ADVANCED MATERIALS MANUFACTURING
FACULTY PROFILE
MASTER OF ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP IN ADVANCED MATERIALS MANUFACTURING
UBC’s new Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) degree in Advanced Materials Manufacturing
is a one-year, full-time program enabling mid-career professionals to enhance their technical
expertise while developing business and leadership skills. The project-based curriculum of
the MEL in Advanced Materials Manufacturing degree balances advanced engineering theory,
interdisciplinary knowledge and real-world applications. Participants will study advanced
engineering technology, compare complex multi-material engineering processes and analyze
the structure-property-process relationships inside materials manufacturing systems.
DR. WARREN POOLE Advanced Materials Manufacturing
This is an exciting program because it brings together UBC’s many research strengths, such as
carbon fibre composite materials, light alloys (magnesium and aluminum alloys), and advanced
high-strength steels. We have world-renowned experts in these areas, including Anoush Poursartip
and Goran Fernlund in composites, Matthias Militzer in steel, and myself, Chad Sinclair,
Daan Maijer and Steve Cockcroft in light alloys.
Students will be learning from some of the best people in the world who regularly work with
companies like Ford, GM, Toyota, Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier. The Composites Research
Network in our department, for example, has been working closely with Boeing and was
involved in the design of manufacturing processes for the 787 Dreamliner. Every time you fly on
that plane you’re next to a little bit of UBC.
I just finished leading a $6 million five-year project developing magnesium alloys for the
transportation sector, with GM as the primary automotive company along with Magna as a tier
one supplier. I am now working with Ford on the aluminum extrusions that are used in the
revolutionary new F-150 pickup.
Students will benefit from the program’s strong links to industry. A key focus of the program is on
using advanced modelling and simulation tools: students will be working with state-of-the-art tools,
building on the knowledge they already have or being ready to use these tools when they graduate.
What we clearly heard from our industry partners when we were designing this program was that the combination of the leadership platform
(the business courses in marketing, teamwork and innovation) with a strong technical specialization would develop sought-after graduates with
unique skills. Students with a more traditional master’s degree in engineering may be excellent in terms of scientific research, but they will not
have had the same exposure to these other skills.
This program should also allow students to move across industries. Perhaps someone has a few years of experience in automotive but wants to
move into aerospace. Graduates of this program will be able to gain the credentials they need to make that kind of career move.
Dr. Warren Poole worked for two years in the research and development group of Dofasco Inc., after receiving his B.E.Sc. degree in materials engineering from
the University of Western Ontario. He then returned to university, obtaining his Ph.D. in materials engineering from McMaster University in 1993 and then
studying as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Poole returned to Canada to join UBC’s Faculty of Engineering. In 2006, he was named
the Rio Tinto Alcan Professor in Materials Process Engineering, and he is currently the head of materials engineering at UBC. Dr. Poole’s research interests
include advanced aluminum alloys, high strength and high formable steels, metal matric composites and microstructure and property models.
Visit our website, call us at 604.827.4136
Monday – Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Pacific Time
or email apscpp@apsc.ubc.ca
mel.ubc.ca