Congratulations to three outstanding TIAM professors who have received Early Researcher Awards (ERA) from the Government of Ontario. The Early Researcher Awards are designed to help support the work of promising researchers in the first five years of their academic career. This critical support enables them to build their research teams, while creating jobs for graduate and undergraduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants, associates and technicians.
Nanomaterials for smooth operation
Professor Tobin Filleter (MIE) studies how nanomaterials — including recently discovered 2D materials such as graphene and graphene oxide — could help reduce damage caused by friction, wear, and fracture in mechanical structures and systems. His work could lead to new lubricants, coatings, or composites that extend the life of automobiles, aircraft, batteries and even space systems.
Designing smart materials
Professor Chandra Veer Singh (MSE) and his team design materials at the nanometre scale. Examples include strong yet lightweight materials that could reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency in automobiles and aircraft, and catalytic materials which facilitate chemical reactions to convert CO2 into useful chemical fuels, such as methanol, using sunlight.
Cancer lab on a chip
Cancer tumours form highly complex 3D environments involving many cell types. Yet much of our understanding of how cancer tumours develop has been based cells cultured in dishes that do not accurately replicate conditions in the body. Professor Edmond Young (MIE) and his team are using a combination of microengineering, microscale fluid flow, and microscopy to develop more representative 3D tissue models and better tools to study their growth. These tools will enable cancer biologists to address unresolved questions in our understanding of cancer.
Please click here for the original article by UofT Engineering News.