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Research experiences

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Some of UVic's most exciting research is happening in our labs. These spotlights show the impressive range and quality of research conducted by UVic Engineering faculty members and graduate students.

Dr. Sadik Dost honoured with Legacy Award for Research

In October 2009, Dr. Sadik Dost was presented with a Legacy Award at the University of Victoria's annual celebration of excellence. His energy and dedication have contributed significantly to the quality and reputation of the University of Victoria.

Cell phones. Computers. Solar panels. They, and most other advanced electronics, depend on semiconductors, and, in turn, semiconductors depend on crystals. Sadik Dost has become an international leader in the processes used to produce high-quality semiconducting crystals.

Originally from Turkey, Sadik joined the University of Victoria in 1989, not long after the Department of Mechanical Engineering was established within the Faculty of Engineering.

As the founding director of the Centre for Advanced Materials and Related Technology and the Canada Research Chair in Semiconductor Crystal Growth, he studies the challenges associated with growing reproducible, high-quality bulk semiconducting crystals.

Over the years, the discoveries Sadik has made, often in collaboration with industrial partners, have led to practical applications in a variety of fields, including medical imaging, solar energy conversion and security devices.

Digitizing killer whale songs

Computer Science Master's student Steven Ness is working with Dr. George Tzanetakis on the Orchive project. Orchive researchers' work on music information retrieval has changed the way researchers access orca sound archives.

Researchers at OrcaLab, a research station near the north end of Vancouver Island, have been recording orca sounds for over 20 years. Orchive researchers have digitized over 8,000 hours of orca song which can now be heard online.

Orchive researchers are developing algorithms to apply advanced machine learning tools to analyze the sounds in the sound archive. Using the Marsyas toolkit, they are using audio feature extraction and support vector machines to analyze the audio.

More spotlights on research

Dr. Thomas Darcie elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America

Electrical and Computer Engineering's Thomas Darcie has been elected fellow of the Optical Society of America for his contributions to the understanding, theory and applications of optical communications technology leading to significant advances in broadband optical access systems. The OSA is a scientific society dedicated to advancing the study of light - optics and photonics - in theory and application. Darcie is also an AT&T fellow and a fellow of the IEEE. His research program focuses on systems for communications, broadband access and real-time networks, optical imaging, microwave photonics and terahertz photonics.

eco car Students think green

What will the fuel-efficient, low-emission car of the future look like? A group of UVic mechanical engineering students is one of three Canadian teams who will spend the next three years designing and building the "green" car of our dreams. Only 16 teams are accepted for EcoCAR, a continental challenge to advance car design using leading-edge, green technologies. The competition is sponsored by General Motors and the US Department of Energy, and supported by Natural Resources Canada. The UVic team plans to use a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle design and clean biodiesel engine technology. They will incorporate as many Canadian technologies and products as possible in their design.

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