When Dr. David Chen was a boy in China, his father, a university professor, told him that the images of the tiny, green television screen he was looking at came from the sky. At that moment, the power of technology fired his imagination and became a concept that shaped his life.
Now, many years later, Dr. Chen, P.Eng., and his team have created a new Microwave and Wireless Laboratory at Dalhousie University which was officiallly opened on Thursday, Nov. 10. Among those attending were the Honorable Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Regional Minister for Nova Scotia, Dalhousie President Tom Traves, Seimac Ltd. President Jim Hanlon and Dean of Engineering, Joshua Leon. The lab was a product of co-operation among Dalhousie, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and industrual partner Seimac Ltd.
The new laboratory provides researchers with the latest technology dramatically increasing the chances of finding commercial applications.
Dr. Chen, the lab's director, holds the Killam Chair in Wireless Technology in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "Our goal is to make this Microwave and Wireless Laboratory a leading international research facility," he says. "The lab allows us to do research that will help create new wireless applications and provide high-quality training in wireless and space technologies." He adds that the new lab will also help attract more researchers to the Atlantic region.
"Our resources are now available for any wireless research and development in the region," Dr. Chen says. "That means we are capable of more rigorous testing and improved research results that relate directly to industrial applications. Ultimately, this leads to more commercialization."
"These kinds of partnerships are crucial to our continued success in the commercialization of research and development in Atlantic Canada," said Minister Regan.