UBC Materials Engineering News & Events

New Short Course on Corrosion: Principles and Selected Advanced Topics

2010-03-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

The Corrosion Group Offers a New Short Course on Corrosion: Principles and Selected Advanced Topics. See brochure for details and registration.

Professor Anoush Poursartip gives prestigious public lecture during UBC’s Celebrate Research Week

2010-03-15T11:47:00.003-07:00

Warren Poole, Anoush Poursartip and John Roberts

On Wednesday March 10th, Materials Engineering Professor Anoush Poursartip gave a special public lecture entitled “From Toy Trains to Airplanes: Are we serious about safety?”. The talk was attended by a near capacity crowd at UBC’s Robson Square. The 45 minute talk explored the question of whether our society is becoming complacent about safety and the possible implications for the future. The talk was followed by a 30 minute discussion where several practicing engineers from the audience expressed concerns that this issue deserves more attention by the public and the engineering profession.

Professor Poursartip is world renowned expert in Composite Materials. He works closely with his colleagues Professors Goran Fernlund and Reza Vaziri to solve problems working closely with industry. For more information on this lecture or to learn more about Dr. Poursartip’s research please contact:

Professor Anoush Poursartip
Department of Materials Engineering
Tel: 604 822-3665
Email: Anoush.Poursartip@ubc.ca

Congratulations to Materials Engineering Team for reaching the Semi-Final of TMS Materials Bowl

2010-03-15T11:21:00.001-07:00

Sina Shahandeh, Hamid Azizi, Mojan Sohi and Tudor Gheorghiu

The UBC Joint Student Chapter fielded the team of Sina Shahandeh, Hamid Azizi, Mojan Sohi and Tudor Gheorghiu in the Materials Bowl at the recent 2010 TMS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. The Materials Bowl is a fun, “Jeopardy” style trivia game that tests the team’s knowledge of Materials Science and Engineering. Teams from Universities from all over North America competed in this event. This was the first time that a team from the UBC Joint Student Chapter competed in this event. The team did extremely well advancing to the semi-final before losing to the eventual winner from the Colorado School of Mines. Well done and good luck for next year !

Supplementary Funds for MagNET - NSERC Strategic Network Enhancement Initiative

2010-02-18T15:11:00.005-08:00

MagNET awarded supplementary funds, photo by Don Erhardt

NSERC has approved supplementary funding for MagNET under the Strategic Network Enhancement Initiative. This funding of $200,00.00 per year for three years will allow MagNET to build on its overall objectives of i) making Canada a world leader in wrought magnesium materials which will be used in the transportation sector, ii) training the next generation of highly qualified personnel and iii) transferring knowledge to the Canadian receptors in industry and government laboratories.

www.magnet.ubc.ca

Materials Engineering hosts popular Open House

2010-02-10T11:57:00.001-08:00

Ariel Magpantay - iPod winner

The Department of Materials Engineering hosted a popular open house for undergraduate students on January 21st. Students were able to learn about the wide variety of options available for careers in Materials Engineering and what it is like for a student to study in Materials Engineering. The event was capped off with a draw for an Apple iTouch iPod. The winner of the iPod was Ariel Magpantay, a first year student in Engineering at UBC.

Congratulations to Andrew Carne, 1st place at WEC 2010

2010-02-03T09:01:00.006-08:00

UBC Engineers at the 2010 Western Engineering Conference

Congratulations to Andrew Carne, 4th year Materials Engineering student and member of the 1st Place Senior Team Design from UBC (Robert Orlando, Justin Stevens, Andrew Carne & Eric Pospisil).

UBC Engineers dominate Western Engineering Competition

Vancouver, Canada—February 2, 2010—The University of British Columbia received the 25th Anniversary Excellence Award and UBC Engineering student teams placed within the top-three of five categories at the 25th annual Western Engineering Competition (WEC). The annual event was held January 20-24th at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and connects approximately 250 engineering students from Western Canada to develop problem solving, teamwork and communication skills through peer competition.

Materials Students celebrate Joint ASM/Joint Student Chapter Meeting

2010-01-22T09:13:00.009-08:00

Mojan Sohl, Wayne Brox, Daniel LeBlond, Jooh Lee, Tudor Gheorghui

January 20, 2010 - Materials Engineering students, Mojan Sohi, Daniel LeBlond, Joon Lee and Tudor Gheorghui made excellent presentations to the local American Society for Materials Chapter and were presented with Certificates of Appreciation by Wayne Brox, the local chapter President. Pizza and drinks were enjoyed by all.

Prof. Chad Sinclair a founding member of the ArcelorMittal International Scientific Network in Physical Metallurgy

2009-11-20T10:53:00.008-08:00

On October 26th and 27th 2009, Prof. Chad Sinclair participated as one of eight founding members of the ArcelorMittal International Scientific Network in Physical Metallurgy. The goal of this network is to engage top international academic research teams from North America, Europe, Russia and Asia in some of the major issues, such as economic and environmental factors, facing steel production and application today.

Steels are among the most highly engineered materials currently produced today, as is well described in this recent article from the New York Times. Innovative technologies being developed by this new Network will far exceed the capacities of current steels leading, for example, to lighter, less polluting but yet safer vehicles. Advances beyond this to new fields like nanotechnology, energy production and sensing are on the horizon.

ArcelorMittal is the world's number one steel company, present in more than 60 countries (including Canada). UBC’s Department of Materials Engineering has a long tradition of innovative steel research and is the site of the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Chair in Advanced Steel Processing held by Prof. Matthias Militzer.

To learn more about Dr. Sinclair’s research please contact:
Professor Chad Sinclair
Department of Materials Engineering
Tel: 604 822-3352
Email: Chad.Sinclair@ubc.ca

Congratulations to Hamid Azizi, Diamond GEMS award

2009-11-12T08:43:00.005-08:00

Congratulations to Hamid Azizi on being presented the Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Award at MS&T 2009. Hamid's presentation was one of the three diamond awards presented.

Obituary to Professor Ernie Peters

2009-10-23T13:54:00.002-07:00

Ernest Peters
January 27, 1926 - May 27, 2009

Copy of the obituary for Ernest Peters that has been published in the journal Hydrometallurgy.

Professor Chad Sinclair wins prestigious NSERC Strategic Grant on Hybrid Materials

2009-10-14T10:59:00.004-07:00

"Steel making is usually associated with large steel plants, like those found in Hamilton or Pittsburg, where huge blocks of steel are melted and formed into shape. Professor Sinclair's group is looking to make steel in a whole different way -- starting from steel as a gas rather than as a liquid, building the steel by manipulating its structure from the atomic scale up.
Using physical vapor deposition, which is at the forefront of bulk steel processing technology, Professor Sinclair's team is looking at creating new types of steel with functional, structural and environmental benefits above and beyond those available from steels processed in conventional ways.

Based on this premise, NSERC has awarded a strategic grant entitled ³Graded hybrid composite steel sheet for packaging applications² to Professor Chad Sinclair and his international team which includes colleagues from the University of Ottawa (Prof. Arnaud Weck), the Universite de Rouen in France (Prof. X. Sauvage) and INSA de Lyon (Prof. M. Perez) in France. The project is a collaboration with ArcelorMittal, which has facilities in both countries. This international team will bring expertise in areas as diverse as atomic scale materials characterization using tomographic atom probe and modelling using molecular dynamics and monte carlo techniques to help understanding the production and properties of this highly novel class of new material.

To learn more about the new aspects of materials synthesis from the vapor state and atomic scale modelling and characterization, please contact:
Professor Chad Sinclair
Department of Materials Engineering
Email: Chad.Sinclair@ubc.ca

Materials Engineering and the Grand Challenges

2009-09-28T09:56:00.006-07:00

On Thursday, September 24th the Joint Student Chapter (JSC) and the Department of Materials Engineering presented a talk on the challenges of materials engineering. Please take a few moments to read about these challenges.

A presentation by department head, Dr. Warren Poole - Materials Engineering and the Grand Challenges

A booklet by the National Academy of Engineer outlining 14 challenges proposed by a diverse committee of experts from around the world - Grand Challenges of Engineering

Congratulations to Sina Shahandeh, best poster award

2009-09-10T13:52:00.009-07:00

Congratulations to Sina Shahandeh, winner of the best poster award at the 2nd Symposium on Phase-field Modelling in Materials Science (Aachen, Germany).

The best poster award donated by ICAMS Ruhr-Univerity Bochum, was awarded to Sina for his contribution: "Modelling of Grain Boundary-Particle Interaction using Multi-Phase-Field Formulation" (S.Shahandeh, M.Militzer).

Key Milestone achieved at Baja with Dave Dreisinger

2009-08-04T09:31:00.003-07:00

Jun 16, 2009 13:29 ET

Baja Achieves Key Milestone in Development of Manganese Metal Production at Boleo

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 16, 2009) - Baja Mining Corp. (TSX:BAJ) today announces that a key milestone has been achieved towards manganese metal production at its Boleo project in Baja, Mexico.

Staff at the University of British Columbia's Hydrometallurgy Research Laboratory have successfully demonstrated that manganese metal can be manufactured from Boleo manganese carbonate using conventional hydrometallurgical processing steps. A sample of manganese carbonate produced during the 2006 demonstration pilot plant at SGS Lakefield was used as feedstock for the tests which were done under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Gluck, Baja's Manager Process Technology and Dr. David Dreisinger, Baja's Vice President-Metallurgy, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. All technical results have been verified by Dr. Dreisinger.

Spin New Skin - Electrospinning with Frank Ko

2009-07-20T13:23:00.009-07:00

An article in the Cutting Edge Medicine Section of the July issue of Reader's Digest Canada features some of the work that Frank Ko is working on.

Professor Anoush Poursartip wins 2009 Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials

2009-06-09T20:55:00.003-07:00

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Professor Anoush Poursartip is the winner of the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials 2009 Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials.

Quoting from their website:

“The Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials, created to honor those who have achieved outstanding leadership in the field of composites, was established in 1984 in conjunction with the Decennial Celebration of the Center for Composite Materials. It recognizes those who have maintained and demonstrated scholarly endeavor, invention, and/or economic enterprise over a sustained period of time.”

This medal is the highest international recognition one can receive in the field of composite materials. The previous winners of the award are a who’s who of the composites world (more information on the award and previous winners can be viewed at www.ccm.udel.edu/Intro/medalofexc.html). It is worth noting that Professor Poursartip is the first Canadian to win this prestigious award.

The Medal presentation ceremony will take place at the banquet of the 24th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites in conjunction with the Canadian Association for Composite Structures and Materials during Sept. 15-17, 2009, in Newark, DE, USA.

Please join us in wishing Anoush our warmest congratulations on this outstanding achievement!

To learn more about the research in Composite Materials please contact:
Professor Anoush Poursartip
Department of Materials Engineering
Tel: 604 822-3665
Email: anoush.poursartip@ubc.ca

Department celebrates the graduating class of 2009!

2009-05-28T09:47:00.003-07:00

BASc Matthew Tunnicliffe, Dr. Babak Raesinia (PhD) and Warren Poole (Head of the Department)

May 26th, 2009 – Today, the Department of Materials Engineering celebrated the graduation of 33 BASc, 2 MASc and 2 PhD candidates. A special awards ceremony was held in the Department followed by the official congregation ceremony at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. In the awards ceremony, the Department recognized the two major award winners from our undergraduate class, Grace Hui who won the Merrill Prindle Book Prize for outstanding academic achievement and contributions to the undergraduate student organization and Victor Leung, who won the APEGBC Achievement Award for outstanding academic achievement.

Professor Alfantazi leads a team of UBC researchers to study corrosion in the next generation of nuclear reactors

2009-05-17T18:13:00.003-07:00

NSERC has awarded a major project “Electrochemical Sensors for Monitoring Chemistry and Corrosion in the SCWR”, to Professors Akram Alfantazi and Ed Asselin from Materials Engineering and Professors Walter Merida and Steven Rogak of Mechanical Engineering. The project receives a total funding of $300,000 over three years and will be executed in collaboration with researchers from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). The goal of this project is to develop sensors to monitor the chemistry of the SCWR coolant to control the chemistry to mitigate corrosion during operation of future Gen IV SCW reactors. This work should benefit all of the materials and chemistry work being performed and proposed world-wide for the international Gen-IV development program.

The Materials Engineering department congratulates this team of researchers on their success and is proud to support them in a path of new opportunities and contribution to a new generation of Supercritical-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactor.

To learn more about the project please contact:
Professor Akram Alfantazi
Department of Materials Engineering
Tel: 604 822-8745
Email: akram.alfantazi@ubc.ca

Applied Science Stars —people making a difference

2009-05-12T12:26:00.003-07:00

Please take a moment to learn about the rising stars coming out of the Faculty of Applied Science, including our own Matthew Tunnicliffe.

Congratulations to David Dreisinger, CIM Fellow 2009

2009-04-16T14:42:00.013-07:00

Congratulations to David Dreisinger, selected as a CIM Fellow for 2009.

MagNet research network receives $4.8m in NSERC funding

2009-03-27T12:08:00.002-07:00

Vancouver, Canada—March 19, 2009—The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) today announced funding for seven strategic research networks, including the Magnesium Network (MagNet) hosted by the University of British Columbia. Under the direction of Materials Engineering Professor Warren Poole, MagNet connects a team from industry, government and five Canadian universities to focus on reducing vehicle weight using wrought magnesium alloys.

Magnesium is a remarkable metal having a density 75% lower than steel and 33% lower than aluminum. By extensive use of magnesium components in an automobile, the net weight of an average car or light truck could be reduced by 20-25% or approximately 400 kg. It is estimated that a 10% reduction in vehicle weight increases fuel economy by 6-8% and each kilogram of weight reduction leads to a reduction of 17-20 kg of carbon dioxide over the life of a vehicle. Furthermore, magnesium technology is viewed by industry as a key enabling technology of the next generation of electric, hybrid or fuel cell vehicles.

MagNet supports the objective of the North American automotive industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions produced by the transportation sector, which currently represent 25% of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our government supports science and technology because it creates jobs, improves Canadians' quality of life and strengthens the economy for future generations," said The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), when making the funding announcement. "These projects will increase research and training in areas that will benefit Canadians, such as the economy, the environment, biotechnology and sustainable energy."

MagNet will receive $4.8 million in NSERC funding and $0.425 million from industry over five years.

“The NSERC and industry funding will enable us to establish Canada as a world leader in magnesium technology. Our team will work with the automotive industry to develop the knowledge necessary to produce magnesium components, and to transfer this knowledge base to Canadian industry. In addition, it will allow us to educate many highly skilled engineers and scientists,” says Poole.

“As researchers involved with this project and as citizens dedicated to a cleaner future, we are extremely grateful to NSERC and to taxpayers for funding this initiative.”

In addition to a team of researchers from The University of British Columbia, the MagNet network includes researchers from École Polytechnique, McGill University, McMaster University and The University of Waterloo.

Click here for more information on MagNET.

Click here for more information on NSERC strategic research networks.

Official Opening of the New Lecture Room - Dr. Gordon Forward

2009-03-26T15:06:00.008-07:00

Des Tromans, Ray Meadowcroft, Steve Cockcroft, Daan Maijer, Warren Poole and Gordon Forward

The New Industrial Revolution

Following the Official Opening Ceremony for New Lecture Room 303, Alumni Dr. Gordon Forward, a highly accomplished engineer and businessman, gave a talk on how materials engineers and others are building a sustainable future for industry.

Dr. Forward is one of North America's most prominent engineers. Among his many honours, he has been named to the prestigious National Academy of Engineers in the United States, and he has been awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for his work on sustainable industrial practice.

Here is a brief overview of what Dr. Forward discussed:

A new industrial revolution is underway. Worldwide competition is changing the way in which we make things. To meet the increasing challenges materials and manufacturing companies in North America have to continue to reduce costs, produce better products and do all this with environmentally sound processes. Fine-tuning existing processes will not be enough. Fresh thinking, such as looking outside one's own industry is required. The good news is that free markets work and that North America is responding. In fact a new industrial revolution is underway that is producing impressive results.

Presentation Slides

B. Raeisinia Paper in 2008 Highlights for MSMSE

2009-02-13T08:58:00.006-08:00

Paper by B. Raeisinia has been selected for inclusion in the 2008 Highlights for Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering (MSMSE).

A paper co-authored by Babak Raeisinia (recently graduated Ph.D.
student), Chad Sinclair, Warren Poole and Carlos Tome entitled 'On the impact of grain size distribution on the plastic behaviour of polycrystalline metals' is one of 10 articles selected for the 2008 highlights of the Journal Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering.

The articles in this collection were selected to showcase the diversity of the journal, some containing outstanding research and breakthroughs, some with especially clear exposition and beautiful presentation, and others that are instructive, with tools useful to many readers. You can read the article for free at http://herald.iop.org/msmseauthors/m92/srt/308316/link/2304.

Babak is currently a post doctoral fellow at the University of Virginia.

For more information on the mechanical behaviour of polycrystalline metals.
Contact:

Dr. Chad Sinclair, Associate Professor
Email: chad.sinclair@ubc.ca
604 822-3352

Congratulations to Jesse Neufeld, Winner of Open House Prize!

2009-02-10T16:04:00.007-08:00

The Materials Engineering Department hosted an extremely successful Open House for students considering Materials Engineering as a career. A record number of students (over 100) attended the Open House. These students had the opportunity to learn about becoming a Materials Expert through interactive displays featuring Smart Materials, Biomaterials applications and Green Materials for the Transportation sector. The students were also exposed to the stimulating and rewarding careers where Materials Engineers can make a difference in every industry around the world.

Jesse Neufeld, first year student from Williams Lake, BC was this year’s winner of an iPod Touch. Here is a photo of him receiving the iPod from the Head of Materials Engineering, Warren Poole

For more information on joining the Materials Program, please contact

Chad Sinclair
Coordinator for Student Outreach
Email: chad.sinclair@ubc.ca
604 822-3352

Better Materials Make for a Better World !

Lars Rose honoured for his leadership skills

2009-02-04T11:39:00.007-08:00

NRC-IFCI Director General Maja Veljkovic presents Rose with his award

Vancouver, Canada-February 4, 2009-UBC Materials Engineering PhD candidate Lars Rose has been recognized by National Research Council's Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-IFCI) for his outstanding leadership role in community outreach and fuel cell advocacy. Along with his doctoral studies, he performs his research at NRC-IFCI.

Rose leads in his selfless efforts and willingness to participate in community events. He has the keen ability to translate technical jargon and complex knowledge into fun and informative learning opportunities for a wide-ranging audience. In describing how fuel cells work in simple ways, he informs, inspires and awakens curiousity in others.

His demonstrations at science outreach and community events have successfully attracted media coverage, promoting further the value of fuel cell technology as well as science and engineering as attractive options of study. He is an active member of the NRC-IFCI National Science and Technology Week team, a coordinator of the UBC Let's Talk Science Partnership Program and a valued member of the Applied Science community.