The Department of Mechanical Engineering recently held the annual Celebration of Achievements ceremony. See photos from the event here.
The event was held at the First Nations House of Learning, and was an opportunity to recognize the achievements of exceptional students within the Mech department. Congratulations to all those who received awards, and thanks to all who attended.
UBC Professors Meeko Oishi (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Ian Mitchell (Computer Science), Mike Van der Loos (Mechanical Engineering) have a new book out. Design and Use of Assistive Technology: Social, Technical, Ethical, and Economic Challenges was recently published by Springer. The book is the result of an interdisciplinary UBC workshop hosted by the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS) and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies that the three researchers ran last year on assistive technologies.
From left to right: Bruce Hodgins, Dr. Steven Rogak, Don Brooks, Andrew Saxton, and Dr. Sheldon Green celebrate Dr. Rogak’s new federal grant
The University of British Columbia welcomed the announcement of federal support for research and development of natural gas engine technology.
The federal research grant was announced today at UBC’s Vancouver campus by Andrew Saxton, Member of Parliament for North Vancouver, on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry.
UBC researcher Steven Rogak will receive, under the Automotive Partnership Canada program, $499,824 over five years to develop fuel injector prototypes for natural gas engines. Partnering with UBC on this initiative is Westport Innovations Inc., a Vancouver-based UBC spin-off company that will provide financial support and essential in-kind contributions. Westport is a leading developer of technologies that enable vehicles to operate on clean-burning alternative fuels.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the Government of Canada’s clear and continued support for university-industry partnerships promoting excellence in research,” said Don Brooks, UBC Assoc. Vice President Research and International. “This investment will significantly boost UBC’s collaborations with the automotive industry to provide Canadians with efficient and environmentally responsible transportation technologies.”
“Our goal is to develop a fuel injector that will make natural gas engines competitive with diesel engines, by eliminating dangerous particulate emissions without sacrificing efficiency or adding cost,” said Rogak, associate director of the UBC Clean Energy Research Centre and an associate professor of mechanical engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science.
“Natural gas has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 per cent, compared to conventional engines,” said Rogak. “But until our society places a higher price on carbon emissions, it is essential that the cleaner engine technology can compete with the incumbent technology on cost and performance.”
“Our government recognizes the importance of leadership and vision in the industry and has created Automotive Partnership Canada to help the industry make greener, better-performing vehicles,” said Saxton. “This program will create jobs and strengthen the economy for future generations.”
Industry Minister Clement announced this morning in Hamilton four projects under the Automotive Partnership Canada program, representing an investment of more than $14.9 million over five years for automotive R&D projects worth a total of $28.6 million.
Announced by Clement in April 2009, Automotive Partnership Canada is a five-year, $145 million initiative to support collaborative research and development to drive the Canadian automotive industry to greater levels of innovation.
BACKGROUND
Fuel Injection and Natural Gas Engines
In all internal combustion engines, the quality of fuel injection has a profound influence on the emissions and performance of the engine.
UBC Mechanical Engineering Assoc. Prof. Steven Rogak is working on a prototype fuel injector using Westport Innovation’s High Pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) technology that will allow heavy-duty diesel engines to run primarily on natural gas and retain some of the advantages of diesel engines, including reliability and high thermodynamic efficiency.
The operation of the injector is complex and the cost of prototyping is high because of the large number of high-precision parts, such as gas-tight sliding needle valves and the nozzles, which include an array of injection holes less only half a millimeter in diameter. The timing and duration of injections must be controlled to within about 50 microseconds.
Single Cylinder Research Engine
To evaluate fuel injector prototypes, the UBC research team tests the gaseous emissions via a sophisticated piece of UBC equipment called the Single Cylinder Research Engine (SCRE). The SCRE – with its engine, compressors and controls – represents more than $1 million of infrastructure and costs more than $80,000 per year to operate due to the sophisticated instrumentation and technician costs
Injector Visualization Chamber
A benefit of the project has been the development of the Injector Visualization Chamber, which can determine injector flow and spray characteristics at realistic fuel and background pressures.
Mechanical Engineering professors Yusuf Altintas and Anthony Hodgson were each singled out for excellence by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (APEGBC) at its annual awards ceremony last week.
Professor Yusuf Altintas has received APEGBC’s highest honour—the R.A. McLachlan Memorial Award—for his outstanding professional and community service.
Award Citation: Dr. Yusuf Altintas is recognized internationally as a leading engineering researcher in the field of machining and machine tools. Over the past two decades he has made innovative scientific contributions in modeling the mechanics, dynamics, stability and control of machining operations. He has contributed significantly to industry literature—particularly his theory of kinematics and chatter vibration stability in milling. He has authored a popular book and published 120 journal articles. An exemplary engineer and leader, Dr. Altintas is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, International Academy for Production Engineering Research, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Pratt & Whitney Canada. He is the founder and president of MAL Manufacturing Automation Laboratories, which distributes practical applications of his state-of-the-art research to more than 130 companies and universities worldwide. Inspiring the next generation of engineers, Dr. Altintas is an accomplished professor of mechanical engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He pioneered and led the mechatronics engineering option at UBC. He has been an invaluable presence in his community as a tireless advocate for the Turkish Canadian Society. His passion for machining technology, and dedication to research and education make him an outstanding candidate for APEGBC’s highest honour for a professional engineer, the R.A. McLachlan Memorial Award.
Professor Anthony Hodgson has received APEGBC’s Teaching Award of Excellence.
Award Citation: Preferring to adopt an unconventional approach when educating the next generation of engineers, Dr. Antony Hodgson, director of the Biomedical Engineering Program at UBC and NSERC Chair in Design Engineering, is a champion of curriculum and program enhancements that have gained international recognition. As an engaging and open-minded educator, he is primarily interested in active learning techniques and in situating course material within a realistic context, often incorporating team-based learning, case studies, projects and site visits in his courses. Through his versatile teaching style, Dr. Hodgson enables students to exceed their own expectations, and by fostering a socially responsible outlook, he enables them to develop a sense of purpose within the profession—accomplishments which have earned him UBC’s prestigious Killam Teaching Prize. Dr. Hodgson’s invaluable mentorship and contagious passion for the profession have led many of his students to the top of their respective fields, and he will invariably continue to play a pivotal role in the lives of his future students.
Jennifer Pelletier receives her award from Prof. Stephen Toope, UBC President.
Manager of Undergraduate Affairs and Special Projects Jennifer Pelletier in the Department of Mechanical Engineering has received a UBC President’s Staff Award of Excellence in recognition of her outstanding contributions in helping UBC achieve its vision and goals.
“Jennifer exemplifies the ethic of service-leadership that we continually strive to demonstrate in everything we do throughout the Faculty of Applied Science,” says Dean of Applied Science Tyseer Aboulnasr. “She has taken many service roles beyond her department, and these roles (in nature and number) are ones not normally taken on by a single departmental staff member—indicating her versatility, her leadership and the value she gives in this service.”
Some of Ms Pelletier’s contributions include serving on faculty-wide committees, liaising with engineering student groups and volunteering in the community on science and engineering initatives, such as the GEERing Up! program, a non-profit engineering and science camp for kids. She also holds a joint appointment as Manager, NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (BC and Yukon Region).
Earlier this year, Ms Pelletier was honored by the UBC Engineering Undergraduate Society as its Honorary President, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the student experience. This was the first time that a staff member has been selected by the student body to hold this position.
Ms Pelletier is the second Faculty of Applied Science employee to be recognized with a UBC Staff Award this fall. Facilities and Finance Assistant Karen Seddon in the School of Engineering on UBC’s Okanagan campus received a Service Award for Excellence for her outstanding customer service.
University of British Columbia Mechanical Engineering Professor Elizabeth Croft has been named the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for the British Columbia and Yukon Region.
The primary focus of the Chair is to increase the participation of women in science and engineering and to provide role models for women active in, and considering, careers in these fields.
“This is a powerful program that has encouraged many young women to pursue the exciting opportunities that the natural sciences and engineering disciplines provide,” said Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC. “Dr. Croft conducts high-level research in the cutting-edge field of human-robot interaction and this makes her a fantastic role model. I am looking forward to the response she will inspire from young women in high schools and universities.”
Although women comprise more than half of UBC’s undergraduate population, only 18% of engineering undergraduates are women. Women are also under-represented in computer science, physics and mathematics. Within engineering and high-technology careers, attrition rates of females are estimated as high as 40%.
As Chair, Croft will focus on awareness and outreach programs to recruit women and under-represented minorities into engineering and technology-related sciences; develop strategies for educational mentorship and support; and create networks for advancement as professionals.
“There is great demand for highly trained scientists and engineers to sustain economic development, and we need to attract and foster a diverse talent pool with a global perspective,” says Croft. “We cannot truly succeed as a profession—and ultimately a society—if we do not have the opportunity to attract and retain the brightest minds, male or female.”
As a Professor at UBC, Dr. Croft has spearheaded several initiatives to support women in engineering. In 2003, with the help of two graduate students, Dr. Croft launched (and continues to be involved with) UBC Engineering’s Mentoring (formerly Tri-Mentoring) program. The Mentoring program, which connects undergraduate and/or graduate students with engineering professionals from both industry and academia, provides a sense of community and support, and can help reduce feelings of isolation while increasing self confidence.
Dr. Croft has also co-founded UBC’s Women in Engineering (WIE) program. WIE organizes speakers, brown bag socials and a two-day retreat for women in engineering, “Creating Connections,” that has attracted more than 100 participants.
“Gender or ethnicity should not inhibit people from pursuing a career in which they can truly make a difference in our world,” says Faculty of Applied Science Dean Tyseer Aboulnasr. “With NSERC and industry support and Dr. Croft’s leadership, we will continue to build an inclusive and diverse community and work to inspire a new generation of professionals. Our future depends upon engineers and scientists who will develop the technology necessary to address the challenges facing us all. It only makes sense that those engineers and scientists reflect the diversity of our society.”
NSERC has contributed $350,000 in support of the Chair program for five years; industry sponsors have contributed matching funds.
Lead sponsors include BC Hydro, Dr. Ken Spencer, WorleyParsons Canada, Teck Resources Ltd., Stantec, and Mr. Henry Man. Contributing sponsors are Ms. Catherine Roome, Mr. Stan Cowdell, the APEGBC Division for the Advancement of Women in Engineering and Geoscience, Nemetz and Associates, and Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers. Ms. Karen Savage and Golder Associates Ltd. have also supported the Chair.
Professor Croft is the third UBC professor to hold the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering since the program’s launch in 1996. Her predecessors include UBC Professors Maria Klawe and Anne Condon from the Department of Computer Science.
NSERC is a federal agency whose vision is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators to the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 28,000 students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 11,800 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.
Chairholder Profile:
Elizabeth Croft, Ph.D., P.Eng., FEC, FASME
Elizabeth A. Croft received a B.A.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering in 1988 from the University of British Columbia, an M.A.Sc. degree from the University of Waterloo in 1992 and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Toronto in 1995.
A professor in UBC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, she is director of the Collaborative Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory. Her research interests include industrial robotics, human-robot interaction, and mechatronics.
Dr. Croft’s research is centred around human-robot interaction, and more specifically, how interactions with robots can be designed to naturally adapt to what their non-expert human users want them to do. Her aim is to make industrial robotic systems more adaptive and applicable to the changing manufacturing landscape – involving a significantly higher level of interaction with people. Thus, her research delves into how robotic systems can behave, and be perceived to behave, in a safe, predictable, and reliable manner. Applications of this work range from manufacturing assembly to healthcare and assistive technology. This work is highly interdisciplinary and requires collaboration with people working in computer science, psychology, health and biological sciences.
Second place was awarded to MECH 457 students for their entry in the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers) 2010 Student Design Project Competition in the HVAC System Design Category.
There were 14 schools that made it to the national level in the HVAC System Design category. This year’s competition included the HVAC system design for the Ginsburg Tower at Florida Hospital in Orlando.
The UBC team is affiliated with the Mechanical Engineering Design Project (MECH 457) course, where students work on a variety of design projects including HVAC design.
The UBC’s ASHRAE Design Team included; Jacob Allen, Kelly Ng, Branislav Cvijetinovic, Jason Le, Esteban Kello. Geoff McDonell P.Eng. from Aerius Engineering was the mentor, and Dr. Nima Atabkai from the Mechanical Engineering Department served as the team advisor and supervisor.
The award includes a trip for one team representative to attend ASHRAE’s Winter Meeting in Las Vegas in January 2011. It includes travel and hotel for two nights. The team representatives will be attending the ASHRAE Student Program on Sunday, January 30, 2011 for recognition.
Congratulations to our students and many thanks to Dr. Van der Loos, Mr. Cramond, Mr. Fengler, Dr. A. Hodgson and Mr. Winkelman, as well as all Mech Department staff and faculty that were a part of the MECH 457 class and helped make the project such a success.
The UBC ASHRAE Design Team: (from left to right) R Kelly Ng, Jacob Allen, Jason Le, Baki Cvijetinovic, Steban Kello (not present)
Two UBC robots are highlighted in this August’s issue of Popular Science. The human-interaction robots RISER and TAMER are profiled in PopSci’s feature article “Rise of the Helpful Machines” – both involving researchers from Mechanical Engineering’s Collaborative Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory. Check out images #5 (TAMER – a collaboration between Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering) and #7 (RISER – a collaboration between Mechanical Engineering and Human Kinetics) here: http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2010-07/gallery-rise-helpful-machines
Follow the link to see the CARIS Lab in Popular Science, images 5 and 7
As the World Cup soccer tournament is underway in Africa, a team of soccer enthusiasts from UBC are heading to Singapore for a chance to take on the world in international competition. The only catch is that this team is made up entirely of autonomous robots. UBC ThunderBots is a student team which has come together to design and build an autonomous robotic soccer team for RoboCup, an annual robot soccer competition that attracts over three thousand participants from over forty countries.
At a recent news conference and demonstration, the ThunderBots team attracted a crowd of media and interested UBC faculty and staff. It was a chance to showcase the robots’ skills and the team’s accomplishments before their trip to Singapore for the competition. “Going from scratch, from design to manufacturing, to now seeing it on the field,” remarks Mechanical Lead Howard Hu, “Is the best feeling ever!”
The demonstration included a three on three scrimmage and an exciting shootout. With news cameras rolling, the ThunderBots team watched the product of their hard work and dedication perform autonomously, given directions only at the referee’s whistles.
The team predicts a top ten finish at the competition, improving upon last year’s sixteenth place finish out of thirty competitors. “Just getting there was a huge accomplishment,” says Administrative Team Captain Amanda Li about last year’s competition, but this year ThunderBots is confident they will be very competitive.
The anticipation of the trip can be felt throughout the team. “I am so happy right now to be going to Singapore” exclaims mechanical engineering student and ThunderBots team member Steve Huynh.
Even with all the technical hurdles the Thunderbots have overcome, Technical Team Captain Alim Jiwa still insists, “The biggest challenge is working in a large team.” Working in a team is a big part of the engineering experience and the ThunderBots have learned how to effectively manage a large interdisciplinary team.
Mechanical engineering students at UBC are highly involved with the team. Both team captains Jiwa and Li are mechanical students and many other team members call the Mechanical Engineering Department home. Along with student involvement, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is also a proud sponsor of ThunderBots.
The ThunderBots leave on Wednesday June 16, for the competition which runs from June 19th-25th.
For more information on the RoboCup visit: https://www.robocup.org/
60 years after their graduation from UBC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, a group of former classmates came back to UBC. The class of 1950 went on a tour of the mechanical engineering buildings and had lunch at the Sage Bistro.
There were lots of stories to tell and news to catch up on; Arthur Whistler reminisced:
“At one time, when I was at Shellburn Refinery in Burnaby , Dave Frances was at Shell Refinery in Montreal and Lawrence Hughes was at the Shell Office in Vancouver . We did not know that we were working at Shell. I always remember a Christmas party that was held at the Refinery for the families and model Oil Tank Trucks were given to the children. They were soon recalled when it was noticed that they were marked.
