University of Canterbury Engineering students and academics achieve national recognition at IPENZ awards

Four University of Canterbury engineering students have won the prestigious Ray Meyer Medal award from IPENZ (Institution of Professional Engineers) with four UC academic staff also achieving recognition for their contribution to the engineering profession.

It is the fifth year in a row that UC students have won the final year projects award, the fourth under the title of the Ray Meyer Medal. The award is named after Professor Ray Meyer, former IPENZ President and Dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Auckland. Professor Meyer received an ONZM for his contributions to engineering and education.

The team of four final-year University of Canterbury engineering students - Alicia Evans (Mechatronics Engineering), James Steel (Mechatronics Engineering), Chia Siong Tan (Mechanical Engineering) and Logan Ward (Mechanical Engineering) - were presented with the 2011 Ray Mayer Award for Excellence in Student Design for their final year project Active Insulin Control, STAR: Stochastic Targeted Glycaemic Control. The project was supervised by Professor Geoff Chase (Mechanical Engineering) and Dr Aaron LeCompte (Mechanical Engineering) as part of a final year project course.

High blood sugar or Hyperglycaemia is a real risk in critical care, affecting 30-50 per cent of all intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Effective glycaemic control can reduce mortality rates by as much as 25-40 per cent and cut treatment costs by between $1000-2000 per patient. However, Tight Glycaemic Control (TGC) has proven very difficult due to significant inter- and intra-patient variability. The award winning STAR system is a next generation model-based glycaemic control algorithm that employs forecasting to optimise treatment plans.

The STAR algorithm employs a unique control system that targets blood glucose levels to a desired range of values, as opposed to many common approaches which target specific, discrete values.

STAR’s flexibility leads to potential for use in hospitals internationally. The system is currently undergoing pilot clinical trials at the Christchurch Hospital ICU. The STAR algorithm, implemented via an alternative interface has also been tested in Belgium at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege.

“Early results were so successful that is already being clinically trialled in Liege, Belgium and further hospitals in Belgium and Hungary will use it in early 2011,” said Final Year Project Coordinator Associate Professor Susan Krumdieck (Mechanical Engineering).

“I have never heard of a project with that level of uptake, which is a testimony to its quality.”
Professor Geoff Chase also thanked the Christchurch ICU for "the outstanding effort the hospital has made to our college in collaborating with students, like these, for the last 10 years."

University of Canterbury’s Professor Andy Buchanan (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) was made a Distinguished Fellow of IPENZ. Professor Buchanan was recognised for his contribution to the advancement of engineering knowledge and education, specifically for his outstanding achievements in moving research into practice in the fields of fire engineering and timber engineering.

Three academic staff members were elected Fellows of IPENZ. Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engineering) Professor Jan Evans-Freeman was recognised for her contribution to the research field of semiconductor applications in electronic devices and her contribution to shaping the future of engineering education, both in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Professor Shusheng Pang (Chemical and Process Engineering) was recognised for his contribution to advancing knowledge in the processing and use of woody biomass. Associate Professor Roger Nokes (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) was recognised for his contribution to the research field of environmental fluid mechanics, and his contribution to teaching engineering at tertiary level.

The awards were presented at a special IPENZ Fellows’ and Achievers’ dinner in Wellington on Friday. During the annual dinner members of the institution were recognised for their commitment to IPENZ and the engineering profession.

IPENZ also presented a special President’s Award, the Fulton-Downer Gold Medal, to all engineers who have been active in the response phases of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to engineering in its role of public service.