Mechanical Engineering/Saskatchewan Industry partner forum

Posted June 02, 1998


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 2, 1998
98-06-04-ENG

Department of Mechanical Engineering and
Saskatchewan Industry partner for forum

The Department of Mechanical Engineering's contribution to
Saskatchewan Industry will be the topic of discussion at the Bi-Annual
Industry/University Collaboration Forum to be held on Wednesday
June 3, 1998 in the College of Engineering at the University of
Saskatchewan.

The forum's primary objective is to create an awareness of the
facilities, expertise and resources that the Department of Mechanical
Engineering has which can be of benefit to Saskatchewan industry.
It's second objective is to increase technology transfer and foster
cooperative projects between industry and the department.

"It is our hope that this forum will result in more Saskatchewan
industrial firms participating in the Department's student design
projects as well as research and development projects," says Jim
Wilson, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering and Forum
Coordinator. "Our past experience clearly indicates tangible benefits
to both parties. Students and faculty are presented with new and
challenging problems. Industry has access to the Department's
facilities, expertise and resources to assist in the development of new
products or processes. By working together, we can help industry
maintain its competitive edge and create employment opportunities
for people in Saskatchewan."

The first session in the day long conference will focus on current
interactions of the Department with industry through student design
projects. Case histories will be given to illustrate such interaction, the
time frames encountered and the benefits derived both by industry
and the Department.

Each year, fourth-year Mechanical Engineering students, in groups of
three, expend from 300 - 500 person-hours on a design project.
During the past five years, all projects have been initiated by
Saskatchewan and/or Canadian industry. A total of 80 projects have
been executed for over 50 different firms and organizations including
Cameco, Conservation Energy Systems, Del-Air Systems, IMC
Kalium Canada Ltd., Massload Technologies, PCS, Prairie Malt,
Producer's Pipeline Inc., SaskEnergy, St. Paul's Hospital, Sterling
Pulp Chemicals (Sask.) Ltd., and Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd.

The second session will focus on recent faculty research and
development projects within the Department. The areas of Materials
and Metallurgy, Control Systems and Fluid Power, Applied
Mechanics/Machine Design, Thermo/Fluid Systems, Advanced
Engineering Design and Manufacturing will be discussed.

Some of the companies involved in such collaborative research
projects with the Department are: ASHRAE (Atlanta, GA), heat
exchanger performance; Imperial Oil (Calgary), lubrication; Phoenix
International (Fargo, N.D.), instrumentation; Flexicoil (Saskatoon),
structural design/instrumentation; John Deere (Waterloo, IA), fluid
power/control systems; and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan
(Saskatoon), material selection/instrumentation.

The forum will also include a guided tour of the Department's facilities
including Fluid Power Control, Wind Tunnel, Materials and
Metallurgy, Thermodynamics Laboratory, Vibrations, Applied
Mechanics and Strength of Materials, Control Systems, Advanced
Engineering Design and Manufacturing.

During the wrap-up session, issues of confidentiality, ownership of
intellectual property, and technology transfer and funding will be
discussed. Representatives from industry, government, and the
university will also address current issues of industry/university
collaboration.

For more information, please contact:

Jim Wilson
Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-5428

or

Greg Schoenau
Department Head of Mechanical Engineering
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-5446