A new funding opportunity from Natural Resources Canada is now available for Canadian entrepreneurs and private companies working in the fields of manufacturing, electricity, transportation, and buildings. An investment of up to $30 million through a new initiative called Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada (BESC) will foster cutting-edge companies to deliver clean energy innovations to the market.

Launched under a new stream of NRCan’s Energy Innovation Program, in partnership with Breakthrough Energy, BESC is a first-of-its-kind public–private initiative aimed at accelerating the development of clean energy technologies with the potential for substantial pollution reductions globally.

To find out if you could be eligible and to learn more about BESC, please visit their website.

Matt Schaubroeck is in the business of making buildings smarter. The entrepreneur has teamed up with Red River College (RRC) to develop the software behind ioAirFlow, a product that’s been percolating for the past two years and is now being put into fruition at RRC’s ACE Project Space.

“Essentially, ioAirFlow is a data analysis tool,” says Schaubroeck. “We use big data to determine energy efficiency in commercial buildings.”

Matt Schaubroeck and Xinxin Wei work on the software behind ioAirFlow

ioAirFlow takes the concept of residential smart thermostats and applies it to commercial-industrial buildings. The goal is to make big buildings smarter and greener, with a technology that’s as accessible as possible.

The idea occurred to Schaubroeck when he was working on his MBA in a tech commercialization program. After meeting industry leaders and talking about his idea of a smart thermostat for commercial buildings, Schaubroeck realized there was a real need for the product.

“Everyone wants to save money on energy bills,” he says. “We want to save the planet at the same time.”

The big idea was there. Two years of research and development were in the books – including working with RRC’s Building Envelope Technology Access Centre (BETAC) last year, heating up a trailer behind the Notre Dame Campus in order to track temperature and humidity.

Schaubroeck worked alongside Steve Lawrence, Coordinator of the ACE Project Space, on the research proposal. Lawrence is also working as the academic supervisor/advisor for the project.

Earlier this month, the time finally came to put the idea into action. That’s where the ACE Project Space and funding from Mitacs came in, making this the first Mitacs-funded project at RRC.

“We’re thrilled to be the first Mitacs-funded project at ACE Project Space. Mitacs presented themselves as a great option to allow us to get into a space like this,” says Schaubroeck. “It’s such a great opportunity. We wouldn’t be here without their help.”

Mitacs is a national not-for-profit research network that has traditionally funded applied research collaborations at Canadian universities. Last year they began funding colleges, and with former RRC research manager Brent Wennekes taking the lead for Mitacs in Manitoba, RRC was one of the first colleges to sign on as a Mitacs partner institution.

“Mitacs is very pleased to be able to support this partnership with ioAirFlow with funding for their talented research intern,” says Wennekes. “RRC has been a national college leader in applied research for many years, and ACE Project Space has established itself as a key player in Winnipeg’s start-up community. Our program is perfect for start-up companies and with ACE, you get not only talent, but office space as well!”

Along with Xinxin Wei, a Business Information Technology (BIT) student from RRC, and the third member of their team, Amanda San Filippo, Schaubroeck is now working on the software, crunching the numbers on the program’s back-end.

“The big problem with energy efficiency is you have to be an expert to use it. The front end of this system is going to make it as easy to understand as possible,” he says. “We’re working with building owners to understand what they care about and how it’s going to make a difference.”

While the whole team had to face the challenge of learning the complicated technical language of the software programming, Xinxin Wei had to face the additional challenges of honing his English language skills and navigating a new country. The international student has just finished his first year of the BIT program and is thrilled to be working on ioAirFlow.

“I don’t have any experience in Canada,” says Wei. “The most important part for me is working with a real Canadian employer. I’ve been learning how to work with others, and the whole experience is very great.”

The team hopes to have the program off the ground by this fall. For more information on ioAirFlow, please visit their website.

All are invited to attend a special keynote address hosted by NVDIA on Wednesday, June 5.

Griffin Lacey will present the keynote address on Manitoba’s Future in HPC-2019. Lacey is a deep learning solutions architect for NVIDIA. In his current role, he assists Canadian customers in designing and deploying their scientific compute infrastructure to solve artificial intelligence problems.

This event is open to the general public. It is being hosted by the Enterprise Machine Intelligence & Learning Initiative and is being held in conjunction with Manitoba’s Future in HPC-2019, Digital Ag conference, which takes place the following day (June 6^th at the University of Winnipeg’s Eckhardt Gramatté Hall).

To register, please click here.

The Opportunity

Vista Medical manufactures pressure sensors in the form of fabrics and mats for the medical and sports industries. In the case of hospital beds, Vista’s pressure fabrics can help to identify uncomfortable parts of a patient’s body through pressure maps. The pressure maps can then be used to redistribute pressures on the bed for attaining the required comfort level. Vista uses a pressure table connected to a computer software for calibration and pressure verification, where load application is done manually. Vista collaborated with TACAM to develop a robotic solution.

TACAM staff assembling the robotic tooling system

The Approach

A tool system to be used for specific load application on Vista’s sensor mat was designed, fabricated and integrated with the UR10 collaborative robot. This work included 3D CAD design of the end-of-arm tool, tool fabrication and integration, implementation of a load measurement device and testing of the tool at Vista Medical.

The Outcomes

A prototype robotic tool was developed to address the problem of lack of accurate predetermined loads on Vista’s verification system.

The Benefits

• Improvement in accuracy of calibration and verification process for Medical sensor mats
• Efficient and reliable product design and testing

Testimonial

 “RRC Team understood the mechanism of the pressure sensor array and was prompt in developing the proof of concept to demonstrate what could be accomplished by using Universal COBOT, an important step in moving forward with automating verification system. “

—Ashok Dhawan P.Eng, Engineering Manager

The project team

Collaborators:

With support from:

The Opportunity

Selected figures from the DPHM 711 project

At TRL levels 4-6, the CARIC DPHM 711 was a multi-party, 2.5 year-long, $1.4M project. The objective was to determine the suitability of select advanced welding technologies for the repair of Al and Mg alloys for applications in the repair of fan frames, fan cases, and gearbox housing.

Comprehensive research including process development and optimization, metallurgical analysis, and standardized testing efforts was conducted to address the welding challenges leading to quality problems in selected aerospace Al and Mg alloys.

The Approach

CMT and Laser equipment set up and training of key technical staff, initial experimentation to establish process parameter, design of experiment (DOE) and statistical analysis, process optimization, metallurgical, mechanical and corrosion evaluation, and simulated weld repair demonstrations were performed on scrap gearbox housing and engine case.

The Outcomes

Following a comprehensive study, DOE, process optimization, iterative experimentation, quality evaluations, microstructure analysis, mechanical tests, and corrosion studies, simulated weld repair demonstrations were performed on scrap gearbox housing and engine case. 

The Benefits

• Generation of new innovative processes
• Improvement in competitiveness and unique MRO services
• Expanding the frontiers of knowledge in advanced welding

Testimonial

Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) welding in operation

“The DPHM 711 project was StandardAero’s first foray into a CARIC research project. We had a very successful partnership with Red River College and the other project collaborators. The project results will be used for both research reference and strategic repair development planning – allowing us to position ourselves as a market leader in MRO activities.”

— Andrew Harvey C.E.T., Manager, Repair Development Engineering, StandardAero Component Services – Canada

Collaborators

Red River College is proud to introduce the inaugural 2019 Vehicle Technology International Conference, September 30th through October 2nd in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Conference is oriented to researchers and practitioners involved with advances in and practical applications of vehicle technologies. The conference focus includes alternative propulsion technologies, heavy-duty and specialized vehicle applications, vehicle simulation, vehicle testing, data analysis and modeling, “smart” vehicle technologies, improving vehicle sustainability performance, and addressing barriers for new technologies. A particular tour-feature is Red River College’s newly completed MotiveLab, an advanced heavy-duty vehicle capable, extreme temperature climatic-chamber and chassis dynamometer test facility.

For more information and to register, please click here.

Peter Matkowski, CRI Research Coordinator Kyle Andreasen, and Anna Borys at Ag Awareness Day 2019

Culinary Arts and Culinary Research & Innovation (CRI) co-op students Anna Borys and Peter Matkowski showed off their chops at Ag Awareness Day on March 19^th. While dozens of dignitaries, government officials and supporters filled the Golden Boy Dining Room at the Manitoba Legislative Building, students from both RRC and Assiniboine Community College were busy prepping their innovative appetizers to serve to guests following the program.

The Manitoba Provincial government has been celebrating Agriculture Awareness Day during the third week of March since 2005. The event promotes greater awareness of the contributions agriculture makes to this province and the industry’s role as a key driver of the Manitoba economy.

To add a dash of spice to this year’s event, culinary students were invited to compete in a protein-based appetizer challenge. Each of the four students were tasked with preparing a creative animal or plant protein-based snack, featuring either peas or bison.

Anna Borys dished up yellow pea tempeh chorizo tacos, while Peter Matkowski served bison bratwurst with braised cabbage, pickled blueberries and fermented mustard. While both dishes were flying off the table faster than the students could dish them up, it was Peter Matkowski’s bison bratwurst that was ultimately crowned most innovative at the friendly competition. The students’ efforts proved there’s plenty of room for creativity and flavour in value-added protein products in Manitoba.

Anna Borys’s yellow pea tempeh chorizo taco with roasted corn cilantro salsa and lime crema

Peter Matkowski’s bison bratwurst with braised cabbage, pickled blueberries, and fermented mustard

Please note this opportunity from the Workers Compensation Board (WCB):

“Working with its partners, the WCB promotes safe and healthy workplaces, facilitates recovery and return to work, provides compassionate and supportive compensation services for workers and employers, and ensures responsible financial stewardship.  As part of this commitment, the WCB has created the Research and Workplace Innovation Program (RWIP) to promote and fund scientific research, workplace innovation, training and education projects and knowledge transfer related to prevention of occupational injuries, diseases and return to work of injured or ill workers.

RWIP Projects are funded under three streams:

• Scientific Research
• Training and Education
• Workplace Innovation

Generally, each project would be up to two years in duration and funded up to a maximum of $100,000 each year. A total of $1 million is available to fund qualified projects.”

For more information and to apply, please visit wcb.mb.ca.

What You Will Learn

• Differences between residential and commercial tests
• Building science and driving forces of air leakage
• Testing standards and code requirements
• Test considerations and planning
• Required materials and equipment
• First-hand experience with setup and use of blower door equipment
• Troubleshooting common problems encountered during testing

This workshop concludes with a full live test at the Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure (CARSI) at Red River College, which will incorporate diagnostic tools and data analysis.

Each session will be limited to 12 participants.

Course Dates and Cost

Dates: April 24-26, 2019 (spots available)

Times: 8:30am to 4:30pm (will end at 2pm on the last day to allow time for travel)

Cost: $1,495 + GST (includes parking, lunch and morning coffee)

Location: Red River College, 2055 Notre Dame Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Registration

To register, call or email:

Sheila Allarie
sallarie@rrc.ca
204-632-2038

Cancellation policy: Students who withdraw from a course seven days or less before the start date will be charged a $100 cancellation fee.

Instructors

Cory Carson
Cory is a Mechanical Engineering Technologist with over five years of experience in applied research related to energy efficiency, who has tested over 50 large buildings for airtightness.

Kevin Knight
Kevin is a building envelope authority with over 35 years of experience in field observation and testing, commissioning, research, education and training.

Gary Proskiw
Gary is a mechanical engineer with 40 years of experience; he has conducted hundreds of airtightness tests on houses and commercial buildings and has been active in code and standard development.

Additional Course Information

Cory Carson
204.631.3325 | ccarson31@rrc.ca

Other course offerings can be found at rrc.ca/techsolutions.

The Strategic Transformation & Applied Research (STAR) fund is a new internal funding program at Red River College. An evolution from previous internal funding (PIF and CARD), the new fund aims to support a broad range of activities at the College with emphasis on interdisciplinary and multi-department projects.

Proposals must clearly demonstrate innovation, must be unique and/or have elements of strategic transformation.

There are three main categories for applications:

1. Academic Innovation
2. Applied Research
3. College-wide Improvements

To learn more about the categories, as well as the application process and timeline, please visit the website or contact Jojo Delos Reyes at jdelosreyes@RRC.CA.

Please note: deadline has been extended to April 5, 2019.