Bob Brennan, PhD, PEng, FEC
PhD in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Schulich School of Engineering University of Calgary
Areas of Research
This research focuses on developing a self-manageable and adaptive cyber-physical systems approach that meets the primary needs of modern manufacturing systems (i.e., disturbance handling, availability, flexibility, and robustness). Our approach focuses on design strategies to support self-management at the device level, with the specific goals of developing techniques and services for self-configuration and self-healing. The aim of this work is to enable manufacturing systems to quickly respond to change while maintaining stable system operation and efficient use of available resources.
The overall goal of this research is to develop an engineering design-based “spine” of courses and learning modules, incorporated into all engineering programs that will develop professional skills in our students. The objective for the Chair in Design Engineering is to facilitate positive change in the way engineering programs are delivered, and in particular, how professional skills are supported and developed through design experiences. Engineering design plays a key role in this vision: in addition to being a key attribute of the professional engineer, design is also a central component of the engineering curriculum. By performing engineering design activities, students are able to integrate what they have learned in traditional lecture/laboratory courses into real-world, open-ended problems, as well as practice important professional skills such as communication and teamwork.
Supervising degrees
Working with this supervisor
I am currently seeking MSc and PhD students in two areas: (1) Design Engineering Education, and (2) Self-Manageable and Adaptive Cyber-Physical Systems. The first area is for for students who wish to pursue rigorous research into how undergraduate engineering programs are taught, learned, and practiced. As a member of our research team, you will be conducting fundamental research in engineering education with the goal of facilitating positive change in the way engineering programs are delivered, and in particular, how professional skills are supported and developed through design experiences. The second area is for students who wish to pursue rigorous research into the development of industrial automation systems that are capable of rapidly adapting to change. As a member of our research team, you will be conducting fundamental research into the application of distributed artificial intelligence techniques to automation systems with the goal of developing systems that are more robust, reconfigurable, and efficient.
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