November 2009 issue
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The Summit Series
Fishing, Flying and Band-Aids
As a university professor, Dr. James Haslett, P.Eng., has received many accolades and published numerous academic papers.
This time, however, it’s his technical achievements that have earned him recognition from his peers
BY CHRISTINE COTTRELL
Editorial Assistant
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CATCHING THE BIG ONE |
Dr. James Haslett, P.Eng., begins each academic year by taking photographs of his new students — with their permission, of course. Not only does this help him learn their names, but it’s also a great icebreaker.
Quirks like that make him a well-liked and effective university professor. In fact, back in 2003 he won APEGGA’s Excellence in Education Summit Award. Dr. Haslett has also received many University of Calgary teaching awards.
Now, it’s the Frank Spragins Technical Award in the Summit Awards program he can add to his mantle. This one was a surprise to Dr. Haslett. “To win was an honour, as there were so many more deserving people,” says the electrical engineer.
Still, the awards suggest the breadth of Dr. Haslett’s professional work. Indeed, life for this academic is not just about the hallowed halls of education. He has been the president of the consulting firm Haslett Engineering Ltd., since 1981 working on projects for the oil industry and satellite instrumentation.
“It is important for an academic to have industry experience and it is also important that industries have strong research groups,” he says. “In the past decade there has been a huge change in the way researchers work and collaboration among universities and between universities, and industry is central
to success.”
The Earlier Years
What drew this renowned researcher to electrical engineering? He’d actually intended to study mechanical engineering, having spent much of his youth at his father’s service station in Saskatchewan, surrounded by cars and farm equipment.
“I was always building and repairing engines, so mechanical engineering appeared to be a natural choice. But I was directed to the electrical engineering department and liked what I saw.”
He is glad he made the change. In any case, in his research he often uses his mechanical skills.
These skills have come in useful in other areas over the past 25 years. One of his many interests is repairing antique clocks and watches, especially American Railroad Pocket Watches.
Smart Band-Aids
Back at the day job, Dr. Haslett and his research group have designed what they’re calling a “smart Band-Aid.” This ultra-low-power radio chip and sensor system forms a wireless monitoring platform for patient vital signs. And yes, it really does look like a Band-Aid.
Technological advancement is huge in modern hospital care. The general public probably thinks little about how important engineering is in the industry. Yet sensors, microelectronics and wireless technologies are becoming as important to health care as syringes and thermometers.
Calgary’s Foothills Hospital is the site of the Medical Ward of the 21st Century. The focal point of this initiative is a state-of-the-art medical teaching unit. Alberta Health Services and the U of C are partners in the project. Its goal is to help shape the future of hospital health care delivery and improve patient safety through staff training.
The prototype smart Band-Aid continuously monitors patients’ core body temperature, without cumbersome equipment tied to the bed by wires. In its final form it will be made up of several layers, starting with solar cells in the outer cover, an antenna, a flexible battery, an upper sensory array, a lower skin sensor array, and finally an adhesive layer placed on the patient’s temporal artery.
Eliminating wires gives the patient more freedom and improves safety, and continuous monitoring immediately alerts medical staff to any changes in vital signs.
Prototypes are expensive, but research for this non-invasive monitoring device continues. The objective is to devise a low-cost, disposable device that will adhere properly to the patient without damaging the unit’s circuitry. Also, the device must be easy for medical staff to work with.
These solutions are two or three years away, although the first clinical trial and ethics approval have recently been completed.
Is There Anyone Out There?
Another of Dr. Haslett’s projects is the Square Kilometre Array. He is part of an international team working on this next generation radio telescope, consisting of thousands of collecting antennas in a grid spread across 3,000 kilometres.
SKA, as its called, promises a giant step in scientists’ ability to penetrate the mysteries of the creation of the universe. How did the universe, and the galaxies in it, evolve? Where did the magnetic fields in the universe come from?
This international project requires a very quiet radio frequency environment, particularly for the core region, and a large physical area for the grid. There are a few suitable sites in the world, Southern Africa or Australia being the most appropriate.
The final site selection will be made in 2012, with the project completed in 2021, and fully operational by 2024.
Fishing and Other Things
Dr. Haslett will, no doubt, fit in a few fishing trips between then and now. He likes to relax on the shores of Kootenay Lake, B.C., enjoying its spectacular beauty and rugged, unspoiled nature.
He and his wife, Kay, own a 200-acre lakefront parcel there, which he says “has a lot of machines on it. I never sell anything; I just keep it running.” Time at the lake is spent working on the property, fishing, hiking and occasionally getting in a game of golf.
Dr. Haslett used to be a pilot, too, often flying his own plane to and from Springbank Airport in Calgary.
Recently while vacationing in Hawaii, Dr. Haslett was a passenger in, and flew, a biplane over Pearl Harbor, which he remembers as “quite an experience.” Later he flew a powered hang glider out of the same airport on the North Shore of Oahu.
What’s next? Retirement, for one. Dr. Haslett also thinks being a fishing guide would be fun, as would hiking and hanging out by the lake whenever he can.
The Frank Spragins Technical Award is presented to APEGGA members recognized by their peers for integrity and expertise, and for outstanding accomplishments in fields related to engineering, geology or geophysics. The award involves technical accomplishment.