Conestoga’s Jim Galloway, a professor in the Welding Engineering Technology programs, was celebrated for his applied research with the 2023 Gold Award from the Canadian Welding Bureau Association (CWB-A).
Conestoga professor Jim Galloway was honoured for his applied research with the 2023 Gold Award from the Canadian Welding Bureau Association.
The award recognizes the best research paper presented at the annual CanWeld conference, which was held in Moncton, N.B., in October 2023. The recipient is chosen through voting by the conference attendees from across industry and academia.
Galloway received the honour at the association’s award dinner held in Toronto on June 12.
Galloway’s paper, Shielding Gas Selection for GMAW-SP on Steels, presented findings of applied research conducted at Conestoga into the critical role that altering the proportion of carbon dioxide and argon compounds in shielding gas plays in the common gas metal arc welding process (GMAW or sometimes referred to as metal inert gas welding).
The study’s aim was to document for Canadian industry the opportunity to lower production costs and improve welding performance and quality by using alternative, but less common, gas blends.
The results of the study have been included as part of updated learning materials for the welding of programs delivered at the college’s Cambridge - Fountain Street campus. Conestoga is the only institution in Canada offering three-year engineering technology programs in the field of welding and joining - critical enabling technologies that impact all sectors of the Canadian economy.
CanWeld is sponsored by the CWB-A and brings together academia and industry from across North America to advance the welding and metal fabricating industries through discussion of current trends and advances, welding and joining, health and safety, and more.
Galloway’s research was also recently recognized by the Canadian Institute for Steel Construction with the H.A. Krentz Research Award along with his colleagues Conestoga professor Tam Nguyen and Scott Walbridge from the University of Waterloo.
Galloway said he is grateful that Conestoga allows faculty the opportunity to use their professional development time to perform these types of research studies in the labs.
“Polytechnic colleges and technical institutes such as Conestoga have an important role to play in bridging the gap between the research work conducted at universities and the needs of industry.” Although, Galloway said he would like to see more research collaboration between the three groups.
“Canada must do a better job of improving labour productivity and this is an area where college faculty can play an important role.”
Conestoga’s Welding Engineering Technology programs, including Welding Engineering Technology - Inspection and Manufacturing Engineering Technology - Welding & Robotics, are part of the School of Engineering & Technology. The school offers a comprehensive suite of engineering and technology programs, including architecture, civil, construction, electrical, power, energy, electronics, cyber, computer, environmental, interior design, mechanical, packaging, woodworking and welding.