Schlumberger-Celluforce-Waterloo Design Competition Participants
University of Waterloo’s nanotechnology undergrads are already using their expertise to make our world a better place.
In September, Professor Michael Tam challenged his 3B Nanotechnology Engineering students to find new ways of using cellulose nanocrystal (CNC), an extremely strong, lightweight and adaptable nanomaterial derived from wood fibres, in various applications throughout the medical, energy, environment, electronics/information storage, food/agriculture, cosmetics and chemical industries. They embraced the challenge.
For the past three months, twenty teams investigated how CNC can be used to solve a host of problems in creative ways. They presented their research at the Schlumberger-Celluforce-Waterloo Design Competition. It was held November 28, 2015 at Waterloo’s Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum Nano Centre.
Cash prizes were awarded to the five teams that produced the most innovative ideas, as judged by an expert panel that included Sébastien Corbeil, CEO of CelluForce Inc.; Richard Berry, CTO of CelluForce Inc.; Shirley Tang, Director of the Waterloo Nanotechnology Engineering program; Wadood Hamad, Principal Scientist at FP Innovations; and Valerie Lafitte, Program Manager of Stimulation Fluid Engineering at Schlumberger.
The award-winning teams created applications that use CNC to
- improve aneurysm treatments,
- decaffeinate liquids at home,
- create Pickering emulsions for the mining industry,
- capture and photoremediate nitrates in groundwater, and
- produce reinforced self-healing water tank coatings.
The competition was sponsored by Schlumberger and Celluforce. Schlumberger is the world’s leading supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions to customers working in the oil and gas industry worldwide. CelluForce Inc. is the world leader in the commercial development of CNC. It manufactures CNC in the world’s first demonstration plant of its kind, develops new applications for CNC, and markets and sells it.
This competition motivated Waterloo’s talented nanotechnology engineering students to work at the interface of academia and industry and develop innovative solutions to many challenging issues facing the world today. We hope that some of the groups will create start-ups in the field of sustainable nanomaterials.