Student researchers at Memorial have received a funding boost thanks to the Research & Development Corporation’s (RDC) Ocean Industries Student Research Awards.

Approximately $890,000 has been awarded to 15 graduate and doctoral students, and their supervisors.

“I would like to commend the Research & Development Corporation for creating this program in support of student researchers,” said President Gary Kachanoski. “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 Ocean Industries Student Research Awards 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.

“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 Charlene Johnson, ministerrResponsible 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 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.”

 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 fife 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, Faculty of 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.