Five 喵咪社区 researchers in diverse fields have been recognized by the , the country's oldest and most prestigious scholarly institute.
Joining the are engineering professor Biao Huang and business professor Michael Lounsbury.
As well, chemistry professor Matthew Macauley, associate business professor Angelique Slade Shantz and humanities professor Sheena Wilson have been named to the society’s in recognition of their high levels of achievement early in their academic careers.
Biao Huang: process control innovator
To run their operations, industrial and manufacturing plants rely on process control — regulating the systems that help manage production safely and efficiently.
As a leader in the field, , a professor of chemicals and material engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, focuses his research on developing ways to assess and address issues within those crucial systems, “which ultimately helps industries navigate economic and environmental challenges in the global market,” he says.
A fellow of the and one of the most decorated members of the , Huang leads work that has made it possible for safer, more intelligent plant operations in the face of diverse and dynamic conditions.
He developed a theory for , which has become a critically important reference for the field. Building on that, he conducted further innovative work in . His recent work in predictive soft sensing involves using computer systems and models to make process control more accurate and less expensive without the need for additional sensor hardware.
Huang’s work has led to significant practical uses for process control in such key industries as , creating greater accuracy and reliability, lower maintenance costs, increased production and a decreased environmental footprint.
“By addressing long-standing challenges, the innovative principles of predictive soft sensing technology have led to groundbreaking advances across industrial process applications, including not just oil production but also energy systems and materials processing,” he notes.
Michael Lounsbury: empowering entrepreneurship for all
Where do great entrepreneurial ideas come from, and what does it take for them to flourish?
These are questions business professor has devoted his career to answering.
In the process, he created a new global field of scholarly study — cultural entrepreneurship — that looks at how entrepreneurial processes are fundamentally and profoundly shaped by cultural norms within society. For example, his recent work on “emancipatory entrepreneurship” aims to unpack the challenges equity deserving entrepreneurs face.
“I have focused a great deal on how novel practices become legitimated and how more marginalized and equity-deserving groups are able to gain a more secure social footing and enhance their resilience,” explains Lounsbury, who was awarded the Canada Research Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in 2015.
Lounsbury co-created and is still academic director for the U of A’s entrepreneurship centre, which empowers student and faculty entrepreneurs across the university no matter what their interest, from high tech to social innovation. In addition, eHUB has engaged in various outreach efforts in the wider community, including a partnership with a local high school.
“My initial work helped catalyze a whole field of more critical, culturally oriented studies on entrepreneurship that not only broadened the scope of entrepreneurial studies beyond a narrow focus on Silicon Valley-style high technology entrepreneurship, but also emphasized how even that form of entrepreneurship cannot be understood without appreciating its socio-cultural embeddedness,” says Lounsbury. “My approach dovetails with many efforts that aim to reimagine entrepreneurship as a set of processes that can enable progressive social change, not just wealth creation.”
For instance, eHUB’s new partnership with the Fyrefly Institute is creating a Canada-wide 2SLGBTQI+ entrepreneurship knowledge hub focused on ways to remove barriers and empower people in that community.
Lounsbury is professor and A.F. (Chip) Collins Chair in the 喵咪社区 School of Business and chair of the department of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Management. He is also a part-time professor with the , and editor-in-chief of . Lounsbury is the author or co-author of several books, including (2019) and (2012).
Emerging leaders recognized
Macauley, Slade Shantz and Wilson earned citations from the Royal Society of Canada as members of an emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership.
, professor in the Faculty of Science and adjunct associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, is an internationally recognized expert in the field of applied chemistry, as and . Through that explores the biological roles of carbohydrates and how they control the body’s immune cells, his work has resulted in important insights into Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, as well as unique tools being used by research groups around the world.
, an associate professor of strategy, entrepreneurship and management at the 喵咪社区 School of Business, is the . Her work explores the role of business and entrepreneurship in addressing two pressing societal issues: how to support economic growth that ensures everyone has a basic standard of living, and how to do so without exceeding Earth’s resources.
, a professor at Campus Saint-Jean, is a leading scholar of energy humanities, co-founder of the and member of at the U of A. Her intersectional and interdisciplinary climate justice research focuses on how an extractivist worldview that produces environmental damage also fuels exploitation of humans and other species. Wilson’s research, advice to policy-makers and public efforts to promote epistemic justice and the overall health of the planet are rooted in her diverse community-based collaborations.