Engineering student researchers among recipients of provincial funding
More than 20 post-secondary students are receiving a total of $835,000 for research related to this province's growing ocean industries sector, as announced by the Research & Development Corporation (RDC). Included in this group are 12 students from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
The 22 students are the recipients of RDC's second Ocean Industries Student Research Awards competition. In total, nine doctoral, nine masters and two undergraduate students at Memorial University of Newfoundland are receiving $835,000 in support of their ocean-related research over a three-year period. The awards range in value from $7,500 per year for undergraduate research to $20,000 to $30,000 per year at the graduate level. The students' research supervisors are also receiving a research allowance to support their students' research activities.
"In order to build on Newfoundland and Labrador's world-class capacity and performance in ocean-related research, it is paramount that we recruit, foster and retain research talent," said the Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister Responsible for the Research & Development Corporation. "Capitalizing on research opportunities in ocean science and technology to further support industry advancement and commercialization is a key element of the province's economy and its continued prosperity."
The investment supports research and development in areas relevant to Newfoundland and Labrador's ocean industries including offshore petroleum engineering, ocean engineering, fisheries, aquaculture and marine science. The students are enrolled in Memorial's Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.
"The Research & Development Corporation's investment supports the culture of innovation at Memorial University, enabling these students to conduct research that is critical to the future prosperity of this province," said Glenn Janes, Chief Executive Officer of RDC. "These 20 students have a personal stake in ocean-related research. They are tackling technical research challenges that will contribute to innovative solutions relevant to industry and future economic growth."
Dr. Christopher Loomis, Vice President (Research) of Memorial University, said these awards will enrich Memorial's research programs.
"Students are essential to research success. Their fresh ideas, tenacity and hard work will advance knowledge in their respective fields and will build our capacity for research in the ocean industries that are so important to our university and province," said Dr. Loomis.
The successful students are selected through a competitive process, based on their strong academic achievement, the technical merits of their proposed research plan and the relevance of the research to Newfoundland and Labrador's ocean industries. Final selection of award recipients was made with advice from RDC's research awards committee, comprised of academia, industry and government stakeholders.
The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science students who have been awarded funding include:
Offshore Petroleum Engineering
- Thomas Browne, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, analysis of compressive ice failure during ice-structure interaction.
- Jing Jing Cai, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, offshore gas processing and waste gas recovery using novel membrane technology.
- Waqas Hanif, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, tensile strain capacity of pipelines.
- Kyle Howlett, Bachelor of Engineering Student, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, offshore subsurface seismic surveying using autonomous underwater vehicles.
- Pu Li, PhD - NSERC Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, development of an integrated diagnosis, alert and emergency response system for supporting prevention and clean-up of offshore oil spills in Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Kshama Sundar Roy, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, finite element modeling of offshore pipelines using advanced soil constitutive model.
- Omid Zadakbar, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, risk based fault detection and diagnosis in offshore process plants.
Ocean Engineering
- Khalid Eldarymli, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, synthetic aperture radar detection in cluttered environments.
- Peter Cumming Gifford, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, evaluation of the stability, motions and resistance characteristics of the propelled spar concept.
- Liang Jing, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, an integrated ballast water management system for vessels operating in harsh environments.
- Nahidul Islam Khan, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, water current turbine for marine instrumentation system (development of an autonomous low-cost energy generation system that can optimize power 'harvesting' from marine current).
- Nikoo Naeemi Sanatdoost, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, design and optimization of inertial Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System-based accelerometer sensors for under-ice/water navigation systems.
