Events

Speaker: Dr. David Sinton, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto

Title of Seminar: "Microfluidics and nanofluidics for oil, gas and CO2"

Abstract: Energy and the Environment constitute the world’s biggest fluids problem. The world's smallest fluids technologies have an important role to play in assessing and informing energy technologies as well as predicting environmental impacts. In this talk I will outline our group's efforts in microfluidic and nanofluidic technologies for applications in three areas: (i) analyzing reservoir fluid properties and pore-scale dynamics to improve the performance of both conventional and unconventional oil and gas operations, (ii) assessing the environmental impact of elevated CO2, and other local stressors on organisms and model ecosystems, and (iii) converting CO2 into hydrocarbon products electrocatalysis.

Biography: David Sinton is a Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Microfluidics and Energy at the University of Toronto. He is currently an NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellow, before which he was the Associate Chair of Research in Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, as well as the Interim Vice-Dean of research in the Faculty of Applied Science. He is a co-founder and the CTO of Interface Fluidics Ltd, a start-up focused on improving the environmental and economic performance of current energy operations. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, Dr. Sinton was an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) at the University of Victoria, and a Visiting Associate Professor at Cornell University. He received a BASc from University of Toronto, MEng from McGill University and PhD from University of Toronto. Dr. Sinton’s research interests are in fluidics and energy. This research involves the study and application of small scale fluid mechanics (microfluidics, nanofluidics, and optofluidics) for use in energy systems and analysis. He became a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering in 2012, a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2013, a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada in 2015, the University of Toronto McLean Senior Fellow in 2013, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2018.