Looking back at the 2021/22 school year, I am so grateful for the work of the 5 researchers in CSALT as they provided hands-on assistance to undergrad and grad students as we worked to get engaged with materials. Professor Boyle's MITACS funded research grant in partnership with the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI) continued to provide leadership in 3D printing of clay and concrete (Jamie Wong) and in innovative casting techniques that embraced the poetics of H2O and its relationship to formwork (Stephanie Murray). Jamie built upon the work initiated by Sinan Husic in 3D printing UHPC and other concrete blends, and his expertise assisted thesis student Sach Grewal in his martian concrete experiments. Stephanie's research included workshops for students in the school at the undergraduate and PhD level as well as independent exploration and research.
Additionally the work by Research Assistants, Jonathan Robitaille (4th year Design stream) and Isabel Sales (2nd year Conservation & Sustainability stream) funded through the Campus Work Program, along with Thomas Tello funded by CSALT in partnership with the Internship - Carleton Undergraduate Research Experience for Undergraduate Students (I-CUREUS) program offered through the Discovery Center created a comprehensive survey of digital design and fabrication facilties in schools of architecture across Canada and laid the groundwork for an upcoming grant application for an innovative robotics lab (more to come on this). We were delighted to have this wonderful group on board and extend a heartfelt thanks for making materiality a part of a difficult year.
