How the MACC works
Most importantly, the MACC does not merely deliver theoretical solutions and train graduates for employment by industrial members; the member companies are directly involved in the research through activities, such as problem formulation, mentoring students and field-testing concepts. The research is conducted through a combination of graduate research, post-doctoral research, undergraduate research projects (independent study for credit, as well as summer employment projects) and contract research.

David Gerardi, a second-year chemical engineering Master’s student, who has Swartz as a supervisor, is currently working on streamlining raw material purchasing at Dofasco’s primary steelmaking operations to determine the quantities of each material (coal, scrap metal and iron ore pellets) that should be purchased for any given time period, taking into account purchasing and production costs. As for his experience, he has nothing by great things to say.

“I enjoy the family feel of the program,” he says. “There is a strong emphasis placed on presentations and interaction among students so that everyone is aware of each other’s research work.”

When Gerardi initially discovered he wanted to pursue graduate studies in process systems, he asked previous employers — who all held graduate degrees from universities other than McMaster — for advice. “They unanimously agreed that McMaster would be the best choice,” he says. “To me, this spoke of McMaster’s reputation within industry for the quality of their students and the institution.”

Reiterating this sentiment is John MacGregor, co-founder of the consortium and Distinguished University Professor at McMaster: students’ feedback, he says is generally enthusiastic. “They realize they are going to get the type of education they can’t get in other areas.”

While the research is typically conducted at McMaster, plant visits to the companies are common, and lengthier internships, where appropriate, have also been carried out. The member company is typically involved throughout the project evolution: from problem definition to providing project support and plant validation, to transfer of research results into their processes.

All MACC company members pay an annual fee, which over the life of the consortium has generated more than $4 million. This funding, complemented with NSERC and other federal and provincial government programs, has permitted the consortium to run a world-class operation with state-of-the art computing and software resources, host annual conferences and support cutting-edge research. In addition to the funding, the industry partner provides plant personnel time; provision of plant data, including operating data, process information and operating policies; and industrial experience.

However, MacGregor emphasizes that the MACC wants a partner, not just the money. “They have to participate.”

To help facilitate participation and idea transfer, the MACC hosts a one-day annual meeting, which typically includes an overview of research developments by the MACC faculty, a graduate student poster session, technical presentations by industrial members and a business meeting. A subsequent two-day workshop involves presentations on a topic selected at the previous year’s business meeting, and includes speakers from both academia and industry.

MacGregor says there is lots of interaction and that ideas are often sparked through discussions related to presentations. “These people will recognize where the technology you’re developing is important, and they get enthused about it.”

Current student Gerardi also lauds the conference: “Not only is it a great networking opportunity, but it shows that the program understands the importance of conducting practical research of high quality.”

Additionally, the diversity of research areas and industrial sectors promotes lateral thinking, cross-fertilization of concepts and the generation of new ideas. “As an example,” Swartz says, “advanced control methods that were initially developed for a lumber company, Tembec, have also been applied to the food industry in Frito-Lay’s plants, with both companies achieving significant benefits through cost savings and/or improving product quality.” He adds that collaboration between Tembec and Dofasco was also sparked through their interaction with MACC.

As the academic partner, MACC faculty conduct advanced research in this area and contribute research personnel, technical expertise that builds on theoretical knowledge in relevant technologies. This collaboration has resulted in highly trained, employable graduates producing significant technological advances that have been developed further and implemented at the member companies.

To date, MACC-related projects have generated 90 graduate students, 35 of whom completed Ph.D degrees, and 55 with Master’s degrees. The high technical skills that MACC graduate students develop through their course work at McMaster and their industrially relevant research make them sought-after and valuable assets to the Canadian process industries and their technology suppliers.

And as a McMaster graduate since 1995, Vit Vaculik, manager of the advanced automation technology team at ArcelorMittal Dofasco, explains that graduates “are highly sought after in industry, and they have gone on to make a great impression in industry.” Dofasco alone, he says, has hired “quite a few McMaster alumni” in its process automation group.