of the first engineering cooperative education programs in the country, and is credited with one of the best programs in Canada and around the world. The faculty was commended for its top-notch programs, student participation rates, its detailed student handbook and innovative grading process whereby work term students not only receive an overall grade for work terms, but also separate grades for performance and communications skills. “This is excellent news,” said Dr. Greg Naterer, dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. “It’s rewarding to know that CAFCE was impressed with our programs and student participation rates. The accreditation process is a vigorous one and involves a lot of hard work and preparation. I want to thank everyone who contributed, especially our co-operative academic staff members, Noeleen Wadden and Geoff Smith and Penny Abraham, secretary.” The faculty’s undergraduate programs received full accreditation to June 30, 2017 from the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board in 2014. ■■■

F E AT U R E

New Teaching and Learning Chair in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Dr. Janna Rosales is the inaugural Chair for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. The new chair is part of a Memorial-wide initiative. The university created 13 new chairs for teaching and learning, one per faculty and school. In her new role, Dr. Rosales, who is passionate about helping students succeed, will engage faculty, staff and students in order to promote student engagement, retention and learning. “I see the chair position as part champion, part mentor and part community builder,” she said. “The chair program is intended to raise the profile of teaching and learning as core priorities across the university and so we champion initiatives like the scholarship of teaching and learning, mentor colleagues who are interested in best-teaching practices, and we try to build communities of students, staff and faculty who are inspired to create vibrant learning environments.” Dr. Rosales brings an interdisciplinary background to this position. She has studied and taught at the crossroads of the sciences and humanities. She received her bachelor of arts and master of arts

degrees from Memorial University, and completed her doctorate at the University of Toronto, where she studied the social and ethical implications of nanotechnology. In 2010, she joined Memorial’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science as a research associate with the MetaKettle Project, a Legacy Pedagogy Project supported by the 2004-2009 NSERC/Petro-Canada Chair in Women in Science and Engineering, Atlantic Region (CWSEA). Dr. Rosales is a visiting assistant professor and teaches ethics, communication and professionalism as part of the faculty’s complementary studies stream of courses. She has taught courses in technology and society for the departments of sociology and religious studies and continues to guest lecture with the Graduate Program in Humanities and the First Year Success Program. As a co-investigator with the MetaKettle Project, Dr. Rosales engages in the scholarship of teaching and learning, studying areas such as diversity, leadership development, civic engagement, mindfulness, and dialogue in engineering education. Recent publications with her MetaKettle Project collaborators have also included work on graduate student research writing and academic literacy. She has been a member of the Student-Centred Learning Committee for the Teaching and Learning Framework, and is currently a member of the Expert Working Group for the Office of Public Engagement and Chair of the Faculty Learning Community for Contemplative Education. “This new teaching and learning chair appointment will benefit both students and professors,” said Dr. Greg Naterer, dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. “Dr. Rosales brings a valuable interdisciplinary perspective and broad educational experience to the faculty. She is a wonderful asset to our team and we look forward to supporting her in this important new role.” ■■■

DR. JANNA ROSALES

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‘So surreal’ ENGINEERING STUDENT IS CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON Fourth-year electrical engineering student Katy Warren beat out seven other finalists on the Nov. 22 finale of CBC Television’s Canada’s Smartest Person to claim the show’s coveted title. The St. John’s native competed in the fourth round of the competition series where she beat out three other competitors to earn her place in the finals, and proved she deserved to be in the final top four when she finished in the top two after the finale’s qualifying round. “It felt pretty great to come first in the rapid fire round at the beginning of the night,” said Ms. Warren. “I had thought I bombed on it because I got snagged on the physical challenge, so it was a total surprise when I found out it had gone that well for me.” As part of the final four, Ms. Warren continued to move through the challenges with confidence. In this segment of the competition, competitors completed six intelligence challenges – syllable switch, orders up, sliding scale, sum challenge, screen test and ball handler. Ms. Warren was in the lead after the first three challenges and finished second overall securing her spot as one of two competitors to compete in the final challenge, The Super Gauntlet, where her strategy paid off. “I was just trying to stay calm,” she said. “I learned from the first gauntlet I did that my biggest enemy would be my own nerves. Beyond that, the only real strategy I used was in the visual challenge at the end. We had to take a bunch of pieces of a big cube and combine them back into their original shape. I decided to do the outside pieces first by matching up the images printed on them, then wiggle the middle block in at the end, which meant that I got it done just in time to race Jason, my competitor, to the end.”

K AT Y W A R R E N

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Her strategy clearly paid off. Ms. Warren can now add “Canada’s Smartest Person” to her resume, which will likely earn her some smart remarks from her friends as well as some well-deserved compliments. “We’re really proud of Katy’s accomplishments in this competition,” said Dr. Dennis Peters, head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “She showed us how she can use all parts of her brain to solve the problems before her – these are great skills for an engineer to have.” For the TV finale and the big reveal, Ms. Warren surrounded herself with approximately 50 of her closest and dearest family and friends. “We had Bitters Pub booked out to watch it, and that was fantastic,” she said. “It was so cool to have all the people I love so much there to support me. It also meant we had sort of a weird sporty vibe to it, I’ve personally never gone to a bar to watch the Stanley Cup but I can totally understand why people do it if it’s that much fun to watch everybody screaming at the TV!” So, how does it feel to be Canada’s Smartest Person? “I still have trouble believing it,” she said. “It’s so surreal to finally have everybody know about me winning. A few people have been calling me “Canada’s Smartest Person,” which is really flattering, but also seems crazy.” ■■■

CIVIL ENGINEERING

A tall glass of water. Refreshing? Absolutely. Safe? Well that is something Dr. Tahir Husain, associate dean (research) with Memorial’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, is working on. For many communities in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, sophisticated water treatment plants are financially out of the question. This is why 459 of the 536 public water supply systems in the province use a simple chlorination process. However, chlorination of water sources that contain high levels of organic matter – naturally occurring in lakes and ponds – results in disinfection by-products (DBPs). A report by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Environment and Conservation stated that almost one third of the 459 communities using chlorination as their only source of water treatment had DBP levels higher than recommended Canadian guidelines. With funding from the Harris Centre’s RBC Water Research and Outreach Fund, Dr. Tahir Husain and his team have been working on an innovative, affordable solution to this issue since 2011 and have made some significant progress.

D R . TA H I R H U S A I N W I T H O N E O F H I S R E S E A R C H S T U D E N T S

Refreshing research on rural drinking water

“In developing countries, around 4,000 children die each day because they don’t have access to safe drinking water. If you cannot provide safe drinking water to rural communities in a country like Canada, there is something wrong,” said Dr. Husain. “We have resources, we have technology, but still we have water quality issues that are increasing our health risks.” Dr. Husain’s research is based on using oily fly ash (waste generated from the burning of heavy fuel oil to generate electricity) which is comprised of 70-85% unburned carbon, a common material used in water filtration. Dr. Husain’s initial studies have shown that by placing a simple, cost-effective carbon barrier made from the oily fly ash within an existing water treatment system, it can remove more than 60 per cent of DBPs – making the water more than safe by Canadian standards. Currently, Dr. Husain and his team are working with the towns of Sunnyside and Salvage and the community of New-Wes-Valley in the province. The team is testing both source and communities tap water from the three communities to determine the most effective material to be used in the process, as well as the most effective implementation method. This new data, combined with previous work in towns such as Pouch Cove, brings the team one step closer to commercialization of their product, and an affordable, effective water treatment method from small towns and communities across the Newfoundland and Labrador, and around the world. ■■■

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Memorial has welcomed a new research chairholder. Dr. Hodjat Shiri joined the Department of Civil Engineering as the Wood Group Chair in Arctic and Harsh Environment Engineering and assistant professor on June 15. Sponsored by the international energy services company Wood Group, the industrial research chair is associated with Memorial’s Ocean Engineering Research Centre in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. In his role, Dr. Shiri will pursue innovative research, development and applications for engineering in Arctic and harsh environments. The post will benefit both undergraduate and post-graduate engineering students by increasing course and project availability in areas of growing industry activity in the province.

D R . H O D J AT S H I R I

Strategic importance WOOD GROUP CHAIR IN ARCTIC AND HARSH ENVIRONMENT ENGINEERING APPOINTED AT MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY

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Wood Group is investing $500,000 to sponsor the chair over a five-year period in collaboration with Memorial University. “We are delighted that Dr. Hodjat Shiri has been appointed to this post, which supports our commitment to driving the development of leading-edge technology,” said Robin Watson, chief operating officer, Wood Group. “This strong investment in research will enhance the engineering solutions we can provide for our clients operating in deep water and challenging marine environments.” “This partnership with Wood Group supports the world-class ocean and harsh environment engineering research being conducted at Memorial,” said Dr. Gary Kachanoski, president and vice-chancellor, Memorial University. “We appreciate Wood Group’s investment in research at Memorial University and I congratulate Dr. Shiri on his appointment.”

Dr. Shiri is looking forward to developing new research initiatives to help fulfill the mandate of the chair. “The strategic importance of harnessing offshore energy resources necessitates continuous optimization and enhancement of subsea engineering practice and technology in Arctic and harsh environments,” said Dr. Shiri. “This is the goal that I hope to achieve and contribute to through this appointment under the partnership with Wood Group.” Dr. Shiri has an extensive industrial background in offshore oil and gas project development, particularly subsea pipelines and risers, offshore structures and subsea installation technologies. He brings experience and expertise to the position obtained through offshore pipeline and subsea development projects in the Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and offshore northwest Australia. Dr. Shiri’s research interests lie in the areas of offshore foundations, subsea installation, fluid-soil-pipeline interaction, fatigue performance of steel catenary risers, Arctic seabed hazards and their impact on subsea flowlines and subsea structures, vortex induced vibration and the integrity of subsea flowlines. “Through this new research chair appointment, the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science further strengthens its internationally renowned leadership in offshore engineering in cold ocean environments,” said Dr. Greg Naterer, dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. “Dr. Shiri brings valuable industry experience and a distinguished record of achievement in these areas of strategic importance to the faculty and our industry partner, Wood Group.” ■■■

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

St. John’s conference focused on wireless power technology

W I S E S T U D E N T E M I LY W I S E M A N .

The 2015 Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC 2015), which took place in St. John’s, brought together a diverse, technical program for its 24th annual conference. Organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the conference included speakers Chris Kennedy, Solace Power, who spoke about the company’s RC2 Technology and Dr. Charles Robertson, Verafin, who spoke about combatting human trafficking using big data.

The 14th Canadian Workshop on Information Technology (CWIT 2015) was held in St. John’s this past July. It was the first time this biennial, research-oriented workshop was held in Newfoundland. The workshop covered areas related to information and communication technology (ICT), which are of interest to academics, professionals and industries in this field. The workshop brought together experts in ICT and highly renowned international scholars. Plenary Speaker Monique Morrow, the chief technology officer (CTO) of Evangelist New Frontiers Development and Engineering at Cisco Systems, described the key attributes, passion and self-confidence, that is needed to impart a new generation of engineers and computer scientists. Vahid Tarokh of Harvard University presented major new results in extreme value theory, along with its applications, along with Moe Win from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who provided an overview of his latest results in the fundamental limits of network localization and navigation. Conference Chair Dr. Octavia Dobre, a professor of electrical engineering at Memorial University, was excited to showcase the research being done here at Memorial as well as the opportunity to advance ICT, which is becoming increasingly important in society. “With ICT being recognized by Memorial as a strategic research area, and being included in the “Blueprint for Prosperity” report and innovation strategy by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, this workshop was the perfect opportunity to promote business, collaborations and knowledge transfer at

Memorial hosted international workshop on information theory the local, national and international levels,” said Dr. Dobre. “ICT has become part of our everyday life, with wide applications ranging from wireless cellular to local and personal area communications, from optical wireless for short distance to optical fiber for long-haul communications, from underwater acoustic to satellite communications.” For the first time, the workshop included an industry-academia panel, a session where top experts from both business and research in the ICT field discussed challenges and rewards of collaboration. The workshop also included invited talks given by internationally renowned experts, along with oral and poster sessions selected from peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Dobre was instrumental in bringing the workshop to St. John’s and, along with the organizing committee, spared no effort to make it one of the best. Dr. Greg Naterer is dean of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial and commends Dr. Dobre on her initiative and enthusiasm to bring the workshop to St. John’s. “This conference provided a great opportunity to raise Memorial’s profile nationally and interact with leading researchers on the latest emerging technologies of ICT,” said Dr. Naterer. “Special thanks to Dr. Dobre for her efforts and exceptional leadership of the workshop.” For more information on CWIT 2015, please visit http://cwit.ca/2015/index.html. ■■■

The annual one-day conference brings together presenters from industry and academia to highlight the impressive work that is being done in Newfoundland and Labrador in the areas of electrical and computer engineering. ■■■

COMMITTEE MEMBERS FROM LEFT ARE LORI H O G A N , D R . W E I M I N H U A N G , D R . O C TA V I A D O B R E , B R I A N K I D N E Y, D R . J O N AT H A N ANDERSON AND GEOFF HOLDEN.

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ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

An active leader in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), she is editor-in-chief of IEEE’s Communications Letters, the premier international source technical content on the theory and practice of communications technology, and was recently elected to IEEE’s administrative committee.

D R . O C TA V I A D O B R E

Dr. Octavia Dobre received President’s Award for her outstanding research contributions The President’s Award for Outstanding Research recognizes young researchers who have made outstanding contributions to their scholarly disciplines. With her outstanding leadership in the field of communications research, Dr. Octavia Dobre is truly deserving of the award. An associate professor in Memorial’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Dr. Dobre was instrumental in establishing unique wireless and optical communications laboratories in the faculty. She has secured more than $6 million in research funding, including a five-year NSERC Discovery Grant in 2013. Since 2013, Dr. Dobre has led a project in collaboration with industry partner Altera Canada to commercialize an optical communications product to significantly increase the speed of data transmission.

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Dr. Dobre’s main area of research is signal processing for communications. Her research spans blind signal identification, signal detection, link adaptation, resource allocation, co-operative communications and network coding—all of which are at the forefront of developing modern communications networks. She is best known for her pioneering research in blind signal identification. “Octavia’s commitment to research excellence in the establishment of modern research facilities, the breadth and impact of the dissemination of her findings, her extensive mentorship of HQP and her tireless dedication to service on research bodies locally, nationally and internationally make her ideally suited for this distinguished honour,” said Dr. Gill, colleague and nominator. For Dr. Dobre, receiving this honour acknowledges that she has made a positive impact in her field of research. “I am deeply honoured to receive the President’s Award for Outstanding Research,” said Dr. Dobre. “It is a privilege to be recognized by my colleagues and to contribute to the thriving research environment at Memorial University.” Dr. Dobre also won the 2013 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Research and the 2014 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision, two internal awards in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. ■■■

Memorial engineering professors take part in nanotechnology research Two researchers from Memorial’s engineering faculty are taking part in a $7.7-million project on nanotechnologies funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s 2015 Innovation Fund. Led by Dr. Ian McWalter of Queen’s University, the project is known as Advanced Design Leading to Manufacturing in Micro-Nano Technologies (ADEPT). The research team includes Memorial’s Dr. Howard Heys, professor in electrical and computer engineering, and Dr. Lihong Zhang, associate professor in electrical and computer engineering. The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) funding is providing the team with the commercial tools for research in the design, development and application of sophisticated microsystems and nanotechnologies. CFI has invested $333 million in research ranging from mood disorders and robotics to food security and the search for rare diseases. Established in 1997, CFI’s mandate is to build Canada’s research infrastructure capacity to undertake world-class research and technology development. Infrastructure funded by CFI includes the state-of-theart equipment, laboratories, databases, specimens, scientific collections, computer hardware and software, communications linkages and buildings necessary to conduct leading-edge research. For more information about the CFI: http://www.innovation.ca/ ■■■

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Blowin’ in the wind All across the world, energy demands are at an all time high. This global issue is complex—no two regions are exactly alike and each faces a unique challenge. Managing the global energy crisis requires some mass-scale creative problem solving.

used to produce hydrogen gas that is then converted back to electricity through a hydrogen-fuelled generator. This helps support the community when wind speeds are too low to operate the turbines.

Dr. Kevin Pope, an expert in thermo-fluids and renewable energy, and his team of graduate students have joined the global brigade by helping small, remote communities in Newfoundland and Labrador lessen their dependence on diesel generated power by utilizing readily available natural resources to create renewable energy.

High precipitation and ice accretion, unsteady wind conditions and limited accessibility are the main barriers the province faces in creating a reliable wind power development. Using data collected in their research, Dr. Pope and his team tackle these challenges by proposing new solutions for site selection, improving performance and energy storage technologies.

As an island in the Atlantic Ocean, positioned at the crossroads of the Labrador and Gulf currents, Newfoundland receives plenty of wind. In fact, the onshore gales of the province have the highest wind velocity of any in the country. While this can be troubling for many other industries, it’s an advantage for the energy sector.

Nalcor Energy says the project at Ramea is one of the first in the world to integrate wind, hydrogen and diesel generation into one isolated electrical system. They’ve documented an average reduction in Ramea’s diesel fuel usage by approximately 18 per cent annually. That’s essentially 710 less tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and a reduction of 190,000 litres of diesel every year.

Dr. Pope and his engineering research team are assisting Nalcor Energy in its integration of wind turbines and hydrogen equipment with the existing diesel generators in Ramea, a small remote community on the south coast of the island. The turbines support the community’s electrical grid during high load periods. When the load is low the wind energy is

Dr. Pope recognizes that the solutions he and his team create for Ramea could have a global impact if utilized in other similar regions throughout the world. This capacity to make an impact is the motivation that drives the team to continually break the barriers and overcome the challenges they face in their work. ■■■

DR. KEVIN POPE

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P R E L I M I N A R Y M O D E L S E T U P S O F W AV E S APPROACHING A FIXED BARRIER AND THEN B R E A K I N G U P O N I M PA C T I N T O D R O P L E T S .

MARINE ICING

Detection and modelling Working in harsh environments has many challenges. The first thing that comes to mind is the challenge of navigating through icy waters, but equally important are the challenges associated with ice build up on vessels. Ice buildup can quickly damage vessels and equipment and make them unstable. This, in turn, puts the lives of the people who work on such vessels in danger. The Marine Icing Research Group at Memorial, which consists of Dr. Yuri Muzychka and a team of faculty and graduate student researchers, is working to develop new technologies that will accurately predict and monitor marine icing conditions to help prevent ice buildup. “When ice isn’t managed properly, it could mean that life boats on board can not be launched in an emergency evacuation situation because the locks that attach them to the vessel are frozen,” explained Dr. Muzychka. “The accurate prediction of ice buildup on vessels and their substructures is critically important for designers and operators of marine vessels

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that will be employed in harsher climates. Additionally, ice buildup on mooring and towing lines is also problematic, and operation of exploration vessels for Arctic resource development require that they be kept free of significant levels of ice.” Current technologies make it easy to detect ice in fresh water environments and atmospheric ice conditions for aeronautical and/or land based structures, but do not work well for marine conditions due to the complex nature of marine structures and the ocean conditions leading to icing. Dr. Muzychka and his team are developing new sensors and icing models that will be able to better predict and monitor icing conditions and the rate at which the ice forms on vessels and their substructures. These new sensors will assist in predicting the rate of ice accretion, or buildup, given certain environmental conditions. This information would then be used to determine mitigation strategies and their effectiveness.

Accurate prediction methods are also needed with environmental conditions as inputs, such as wind speed, air and sea temperatures, rain and sea spray fluxes. More sophisticated models will consider the geometry of the vessel and/or platform as an input as well. For example, horizontal, inclined, or vertical surfaces or flat versus curved surfaces. The outcomes of the research are significant – improved understanding of icing mechanisms, improved detection/ assessment strategies, increased safety and a reduction in operating costs. Statoil Inc. is sponsoring the research in conjunction with Mitacs and the Petroleum Research Newfoundland and Labrador. The Marine Icing Research Group consists of six master’s students, three PhD students, one Post Doctoral Fellow, and six faculty researchers. The proposed project will train 10 HQP at various levels, providing new expertise in the marine engineering field in the area of winterization of vessels. ■■■

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statistical descriptions of ice and earthquake phenomena relevant to the design of ships and offshore structures. “I am honored,” said Dr. Wei Qiu, who is also department head, Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering. “I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the international organization and work with other experts in researching ways to improve environmental loads predictions for the design of ships and ocean structures.”

Professors appointed to prestigious international technical committees Four professors in the faculty’s Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering have been appointed to prestigious international technical committees. Dr. David Molyneux was appointed to the Ice Committee of the International Towing Tank Conference (ITTC) and Drs. Wei Qiu, Lorenzo Moro and Bruce Quinton were appointed to the I.1 Environment, IV.2 Design Methods and V.6 Arctic Technology committees, respectively, of the International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress (ISSC). The ITTC is a voluntary association of worldwide organizations responsible for predicting the hydrodynamic performance of ships and marine installations based on the results of physical and numerical experiments. The conference is recognized as a non-governmental organization with observer status to the International Maritime Organization, where ITTC actively participates in matters regarding safety and performance. Members are responsible for reviewing and developing procedures for predicting ice loads. “It’s a very exciting opportunity,” said Dr. Molyneux. “The ITTC is a very important

international organization that includes reduced-scale-model and full-scale measurements. The challenges increase significantly when we have to consider modeling ice. We have to get the correct dimensional similarity between model and full-scale results, for a very complex material, and different organizations have strong opinions on how it should be done. There has not been much development in this area for some time, and new understanding has given us the chance to re-consider how experiments are carried out.” The ISSC is a forum whereby experts exchange information by undertaking and applying marine structural research. Its aim is to further understanding in the various disciplines supporting marine structural design, production and operation through international collaboration. The ISSC’s I.1 Environment Committee addresses aspects associated with the ocean environment, especially wave, current, wind and temperature statistics, in deep and shallow waters, as a basis for determining environmental forces for structural design, including some considerations of marine growth. The committee also considers

The ISSC’s IV.2 Design Methods committee examines the overall design process for marine structures, and its integration with production, maintenance and repair. It also pays particular attention to the roles and requirements of computer-based design and production, and to the utilization of information technology. Dr. Moro was appointed as technical member FROM LEFT ARE DRS. LORENZO MORO, BRUCE of ISSC-2018 at the 2015 conference. This is Q U I N T O N , W E I Q I U A N D D A V I D M O LY N E U X . his second appointment to this committee. He was a technical member of IV.2 Design Methods Committee of the ISSC-2015 from 2012-2015 where he worked with other committee members to review state-of-theart scientific literature on the overall design process for marine structures. The committee also reviewed software programs to determine the dimensions of a ship’s structure.’ “This appointment provides me with the opportunity to serve the Design Methods Committee and to continue the fruitful activities developed in the past term. It also allows me to collaborate with experts on marine structures reviewing the state-of-theart research in this field.” “The exchange of views and ideas between academia and industry is really important, especially in engineering. The final report will be published in 2018, and will include recommendations on improvements in design, production and operations procedures as well as identifying under-researched areas that should be further studied,” said Dr. Moro. The ISSC’s V.6 Arctic Technology committee develops technology of particular relevance for the safety of ships and offshore structures in Arctic regions and ice-infested waters. SPRING 2016

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The committee assesses methods for calculating loads from sea ice and icebergs. The committee also recommends priorities for research programs and ensures efficient implementation of new knowledge and tools.

“I would like to thank the ISSC for my appointment to the V.6 Arctic Technology committee,” said Dr. Quinton. “Serving with this distinguished panel of international experts provides an exceptional opportunity for Memorial University and Canada to help

shape the future of Arctic operations and research. The challenges associated with operating safely, efficiently, and with respect for the Arctic’s sensitive ecosystem are many and varied.” ■■■

Arctic engineering conference honouring Ian Jordaan A lifetime of ice mechanics research by Dr. Ian Jordaan, professor emeritus with Memorial’s engineering faculty, was honoured during the 35th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, which took place in St. John’s this past spring. A leader in the field of ice mechanics and designing offshore structures to operate in iceprone waters, Dr. Jordaan is a pioneer of the risk-based approach to offshore design and estimation of structural loads caused by ice. A special symposium on ice engineering was held in his name as part of the conference proceedings. “It’s a practice in the Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (OMAE) Conference to

occasionally honour people at their symposia,” said Dr. Jordaan. “I feel quite privileged and of course pleased.” A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr. Jordaan emigrated to Canada in 1969 and joined Memorial in 1986 as one of the university’s first research chairs. During a decade as the NSERCMobil Industrial Research Chair in Ocean Engineering, he investigated ways to resolve problems in ice mechanics and ice-structure interaction. Prior to this, he was head of research and development and vice-president for Det Norske Veritas Canada, an international classification and certifying authority for ships, drill rigs and offshore platforms. He led research activities in cold-climate technology, risk analysis, offshore

structures and ships in ice in their Calgary office. In 2006, Dr. Jordaan was appointed professor emeritus with Memorial’s engineering faculty. He was principal consultant with C-CORE between 2005 and 2012, and was also involved in the development of international standards for Arctic offshore structures issued in 2011. Charles Randell, president and CEO of C-CORE, describes Dr. Jordaan as a giant in his field and says he generously shared his time with junior colleagues over the years. “He is a gifted teacher and mentor, who has guided the learning and careers of a generation of Arctic experts working across the country and around the world.” ■■■

Memorial co-hosted international conference on ocean, offshore and Arctic engineering The 35th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering took place in St. John’s, May 31-June 5, 2015. The conference was a huge success, and allowed Memorial and its researchers and the local industry to showcase advances in this field. The faculty’s Ocean Engineering Research Centre (OERC) co-hosted the conference with the Ocean, Offshore and Arctic (OOAE) Division of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). OMAE is the most prestigious international conference in the area of ocean, offshore and Arctic engineering, and this was the first time it has been held in Canada in more than 10 years.

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The conference is a forum for researchers, engineers, managers and graduate students from the academic and industrial communities to meet and present advances in technology and scientific research; and to promote international co-operation in the field of ocean, offshore and Arctic engineering. It included outreach programs for students, short courses and symposia, which included 800 published papers. OMAE 2015 not only positioned the province as a leader in ocean technology in offshore oil development and ocean technologies but also promoted Memorial University and its researchers as world leaders in ocean, offshore and Arctic technology and the province as a gateway to the Arctic.

Plenary speakers from Nalcor Energy, Statoil Inc., INTECSEA and ABS gave presentations to showcase offshore development in the province and collaborations with regional partners. “Hosting the conference in St. John’s presented the ideal opportunity to bring the world of the ocean, offshore and Arctic industry and research to Newfoundland,” said Dr. Wei Qiu, head of ocean and naval architectural engineering at Memorial and conference chair. For more information on OMAE 2015, please visit http://www.asmeconferences.org/ omae2015/.

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Fellows of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering. Dr. Qiu’s research is in the area of marine hydrodynamics and its applications to ships and offshore structures. He specializes in solving fluidstructure interaction problems using experimental and numerical methods. Dr. Qiu has been involved in numerous projects with the marine and offshore industries, government agencies and private sectors. “I was surprised and honored to be selected as a Fellow of SNAME,” said Dr. Daley. “I have always thought of SNAME as my favourite professional society, and enjoyed its spirit of openness. Now I have one more reason to think fondly of SNAME. This recognition says more about SNAME’s generosity than about my accomplishments.”

FROM LEFT ARE DRS. CLAUDE DALEY AND WEI QIU

Drs. Wei Qiu and Claude Daley in the faculty’s Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering, have been named Fellows of the Society of Naval Architect & Marine Engineers (SNAME). SNAME is an internationally recognized, nonprofit, professional society of individual members serving the maritime and offshore industries and their suppliers. With more than 7,000 members globally in more than 85 countries, SNAME is the international community for maritime and ocean professionals. Being named Fellow is one of the SNAME’s highest honours. It aims to recognize individuals who have made outstanding personal contributions to naval architecture, marine or ocean engineering, or related disciplines. It

recognizes significant achievements in areas of design, research, production, operation, education, or associated management. “I am honoured to be elected as a Fellow of SNAME,” said Dr. Qiu, department head of Ocean and Naval architectural engineering. “The recognition by my international peers is very rewarding and I am thrilled to have made contributions to the marine and naval architectural field.” Dr. Qiu is also a vice-president of SNAME. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), chair of the International Towing Tank Conference’s Ocean Engineering Committee, chair of the Ocean and Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (OMAE) 2015 conference and associate editor of American

Dr. Daley is also a Fellow of Engineers Canada. He is the principal investigator on a GEM project, which is developing novel simulation software to model practical ship operations in ice. He is a former member of, and former vice-chair, of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador’s (PEGNL) Board of Examiners; former chair of the ocean and naval architectural engineering program at Memorial and former director of the university’s Ocean Engineering Research Centre (OERC). He was the principal investigator on the STePS2 project from 2009-2014, a research project with over 100 different participants here at Memorial, as well as partners on three continents. Dr. Daley’s research is in the area of Arctic marine structures. He specializes in Arctic ships and structures; marine structural design and analysis; materials and mechanics; offshore and marine safety; safety and risk; simulation; and structures and materials. ■■■

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BIOFUELS

A clean energy alternative Heating your home or powering your car using fuel made from scraps of wood and food waste is not necessarily a farfetched idea.

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Biofuels are made from material as diverse as algae and cooking greases and are, therefore, readily available. But, there are challenges when it comes to using them to power our engines and systems.

W I T H B I O O I L O B TA I N E D F R O M FOREST RESIDUES THROUGH

Some of these challenges include compatibility of biofuels with LESS THAN ONE MINUTE. petroleum and how best to optimize biofuels without making major changes to engines and boilers. Many remote communities don’t have the dollars or infrastructure when it comes to implementing most alternative energy sources. Biofuels can be sourced from food crops, but using land for fuel versus food has serious environmental and societal implications. O

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The ideal source of biofuel is waste. Commercial, municipal and industrial waste is expensive to dispose of both from an economic and environmental perspective. Enter Dr. Kelly Hawboldt, a professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial. She is overcoming these challenges by developing green processing biofuel extraction/production methods derived from waste biomass. Dr. Hawboldt says biofuels derived from waste biomass have the advantage of recovering a valuable byproduct from waste, which decreases its volume and toxicity. “We produce municipal, commercial and industrial waste that typically goes to landfills or, in the past, to incineration,” she said. “Incineration of waste has really detrimental effects on air quality and landfills are expensive to operate and space for these landfills is rapidly decreasing. In most waste streams there are valuable products – the most easily accessible in terms of extracting these products from the waste sustainably – is biofuel.”

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Dr. Hawboldt’s research is focused on regions where remoteness, infrastructure, distance to market, low volumes and highly diverse feedstock have limited the production of biofuels. She also focuses on two integrated areas of research – fish processing plant waste and forestry residues. “Waste generated from fish processing plants makes up about half the total weight of harvested fish, and the costs associated with collecting, storing and transporting the waste to disposal sites are significant,” said Dr. Hawboldt. “Extracting the oil from the waste – which accounts for between 2-35 per cent of the weight of the waste – reduces its volume and recovers a product that can be used on site as a heating fuel, which, in turn, decreases fuel transportation costs. In addition, the material left after the oil is extracted is still rich in other products such as proteins and enzymes that could be used in industrial chemical synthesis such as antifreeze.” As fish plants in Newfoundland and Labrador and around the world are typically remotely located, reducing cost is of high importance. “The forestry industry mirrors these same challenges,” said Dr. Hawboldt. “Large stockpiles of forestry residues, such as bark, sawdust and chips, are often in remote areas and costly to store and transport. In this case the residues can be thermal or biochemically converted to fuels.” Dr. Hawboldt, with Dr. Bob Helleur in the Faculty of Science’s Department of Chemistry, thermally convert the residues to bio-gas, bio-oil and biochar. They blend bio-oil, produced from heating forestry wastes to high temperatures, with petroleum to use as heating fuel or to upgrade the bio-oil to transport fuel. Another possibility they are investigating is using bio-char as an adsorbent, which could be used to treat offshore oil and gas and mining waste streams. “This represents a truly sustainable approach to waste management where waste treats waste,” said Dr. Hawboldt. “We are also developing green methods to produce bio-ethanol from forestry residues, with Dr. Yan Zhang in the Department of Process Engineering. This is challenging due to the degraded nature of the residues – aging due to stockpiling.” Dr. Hawboldt and her team are also studying the use of the bio-ethanol as an additive to the bio-oil. The addition of bio-ethanol makes the bio-oil behave more like petroleum based oil when it is burned, and therefore can be used as a replacement for low grade heating fuel, says Dr. Hawboldt. It can also be used for higher end applications such as diesel engines if its ability to be blended with petroleum-based fuels is improved. They are integrating these research streams by investigating the blending of bio-oil waste fish oil and petroleum fuels to produce a better quality fuel with good burning ability and a lower ecological footprint, ultimately creating less greenhouse gas emissions. “The overall objective is to produce green fuels that can be used alone or as a blend in our existing petroleum based infrastructure.” ■■■

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Third annual workshop and symposium to talk about issues related to safety and integrity management of operations in harsh environments The third annual Workshop and Symposium on Safety and Integrity Management of Operations in Harsh Environments was held in St. John’s. The workshop and symposium provided an excellent international forum for both industry experts and academic researchers to exchange and discuss innovative ideas, to identify and establish new collaborative research opportunities relevant to the Arctic and other harsh environments. Dr. Faisal Khan founded the workshop and symposium and is thrilled with its success to-date.

“The workshop and symposium cover a broad range of research topics related to process safety and asset integrity management, which is so important,” said Dr. Khan. “The primary focus of the Safety and Risk Engineering Group at Memorial primarily is safety and integrity challenges faced by offshore oil and gas as well as mining industries operated in harsh environments, Arctic and remote areas.” Continuing from past successes, the workshop included training sessions and a symposium on both theoretical and practical aspects. The workshop also provided three half-day specialized training sessions on the topics of human factors, abnormal situation management and winterization to enhance the understanding of operational challenges in harsh environments. The symposium identified and discussed potential solutions to operational challenges in harsh environments. For more details about the workshop and symposium, please contact fikhan@mun.ca or refer to http://www.mun.ca/ engineering/research/sreg/workshops/. ■■■

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Dr. Amgad Hussein inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering DR. AMGAD HUSSEIN

A member of Memorial’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science has been inducted into the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. Dr. Amgad Hussein was inducted as a new Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) on May 29, 2015, in recognition of his excellence in civil engineering and contributions to the profession. Dr. Hussein’s contributions to the prediction and development of advanced materials for concrete structures, shear stresses in high-strength concrete and testing/modeling of concrete structures have been widely cited in archival literature. He has been actively involved in the local CSCE Chapter since 2001. He co-chaired the first International Engineering Mechanics and Materials Specialty Conference and was a member of the local organizing committee of the 2009 Annual CSCE Conference.

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“I am very honoured to be selected as a Fellow of CSCE,” he said. “CSCE is the largest professional society for civil engineering in Canada and this award recognizes and encourages the pursuit of excellence.” Dr. Hussein is an associate professor and department head of civil engineering at Memorial. He has led the department of civil engineering at Memorial since 2014 and prior to the establishment of departments in the faculty, he was the discipline chair for four years. His research expertise is in the area of reinforced concrete structures. He has published 50 technical papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, while supervising the research of 15 master’s and PhD students and post-doctoral fellows to completion. Prior to joining Memorial, Dr. Hussein carried out the full structural design of the largest hockey arena in Newfoundland,

Mile One Stadium. After joining the faculty, he served as a consultant for offshore and construction companies in Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr. Greg Naterer, the dean of Engineering and Applied Science, was pleased to learn of Dr. Hussein’s recognition. “This prestigious honour of fellow of CSCE recognizes the many contributions by Dr. Hussein in both research and teaching, which have made a significant impact on the civil engineering profession and the education of students.” The CSCE awards program is administered jointly by the CSCE Honours and Fellowships Committee and by the CSCE Foundation Trustees (a Canadian registered charity) and funded by the generosity of CSCE members and others who support the Society’s mission. ■■■

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role as a professor of civil engineering and associate dean, he is also an inventor and entrepreneur and has mentored more than 30 graduate students and published more than 120 papers in journals and conferences.

F R O M L E F T A R E F R E D C A H I L L , J A M I E L O N G A N D D R . L E O N A R D LY E .

National engineering academy inducts three individuals with ties to Memorial University The Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) inducted a number of alumni, faculty members and longtime Memorial University supporters to its membership at its 2015 annual general meeting and symposium in Hamilton, Ont. Among the 50 members that have been inducted throughout Canada, three individuals have close connections to Memorial by way of their professions: Fred Cahill, president, the Cahill Group; Jamie Long, president, Hibernia Management and Development Co. Ltd. (HMDC); and Dr. Leonard Lye, professor and associate dean (graduate studies), Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University.

Each of the three individuals have made significant contributions to the field of engineering and applied science both within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and beyond. Mr. Cahill, an alumnus from Memorial’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, is also chair of the Genesis Centre, Memorial’s business incubator for technology-based ventures with highgrowth potential, and has made a number of significant contributions to Memorial, including spearheading the Cahill Engineering One Help Centre, a resource centre for first-year engineering students that helps facilitate the transition from high school to university. Mr. Long, through HMDC, has invested in numerous funds and programs to support research, teaching and learning at Memorial University, including the recent launch of the Hibernia Project-Shad Valley Fund at Memorial in 2014, which encourages high school students to pursue studies in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Shad Valley project is led by Dr. Lye, who is also being inducted into the academy. In addition, Dr. Lye, a faculty member with Memorial since 1988, has contributed significantly to the field of engineering and applied science. In addition to his

“I would like to offer my congratulations to each of the individuals who have been inducted as fellows into the academy,” said Dr. Richard Marceau, vice-president (research), Memorial University and past president, CAE. “They have supported and contributed to enriching and enhancing research, training and education at Memorial University and in this province. Throughout their distinguished careers, they have consistently demonstrated exemplary service and provided invaluable leadership to the wider community.” The CAE is the national institution through which Canada’s most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada. The CAE is an independent, self-governing and non-profit organization established in 1987. Members of the CAE are nominated and elected by their peers to honorary fellowships, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession. In 2014 five members with close ties to the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science were named fellows to the organization: Dr. Ray Gosine, associate vice-president (research), Memorial University; Dr. Charles Randell, president and chief executive officer, C-CORE, Earl Ludlow, president and chief executive officer, Newfoundland Power; Gilbert Bennett, vice-president, Lower Churchill Project, Nalcor Energy; Dr. Ross Peters, professor emeritus, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University. ■■■

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Dr. Octavia Dobre, associate professor, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, has been elected to two prestigious international appointments – as editor-inchief of IEEE Communications Letters and member of the Administrative Committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Instrumentation and Measurement (I&M) Society.

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Dr. Octavia Dobre elected as editor-in-chief of international journal and to IEEE Administrative Committee

IEEE Communications Letters is the premier international source of technical content on the theory and practice of communications technology. It includes original research articles, short communications in theoretical and applied topics, and research that fosters innovation and collaboration within the communications community. The IEEE committee manages and governs the IEEE I&M Society. It plans and oversees all of the society’s publications, conferences and workshops, assesses society’s services,

Dr. Yuri Muzychka, head of the faculty’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for his expertise and contributions to the field of engineering. ASME Fellows are recognized for outstanding engineering achievements during more than 10 years of active practice. To date, 3,356 engineers have achieved the prestigious grade of Fellow among the ASME’s 137,000 members in 150 countries. DR. YURI MUZYCHKA

The Fellow citation notes Dr. Muzychka has made major research and teaching contributions to the fields of heat transfer, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.

Dr. Yuri Muzychka elected ASME Fellow

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contribution to the advanced predictive

financial affairs, as well as the membership and activities of its standing committees. It also evaluates the society’s technical committees, along with candidates for Fellow grade and awards on behalf of the society, and promotes society membership in conjunction with the various society activities. “I am honored to be elected by my peers for the roles of editor-in-chief and member of the administrative committee of the IEEE I&M Society,” said Dr. Dobre. “This shows the trust that my peers have placed in my capacity to contribute to the prosperity of the society through its activities, membership, and publications, among others. I am enthusiastic about this opportunity and looking forward to a great experience in the roles.” Dr. Dobre is also the recipient of the 2015 President’s Outstanding Research Award at Memorial. ■■■

models of heat transfer have been widely adopted and cited in archival literature. His contributions have enabled thermal engineers to develop more efficient designs for heat exchangers, electronics cooling and HVAC systems. He has also contributed significantly to the teaching and learning in thermal and fluid engineering.” “It’s an honour being selected, as there are less than 4,000 fellows out of a membership of nearly 140,000,” said Dr. Muzychka. “Being selected is a great indicator of how well-respected my fundamental research in heat transfer is within the ASME”. Dr. Muzychka joined Memorial in 2000, received the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award in 2004, and has authored or co-authored more than 130 journal and conference papers. ■■■

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Dr. Wei Qiu, head of the faculty’s Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering, has been elected as Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA). RINA is a highly renowned professional institution and learned society, which exists to promote and serve the interests of both its members and the naval architectural engineering profession. “I am honoured to be elected as a Fellow of RINA,” said Dr. Qiu. “The recognition by my international peers is very rewarding and I am thrilled to have made the contributions to the marine and naval architectural field.” Dr. Qiu is also a Fellow and a vicepresident of The Society of Naval Architect & Marine Engineers (SNAME), director of Memorial University’s Ocean Engineering Research Centre (OERC) since 2008, chair of the International Towing Tank Conference’s Ocean Engineering Committee, chair of the 34th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering (OMAE 2015) and associate editor of the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers’ Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering. Dr. Qiu’s research interests are in the area of marine hydrodynamics and its applications to ships and offshore structures. He specializes in solving fluid-structure interaction problems using experimental and numerical methods. Dr. Qiu has been involved in numerous projects with the marine and offshore industries, government agencies and private sectors. ■■■

Dr. Wei Qiu elected to Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects

DR. WEI QIU

2015 Faculty Awards DR. ASSEM HASSAN Dean’s Award for Research Excellence

DR. BENJAMIN JEYASURYA Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision

MS. COLLEEN MAHONEY Dean’s Award for Exemplary Service

DR. GLYN GEORGE Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence

DR. FAISAL KHAN Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision

DR. OCTAVIA DOBRE President’s Award for Outstanding Research

DR. WEI QIU Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence

MS. BETTY CORBETT

Dean’s Award for Exemplary Service

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The Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) awarded Dr. Greg Naterer the Robert W. Angus Medal for his outstanding contributions to the management and practice of mechanical engineering. “I’m honoured to receive this prestigious national award and grateful to those who made this possible, including my colleagues, graduate students and supportive wife and family,” said Dr. Naterer. Since becoming dean of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial in 2012, Dr. Naterer has successfully led the faculty in the development and implementation of its eight-year strategic plan, “Vision 2020” and the Engineering Expansion Strategic Initiative. He has been instrumental in new engineering initiatives and partnerships across the university and externally, such as a new Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship (MCE) with the Faculty of Business Administration; a new biomedical engineering initiative with the Faculty of Medicine; new research chairs; and an innovative new organizational structure with five departments.

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Dr. Greg Naterer honoured with national award

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In addition, a new petroleum engineering program at Memorial is being planned to soon become reality. “It would be North America’s only co-op program in petroleum engineering,” said Dr. Naterer. “The program would have a unique focus and specialization on offshore and harsh environments.” One of Dr. Naterer’s goals since joining Memorial is to increase female student enrolment and student diversity in engineering. In 2014, Memorial engineering had the highest percentage of first-year female undergraduate students in Canada, at 29 per cent. Dr. Naterer has also served in prominent national and international roles in engineering education and research, including currently as chair of the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science (NCDEAS), and past chair of the NSERC Discovery Grant Selection Committee (Mechanical Engineering). The Robert W. Angus Medal was established in 1957 to honour the late Robert W. Angus who was for many years a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Toronto. It is awarded annually by CSME to a Canadian engineer for outstanding contributions to the management and practice of mechanical engineering. ■■■

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Gordon Jin, academic staff member for cooperative education with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, was inducted as a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) for his contributions to the profession. He was one of 21 engineers in Canada inducted during the institute’s annual awards gala. The institute annually recognizes outstanding engineers among its academic- and industrybased member societies. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) nominated Mr. Jin, a learned society with which he has been affiliated for more than three decades.

Award, and the EIC Canadian Pacific Railway Engineering Medal. “This is probably one of the highest honours that I will achieve as an engineer,” said Mr. Jin. “Mahatma Ghandi said, ‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.’ Volunteering and the advancement of the profession has been a big part of my life.” Mr. Jin obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Memorial and joined Memorial’s engineering faculty as a co-op education co-ordinator in 2009, following 27 years with the provincial government.

GORDON JIN (LEFT) RECEIVES HIS C I TAT I O N A S A F E L L O W F R O M E N G I N E E R I N G I N S T I T U T E O F C A N A D A P R E S I D E N T, DR. OM MALIK.

The EIC citation recognized Mr. Jin for his “remarkable contributions to engineering in Canada and to his engineering society.” It also noted that he has received the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL) Service Award, the CSCE James A. Vance

Mr. Jin has received a number of awards for his contributions to the engineering profession. He has received the PEGNL Service Award, the CSCE’s James A. Vance Award and EIC’s Canadian Pacific Railway Engineering Medal. He has served as CSCE president, and received the CSCE-NL Leadership Award. ■■■

Memorial engineering co-op education co-ordinator Doug Oldford has a coin that money can’t buy.

military during the First and Second World Wars as a means of identification. These days, the coins presented in recognition of special achievements by military personnel, and that practice has spread to service organizations and businesses, including Suncor.

Mr. Oldford received the Suncor Challenge Coin in recognition of his 15 years working closely with companies like Suncor to develop work term opportunities for engineering students, matching students to jobs, and monitoring and evaluating students. “I was somewhat taken aback and almost speechless – I emphasize almost,” he said. “I was pleasantly surprised. Any rewards or awards I might have gotten from Suncor were derived from the many students I had the pleasure of supervising in work terms over the years.” The gold and red coin bears the words “Operational Excellence” and the image of the Terra Nova production ship at sea.

Gordon Jin inducted as EIC Fellow

Last June, Mr. Oldford’s 72nd birthday, he retired from a job he described as a “labour of love.” Mr. Oldford says Suncor has hired many engineering students in the province and in other parts of Canada – and many Memorial graduates are now senior engineers and managers with the oil and gas company. “Suncor has distinguished itself as the employer that has hired the greatest number of students during my 45 work terms at Memorial.”

DOUG OLDFORD

Doug Oldford awarded Suncor Challenge Coin

Mr. Oldford retired from Memorial this past June. ■■■

Similar coins were issued to members of the

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Speaking of Engineering Lecture Series educates on topics of interest to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL) team up each year to bring engineering-related topics of interest to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador through the Speaking of Engineering Lecture Series. This past year was no exception. This past December, Dr. Helen Zhang, an associate professor in the faculty’s Department of Civil Engineering, spoke on potential offshore oil spill accidents. Dr. Zhang talked about how engineering can help offshore oil spill response in harsh environments through enhanced dispersion and biodegradation. She focused on environmentally friendly dispersants, how to comprehensively evaluate the performance of dispersion and is the biodegradability of dispersed oil has increased or decreased. Last March, Dr. Jonathan Anderson, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, presented on Internet security and privacy.

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Dr. Anderson talked about how safe our computers are, how safe our cell phones are for Internet banking and just how secure our personal information is on the Internet. Last February, Robert Sandford, EPCOR chair, Water & Climate Security, United Nations University, Institute for Water, Environment & Health and Dr. Ken Snelgrove, a professor in the faculty’s Department of Civil Engineering, presented on our changing hydrologic cycle and its consequences. Their presentations explained in non-scientific language how changes in the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere are energizing the global hydrological cycle and what we can do to adapt to these changes. The faculty holds four Speaking of Engineering public lectures each year, two in the fall semester and two in the winter semester. For more information on the Speaking of Engineering Lecture Series or to learn about upcoming public lectures, please visit http://www.mun.ca/engineering/ community/programs/lectures/. ■■■

FROM TOP: DR. HELEN ZHANG, D R . J O N AT H A N A N D E R S O N , ROBERT SANDFORD, DR. KEN SNELGROVE

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The faculty’s open house drew biggest crowd to date With so many fun and interesting things to do and see, the faculty’s third annual open house did not disappoint. The open house is held each year as part of National Engineering and Geoscience Month. The family-friendly event was held in the S. J. Carew (Engineering) Building on Memorial’s St. John’s campus and included information booths, guided tours of working laboratories, demonstrations and prize giveaways. Visitors learned about the academic programs and the research activities that each has to offer. The open house is an opportunity for the whole family to learn about the real-world applications of engineering – from the latest manufacturing techniques in the faculty’s 3D Rapid Protoyping Laboratory to the Structures Laboratory where things are made to be broken! Visitors also visited the faculty’s 58-metre towing tank and the kids got to meet Nao, a humanoid robot, who danced and told them all about the cool world of engineering. ■■■

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Continuing to support The Janeway’s Jamarama For the fourth year in a row, engineering faculty, staff and students came to work in their pajamas for The Janeway’s annual fundraiser Jamarama to support sick kids at The Janeway. Participation increases each year and more than $400 was raised this past October. ■■■

ARCTICENGINEER STUDENTS VISITING THE MARINE INSTITUTE BASE IN H O LY R O O D T O C O N D U C T C T D C A S T S O N A B E A U T I F U L S U N N Y D AY.

Inspiring future engineers FA C U LT Y, S TA F F A N D S T U D E N T S W H O W O R E T H E I R PA J A M A S

This past summer, almost 100 provincial students came to campus for the faculty’s summer camps programs. Designed to inspire future engineers, the programs gain popularity each year. ArcticENGINEER is a week-long enrichment program designed for high school students; Girl Quest explores STEM subjects in a fun and interesting format for nine to 12 year olds; while Robotics and Junior Engineers, also designed for nine to 12 year olds, focuses on robotics and other engineering-related areas. Kathryn Hong is the co-ordinator and is quite pleased with how each program is progressing each year. “The programs are important for several reasons,” said Ms. Hong. “Early engagement with youth is key in breaking down barriers. The goal is for these young students to become inspired and to see a future engineer in themselves.” For more information on camps for summer 2016, please visit http://www.mun.ca/engineering/community/programs/camp/ or call Kathryn at (709) 864-3108. ■■■

I N S U P P O R T O F T H E J A N E W AY ’ S J A M A R A M A .

Participating in annual Mineral Resources Review On Nov. 5-7, the faculty participated in the province’s premier mineral exploration and mining conference and trade show, Mineral Resources Review 2015. The faculty’s Department of Process Engineering partnered with the Faculty of Science’s Department of Earth Sciences. As with previous years, there were many visitors to our booth inquiring about related research the university is doing. Mineral Resources Review is eastern Canada’s largest mining industry conference and tradeshow. Approximately 750 delegates attend the show annually. ■■■

D R . J O H N S H I R O K O F F.

G I R L Q U E S T PA R T I C I PA N T S M A K I N G Q U I C K S A N D .

U N D E R G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T S

Baja team improves speed and confidence at international competition

We had very minor breakdowns, which only happened when other people bumped into us. Overall, the car was a much sturdier model and we were able to stay on track for a long time.” Another highlight was in the maneuverability event. When the team left St. John’s it was -2 C outside; it was 30 C at the time of their arrival in Maryland. Unfortunately, their vehicle’s setup was not suitable for the warmer temperatures. “In the beginning the car didn’t handle very well because things weren’t calibrated properly,” said Alex Clark, co-captain. That first day, during lunch, we changed the entire set-up, such as suspension, tires and steering angle. Our body panels expanded and warped due to the hot temperatures so we had to re-do them, as well.” Thanks to some quick thinking and a quick pace, the Memorial team was able to calibrate their baja before the second run. “On the second maneuverability run, we dropped our time by six seconds, said Mr. Clark. “On a 40-second course, six seconds is a big deal.” Over the course of the four-day competition, for the first time ever, Memorial baja was able to make all allowed attempts of each dynamic event, and finished each one. Dr. Geoff Rideout, a mechanical engineering professor and faculty advisor for the students, travels with the team each year and was impressed with how the team handled challenges and competed overall. “As always, the team members worked very well together under a lot of stress and in close quarters,” he said. “They learn a lot about collaboration and teamwork, and those skills are as essential to successful engineering practice as are technical analysis and design.”

MEMBERS OF TEAM MEMORIAL BAJA.

With their strongest car to-date, the team is now fine-tuning its design to make the car faster for the 2016 competition. With its 42nd-place finish at the Baja SAE competition in Maryland this past spring, Memorial’s baja team is pleased with its overall performance and final results. One hundred universities competed in the international competition that consists of three regional competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and sometimes even water. The event includes competitions in acceleration, hill climbing, maneuverability, suspension and traction and endurance. “We jumped 10 spots over last year,” said co-captain Jumana Joury. “The biggest improvement over last year was in the endurance race. We completed 29 laps in the endurance race, compared to four laps last year.

Baja team members for the 2015 competition included Alex Clark, Jumana Joury, Neil Sullivan, Chris Langdon, Jeremy Andrews, Tristan Grech, Douglas Gibbons, Ben Morgan, Jordan Wilson, Kevin King, Justin Sullivan and Owen Bell. The team would like to thank the support they received from their generous sponsors this year some of which include Hickman Motors, Cimetrix, Atlantic Trailer, Bruneau Student LIFE Fund, Memorial University, Technical Services, Dovre, GJ Cahill, Kiewit, MUNSU, PGENL, WISE Undergraduate Society, NL Sportsman, Talon Energy Services, Sullivans and the Student Innovation Fund MUN. If you wish to sponsor Team Memorial Baja, please visit the team’s Go Fund Me page: http://www.gofundme.com/qbt3cc8 ■■■

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Engineering SailBOT team wins international sailing competition

Memorial hosted the 9th International Robotic Sailing Regatta (IRSR) and the MUN SailBOT team with its sailBOT, Petunia II, sailed through to first place, beating out five other teams to become the 2015 champions. For the annual IRSR competition, university, college and high school teams test their robotic sailboats, known as SailBOTs, that they designed and built prior to the competition. Students from competing schools use this friendly competition to apply their engineering knowledge in multidisciplinary tasks that require mechanical, electrical and software skills in a highly variable sailing environment. “The SailBOTs are designed to sail robotically, or unmanned, by making their own onboard decisions about sail trim and course direction without human assistance,” said Justin Royce, MUN SailBOT team member and electrical lead. “For the competition, the boats are tested through a series of challenges with limited, if any, human control. Each task completed earns the team points.” Some of the highlights for the MUN SailBOT Team included a fleet race on day two and the long-distance race on the final day. For the fleet race, boats were tasked with passing through the start line, around a buoy and back through the start line while being remotely operated. Memorial lost the first fleet race by a few seconds to Queen’s University, but was the only team to complete the second fleet race. For the long-distance race, which is the ultimate test of the competition, SailBOTs were tasked to

PETUNIA II

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remotely sail as long as possible completing total of five laps around a course. “We won the long-distance race which enabled us to win the competition,” said Adam Day, team captain. “The Queens University SailBOT had completed one lap around the course when it experienced rudder failure. Up to this point, Queen’s University was in the lead, which meant that the team from Memorial would have to complete at least three laps in order to earn the most overall points to win the competition. It was a very difficult challenge since no other team has successfully completed more than one lap, or even managed to sail autonomously. But, we did it! After three hours on the water, Petunia II autonomously rounded the last buoy for its third lap just as time ran out for the challenge.” Amidst roaring cheers from the dock, the Petunia II sailed to the finish line earning the MUN SailBOT Team a first place win at the 2015 IRSR. Memorial has been competing in this international competition for six years, but this is the first time that Memorial has won. Dr. Greg Naterer, dean, Engineering and Applied Science, is proud of the MUN SailBOT Team and its success at the 2015 IRSR competition. “Congratulations to the team!” said Dr. Naterer. “Our students worked very hard to prepare for this international competition and it was rewarding for them and for us to win against five other teams from around the world.” ■■■

U N D E R G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T S

Engineering graduate is taking the lead After graduation, engineering graduate TeAndra Thomas returned to her native Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to work with Fortis TCI, a subsidiary of St. John’s-headquartered Fortis Inc. In her time at Memorial and Fortis TCI, Ms. Thomas achieved a couple of firsts – first engineering student from Turks and Caicos to attend Memorial and the first female mechanical engineer at the Fortis plant in Providenciales. For Ms. Thomas, being first wasn’t her goal. She’s happy to be a role model for other young women in Turks and Caicos, a chain of 40 islands that is home to about 30,000 people. “While I’m proud of the fact, it just gives me a platform to speak to young girls and encourage them to get into science and math,” she said.

TEANDRA THOMAS

“That’s one thing I’ll continue to try to do … speaking engagements, answer people’s questions and do media interviews.”

“I’m still grateful for that first year when I did the pre-requisites – it helped me adjust and get accustomed to university life.”

Ms. Thomas received a scholarship from FortisTCI in 2009 and worked with the utility while applying to universities to study mechanical engineering.

Over the next five years, Ms. Thomas completed six work terms – one with Newfoundland Power, another with Metrobus and four with FortisTCI. She received hands-on experience at FortisTCI, assisting senior mechanics on engine rebuilds and the maintenance and repair of the diesel generators that are used in Turks and Caicos.

“Two students from the co-op program came to work at FortisTCI and they encouraged me to apply to Memorial University,” explained Ms. Thomas. “I went online and applied, and Memorial was the first university to get back to me.”

At the Fortis diesel generating plant, the company made a few adjustments to accommodate female engineers.

At the age of 17, she arrived in St. John’s, knowing just the two co-op students she had met back home. Her supervisor at FortisTCI also put her in touch with a civil engineering student from Belize.

“They didn’t have female bathrooms and showers. Now, there is a new mechanical workshop and it’s outfitted with females in mind – we have our own showers and locker rooms.”

“She showed me the ropes,” said Ms. Thomas. “I’d never been to Canada. When I got here it was a bit of cultural shock and I took a while getting used to it. My first year, it was really hard to adjust.”

Her male co-workers faced an adjustment of another kind: to stop their natural inclination to help Ms. Thomas by offering to carry her toolbox or help her carry heavy equipment.

Following a poor math placement test, she wound up doing prerequisite courses during her first year at Memorial before re-applying to engineering in 2010. She doesn’t regret it.

“It took them a while to realize that I have to do these things and to let me do these things. After a while, they started to respect me in the field and stopped babying me.” ■■■

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FROM LEFT ARE GRACE MARCOUX, ANNA GOSINE, TAY L O R C H A L K E R , P H I L I P PA G O S I N E , A LY C I A L E O N ARD AND BRANDON COLLIER. MISSING FROM THE P H O T O : A L E X M A C K AY A N D B E T H A N Y R O B E R T S .

Engineering students land EWB awards A group of Memorial engineering students attended the national Engineers Without Borders (EWB) conference and came away with new ideas, self-confidence, connections and a pair of awards for their hard work. Eight students from EWB’s 30-member Memorial chapter attended the annual conference. Ocean and naval architectural engineering student Philippa Gosine was the only student who received EWB’s national community award for her work with the organization’s Global Engineering Initiative. First-year engineering student Taylor Chalker won the Social Intrapreneurship Challenge for designing a business or program that solves a global or economic issue. In the year leading up to the conference, Ms. Gosine was president of EWB’s Memorial

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chapter and Atlantic team lead for the national committee on Global Engineering Initiative. She was selected for the EWB’s national community award for “courageously committing” to the work of the organization, which included helping to launch EWB’s three-course program, the Global Engineering Certificate. Memorial was the first university in Canada to launch this initiative. “Through the Global Engineering Certificate, EWB provides an avenue to enhance the knowledge we gain in our engineering education with the skills required to tackle the most critical issues society faces.” Ms. Chalker took home her EWB award for

developing an eco-café that supports local farmers and industries. During a three-hour session, she and other participants were challenged to come up with a solution to an economic problem. “We were going to use recyclable material to make it, it was going to have solar panels, and a greenhouse in the backyard – it was incredibly detailed,” she said. With the help of an entrepreneur, the students came up with a business plan and were given a tight timeline to pitch their ideas to a board of successful global business people. “They gave us five minutes to come with a presentation and two minutes to present. … They ended up saying that ours was the best, and if they were to invest in something they would invest in ours.” ■■■

U N D E R G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T S

Memorial engineering students first Canadian graduates of the global engineering certificate Memorial engineering students Robert Shea and Brian Peach are the first Canadian graduates of the new Global Engineering Certificate.

there is more to you than just academics and technical abilities.” Both recognize the importance of global issues, especially for engineers.

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Canada and Memorial University partnered to offer the educational program to engineering students. The program aims to enhance engineering education by providing students with an opportunity to learn about the importance of global engineering, to build professional networks and to gain real-world work experience in a culturally diverse and international environment. “The courses, volunteer work, project work, reflection and research gave me a deeper understanding to the context of engineering projects,” said Mr. Shea. “Knowing that there are complex social or systemic issues that could render a technically or financially sound solution incorrect can make or break many projects is extremely important for me as I begin a career as an engineer.” “If you are looking to be hired on as a junior engineer upon graduation, employers will be searching for applicants who can prove that they have those invaluable soft skills to pair with their technical abilities,” said Mr. Peach. “This certificate serves as a concrete validation that

“It has made me reflect on my beliefs and I think it has inspired me to raise my own level of commitment to organizations I endorse such as Engineers Without Borders or Habitat for Humanity,” said Mr. Peach. “The certificate makes me want to be a positive-presence in society and it starts those conversations that may inspire others to feel the same.” Mr. Shea encourages other engineering students to consider the program. “Students should do it for the understanding of underlying concepts,” he said. “Having technical knowledge with no understanding of the social system can lead to bad recommendations.” For more on the Global Engineering Program and how to apply, please visit http://globalengineeringinitiative.com/about/. ■■■

FROM LEFT ARE ROBERT SHEA AND BRIAN PEACH

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Memorial hosted national engineering competition Memorial engineering students welcomed 153 students from all across Canada for the 2015 Canadian Engineering Competition. The annual competition brings together the best and brightest engineering students from all across Canada, and strives to expand and advance the education of future engineers. The competition is divided into categories - debate; senior team design; junior team design; consulting engineering; innovative design; engineering communication; and re-engineering. The various categories are designed to test competitors to become innovative and creative engineers who consider environmental, social and economic impacts when making decisions. Competitors qualify for the national competition through one of four regional competitions. There were 10 students competing from Memorial. Fifth-year process engineering students, Richard Bonnell and Erin Lundrigan, placed first in the re-engineering category and fifth-year mechanical engineering students, Joshua Abeling and Paul Stewart, came in third in the debate category – the first time that Memorial has placed at nationals in the debate category. Fifth-year mechanical engineering student Tyler Rowsell said the weekend went very well and expectations were exceeded. “After two years of planning, the competition went off virtually without a hitch, thanks to the hard work of the planning team and all the students who volunteered over the weekend.” Dr. Greg Naterer, dean of engineering at Memorial, was very impressed with how well the event was executed. “Our students did an outstanding job with this event,” he said. “It was wonderful to see how well they came together as a team to host this national competition so successfully with more than 150 of the top students from engineering schools across Canada. It was also exciting to see our students with a first- and third-place finishes in two categories. We are very proud of their success.” Through a fundraising campaign led by Jessica Madore, the Memorial student team rasied over $170,000 to host the event in St. John’s. This is the second time Memorial has hosted this event. The first time was in 2003. ■■■

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G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T S

When Jonas Roberts received his doctor of philosophy degree, he had more than one reason to be proud. Dr. Roberts not only received his doctoral degree but he also received the Chancellor’s Graduate Award with the Fry Foundation Leadership Award. While wearing the floppy hat was a lot of fun for him, Dr. Roberts said the moment was a culmination of lots of hard work and sacrifices.

CHANCELLOR SUSAN KNIGHT WITH JONAS ROBERTS.

Jonas Roberts awarded prestigious Chancellor’s Award with the Fry Family Foundation Leadership Award

“It was a very proud moment for me,” he said. “Convocation seemed so far away for a long time so receiving my PhD after the many years of hard work was extremely satisfying. To be given the Chancellor’s Graduate Award and the Fry Family Foundation Leadership Award was simply amazing. I’m pretty sure I could hear my family cheering above the crowd when I walked across the stage.” The Chancellor’s Graduate Award is given at convocation to the student of the graduating class who has demonstrated the greatest leadership contribution to graduate student life and other areas of the community during his or her university years. The Fry Family Foundation Leadership Award is presented to a graduate student who has been selected as Memorial University of Newfoundland’s most outstanding graduate student leader. This award is given at convocation to the student who has been selected to receive the Chancellor Award which is the most prestigious leadership recognition awarded by Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dr. Roberts led quite a few initiatives during his time at Memorial. Some highlights include co-founding the Memorial University chapter of Engineers Without Borders and serving on several committees. He gave much of his time and

energy to social and political movements outside the university as a member of NL Climate Change and Energy Working Group. Their work ultimately led to the provincial government’s “Turn Back the Tide” campaign to raise climate change awareness and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He is a founding board member of “JustChange St. John’s,” an organization that pools their personal financial resources to provide grants to local groups trying to make lasting positive social, environmental and/or economic impacts within their communities. For his PhD, Dr. Roberts partnered with Nalcor Energy and investigated the impacts of climate change on the Lower Churchill Project. “Along the way, I made some interesting discoveries related to climate model uncertainty and sources of error,” said Dr. Roberts. “I hope my discoveries will help in the development of the next generation of models.” Dr. Ken Snelgrove, who supervised Dr. Roberts and nominated him for the award, is extremely proud and was thrilled to hear the news. “I have known Jonas since his undergraduate studies. I have always been impressed with Jonas both for his academic performance and his strong social conscience,” said Dr. Snelgrove. “When he expressed a desire to study at the doctoral level, I was keen to supervise his studies. Throughout his time at Memorial, Jonas has shown both great academic accomplishments and significant leadership within his community that has both distinguished him and our institution.” Dr. Roberts is now working on global projects as a climate change consultant. ■■■

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G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T S

Graduate students received research communications awards

FROM LEFT ARE PENG YU; PLINIO FERREIRO PINTO; DR. GREG N AT E R E R , D E A N , FA C U LT Y O F

Some of our graduate students tested their videography skills when they competed in the first annual Research Communications Awards. The competition was a collaborative effort between the faculty’s Engineering Research Office and Office of Graduate Studies.

ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE; Z H I L I ; S H U YA N C H E N ; A N D

Students were asked to prepare a 30-second research video to promote and celebrate the innovative research activities in the faculty.

S U V R A C H A K R A B O R T Y.

First place went to Zhi Li and Shuyan Chen for their video on autonomous surface vehicles. Second place went to Abdul Aziz and Suvra Chakraborty for their video on thermal analysis of buried offshore pipeline, and third place went to Peng Yu and Plinio Ferreiro Pinto for their video on composites material for large ships. Winning videos can be viewed at http://www. mun.ca/engineering/research/. ■■■

Graduate students compete in Three-minute Thesis Contest The faculty’s Office of Graduate Studies held its own Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) contest and 11 of our graduate students participated.

FROM LEFT ARE AL AMIN; D R . L E O N A R D LY E , A S S O C I AT E D E A N , G R A D U AT E S T U D I E S ; W E I Y U N L I N ; AND ELAHE SHEKARI.

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3MT® is an academic competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, for research students. Students have three minutes to present a compelling oration on their

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thesis and its significance. The competition is not an exercise in trivializing research, but about challenging students to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries so they can be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience. Elahe Shekari, Weiyun Lin and Al Amin won first, second and third place, respectively. ■■■

ALUMNI

Annual alumni reunions

CLASS OF 1975

In the fall of 2015, the faculty celebrated alumni from the classes of 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005 by hosting a reception and celebration in the S.J. Carew (Engineering) Building. The evening was a huge success with approximately 100 alumni in attendance. On a separate evening, alumni from the class of 1975 came together at R. Gushue Hall. Many thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make these reunions such a success for all who were able to participate. ■■■

D R . G R E G N AT E R E R S P E A K I N G T O A L U M N I A N D W O R K T E R M S T U D E N T S AT S U N C O R E N E R G Y I N S T. J O H N ’ S

Suncor Energy Alumni Meet and Greet This past October, Suncor Energy held a MUN Engineering Alumni Meet and Greet to bring together MUN engineering graduates and students who are current employees or completing work terms. At the event, Dr. Greg Naterer, dean, Engineering and Applied Science, spoke on the importance of our alumni and how they are important partners in the faculty’s success. ■■■

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W W W. M U N . C A / E N G I N E E R I N G

FA C U LT Y O F ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND S T. J O H N ’ S , N L CANADA A1B 3X5