Five UBC engineering experts appointed Canada Research Chairs
Five researchers affiliated with UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science have been named among this year’s new and renewed Canada Research Chairs, out of 20 chairs at UBC.
The Canada Research Chairs Program invests up to $311 million per year to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising researchers in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences.
Dr. Xiaoliang Jin, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is renewing his Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Advanced Manufacturing. His research interests include manufacturing processes for advanced materials, such as nickel alloys and bulk metallic glasses, and determining what critical factors lead to shear banding.
Dr. Nadja Kunz, Associate Professor in both the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, is renewing her Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Mine Water Management and Stewardship. Her research looks at revolutionizing the use and management of water in mining projects to reduce risks for businesses, the environment and society.
Dr. Nika Shakiba, Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, is the new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cellular Chair. Her research program is interested in understanding the social lives of stem cells. The Shakiba Lab uses cell competition as a lens to reverse engineer stem cell systems and synthetic biology to forward engineer stem cell fitness.
Dr. Lyndia Wu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is the new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Wearable Brain Injury Sensing. One of her main research areas is traumatic brain injury or concussion biomechanics, where her team uses sensing, modeling, and machine learning tools to track head impacts during varsity hockey playoffs or the effect of soccer headers.
Dr. Naomi Zimmerman, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is renewing her Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Real-World Air Quality Sensing. Her expertise revolves around the development and application of real-world-based tools such as a mobile air pollution laboratory to quickly and quantitatively assess the impact of policy and technology decisions on air pollution and climate outcomes.
Tier 2 Chairs are given to “exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.” For each Tier 2 Chair, the institution receives $100,000 annually for five years, with an additional $20,000 annual research stipend for first-term Tier 2 Chairs.
This year, 224 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs were appointed at 48 institutions across Canada.
