mechsource brochure

Industry-MechanicalPartnership

Program

Your Cost Efficient Access

to Research, Development,

& Advanced Engineering

Moving Life Forward

MechSource

MechanicalEngineeringUnivers i ty o f A lber ta

iMECH brochure 10printers:Layout 1 6/15/09 4:01 PM Page 2

MechSource

If you operate an industrial company, you

know that success and growth are often

dependent on your ability to improve current

products and imagine new ones. Outsourcing

research and development has traditionally

been a long term proposition, involving a

significant investment of your financial and

human resources.

What if you had an applied research and

development partner who could access

grants and other funding sources to double or

even triple your R&D investment? What if this

partner could transform your research

challenge into a solution in two to three years

instead of the usual three to five?

That’s exactly what MechSource, the

Department of Mechanical Engineering’s

industry-mechanical partnership program,

can do for you.


Your Access to ExpertsWhen you partner with MechSource, you gain access toMechanical Engineering faculty professors, all of whomare Professional Engineers and who, collectively, have over

400 years of research and industrial expertise. Your project

also benefits from a team of world class engineers, scientists

and researchers across all Engineering disciplines.

Graduate EngineersOnsite for YouMechSource is an innovative approach to matching

Department of Mechanical Engineering graduate students

with industry research and development projects. Our

graduate engineers have completed their undergraduate

engineering degrees and are working on advanced degrees

that give them additional tools to tackle complex R&D projects.

So,when you partner with MechSource, your companybenefits from onsite state-of-the-art research and

development expertise while our graduate engineers have

the opportunity to solve real world problems.

GOING WITH THE FLOW Dr. Warren Finlay and his team of graduateengineers worked with pharmaceutical companies including Boehringer, Sanofi-Aventis,Alexza, Novo Nordisk among others, using a simplified model of the human mouth andthroat (the “Alberta mouth throat”) that matches the average deposition of aerosolsin the human mouth and throat. The model was developed using extensivemeasurements and numerical simulations of fluid flow and aerosol deposition andhelps pharmaceutical companies improve inhalers used to treat the symptoms of lungdiseases. The “Alberta mouth-throat” is now being used by companies worldwide.

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

IMPP success storiesGraduate engineers in theDepartment of Mechanicalengineering have theopportunity to work on R&Dchallenges that span a widerange of industry sectors.


Shorter TimelinesFaster ResultsTime and money drive advanced engineering degree

programs. That means our students are required to complete

their graduate degrees within a fixed period of time. Working

with MechSource, you can expect results within one tothree years, depending on the project requirements. That’s atleast two years sooner than most private research and

development firms can deliver.

Built in AccountabilityOur graduate engineers are assigned projects as their

graduate work, so they have a professional and personal

interest in ensuring the project is successful, on time and on

budget. Your company’s technical staff provides mentorship

and technical supervision in collaboration with the

participating Engineering professor. Our Engineering staff also

provides quality assurance, project management and technical

mentorship. In addition,we manage all the administrationrelated to the student and their project, thus freeingyou to focus on your core business.

ContactDr. Alidad [email protected]


World Class Facilitiesand EquipmentIn addition to an outstanding team of engineers, scientists,

researchers and administrators, you will have access tocutting edge equipment and facilities to support yourproject. The Mechanical Engineering building on the U of Acampus houses a modern, well-equipped machine shop and

state-of-the-art laboratories. Other facilities include:

Thermo-fluids• Aerosol research laboratory

• Thermal spraying

• Surface thermodynamics and interfacial phenomenalaboratory

• Combustion laboratory

• Laser doppler velocimetry/thermal laboratories

GREAT RECOVERY Dr. Sushanta Mitra and his team of graduateengineers worked with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the largest oil andgas exploration company in India, to develop new strategies for conventional oilrecoveries using horizontal and vertical wells in waterflooding. Dr. Mitra’s teaminvented a new three-dimensional core holder for performance evaluation of oil wellconfigurations. The team now holds a patent on the novel core holder for oilexploration and successfully demonstrated the use of horizontal wells for additionaloil recovery when the traditional vertical well stops producing oil from reservoirs.




Applied mechanics• Experimental stress analysis laboratory

• Vibrations laboratory

• Material testing

Other• Metrology laboratory includes Browne and Sharpe

microval digital coordinate measuring system

• Hardinge 10 tool live tooling CNC lathe

• Hermle 32 station CNC milling machine with toolchanger

In addition to on campus facilities, two large facilities off

campus are used for building science, acoustics and

flammability studies.

GROUND CONTROL As part of a multi-disciplinary R&D projectteam from different companies and research institutions, Dr. MichaelLipsett led efforts to find ways of applying laser range imaging forscripted and direct telerobotic control in unstructured environments,contributing to machine design and control, collision avoidance, scripting,and remote condition monitoring. MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates(MDA) has since used this architecture for its Orbit Express system forground-based control of satellite servicing robots, and is developingterrestrial systems for mining and inspection and refurbishment of nuclearfacilities. Dr. Lipsett has since provided consulting services to MDA &others on new technology development in surface mining robotics.



Making the mostof your resourcesSuccessful companies understand the importance of R&D

investment to long term growth and financial return. For small

and mid-sized companies, however, the cost of that

investment can create a barrier to success and growth.

MechSource can help remove that barrier.

As an MechSource partner, the budget you have availablefor a research and development project can be doubledor even tripled because of our ability to access provincialand federal grant funding to offset the costs of research.

One of these grant sources is the Collaborative Research and

Development (CRD) Grants program <www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/

Professors-Professeurs/RPP-PP/CRD-RDC_eng.asp> offered

through Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of

Canada (NSERC). CRD grants are intended to give Canadian

companies access to the unique knowledge, expertise and

educational resources available at Canadian universities and

colleges, and to train students in essential technical skills

required by industry. The Faculty of Engineering has a 90 per

cent success rate in obtaining CRD grants.

In short, we are able to leverage your research anddevelopment investment, manage development riskand maximize research outcomes.



If you would like to learn more about MechSource, the

Department of Mechanical Engineering’s industry-mechanical

partnership program, contact:

Alidad Amirfazli, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Associate Chair - Research

5-1M Mechanical Engineering Bldg

University of Alberta

Edmonton AB T6G 2G8

email: [email protected]

ph: 780.492.6711

MechanicalEngineeringUnivers i ty o f A lber ta

Your Cost Efficient Accessto Research, Development,& Advanced Engineering


mechsource brochure

Documents