By: Emily Doer, via The Projector
Get your motors running – or in this case, don’t.
Motorcycle enthusiasts at Red River College and around the city will soon have a greener alternative to automobiles through the college’s Solar Ebikes project.
The project, which is funded by Red River College’s Research Innovation Fund, will construct a prototype street legal sportbike that will run off solar power.
The project will be completed in several phases, the first phase being the creation of the sportbike. The second phase will see the creation of a solar powered platform that can be towed behind the bike. Whenever the bike is stationary in a parking lot or driveway it can be plugged in and charged.
Leon Fainstein, a Mechanical Engineering Technology instructor leading the project, has high hopes that their bike will perform just as fast, if not faster than gas-powered bikes.
“Electric bikes are really only about a minute slower than the gas bikes, and it’s possible this year that they might even surpass them,” he said.
Fainstein explained that the team working on the project developed a knowledge base when it comes to green vehicles, solar power, and energy-efficient design based on prior project.
The team previously built a solar-powered car, which they drove from Texas to Calgary twice. After the car, the team turned its attention to the idea of the electric motorcycle.
The team took a Yamaha 600cc sportbike, gutted it, threw away the motor, and began the transformation process.
Fainstein noted that the electric motorcycle will comply with the same road safety requirements as gas-powered ones, and would be licensed and registered with Manitoba Public Insurance.
“This bike will be street legal, reliable, relatively easy to drive, and only cost approximately 10 cents of electricity per 100km,” said Fainstein.
Kirstyn Gray, a 20-year-old motorcycle enthusiast who has owned her own motorcycle since she turned 16, isn’t surprised to see the emergence of greener alternatives.
“We’ve seen the transition to greener alternatives in cars, and I’m not surprised to see the movement in the bike community. Every day there are new ideas for energy alternatives, so it seems only logical to use them,” said Gray.
The team hopes that both phases of the project will be complete by the end of the 2011 school year.
“My wife always bugs me about how long projects are going to take me,” Fainstein said. “I hoped that it would be done already, but we are trying everything we can do get it on the road before there is snow or ice. If that doesn’t happen you will see it driving slowly and carefully in the hallways of Notre Dame.”

Applied Research & Commercialization (AR&C) is pleased to announce the installation of its parabolic solar trough energy generator at the Red River College (RRC) Notre Dame Campus.
Reduced heat losses and the ability to produce thermal heat at below-freezing temperatures make solar trough systems a potentially ideal technology for cold climates. This project is investigating the feasibility of using concentrated solar power in Manitoba’s harsh climate.
The project, which will involve RRC faculty and students, is the result of a partnership between the College, Manitoba Hydro, The University of Manitoba, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). It is being funded, in part, by NSERC’s College and Community Innovations Program as part of AR&C’s Sustainable Infrastructure Technology Research Group (SITRG).
Below are photos of the installation:

 
 
 
 
 
 

By Daniella Ponticelli, via The Projector
Red River College instructors always have something up their sleeves – and this time they’re going mobile.
RRC Graphic Design instructors Ilse Dyck and Tom Lepp are developing an iPhone app for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) – an app designed to enhance visitors’ experience.
Though the design of this app is already underway, the instructors say that there might be a chance for students to get involved in the project.
The CMHR project currently doesn’t have a student signed-on, but Dyck sees potential opportunities.
“There is a possibility of having students involved, like a Creative Communications or Graphic Design student to help expand content,” said Dyck.
Dyck is working closely with Corey Timpson, the director of design and new media for the CMHR, to develop the app for the museum. She explained that the app, which is scheduled to be finished in April 2012, will feature augmented reality – a function that allows smartphones to overlay digital and display information over real world images.
The technology, supported by the Layar Reality Browser, enables a user to scan a certain area, such as a museum display, with a smartphone. Once scanned, the visitor will see information displayed on the phone’s screen layered over the real image.
While she has received funding from outside sources, RRC is supporting Dyck’s project through the Research Innovation Fund (RIF). The fund provides monetary support to instructors undertaking innovative applied research projects.
RIF runs an annual submission-based competition in order to distribute over seven awards with a maximum prize of $7,500. RRC faculty and staff with a short-term research project ideas in which RRC faculty or students are engaged, are eligible for funding.
Rob Spewak, a research manager in the office of Applied Research and Commercialization, said that RIF submissions have increased – and diversified – in the past three years. This year’s ten recipients come from six different RRC schools, and are all taking different areas of study.
“It’s pretty spread out across departments,” explained Spewak. “It gets people doing projects – and keeps the instructors current.”
Even though the fund helps instructors financially, students benefit both directly and indirectly.
“A lot of the money used is to pay for a student to assist the project,” Spewak said.
“We’re getting more education and that benefits teachers, students, and the industry,” echoed Dyck.

Red River College (RRC) faculty and students will benefit from $97,500 to conduct innovative research projects in 2011 – 2012.
The Research Innovation Fund (RIF) is provided by Applied Research & Commercialization (AR&C) to encourage faculty, staff, and students to engage in research activities at the College.
“The intent is to develop and build internal research capacity,” says Ray Hoemsen P. Eng., director of AR&C. “This year’s award winners came forward with several original, yet practical applied research project proposals.”
AR&C awarded funding to 13 applicants from several College programs: Aboriginal Education, Applied Commerce & Management Education, Automotive Transportation, Business & Applied Arts, Civil Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Electronic Engineering Technology, Graphic Design, Health Sciences & Community Services, the Language Training Centre, and Mechanical Engineering Technology.
Past notable RIF projects include Mechanical Engineering Technology’s Rapid Prototype Composite Tooling (featured on netcomposites.com) and Electrical Engineering Technology’s GPS Wildlife Tracking Collar (featured in ACCC’s January 2011 issue of Accelerating Innovation on p. 9).
“The RIF program has proven very successful in providing research opportunities and resources to the staff, faculty, and students who need them the most,” says Hoemsen.
The award funds go into a special account created for each award winner for them to use on specific project costs.  The winners are required to submit a full report following the completion of their projects.
For information on this year’s award winning projects, download our 2011 RIF Summary Report.
Congratulations to all the award winners:
Bio-fuelProduction
Michael Myrowich, Automotive Transportation
Computerized Assessment of Natural Language Test
Laurie Cutrone, Business and Applied Arts
Crack Detection in Concrete Beam – Phase Two
Liting Han and Dave Bertin, Electrical Engineering Technology
Effects of Supplementng Aboriginal Post-Secondary Transition Programs with Traditional Aboriginal Cultural Activities
Karen Favell, Aboriginal Education
Gateway to Applied Business Research
Tatjana Brkic, Applied Commerce & Management Education
High-intensity Focused Ultrasound Monitoring Using Electric Impedance
Mohammad Aboofazeli & Haider Al-Saidi, Electrical Engineering Technology
Investigation of an Environmentally Friendly Solvent for use in Instrumental Chemical Analysis
Michael Judge, Health Sciences and Community Services
New Media – Design & Development for Layer App
Ilse Dyck, Graphic Design
Nutrients in Snow
Ian Halket, Civil Engineering Technology
Solar Ebike – Phase One
Leon Fainstein, Mechanical Engineering Technology
Traffice Situational Awareness System for the Visually Impaired
Liting Han, Dave Bertin, Electrical Engineering Technology
Ultra-wideband Antenna and Signal Design – Phase Two
Saleh Mneina, Electronic Engineering Technology
Stay tuned for the results of last year’s RIF projects and a call for applications for 2012 RIF projects.

Red River College and StandardAero have been named recipients of the 2011 John Convey Innovation Award, for the contributions to training and technological development made possible by the Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training (CATT).
Awarded by ASM International (formerly the American Society for Metals), the annual honour recognizes companies for their contribution to furthering the development of the materials engineering industry in Canada.
In particular, the 2011 award recognizes RRC and StandardAero for their “excellence in the areas of innovative education/training partnerships and technological development in the implementation of the Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training.”
A joint partnership between RRC, StandardAero, the Composite Innovation Centre and the federal and provincial governments, the CATT provides access to advanced technologies and equipment, including an array of cutting-edge laser systems capable of welding, cladding and cutting parts with complex geometries and thickness variations.
The CATT also affords a number of other knowledge-producing benefits, chief among them a cost-effective model that benefits both the College and StandardAero. Under the terms of the partnership, RRC provides StandardAero with an applied research venue in which real-world industry problems can be explored and solved. In return for access to RRC’s academic resources (including training of operators, technicians and engineering technologists), StandardAero provides the facility, equipment maintenance, shop access and supplies, as well as trained operators and on-the-job trainers for RRC project support.
The 2011 John Convey Innovation Award will be formally presented during the ASM Leadership Awards in Columbus, Ohio, in October, as part of the Materials Science & Technology 2011 Conference & Exhibition.

 

Source: Re$earch Money http://www.researchmoneyinc.com
Written by: Mark Henderson
Winnipeg’s Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology (RRC) has teamed with two industrial heavyweights and Manitoba Hydro on an ambitious project to develop and demonstrate an all-electric bus and charging system. The $3-million project brings together Winnipeg-based New Flyer Industries Inc and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), a core unit of the Mitsubishi Group with more than 60,000 employees worldwide.
The project closely follows an MOU signed last December between the provincial government and MHI to collaborate on the expansion of renewable energy utilization and the development of associated technologies, focusing on several areas related to the electrification of transportation and recharging infrastructure. The RRC-based project is the first to arise from the MOU.
The MOU is part of Manitoba’s electric vehicle strategy and includes a second MOU with Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada, which enables the company to use the province as a testing environment for further development on its i-MiEV electric vehicle.
The development project is expected to be completed within one year, followed by two years of testing in the province. To accommodate the project, RRC received $100,000 in provincial support to create an Electric Vehicle Technology and Learning Centre (EV-TEC) to help demonstrate electric vehicle development and enhance student training.
“This is a new relationship with MHI. We’re working with a number of partners — some old, some new — on a locally made commercial product. They’re all active partners,” says Ray Hoemsen, RRC’s director of applied research. “This is not a science project, it’s a development project focused on the technical side.”
While not large, the electric bus and charging system project is a potent example of the distinct yet growing role that Canada’s colleges are playing in the national system of innovation.
4th R&D centre
The college is now home to four R&D centres. In addition to EV-TEC, it has the Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure and two aerospace-related centres co-located with Magellan Aerospace Corp and StandardAero respectively.
For MHI, the electric bus project provides an opportunity for the company to test and demonstrate its lithium-ion secondary battery packs in a cold weather climate. The company says it is hopeful the project will mark the beginning of a long and productive relationship with Manitoba. New Flyer has already developed an all-electric bus and is eager to demonstrate its reliability. Development work will be split between RRC and New Flyer facilities. For its part, Manitoba Hydro is focused on the charging aspect of the project to determine how a growing number of electric charging stations will impact the grid. Manitoba currently has about 500,000 recharging outlets and derives the bulk of its energy from hydro.
For RRC, the project is helping to boost the amount of R&D it conducts annually. Since 2004, it has gone from just $50,000 in R&D income to $4.3 million in 2010.
“Our research activity has been evolving for the past 10 years. Each college is at a different stage in evolution and we’ve been fairly engaged with industry,” says Hoemsen, who joined RRC in 2004.
Hoemsen role in building RRC’s R&D capabilities was honoured earlier this week with the Association of Canadian Community College Gold Leadership Excellence Award. The award acknowledges his success in creating the college’s Applied Research and Commercialization unit and attracting major funding to RRC., which was described as “a model for other colleges regionally and nationally”.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) recently named Ray Hoemsen, Red River College’s (RRC) Director of Applied Research & Commercialization as their prestigious Gold Leadership Excellence Award winner.
The award recognizes an individual from a Canadian college that has made the greatest impact on his/her institution and, as a result, the communities it serves. Ray accepted the award at the Annual ACCC Conference on June 5 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Below are photos of Ray accepting the award:
 

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) has named Ray Hoemsen, Red River College’s (RRC) Director of Applied Research & Commercialization as their prestigious Gold Leadership Excellence Award winner.
“Mr. Hoemsen was recognized for the exceptional work he has done in creating and leading sustained applied research, innovation, and commercialization programs in Manitoba,” said James Knight, ACCC President and CEO. “His leadership in this area has been a model for other colleges regionally and nationally.”
Every year, the ACCC recognizes an individual from a Canadian college that has made the greatest impact on his/her institution and, as a result, the communities it serves.
“We were proud to nominate Ray for this award and are delighted that he has won,” said Stephanie Forsyth, President of RRC.  “Ray is creative, dynamic, and has shown a sustained level of leadership excellence in his field and amongst his communities.”
Ray is credited with launching the College’s applied research enterprise in 2004.  Since then, he has been the driving force behind the creation of four applied research centres and a key factor to RRC winning several government and industry awards that amount to several million dollars in funding for the College.
“RRC continues to overachieve in the area of applied research with Ray leading the way,” said Ken Webb, VP, Academic and Research at RRC. “But the impacts he has made extend far beyond RRC and include leadership roles both nationally and internationally.”
Ray has been a leading advocate in driving the public policy change to recognize the strategic role played by Canadian colleges in Canada’s research and innovation agenda.
“Canadian colleges’ historical focus has been on providing technical education and training,” said Ron Britton, Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Manitoba. “Ray successfully made the case for applied research at the college level to create the program we see today at RRC, and at other Canadian colleges.”
Ray’s leadership contributions are indeed far reaching. He has led, or played a notable role in over 70 community organizations in post-secondary education, engineering and technology, policy leadership, national and local sports, and neighborhood clubs.
“It has been said, half in jest, that a committee that is working for the betterment of our community isn’t officially sanctioned unless Ray is a member,” said Britton.  I’ve known him since his undergraduate days, and even then, you could tell he had that something extra.”
Ray has historically led by example and shown humility.  He was no different in accepting this award.
“This is really a team award,” said Hoemsen. “I love what I do and am lucky to have been surrounded by people who can embrace change and make things happen. “

Red River College (RRC) was one of 35 colleges that will share in more than $8 million in federal grant money, via the federal government’s recently announced Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants, a brand new initiative under the College and Community Innovation Program.
This grant supports the purchase of research equipment and installations to foster and enhance the ability of colleges to conduct applied research.
“This funding helps us with our ongoing mandate of applying knowledge to solve real-world challenges,” says Ray Hoemsen, Director of Applied Research and Commercialization at RRC.
RRC received a grant of $127,001, which will be used to upgrade the environmental test chambers in the College’s Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure and acquire air leakage testing equipment to be used for commercial and industrial buildings.
“Upgrades are under way and we are already using the air leakage testing equipment on a handful of projects,” says Hoemsen. “Applied research is a key element in improving Canada’s productivity and innovation capacity. We are thankful for the federal government’s continued support.”
Click to learn more about RRC’s office of Applied Research and Commercialization.