Lambton College Gets $11.8 Million for Upgrades.

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From Melanie Irwin, Blackburn News.


Lambton College is undertaking a major renovation of existing facilities.

An $11.8-million funding commitment was announced at the Centre of Excellence in Energy and Bio-Industries Friday morning.

Lambton’s Vice President of Academics Donna Church says about 43,000 sq ft of the first floor and lower level, of the most southerly block of the campus, will be upgraded.

She says an addition will also be built on the main floor to house a boiler that is a key element in the chemical process and production technology and power engineering programs.


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Additional coverage.

Lambton College Gets $2.3 Million for Applied Research.

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From Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer.



A fuel cell reliant on acid-loving bacteria could be a “game-changing technology” for green energy generators, says the man heading up applied research into the technology at Lambton College.

“It is definitely cheaper than your regular conventional fuel cell. I can tell you that,” said Shahram Karimi, industrial research chair.

Instead of the typical hydrogen-oxygen reaction relied upon in fuel cells for energy storage, the bio-based battery relies heavily on micro-organisms sourced from hot springs in California, he said.

Devouring iron, they supply the electron exchange necessary for the storage technology to work.

For the past three years, researchers at Western University have been crunching data for London-based BioGenerator Energy Solutions, and they’ve turned to Lambton to test the idea at the college’s Sustainable Smart House – which uses wind and solar to produce hydrogen through electrolysis. It also demonstrates other green energy applications.


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Lambton College Hits the Big Five-O.

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From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.




Lambton College, a school set to launch a $42-million expansion, had a humble start 50 years ago.

In the mid-1960s, Ontario decided to create a new system of community colleges, and Lambton was the second to set up shop.

Ron Lawrence, 93, was among its 10-member faculty when the college first opened its doors in November 1966 in an old building in Sarnia's Chemical Valley.

“It was a derelict schoolhouse,” he said.

Zach Neal.

“When I say derelict, I really mean it. The heating didn't work, the air conditioning didn't work, the toilets overflowed. The whole place was a real mess.”

Lawrence said he remembers selling students their textbooks on the first day, although just getting the books had been a challenge.

“We had to order a large number of textbooks for a college that nobody had ever heard of, and they didn't believe me,” he said.

But Lawrence convinced publishers that a college really was starting up in Sarnia, and the books arrived in time.

Zach Neal.

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