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Faculty of Engineering
UNB Fredericton

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Our research is changing your world

The University of New Brunswick’s Faculty of Engineering is proud to be home to leading research that is providing solutions that benefit consumers, patients, industries and the planet.

UNB Engineering conducts an estimated $17 million per year in research funded by public research councils, government organizations and industrial partners.

Research highlights

Institutes and centres

  • The Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence is partnered with Irving Shipbuilding and Lockheed Martin; it will be the first research centre in Canada to use 3D metal printing as a method for manufacturing certified, custom parts for the marine sector.

Groundbreaking research and technology

  • Technology that could change the face of disaster relief automatically scans satellite images from different vantage points to detect changes to buildings, city landscapes and rural areas following natural disasters.
  • The Ocean Mapping Group's research at the Port of Saint John will provide a better understanding the sedimentation, circulation and ecology of the Saint John Harbour.
  • Dr. Gobinda Saha’s Nanocomposites and Mechanics Laboratory (NCM Lab) is working in the field of advanced materials design, manufacturing, testing/characterization, and modeling to develop innovative solutions to tackle industrial wear and premature material failure facing structural and non-structural components. The work is fundamentally linked with industry needs.

Research areas and groups

Researchers at the Canadian Centre for Geodetic Engineering (CCGE) develop new methods in the use of most modern monitoring technologies (geodetic, geotechnical and geophysical) for geo-data acquisition and management, development of methods for information extraction and analysis and to incorporate this information in FEM models of behaviour changes of large-scale rock mass resulting from underground extraction of materials. CGGE research contributes to development of halite and sylvite mines in New Brunswick and copper and salt mines in Europe.


The Centre for Nuclear Energy Research delivers state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary applied research projects and services to research organizations and industry leaders around the globe. CNER is a university research institute with a formal relationship between UNB and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Canada’s premier nuclear research organization, which maintains staff on-site at UNB. This relationship helps ensure that CNER can undertake activities that are compliant with nuclear regulatory standards.


The Emera & NB Power Research Centre for Smart Grid Technologies will be a global leader in the transformation of electric power systems into smart grids through R&D, innovation, commercial partnerships, high-quality researchers and state-of-the-art research facilities.


The Institute of Biomedical Engineering was founded in 1965 as the Bio-Engineering Institute. Since then it has evolved to become a world renowned, multidisciplinary research unit involved in a broad spectrum of activities in biomedical engineering.

Research includes pattern recognition, exoskeleton research and outcome measures.


The Limerick Pulp and Paper Centre has expertise in wood pulping, pulp bleaching, secondary fibre processing and paper making. It collaborates with several companies on R&D projects and provides distance education to mill personnel. It has capabilities for testing, technical and library services in areas of interest to the pulp and paper industry.


The Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence is the first in Canada to use 3D metal printing to manufacture certified parts for the marine industry.

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, will revolutionize marine manufacturing in Canada. With this technology, Canadian fabricators can create new components on demand, simplify cumbersome supply chains and address the unique challenges of the marine sector.

Through research, development and commercialization, the centre will help New Brunswick remain globally competitive and further grow the region’s export business opportunities.


The research of the Ocean Mapping Group in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering develops new and innovative techniques and tools for the management, processing, visualization and interpretation of ocean mapping data.


The enhanced oil recovery research team in the Department of Chemical Engineering evaluates enhanced oil recovery strategies for new oil fields and reservoirs.

Research projects include the production of clean transportation fuels, enhancement of diesel quality, development of new processes to produce biodiesel and green diesel from bio-resources and value-added products from petro-/bio-resources.


This research through the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering addresses how software tools provide interoperability between users as consumers and diverse forms of electronic information, methods and algorithms, semantic web and global information exchange.


The UNB Water and Environmental Group in the Department of Civil Engineering is developing innovative systems and infrastructures to protect of water resources and sustainably manage municipal and industrial wastes. Exploration for natural gas in New Brunswick has highlighted the keen interest and concern over potential impacts, if any, to groundwater that serves as the water supply for over 60 per cent of the province’s population.


In the Department of Civil Engineering, a number of research projects are being funded to develop methodologies for repairing structures suffering from deterioration due to alkali-silica reaction, delayed ettringite formation, or both processes occurring simultaneously. Methods being investigated include:

  • Use of carbon-fiber reinforced polymer wraps
  • Use of coatings and sealants
  • Use of lithium