july 2009 issue
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The Summit Series
Library Nerd Makes Good
Dr. Warren Finlay, P.Eng., has a passion for knowledge, research and the world’s many wonders. In other words, not much has changed
in that department since the Centennial Leadership Award winner was a boy
Editor’s Note: Beginning in this edition, The PEGG continues its tradition of running feature stories on winners of APEGGA Summit Awards. This is the first in our series on recipients honoured in 2009.
BY CHRISTINE COTTRELL
The PEGG
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A LEADER AT THE TOP |
Growing up in Edmonton, Warren Finlay, P.Eng., spent countless happy hours in that fascinating and wonderful place known as the public library. “I had an insatiable appetite for all topics, especially anything to do with physics,” Dr. Finlay recalls.
But how would this young, curious man narrow his range of interests enough to choose his future? He dreamed of being an astrophysicist. It was APEGGA, however, that pointed Dr. Finlay in a different direction. An Association letter told him he’d been awarded a university tuition scholarship, and that was enough to focus his attention on engineering.
Some 30 years later, APEGGA has again shone its light on Dr. Finlay, this time honouring the Edmonton professor with the 2009 Centennial Leadership Award. The Centennial is the premier Summit Award, acknowledging the peak of distinction in professional practice and leadership.
He has an earlier Summit Award to his credit, too. In 2006, Dr. Finlay received the Alberta Ingenuity Fund Research Excellence Award. And in 1983 he received an APEGGA Gold Medal in electrical engineering, for graduating at the top of his class.
Dr. Finlay earned a master’s in electrical engineering at the U of A, followed by his PhD in mechanical engineering at Stanford University in California.
Research was a natural choice for the engineering grad, given his library-nurtured inquisitiveness and the childhood encouragement of his parents.
“To come up with a body of engineering knowledge that no one has ever had before is very satisfying. But to then see it applied towards improving the health of others, well, that’s beyond satisfying. It’s the stuff of dreams.”
Today, he’s an internationally renowned researcher and the founding director of the Aerosol Research Laboratory of Alberta, located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta. Also, as a U of A professor, Dr. Finlay has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in engineering, medicine and pharmacy. Graduate students he has mentored now occupy high-level positions at companies and universities all over the world.
His lab is primarily dedicated to exploring and manipulating the physics of inhaled pharmaceutical aerosols used in the treatment of lung diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis. In addition to a large body of academic research in his field, Dr. Finlay has succeeded in translating this research into practical applications. Indeed, patents arising from his work are being commercialized by companies worldwide.
Recent groundbreaking work
includes the development of a non-invasive, localized drug for lung treatment. Though still at the development stage and not ready for human trials for several years, the work should lead to an application perfect for people receiving treatment for lung cancer because it targets a specific area.
Made-in-Alberta Standard
Dr. Finlay’s lab has also developed an idealized mouth-throat replica, known as the Alberta Geometry. It’s been rapidly adopted worldwide and is fast becoming an industry standard.
Aerosols must, of course, traverse the mouth-throat region before entering lungs. Researchers need to mimic aerosol deposition and flow in the human mouth-throat. Here’s the challenge: the human mouth-throat region varies tremendously in shape and geometry.
The complicated task was to produce an easy-to-build and simple-to-replicate geometry. Included in the research were nearly 100 adult scans of the mouth-throat region. Researchers have found that the Alberta Geometry is an excellent mimic for inhaler behaviour in actual humans.
With the adult version now in use worldwide, the focus turns to infants and children. Newborns to the age of about six months naturally breathe through their noses, enabling them to breast feed. Aerosol delivery needs to be adapted to accommodate the variety of sizes, too — newborn to youths — creating targeted delivery that works for any young person.
Dr. Finlay is one of the editors for the Aerosol Science and Technology Journal, the official journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research. He’s also the author of numerous scholarly articles, as well as the definitive textbook on the mechanics of inhaled pharmaceutical aerosols.
All this work earned him the Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Aerosols in Medicine in 2001, and in 2008 the Thomas T. Mercer Award, given jointly by the society and the American Association for Aerosol Research.
Husband, Father, Musician
He has a happy, interesting life away from the lab, too, where this father of three young adults continues to pursue his passions.
To call him interested in music is an understatement. He plays the oboe and the bagpipes. As a band pipe sergeant, he can be seen playing the pipes in parades and weddings across the province.
He likes heading outdoors to relax and reconnect with nature. Having the Rocky Mountains on their doorstep is irresistible to him and his wife, Susan. He is also an avid birder.
He loves to backpack and scramble mountains, a great way to stay in shape — which will come in handy, because Dr. Finlay is training for the Edmonton Marathon in August.
As taken with Earth’s natural beauty as he his, the other planets and stars fascinate him, too. Dr. Finlay likes to travel outside of Edmonton, away from the city lights, to point his telescope towards the heavens. It’s the deep sky that’s his favourite, where he can explore other worlds, galaxies, nebulae and the remnants of supernovas, which are the topic of his award-winning amateur astronomy book.
‘Pursue Your Dreams’
All told, that curious library nerd has built himself an interesting, challenging and enjoyable life. Dr. Finlay’s advice to young people is this: “Find a way to pursue your dreams. Find something you are passionate about. Find your niche, expand your horizons and don’t be stuck in a just-a-job scenario.”
The Centennial Leadership Award goes to an APEGGA member who has attained the highest distinction in the science of engineering, geology or geophysics as an executive director or other leader. The winner’s work can centre on continuing enterprises, invention, research, original work or teaching the professions.
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