Ask an engineering professor about their favourite sort of work, and many will respond that it鈥檚 projects with industrial partners 鈥� those chances to tackle real-world problems and, through collaboration, produce work that makes a tangible, direct difference. Many in computer science would share the sentiment.
Thanks to a new investment from Boeing, faculty and students in those disciplines are being given a huge opportunity to engage in just that sort of research.
On Tuesday, Dalhousie announced a partnership with the international aerospace company for applied projects in advanced materials, mobile graphics and visual and text analytics 鈥撀爀ach addressing specific industrial needs that will have implications not just at Boeing, but beyond.
鈥淭his is a very exciting afternoon,鈥� said Dalhousie President Tom Traves, speaking at a celebration event at the Life Science Research Institute, adding that the agreement is an example of how Dalhousie can pair 鈥渨orld-class academic research with world-class industrial partners.鈥�
Making data easier to use
Evangelos Milios, computer science professor, is leading two of the projects. The first, mobile graphics, will help deliver complicated drawings, schematics and blueprints to aircraft manufacturing and maintenance technicians using smartphones, tablet computers and projection systems.
The other, visual and text analytics, is about finding new ways to display, mine and interpret the massive amount of data that Boeing collects about each aircraft for improving safety.
鈥淓very maintenance action on Boeing aircraft is recorded and sent to Boeing 鈥� the same with any accident, injury, problem during take-off,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭here is a massive amount of text on everything to do with the aircraft, but it鈥檚 what we call 鈥榥oisy鈥� text: it has jargon, includes ad-hoc acronyms, has poor grammar, and it may not make sense to people in other parts of the company.
"We want to work to make it clean and accessible so it can be used by aircraft designers and safety engineers to improve aircraft safety.鈥�
Advanced materials, new opportunities
Paul Bishop, with the Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science, heads up the project in advanced materials, which will use advanced computer modeling鈥斺�漟rom the atom to the finished project,鈥� he explained鈥攁nd other techniques to develop alloys and coatings to improve durability and strength of the materials used in aircraft parts: aluminum, titanium, steel.
Each of these projects with Boeing will involve a number of faculty researchers, but also will provide extensive opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to conduct applied research.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great environment for students,鈥� said Dr. Bishop. 鈥淭hey get to take part in an applied program with a direct industrial impact.鈥�
Collaborative strength
The funding for the projects, totaling in excess of $7 million, comes through Canada鈥檚 Industrial & Regional Benefits program, which requires companies who win defense and security contracts with the Government of Canada to make investments in the Canadian economy.
On Boeing鈥檚 part, it鈥檚 an opportunity to collaborate and strengthen their research capacity, both in Canada and internationally.
鈥淲e believe this kind of collaboration can lead to more breakthroughs than Boeing and our partners can accomplish on our own,鈥� said Diane Axness, director of platform systems/subsystems technology with Boeing, who spoke of the value the research will have. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to have Atlantic Canada鈥檚 leading research university on these research projects.鈥�
鈥淲e have a strong history of partnership,鈥� added Susan Colegrove, regional director of International Strategic Partnerships for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. 鈥淲e鈥檙e privileged and honoured to include Dalhousie on the list.鈥�
Other Dal faculty involved in these projects include:
Engineering: Stephen Corbin, Darrel Doman, Kevin Plucknett, Josef Zwanziger.
Computer Science: Raza Abidi, Dirk Arnold, Stephen Brooks, Quigang Gao, Kirstie Hawkey, Vlado Keselj, Derek Reilly, Srini Sampalli, Michael Shepherd, Carolyn Watters.