Sponsored Research Chairs
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Cultural and Economic Transformation
Dr. Tony Fang is the Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Cultural and Economic Transformation.
The mandate of the $2-million chair is to promote research in the areas of global and local cultures, immigration, diasporas, demographic change and strategies for immigration retention and integration.
These areas directly align with Dr. Fang’s research interests and accomplishments, which include a role as the domain leader in economic and labour market integration at Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement–Ontario Metropolis Centre and a recent stint as president of the Chinese Economists Society.
Dr. Fang comes to Memorial University from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Dr. Fang's appointment was announced in Jan. 2015.
Faculty of Business Administration
Dr. Jeffrey Pittman, Research Chair in Corporate Governance and Transparency
The chair in corporate governance and transparency reflects the importance the Faculty of Business Administration places on corporate governance and accountability research and teaching. Besides teaching excellence, the chair conducts research projects on the determinants of sound corporate governance practices that are grounded in prior theory and evidence from various disciplines.
A major focal point of the chair’s research activities will be identifying auditing, tax, financial reporting and other monitoring mechanisms that strengthen corporate governance. The chair in corporate governance and transparency will lead the continued development of Canadian expertise in governance and will bring together expertise from other parts of Memorial University within the theme of corporate governance and public policy.
The chair is funded through a contribution from the Power Corporation of Canada to Memorial's Dare To campaign.
Dr. Pittman's appointment was announced in April 2013.
Dr. Alex Stewart, Chair in Entrepreneurship
The Faculty of Business Administration announced its first research chair in entrepreneurship in December 2017.
Dr. Alex Stewart joined the faculty after 17 years at Marquette University in Wisconsin, where he held the position of Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship. He also spent 10 years at Texas Tech University and five years at Brock University in Ontario.
The chair in entrepreneurship is intended to build research capacity in the field of entrepreneurship, lead research aimed at better understanding and contributing to the health of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and provide academic leadership of entrepreneurship-related activities in the province.
The chair in entrepreneurship was funded by contributions from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, the faculties of Business and Engineering and Applied Science and private donations as part of the creation of the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
Dr. Ray Gosine, Dr. J.I. Clark Chair for Operations in Harsh Environments
The J.I. Clark Chair for Operations in Harsh Environments honours the continuing achievement of Dr. J.I. (Jack) Clark, an accomplished contributor to the field of geotechnical engineering who, during his time as C-CORE president (1984-1997), originated the Harsh Environments Initiative and the Intelligent Systems group. The chair is a collaboration between C-CORE and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.
Intelligent systems include computers, robots and sensors that perceive, reason and act in ways similar in function to humans. Advances in intelligent systems support industrial development in harsh environments and in applications where it is not feasible for humans to manufacture products or process materials.
The chair reinforces Memorial University and C-CORE as leaders in intelligent systems research and development while providing support to the growing number of Newfoundland technology companies that actively develop intelligent systems technologies.
Dr. Gosine's appointment was announced in Feb. 2001.
Dr. Rocky Taylor, Centre for Arctic Resource Development (CARD) Chair in Ice Mechanics
Dr. Rocky Taylor's appointment was announced in March 2014.
The chair is funded by the Centre for Arctic Resource Development (CARD), a centre of excellence for medium- to long-term Arctic research and development. CARD was founded by the Centre for Cold Ocean Resources Engineering (C-CORE) in 2011 with a core funding of $12.5 million over five years from the Hibernia and Terra Nova projects. The new chair will be funded using $500,000 over five years from the CARD program.
Building upon one of the three streams in CARD’s five-year research and development plan, the CARD Chair in Ice Mechanics will work in partnership with CARD and industry to establish, promote, maintain and seek additional funding to grow a world-class research program that will strengthen Memorial’s research capability involving ice loads on offshore structures and challenges associated with Arctic oil and gas development.
Dr. Taylor will lead research programs, build a team of full-time researchers and graduate students and develop collaborative relationships with other academic and industry-based researchers. Dr. Taylor will also contribute to a strong academic program in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science by teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, supervising student projects and theses and providing academic and professional service.
Dr. Brian Veitch, NSERC/Husky Energy Industrial Research Chair in Safety at Sea
Dr. Veitch's appointment was announced in February 2017.
Over a five-year period, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Husky will each contribute $550,000, the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC) will contribute $500,000 and Memorial will provide $1 million in collaboration with St. John’s-based Virtual Marine Technology, which will provide in-kind support.
As the research chair, Dr. Veitch will bring a strong practical perspective to the program using simulators that he and his team have developed as virtual marine environments to investigate human performance in offshore settings.
Training of master’s and doctoral students will be a key element of the chair program.
Previously, Dr. Veitch's served as the Husky Energy Chair in Oil and Gas Research at Memorial.
Dr. Sohrab Zendehboudi, Statoil Chair in Reservoir Analysis
Statoil and the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC) are each contributing $500,000 over a five-year period to this chair.
Dr. Sohrab Zendehboudi's appointment was announced in May 2016.
The research chair will expand research and educational initiatives and mentor master’s and doctoral students to become highly-qualified personnel in the area of reservoir analysis.
In his role, Dr. Zendehboudi will examine long-term and optimal oil recovery methods from the province’s reservoirs, with a focus on efficient reservoir characterization methods as well as optimized oil production from complex offshore fields.
Dr. Octavia Dobre, Research Chair in Subsea Communications
Dr. Octavia Dobre, an electrical engineering professor, in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, was appointed as Research Chair in Subsea Communications in March 2017. As part of the same announcement, Dr. Bipul Hawlader, a civil engineering professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, was also appointed as the Research Chair in Seafloor Mechanics.
The research chairs will expand research and educational initiatives as well as graduate student supervision in subsea engineering as part of an ongoing Memorial/Statoil partnership.
Drs. Dobre and Hawlader bring valuable expertise in strategic areas that are critical to expanding Memorial’s ongoing partnership with Statoil. Memorial is contributing $1 million over five years towards this partnership and the chair programs.
As the new Research Chair in Subsea Communications, Dr. Dobre will focus on underwater communications with applications to the oil and gas industry provincially, regionally and nationally.
Dr. Bipul Hawlader, Research Chair in Seafloor Mechanics
Dr. Bipul Hawlader, a civil engineering professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, was appointed Research Chair in Seafloor Mechanics in March 2017. As part of the same announcement, Dr. Octavia Dobre, an electrical engineering professor, in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, was appointed as Research Chair in Subsea Communications.
The research chairs will expand research and educational initiatives as well as graduate student supervision in subsea engineering as part of an ongoing Memorial/Statoil partnership.
Drs. Dobre and Hawlader bring valuable expertise in strategic areas that are critical to expanding Memorial’s ongoing partnership with Statoil. Memorial is contributing $1 million over five years towards this partnership and the chair programs.
As the new Research Chair in Seafloor Mechanics, Dr. Hawlader will develop a research team and program to investigate both geotechnical and structural issues of subsea infrastructure.
Dr. Carlos Bazan, Engineering Chair in Entrepreneurship
On March 1, 2017, Dr. Carlos Bazan, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, was appointed Engineering Chair in Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Bazan’s extensive background and expertise in entrepreneurship make him the ideal person to provide academic leadership of entrepreneurial activities in engineering in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In his new role, Dr. Bazan will build research capacity in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation in the province, and lead research aimed towards better understanding, and contributing to, a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in the province.
Faculty of Science
Dr. Alison Malcolm, Chevron Chair in Reservoir Characterization
Dr. Malcolm, who assumed the position in summer 2014, will establish an applied research program relevant to petroleum geology and geophysics, with special emphasis on integrated reservoir characterization. This field covers a broad area of activities, involving the determination of reservoir architecture, establishing geologic flow units, constructing reservoir models and identifying petroleum reserve growth potential.
As the Chevron Chair in Reservoir Characterization, Dr. Malcolm will work to help reduce reservoir uncertainty in support of improving the predicted oil in place, static and dynamic reservoir models, production performance and ultimate recovery.
A five-year, $1-million partnership to provide funding for the position is being created by Chevron Canada Limited, the Research & Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC) and Memorial.
Dr. Malcolm's appointment was announced in June 2013.
Marine Institute
Dr. Noel Cadigan, Ocean Choice International Research Chair in Stock Assessment and Sustainable Harvest Advice for Northwest Atlantic Fisheries
Dr. Noel Cadigan was named the first Ocean Choice International Research Chair in Stock Assessment and Sustainable Harvest Advice for Northwest Atlantic Fisheries on August 24, 2017.
The new chair is an investment of $2.5 million from industry, government, academia, donors and MI to advance the way fish stock assessments for the Northwest Atlantic fisheries are conducted.
Housed at the Fisheries and Marine Institute (MI) of Memorial University of Newfoundland, it is only the second industry research chair in the 54-year history of MI.
Ocean Choice International and the provincial government, through InnovateNL, will each contribute $500,000 over five years. Additional funding will be leveraged against the chair through the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) and MI while the Robert and Edith Skinner Wildlife Management Fund at the Fisheries and Marine Institute will provide $500,000 to support the work of the chair and the hiring of two research scientists in fish stock assessment.
The goal of the chair is to further the state-of-the-art and current practice in fish stock assessment and focus on sustainability objectives and requirements for Northwest Atlantic Fisheries and specifically those on the Grand Banks, N.L., including but not limited to American Plaice, Yellowtail flounder, Greenland Halibut and redfish. Research has already started with progress on all of these stocks.