A new frontier in wireless connectivity and a testing process that leverages machine learning and natural language processing are two of the Waterloo Engineering projects receiving a financial boost thanks to provincial research funding announced June 18.
A $3.4 million Ontario Research Fund - Research Excellence (ORF-RE) award will enable Amir Khandani, an electrical and computer engineering professor, to continue researching wireless connectivity, which includes the possibility of doubling the use of the wireless spectrum.
Raafat
Mansour,
an
electrical
and
computer
engineering
professor,
was
awarded
$1.5
million
in
ORF-RE
funding
for
his
research
work
into
providing
micro
and
nano
meter
scale
tools
for
advanced
manufacturing.
The
ORF-RE
program
promotes
research
excellence
of
strategic
value
to
Ontario
by
supporting
the
operational
costs
of
new,
leading-edge,
transformative
and
internationally
significant
research.
Awarded $75,000 from the Ontario Research Fund – Small Infrastructure is Zhongwei Chen, a chemical engineering professor, for his work in advanced chemical vapour deposition system for nanostructured clean energy materials development.
Waterloo receives the most ERAs province-wide
Daiene Vernile, Member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener Centre, and Kathryn McGarry, Member of Provincial Parliament for Cambridge, announced awards for 26 University of Waterloo researchers receiving the Ontario government’s Ontario Research Fund - Research Excellence (ORF-RE), Ontario Research Fund - Small Infrastructure programs and the Early Researcher Award (ERA). Waterloo received more ERAs than any other institution that applied – which recognize talented, recently appointed researchers.
Lin
Tan,
an
electrical
and
computer
engineering
professor,
was
one
of
six
Waterloo
Engineering
researchers
receiving
an
ERA of
$140,000.
Tan
is
collaborating
with
a
leading
software
company
to
develop
techniques
that
will
accelerate
software
development
and
improve
testing
by
detecting
more
defects
automatically.
“The increased software programming capability and error detection realized by these techniques will improve Ontario’s competitiveness in the software sector,” Tan said.
Waterloo
Engineering
researchers
also
awarded ERA
funding
are:
•
Nasser
Azad
(systems
design
engineering):
Intelligent
Energy
Management
of
Electric
Vehicles
Under
Driving
Behaviour
Uncertainty
•
Robert
Gracie
(civil
and
environmental
engineering):
Hydraulic
Fracturing:
Modelling
and
Uncertainty
Assessment
in
an
Ontario
Context
•
Hyock
Ju
Kwon
(mechanical
and
mechatronics
engineering):
Development
of
3D
Cell
Traction
Force
Microscopy
•
Luis
Ricardez-Sandoval (chemical
engineering):
Optimal
Design
of
Full-
scale
CO2
Capture
Technologies
for
Clean
Power
Generation
•
John
Wen
(mechanical
and
mechatronics
engineering):
Development
of
Nanothermite-based
Micro-joining
Technology
for
Advanced
Manufacturing
and
Clean
Technology