William David Lubitz, PhD, P.Eng.
Research
My research focus is renewable energy technologies, particularly hydro, solar and wind, and environmental fluid mechanics. I have a background in wind engineering and experimental fluid mechanics, and have worked on a range of energy systems. Examples of current research projects include:
- Improving the energy efficiency of Ontario greenhouses. Energy is one of the largest costs associated with greenhouse vegetable production. This project seeks to understand and model the factors that impact the internal climate of large-scale greenhouses, and develop complete-system models that can be used to identify energy savings through modified greenhouse design and operating protocols.
- Efficient low temperature grain drying. Corn, soy and cereal grains must be dried after harvest in many regions, including Ontario, before long-term storage. Conventional grain dryers operate at high temperatures using large amounts of propane or natural gas, which is expensive and produces high CO2 emissions. This project seeks to make grain drying less expensive and reduce associated carbon emissions by investigating drying using heat pumps powered by electricity from low-carbon grids (like Ontario's), and developing practical models of the drying process that would allow producers to use weather forecasts and site-specific information to plan efficient dryer operation.
- Archimedes screw microhydro system modeling, design and testing. This long term project continues to build on our past research, models and collaborations. Field and laboratory studies are used to investigate the dynamics of Archimedes screws used for power generation, with a particular focus on developing models that can be incorporated into practical design tools. This project involves investigation of specific aspects of the Archimedes screw, understanding of overall hydropower systems incorporating Archimedes screws, and incorporation of findings into systems level models and analysis.
Please contact me if you would like to know more about any of these projects, or are a prospective graduate student interested in one of these areas. Students should have a strong background in the fields relevant to the project (e.g. fluid mechanics, heat transfer) and excellent writing and communication skills. These projects require both careful attention to detail and an ability to extrapolate to an entire system. Experience in experimental fluid mechanics or heat transfer, or computational fluid dynamics (CFD), would be an asset. Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status is also an asset.
Contact Information
Prof. W. David Lubitz
Associate Professor
Environmental Engineering
wlubitz@uoguelph.ca
Tel: +1-519-824-4120 ext. 54387
Fax: +1-519-836-0227
School of Engineering, University of Guelph
50 Stone. Rd. E.
Guelph, ON, Canada
N1G 2W1
Directions
Physically, my office is room 1340 in the Thornbrough Building (also known as the "engineering building") on the University of Guelph main campus. It is immediately east of the University Centre. The main bus stops for the campus are right in front.
GO Transit buses to various locations in Mississauga and Toronto stop directly in front of the Thornbrough Building. If you are driving, coming from the 401, take exit 299 Hwy 6 S Hamilton/Brock Rd Guelph, and go north towards Guelph. Brock Rd. changes name to Gordon St as it enters Guelph. After crossing Stone Rd., make the next right (also a light) onto South Ring Road. About 50 m on your right will be a parking lot, where you can pay at the booth to park. If you continued on South Ring Road, you would pass on your left the entrance to bus stop areas which has very large "do not enter" signs. The building on your left right next to those signs is Thornbrough Hall. Via Rail and GO trains stop at the downtown Guelph train station, north of the university campus.
If you are using internet mapping tools, the university address is: 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1, which should come up at the main entrance to campus off of Stone Rd. Thronbrough Hall is on the northeast corner of the loop formed by the entrance road.
A campus and parking map is available from Parking Services.