With the help of a $1.5 million investment under the Western Diversification Program, the University of Manitoba will be acquiring composites research equipment as part of Phase I of a three phase proposal to create a state-of-the-art Composites Research and Commercialization Centre (CCRC), in partnership with the Composites Innovation Centre.
Rona Ambrose, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister for Western Economic Diversification, made the announcement on January 17th, 2008.
The new equipment will be housed initially in the Engineering and Information Technology Centre, and will directly benefit the Composites Materials and Structures Research Group who have spent the last several years building a dynamic and productive research program. As Phase 2 and Phase 3 progress, the CRCC will combine all of the equipment and expertise from all organizations into one common lab space to be located at Smartpark, a research Park at the University of Manitoba.
A composite is a reinforcing fiber, such as fiberglass or carbon, embedded in a plastic material. The overall engineering performance of a composite is far superior to the individual materials used in isolation. Common uses of composites include aircraft assemblies, body panels on buses, fiberglass boats, reinforcements in civil structures and house construction. The CRCC will support the development of Manitoba’s Composites cluster through joint projects and research.While Minister Ambrose was on campus that day, she and Rod Bruinooge, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians, visited and spoke with a class in the Asper School of Business.
Lt. to Rt.: Dr. Raghavan Jayaraman, Associate Professor in Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Manitoba, Minister Rona Ambrose, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister for Western Economic Diversification, Dr. Emőke Szathmáry, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Manitoba, Mr. Rod Bruinooge, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians, Dr. Douglas Ruth, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba
