New research equipment will benefit Fanshawe community Fanshawe College is strengthening its research faculty and its

relationships wit h city industries by purchasing new research equipment with a grant of just over $330,000. The grant is giving Fanshawe the opportunity to purchase a solar simulator, a 3D scanner, an electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) equipment and acoustical/vibrat ion measuring equipment, giving the college an edge with research. The college w ill also assist industries in the London area in terms of research, design, deve lopment and product testing. "We're excited about receiving this grant as it will allow us to purchase new eq uipment and give us great capacity to support companies. Many of those businesse s are small- and medium-sized enterprises that come to Fanshawe for assistance w ith research and development and product validation," said Jennifer Cade, Fansha we's Manager of Industry Liaison. She added that the equipment supports Fanshawe's new Centre of Sustainable Energ y and Environments and will be used for some CSEE projects. CSEE is an applied r esearch centre that focuses on renewable energy technologies, green manufacturin g and sustainable buildings and infrastructure. "Our research consultants are pl aying a monstrous role in bringing Fanshawe's ability to conduct and work with r esearch and are really bringing it up to great levels," stated Cade. "Research used to be done exclusively by the universities, because that wasn't t he original purpose of colleges," added Leslie McIntosh, Senior Project Develope r and Editor of Research Fanshawe Magazine. Around a decade ago, provincial legi slation was changed to allow colleges to do applied research and apply for fundi ng. "With applied research, we are targeted with finding the practical solutions and practical results." The research is not only applied to the pure sciences, but the social sciences a s well, such as in nursing and ways to better manage a hospital or emergency dep artment. "It's a win all around because Fanshawe believes very strongly that students are the ones who do the research. When students do research, they gain problem solv ing skills and it's a win-win situation." What the new equipment does The solar simulator measures the efficiency and electrical output of solar panel s, replicates sunlight and can be adjusted to stimulate different weather condit ions such as cloudy or sunny days. It provides increased capacity for projects i nvolving design, manufacture and integration of solar panels and solar cells. The 3D scanner scans inorganic objects using a laser light in order to collect p recise measurements and render the objects in 3D. It is used in prototype design s and as a quality control tool to ensure prototypes meet design specifications. The EMC equipment will help develop prototypes that won't interfere with other s ignals and devices, such as when electromagnetic emissions interfere with device s like cell phones, emergency communications and medical equipment. This equipme nt is particularly useful to makers of vehicles, consumer and medical electronic s, communications devices and related products. The acoustic and vibration measurement equipment provides the capacity to test s tructures, such as wind turbines, for levels of both noise and vibration. It can be used to test many different types of freestanding and fixed machines, such a

s a wind turbine mounted on a building, where noise and stability of the equipme nt are major design considerations.