$890,000 Investment Supports Ocean Industries Research

ST. JOHN'S, Oct. 9, 2013 /CNW/ - The Research & Development Corporation (RDC) is pleased to announce an investment of approximately $890,000 in support of 15 graduate and doctoral researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland. The awards are granted under RDC's Ocean Industries Student Research Awards program.

"Oceans-related research is a priority for our government, and we are pleased to support students and researchers who undertake collaborative research and development projects that are relevant to Newfoundland and Labrador's ocean industries," said the Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister Responsible for RDC. "By supporting strong alliances between academic institutions and industry, we are ensuring our investments make a positive contribution to industry and to our economy."

The Ocean Industries Student Research Awards program supports qualified science, engineering and technology students at post-secondary institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador. This year's program will fund six doctoral candidates and nine master's candidates from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, the Faculty of Science and the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation. Awards range from up to $20,000 per year for master's candidates and up to $30,000 per year for doctoral candidates.

"The Research Awards program is designed to develop highly skilled students with expertise and an interest in our ocean-based industries," said Glenn Janes, CEO, RDC. "These students have great potential and their projects could help the province enhance its leadership role in offshore technologies. I congratulate each of these recipients, and wish them the best of luck with their work."

Past recipients from all four years of the program will be celebrating their successes at a reception at Memorial University this evening. Students receiving funding awards in 2013 are listed in the backgrounder below.

"I would like to commend the Research & Development Corporation for creating this program in support of student researchers," said Dr. Gary Kachanoski, President and Vice-Chancellor of Memorial University. "Memorial University prepares its students so that as graduates, they can help this province and the world into a future marked by economic growth, sustainable development and an abiding respect for society. This would be impossible without the support we receive from like-minded partners like RDC and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador."

The Research & Development Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for improving Newfoundland and Labrador's research and development performance. RDC works with research and development stakeholders including business, academia and government agencies and departments to make strategic research and development related investments in people, research opportunities and infrastructure. For more information about RDC, go to www.rdc.org

Backgrounder

Ocean Industries Student Research Awards 2013 Recipients

Fisheries

Kyle Krumsick, PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Quantitative food web modelling of changes in species interactions within a key Newfoundland and Labrador fishery ecosystem.

Offshore Petroleum

Waqas Hanif, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Validated Engineering Tool for Pipeline Mechanical Damage Assessment and Fatigue Life Estimation

Farid Arvani, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Design and development of a vibration assisted rotary drilling system: An offshore drilling simulator for MODUs, deep water environments

Xiaotong Huo, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Engineering Simulation Tool for the Reel-Lay Installation of Lined Pipe

Sean Sullivan, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Surfactant and Foam Assisted Water Alternating Gas Techniques for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Bahareh Moshtagh, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Production of Oil-Based Biosurfactants for Bioremediation of Newfoundland Offshore Oil Spills

Ocean Engineering

Robert Gash, Master of Engineering Candidate, Engineering and Applied Science
Improving Dynamic Positioning Control System Performance for Stationkeeping Operations in Ice Covered Waters

Nathan Smith, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Development of a Numerical Model of an Unmanned Surface Craft

Jose Antonio Diez Gutierrez Kladt, Master of Engineering Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Full scale motion analysis comparison to model tests of the TranSPAR craft

Joshua Turner, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science  
Thermodynamic and Constitutive Behaviour of Ice under High Confining Pressures

Aquaculture

Daria Gallardi, PhD Candidate, Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science
Comparison of the health and condition of cultured mussels from deep water and shallow water sites in Newfoundland with reference to environmental conditions, condition index, physiological stress and lipid biochemistry

Tyler Brown, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Studying the Impact of Sustainable Aquaculture Feed Components on Salmonid Intestine Gene Expression and Health

Bruno Gianasi, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Ocean Science, Faculty of Science
Fisheries and aquaculture related biometrics of the sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa: resistance to stress and influence of diet on lipid composition

Geoscience

Matthew Scott, Master of Science Candidate, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science
Mineralogy, texture and provenance of Egret Member hydrocarbon source rocks in Flemish Pass Basin and Central Ridge, Offshore Newfoundland, Canada

Ocean Technology

Andrew Caines, Master of Science Candidate, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Learning, habituation, and task performance during mustering procedures on a simulated oil platform.

SOURCE: Research & Development Corporation

Heather Maclean
Director of Communications
Department of Innovation, Business
and Rural Development
709-729-4570, 697-4137
[email protected]

Chris Flanagan
Director, Marketing & Communications
Research & Development Corporation
709-758-1021, 709-691-1009
[email protected]

Meaghan Whelan
Communications Coordinator Office of the Vice-President (Research)
Memorial University of Newfoundland
709-864-4073, 709-687-9243
[email protected]