Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering : Department Home

NSERC CRD Award
An NSERC Collaborative Research Grant "Unmanned Aircraft System Technologies" has been awarded to a team of researchers including Professors Mojtaba Ahmadi (M&AE), Dean R. Goubran (SCE), Trevor Pearce (SCE), Claire Samson (Earth Sciences), Paul V. Straznicky (M&AE) and Anthony Whitehead (Information Technology). Professor Straznicky is the Principal Investigator. Sander Geophysics Limited, an Ottawa-based firm in the field of geophysical airborne surveys is the industry partner and the major project supporter.

The research topics are autonomous operations, obstacle detection, magnetic signature control, low-cost composite structures, and geomagnetic data acquisition. The research project is closely connected to the current 4th-year UAV project in M&AE and will use the prototype GeoSurv II system being developed by the undergraduate students. The grant has a total value of approximately $100,000 per year for three years. The results of the research will enable cost-effective natural resource surveys of Canadian landmass, especially in the North, thereby helping in efficient and environmentally responsible geological exploration.

Professor Steen Sjolander Receives the McCurdy Award
Professor Sjolander received the 2009 McCurdy Award for his outstanding contributions to education and research in the field of gas-turbine technology. The McCurdy Award was introduced in 1954 by the Institute of Aircraft Technicians, one of the aeronautical groups that amalgamated to form the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute. The award commemorates the many engineering and other contributions made by John A.D. McCurdy during the first stages of the development of an aviation industry in North America. The award is presented annually for outstanding achievement in the science and creative aspects of engineering relating to aeronautics and space research. We congratulate Professor Sjolander for this well-deserved award.

Professors Daniel Feszty and Fred Nitzsche Receive NSERC I2I Award
Professors Daniel Feszty and Fred Nitzsche of the Rotorcraft Research Group at Carleton University have been awarded $121,187 by NSERC through the I2I (Ideas to Innovation) program. The NSERC I2I program aims to promote technology transfer from academia to industry, and in the present instance the funds from this program will be used to support the development of a novel Hybrid Control System which is aimed to reduce vibration and noise, thereby yielding smoother and quieter operation of helicopters. The key idea behind the Hybrid Control concept is the simultaneous use of Flow Control and Structural Control devices on a helicopter blade. The testing of the Structural Control device of this control system, an Active Pitch Link, has recently been completed through laboratory experiments and computer simulations. The NSERC I2I award will enable the demonstration of the full Hybrid Control System via further experimental and computational studies.

Welcome to New Faculty Member, Professor Cynthia Cruickshank
Dr. Cynthia Cruickshank joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as an Assistant Professor in July 2009. She received her Ph.D. (2009) and B.A.Sc. (2003) degrees at Queen's University. Her research interests relate to emerging technologies associated with sustainable and renewable energy systems. Dr. Cruickshank's brings to our department valuable expertise in the fields of modular thermal storage systems and solar thermal systems.

Welcome to New Faculty Member, Professor Glenn McRae
Dr. Glenn McRae joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as a Professor in July 2009. Dr. McRae joins us from the Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL), where he worked as a senior scientist since 1986. Dr. McRae received his Ph.D. (1984) and B.Sc. (1977) degrees in Physical Chemistry at the University of British Colombia. Dr. McRae's expertise and research interests cover a broad range, including corrosion and surface science; interaction of radiation with matter; applied statistical failure analysis;photochemistry; and laser-isotope separation. Dr. McRae will play a key role in the continuing development of educational and research activities in nuclear engineering in our department.

Aerospace project featured in Globe and Mail
Click here for Aerospace news: The universe is their laboratory. This article features a lunar micro-penetrator built by the students in the space related 4th year undergraduate project. The mission of 4th year design project for 2009-2010 is to design a micro-penetrator to survive lunar impact and report on the characteristics of the sub-surface regolith.

Welcome to New Faculty Member, Professor Anton de Ruiter
Prof. Anton de Ruiter joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as an Assistant Professor in January 2009. Prof. de Ruiter joins us from the Canadian Space Agency where, since 2005, he worked on a range of projects that included: nano-satellite formation flying missions; integrated GPS/INS navigation research and development; attitude determination and control; and formation-flying test-bed development . Prof. de Ruiter received his Masters and PhD (2005) degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Toronto, and his Bachelor of Engineering degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand (1998). Prof. de Ruiter brings to our department valuable expertise in the areas of spacecraft control and navigation, and interplanetary missions.

winners of the Martin Walmsley Fellowship for Technological Entrepreneurship
Kostyantyn Khomutov, a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the founder of Smart Rotor Systems, is one of this year's two winners of the Martin Walmsley Fellowship for Technological Entrepreneurship. Khomutov will receive $100,000 to start a business venture to bring the Carleton invention successfully to market. The Martin Walmsley Fellowship for Technological Entrepreneurship facilitates the transition of university-based research funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) into innovative business ventures. An expert panel selects the recipients, who are judged on criteria including strength of technology, commercial viability and sound business planning. The Fellowship honours the vision of Dr. Martin Walmsley, who was instrumental in founding the Ontario Centres of Excellence program in 1987.

Khomutov's "Active Pitch Link" system is a first-of-its-kind technology that can simultaneously control vibration and noise produced by wind turbines and helicopter rotors, significantly cutting noise pollution and maintenance costs. The system will enable a "jet smooth ride" for helicopter passengers and crew, decreasing associated health risks. For wind turbines, this innovative technology will enable installation in closer proximity to populated areas and will markedly improve component fatigue life. Khomutov believes his company could generate annual revenues of more than $140 million. Prior OCE funding to Carleton University allowed for the initial research and creation of the smart rotor.

Further information and media coverage on this exciting news is available at the following links:
> Faculty of Engineering and Design
> Ottawa Citizen

Carleton alumnus Matthew Bamsey is one of 16 candidates selected by the Canadian Space Agency for its National Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. Matt completed an undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering at Carleton in 2004. He is now pursuing a PhD in environmental biology at the University of Guelph and working at the CSA's space science-planetary exploration division. He is researching life-support systems that will enable future space travellers to grow plants for food in extreme environments.

"The motivated learning environment at Carleton University really provided that solid engineering foundation and, more specifically, aerospace base that has allowed me to pursue exciting projects in the space domain and truly follow my dreams," says Bamsey.

He was chosen from a recruitment pool of 5,300 people. Over the last several months, the CSA interviewed Bamsey and other candidates, putting them through a series of medical exams as well as physical and skills tests in sometimes extreme conditions to meet the demands of astronaut training and space flight. Matt will find out in May if he will join Canada's astronaut corps. If so, he will join the ranks of Carleton's former chancellor, Marc Garneau, who was Canada's first astronaut in space.

"We congratulate Matt on this great accomplishment," says Rafik Goubran, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design at Carleton. "I guess you could say that his engineering training at Carleton is out of this world."

Recognition of Teaching Assistants

We congratulate (from R to L in photo) Alex Pickard, Andrew Scribner and Sean McTavish for their outstanding fall-term efforts as teaching assistants in the 4th-year CAD/CAM, 3rd-year Fluid Mechanics, and 2nd-year Fluid Mechanics courses, respectively. The Carleton Mechanical & Aerospace Society coordinates the gathering of feedback from our undergraduate students, based on which we try to identify those teaching assistants that in our students' opinion go well beyond the call of duty to assist with tutorials and laboratories. The fact that we have a very capable and dedicated group of teaching assistants in our Department makes this accomplishment of these three graduate students particularly remarkable. We sincerely thank them for their outstanding work as teaching assistants.

Professor Hanspeter Frei Receives NSERC I2I Award
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Welcome to New Faculty Member, Prof. Jeremy Laliberte
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