Lambton College’s research capacity grows with opening of new lab

Lambton College celebrated the opening Wednesday of a new applied research lab aimed at expanding its research projects in partnership with companies in the plastics, rubber and other materials industries.

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The $3.4-million Canadian extrusion research lab, located at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, was funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund.

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Facilities for the lab are being added in phases with the hope all new equipment will be in place by next summer, said Mehdi Sheikhzadeh, the college’s senior vice-president of research and innovation.

Lambton College already had some extrusion equipment; the project has added more equipment in response to increased demand for applied research in the sector, Sheikhzadeh said.

“This is not a start-from-scratch for us,” he said. “This is going to be enhanced capacity to help us grow.”

Extrusion is “the main equipment for a lot of material processing” in the plastics, rubber and other materials industries, including for “sustainable green projects,” Sheikhzadeh said.

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The local impact of the new lab will be “huge,” he said.

“Sarnia has a lot of materials industry” and that was the area in which Lambton College began working when it first moved into applied research about 18 years ago, Sheikhzadeh said.

“Particularly, sustainable material is an important focus for Sarnia-Lambton and I hope that this lab is going to be contributing positively to their research and development activities,” he said.

The first piece of applied research equipment the college purchased years ago was an extruder and since then, its work has grown to include many other research areas, Sheikhzadeh said.

The expanded lab is expected to allow the college to attract 40 more applied research projects providing paid research opportunities for 40 to 50 college students, he said.

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“Each project we are intentionally hiring students” because “it helps with employability and future careers,” Sheikhzadeh said.

Marcela Lozada, who arrived in Canada two years ago from Ecuador and recently graduated from a quality engineering management program at Lambton, said the lab will help diversify college projects with industrial partners and provide students with more “hands-on” experience.

“It’s a really good experience to have the knowledge we gain in the new lab,” she said.

After being a research student while studying at the college, she is working as a research technician with the new lab.

It’s one of about 16 labs the college has dedicated to applied research, Sheikhzadeh said.

“This lab joins a long list, and proud list, of research labs, centers, networks and projects launched by Lambton College for the good of our students, our community, our province and way beyond,” said college president Rob Kardas.

He said the “growth mindset” the college adopted beginning in 2006 has led to Lambton being ranked among the Top 5 research colleges in Canada “for seven years running.”

Each year, the college undertakes more than 300 applied research projects with 200 industry partners and involving more than 300 college students, Kardas said.

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