Chairholders

Profile

Shahram Karimi

Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology

Chair title

NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Advanced Material Development for Generation, Storage and Integration of Renewable Energy

Chair program

Industrial Research Chair for Colleges

Role

Chairholder since 2013

Summary

As modern societies continue to advance, become more populous and adopt a variety of new technologies, the need for advanced and novel materials has been widely recognized. This need for materials is nowhere greater and more urgent than in the electric power sector to enable cost-effective, reliable and long-term energy generation and storage technologies that are essential for keeping pace with the ever-growing need for electricity in Canada and elsewhere.

The NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges program is expected to have significant positive impacts on local and regional energy companies through active and close collaboration on a wide array of research projects, training the next generation of highly qualified personnel (HQP) and, more importantly, technology transfer. These will lead to increased economic activity in Canada, job creation, and future industrial investment. The Chairholder, Dr. Shahram Karimi, is a tenured full-time professor at Lambton College and, since joining the college in 2006, has established an active and dynamic research group working on the creation and optimization of novel materials and processes for sustainable energy generation and storage. A major focus of this research group has been the development and optimization of nano-engineered materials for use in secondary batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers and photo-bioreactors, with emphasis on electro-synthesis, electro-catalysis, and doped titania and carbon nanotubes. Drawing from Dr. Karimi’s expertise in novel material development and processes, the research will focus on four strategic areas:

• Design and development of novel materials and processes for energy generation and storage with emphasis on electrochemistry, nanotechnology, and microorganisms;
• Design and optimization of a novel pulsed electrodeposition technique for incorporation of metal ions into titania and carbon nanotubes for energy generation and storage as well as fabrication of membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) for PEM and bio fuel cells and electrolyzers;
• Fabrication, characterization and optimization of nano- and micro-engineered electrodes for use in Li-ion and Li-polymer batteries as well as development of a unique algorithm for accurate estimation of the State of Charge (SOC) of different type of batteries; and
• Evaluation and optimization of energy flow and management of hybrid energy systems.

The current Chair program provides Lambton College with a significant opportunity to enhance and expand its applied research program, aid industrial partners–Volta Energy Inc. and BioGenerator Energy Solutions Inc.–with their R&D needs, train HQP, and continually improve the College’s technology programs.

Partners

• Volta Energy Inc.
• BioGenerator Energy Solutions Inc.

Contact information

Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology
1457 London Road
Sarnia, Ontario
N7S 6K4

Tel.: 519-542-7751, ext. 3230
Fax: 519-541-2418
Email: shahram.karimi@lambtoncollege.ca

Website:
shahram.karimi@lambtoncollege.ca