I am always interested in hearing from potential students who have their own funding. I am not actively recruiting new students at this time, but I will be starting some new projects in 2023 at both the Master’s and Ph.D. level. Please contact me for details.

Possible topic areas for graduate students (and in some cases undergraduate students as well) include the following:

• characterizing physical relationships between process variables and system integrity (damage mechanisms in time-varying energy systems such as oil sands and solid-oxide fuel cells)
• developing methods to measure directly indicators of equipment condition for components in demanding service (e.g. on-line tomographic inspection of pump component geometry and networked embedded sensors for machinery diagnostics)
• evaluating methods for anomaly detection, fault detection, and fault identification for components in time-varying energy systems (such as wear in slurry lines and gear damage in wind  turbines) using mode classification
• developing new methods for on-line cleaning of solids and fouling inside tanks and vessels (both workspace access and cleaning head methods)
• evaluating the technical and economic potential for remote surface mining operations, including operability, maintenance, and automation
• dynamic modeling and control of aerial manipulation and ground contact systems (characterization of manipulation actions and locomotion)
• developing concepts for teleoperated or autonomous robots in hazardous environments (earthmoving equipment for capping soft tailings and for densifying MFT in place; biohazard lab inspection of animal condition)
• developing novel repair and refurbishment methods for energy components and energy production systems, such as UAVs to do condition monitoring, robotic welding to repair tanks and pipes, or on wind turbine structures
• modeling maintenance processes and risk-based decision making, including financial aspects, using methods such a real options valuation.