Keynote Speaker

Dr. André McDonald is currently the Associate Vice President (Strategic Research Initiatives and Performance) and a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta. He received his BSME in 2001 and his MSME in 2002 from the City College of New York. He was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2007, under a collaborative research program with the National Research Council Canada in Boucherville, Québec. Dr. McDonald has nearly twenty years of experience in the fabrication, development, and performance assessment of thermal- and cold-sprayed coatings. His current research involves the development of multi-functional coatings that provide wear and erosion resistance, heating, and structural health monitoring to a variety of structures. Modelling work to predict and analyze the performance of coatings is a focal feature of his research program. In addition to peer-reviewed scientific articles, Dr. McDonald has published a textbook on the practical design of thermo-fluids systems, a manual for thermal spraying for the Oil & Gas industry, several book chapters on thermal-sprayed coatings, and numerous industry reports. He has received several awards including the Jules Stachiewicz Medal from the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering for Heat Transfer, Fellow of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, Fellow of ASM, Fellow of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Mentorship Award from the Faculty of Engineering (University of Alberta), and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta’s Early Accomplishment Award. He holds Professional Engineer licenses in Canada (Alberta) and the United States (California) and is a registered Chartered Engineer in the United Kingdom. Dr. McDonald has trained nearly 100 students, fellows, and research associates in the areas of thermal spraying and heat transfer. Among many other leadership contributions, he was chair of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee – Civil and Mechanical Engineering and is currently the Lead Editor of the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, Chairman of the Canadian Cold Spray Alliance, and Immediate Past President of the ASM Thermal Spray Society Board. He currently leads the Experiential Learning in Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (ELITE) Program for Black Youth – an externally funded university-government-industry-community collaboration to support hands-on learning and work-integrated training of Black Youth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and in entrepreneurship.

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