Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
University of Calgary
NSERC/ENMAX Industrial Research Chair in Renewable Energy
Industrial Research Chairs program
Senior Chairholder since 2011
The main purpose of this Industrial Research Chair is to support the ENMAX Corporation's major initiative in "distributed generation"—to install thousands of photovoltaic (PV) panels on house roofs and small wind turbines in appropriate backyards. The work includes:
A number of longer-term research activities include:
This research program will help to improve the availability, performance, and cost of renewable energy systems at the small and medium scale. It will help to make these systems more affordable to Canadian and thereby facilitate major savings in greenhouse gas emissions. The high-quality students working on the projects will provide the knowledge and skills necessary for future renewable energy developments and installations.
In addition, work is underway on appropriate renewable energy systems for the developing world. A study of water-pumping windmills has begun, as well as the involvement with a small company in Nepal which is developing indigenous small wind turbines. We are helping to develop cheap but accurate methods of making wind turbine blades from timber.
David Wood is a mechanical engineer with bachelor's and master's degrees from Sydney University, and a PhD in Aeronautics from the University of London. Dr. Wood was an academic at Newcastle University, north of Sydney, for many years where he mainly researched wind turbine aerodynamics. After leaving the university in 2004, he started his own small wind turbine business—Aerogenesis Australia. This combined academic-industry perspective is extremely valuable for the Chair work—to balance short-term needs for information with the longer-term nature of basic research.
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
University of Calgary
2500 University Dr., NW
Calgary, Alberta
T2N 1N4
Tel.: 403-220-3637
Fax: 403-282-8406
Email: dhwood@ucalgary.ca
Website:
http://www.schulich.ucalgary.ca/mechanical/DavidWood