The future is impossible to predict, but that doesn’t stop anyone from looking forward to it. Will we have flying cars? Multi-Planetary life? Phones that don’t pocket dial the police while you’re lying on the couch? It’s exciting to sit back and watch in amazement as new ideas and innovations make their way into everyday life. But, how about playing an active part in driving it?
Lambton College places a heavy emphasis on research and innovation and driving local and national business, while also bringing in an unmatchable hands-on student experience. Lambton is currently ranked the #3 research College in all of Canada, headed by Dr. Mehdi Sheikhzadeh, a Chemical Engineering Ph.D. graduate from Western University with 18 years of experience in academia, research, and industry. His leadership transformed Lambton College’s Research Capacity, attracting over $55 million in investments.
“The primary focus of the research at Lambton College is developing impact and that is for students as well as for our clients, which is something we call the Lambton way,” said Dr. Sheikhzadeh.
On the student side of the "Lambton Way," the experiential learning opportunities in research and innovation can’t be understated. Students contribute to cutting-edge projects through paid research positions. It provides them with the skills and knowledge they need to join the modern workforce while gaining experience and preparation for the future of their chosen professions.
As for the client side of the "Lion’s Way"...
“Any activities that we do, any investigations, we ensure that there is a partner who can actually utilize the results of that,” said Dr. Sheikhzadeh.
Lambton College has been a part of projects with clients spanning across multiple industries. It has six available research centers, which gives it the flexibility to take on multiple endeavors to bring innovations to its client base. Recent projects include the development of a battery-powered outdoor generator for extreme weather conditions, Invertebrate Bio Conversion of food waste to fertilizer, building a cross-platform mobile trucking application, and many more.
Ondrej Halgas, Lead Protein Scientist of Liven Proteins Corp, had this to say about Lambton College, following their recent collaboration for production strain and feedstock validation and scale-up of Pichia pastoris for collagen production:
“Lambton College is our Crucial Partner in the development of Liven’s first-of-its-kind animal free collagen. Lambton provides a highly equipped fermentation facility, a dedicated and skilled team and flexible funding structure, which drastically accelerates our R&D work. In collaboration with Bioindustrial Process Research Centre’s team, we have been able to transition collagen production from shake flask to bioreactors, creating a scalable bioprocess and larger samples to fulfill customer’s needs”.
The work being done at Lambton College garners national recognition, gaining major clients spanning from start-ups to large businesses. With the resources coming in, the learning opportunities continue to grow and evolve with the times.
“It differentiates the college. It has a huge branding and recruitment impact for the college. It adds to our infrastructure and resources that we are offering to our clients as well as our students from the training point of view,” said Dr. Sheikhzadeh.
Currently, Lambton College is working on several exciting initiatives, including one that focuses on a circular economy. It is also bringing its focus locally and regionally with health projects, as well as community services. The future is exciting at Lambton College, as it stays at the centre of it with research and innovation.