CARSI is a leader in the testing of building construction materials

By Joel Schlesinger
Originally published in a Special Report by Research Manitoba

Few places can compare to Winnipeg for dramatic changes in weather.

Over the course of a typical year, this city’s temperatures will swing from a frigid -30 C in winter to a blazing hot 30 C in summer.

Those wild swings from icy cold to sizzling heat combined with heavy rain and snow loads can take a toll, especially on the materials used in the construction of roads and buildings.

Which brings us to Ray Hoemsen and his colleagues at the Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Development, also known as CARSI. The centre was conceived as a grass roots idea by the School of Construction and Engineering Technologies at Red River College.

Located on the Notre Dame Campus of Red River College, CARSI is one of places in Canada where builders can test materials for building envelopes – the outer walls of a building – to see how they hold up to the forces of Mother Nature.

To that end, the facility features a huge walk-in environmental testing chamber. Large enough for a car, the chamber has a barn-style door and is divided into two compartments, each of which can be independently controlled. On any given day, Hoemsen and his crew can turn the thermostat in either compartment down to – 40 C or up to 40 C; wall assemblies can be placed in a common wall opening and tested against temperature and humidity differentials.

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She’s devoted years to the development of a global online resource that links early childhood educators with the latest in research and knowledge.
So it’s no surprise that Red River College’s Janet Jamieson — Research Chair for the School of Health Sciences and Community Services, and the driving force behind the College’s world-renowned Science of Early Child Development (SECD) research project — has been nominated for a 2015 Women of Distinction Award.
Jamieson (shown above, at centre) was nominated in the category of Community Activism and Social Enterprise — a perfect match, given she’s been the principal researcher and lead developer on a series of projects for RRC that are grounded in the advancement of social equity, and have in turn led to the advancement of economic and environmental priorities.
The most notable of these is SECD, a knowledge mobilization initiative designed to make current research accessible to anyone interested in learning more about the profound impact of the early years on lifelong health and well-being.
First developed as a tool to help share the emerging science about early brain development and its implications for practice across sectors, SECD has grown and evolved into three online living textbooks, as well as other educational resources. Updated regularly, it brings research and concepts to life with hundreds of readings, videos, links and interactive activities. There have been many versions and modules developed to support its use with a variety of audiences throughout the world.
Colleges and universities (in Canada and elsewhere) use SECD in pre-entry, diploma, undergraduate and graduate programs as content for online and off-line courses, while government and community organizations use it for parent education workshops, staff training and professional development. Students, instructors and parent groups in 27 countries around the world use SECD.
Through a partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation, SECD is used extensively in East Africa and South Asia, reaching people in the most poverty-stricken parts of the world, and teaching them how to interact with their children to support healthy growth and development.
Jamieson herself has travelled extensively to isolated parts of Africa and Asia to deliver training modules and work with members of local communities to develop their skills at delivering SECD content. Her work has directly impacted hundreds of people in at least 22 countries, and has led to government advocacy that’s focused on investments in the early years as a way to improve economic, social and other outcomes.
And SECD represents only a fraction of Jamieson’s work. She has also led and overseen other projects in Bangladesh and Pakistan, has trained community-based workers in Sub-Saharan Africa to work with children impacted by HIV/AIDS, and has documented the leading-edge practices for health and early childhood education in Cuba, which have exceptionally high outcomes.
Jamieson has also contributed at the local level, serving on several advisory committees (among them Healthy Child Manitoba) related to early childhood development issues. She also led and managed an intervention known as the Abecedarian project, a structured, targeted approach that works with children in child care centres in Winnipeg’s lowest-income neighbourhoods, providing reading and other supports to support the successful entry of the children into the public school system.
Hosted by YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg, this year’s Women of Distinction Awards Gala takes place May 6, at the RBC Convention Centre.

WINNIPEG, MB – Red River College (RRC) has been awarded $1.75 million over 5 years from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to establish the Centre for Building Envelope Performance (CBEP) at their Notre Dame Campus in Winnipeg.
CBEP is expected to significantly increase access to the College’s facilities, equipment, and expertise for Manitoba’s building industry, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises whose products and services directly impact a building’s envelope.
The envelope can significantly impact a building’s overall construction and maintenance costs, durability, appearance, occupant comfort and health, and energy performance.
“This grant will provide a meaningful enhancement to our ability to serve Manitoba’s construction sector with advanced graduates and professional training, as well as fostering innovation in a critical component of building design and construction,” said David Rew, Interim President and CEO of Red River College.
Increased building complexity, new standards and code requirements, and increased pressure to reduce energy use are just a few of the challenges faced by Manitoba’s construction sector.
“Our partners are absolutely thrilled with the news,” said Rob Spewak, who is transitioning from senior research manager to take on management of the new Centre. “The industry is facing a seemingly perfect storm of challenges, and it consists almost entirely of small businesses which generally lack comprehensive resources to do research, testing, and training in-house.”

Check out this video! It tells the story of why CBEP is being established at Red River College.

Another significant driver for the Centre’s establishment is Manitoba’s extreme temperatures – especially its harsh winter weather; it has historically presented major challenges that have led to several notable – and costly – building failures.
“As a result, building envelope training and research was identified as the most important issue faced by our stakeholders, who along with Manitoba’s construction industry, include the Province of Manitoba and Manitoba Hydro,” said Spewak.
Manitoba Hydro is a leading industry proponent of the CBEP; its Power Smart conservation programs are currently targeting energy efficiency improvements in over 35,000 commercial enterprises in Manitoba.
“The knowledge gained from the work of the CBEP will have broad application to all sectors, including the building envelopes of residential, commercial and industrial facilities across Manitoba,” said Dale Friesen, Division Manager, Industrial and Commercial Solutions with Manitoba Hydro.

The Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure – established in 2007.

Liting Han, instructor and CARD-funded researcher with Electrical Engineering Technologies at Red River College highlights several of her research projects, focusing on how she included students in the process.
Check out her presentation!
Want to attend presentations like this in person? Interested in delivering a presentation yourself? Have any content suggestions? Please contact:
Claudius Soodeen | csoodeen@rrc.ca | 204.632.2147

Red River College is giving Manitoba electric vehicle (EV) owners a boost with its recently installed and operational Level 3 (30KW DC) quick charging station, the first of its kind in the province and one of about two dozen across Canada.
Drivers of Level 3 compliant EVs, including Nissan Leafs, Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, and Teslas, can now drop by the College’s Notre Dame Campus to charge up while contributing to research on the charger’s performance in Manitoba’s climate.
“With the installation of this new charger, we continue to play a leading role in Manitoba’s green transportation future,” said David Rew, RRC interim president and CEO. “This rapid charging station is another key element in our Mobility from Green Energy Initiative and a logical next step in our vehicle technology research program.”
Level 3 stations can charge an EV to at least an 80 percent charge in 15 to 30 minutes; this is compared to a 220/240V Level 2 charger, which can take 4 to 6 hours to get to full charge, or an 110/120V Level 1 charger (like those found around your house), which can take about 24 hours.
“There are currently no other rapid charging stations of this level in a climate as diverse as Winnipeg’s,” said Ray Hoemsen, director of Applied Research & Commercialization at Red River College. “The effect on both the Lithium ion battery and vehicle performance when utilizing rapid charging in extreme winter weather is still unknown.”
The new charging station will be handy for compliant EV owners – especially those traveling from out of town – who need a quick boost to make it to their next destination.
“EV owners who live more than an hour’s drive from Winnipeg will now be able to use their EVs to commute to the city,” said Robert Elms, president of the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association. “This is a major step forward in the establishment of EV charging infrastructure in Manitoba.”
Red River College is sharing the charging station with whoever is able to use it, so long as they register and agree to participate in its study when called upon.
Funding for the charger was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; it will be used as part of the College’s ongoing EV research, testing, and demonstration projects at its Electric Vehicle Technology & Education Centre (EVTEC).
See related Media coverage:

• Winnipeg Free Press
• The Metro
• The Winnipeg Sun
• CJOB
• ChrisD

This is article is the last of a series of four that were published in the College Applied Research Series by Ray Hoemsen, Director, Applied Research & Commercialization, Red River College.

• faculty release time and/or salary top-up;
• student salary or research grant (direct to student);
• student placement salary support (direct to employer);
• provision of materials, supplies, equipment and facility access; and
• enabling technology diffusion and transfer, including travel to conferences and workshops.

In this regard, the lessons learned (over the last decade) at Red River College include:

• flexible intellectual property policy incents industry engagement;
• students and instructors are integral and essential components in responding to community needs;
• supportive government policies and programs have helped to build college applied research capacity, but there are limited supports for non-degree college student engagement (other than the Tri-Council’s College and Community Innovation Program);
  employ students (at market rates) to work on industry applied research projects;
• use internal and external grants to engage students, as well as capstone projects and competitions;
• partner with other academic institutions; and hire students in the applied research office (i.e. “walk the talk”).

In closing, at CAURA’s Got Talent! (June 2014), the panel on student engagement in applied research in the colleges and polytechnics identified key outcomes as “increased skill acquisition and development; the ability to apply learning to real world contexts; and increased employability (and employment)”
 
(1): Applied Research at Colleges and Institutes 2012-13. Colleges and Institutes Canada. http://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/what-wedo/ appliedresearch-2/scan-2012-13/ downloaded September 11, 2014.
(2): Polytechnics Canada Applied Research Metrics 2013/14.July 1, 2014
(3) Eligible costs under the Tri-Council’s College and Community Innovation Program, administered by NSERC.

Researchers are invited to join Innovate Manitoba’s experienced pitch coaching team to learn the art and science of the research sales pitch.

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“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”
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Event Registration and More Information Available at drivingsmeinnovation.com	Do you want to accelerate your growth? Are you facing tough technology and resource decisions? Looking to create culture of innovation in your company? Join us at Manitoba’s first innovation conference focused on small- to medium-sized businesses. This conference & workshop will show you how your company can increase efficiency, reduce risk and embrace innovation. Together, we will explore how to keep abreast of new technologies, grow and expand new products or services, reach new markets and enhance business productivity. Learn how to engage your customers and employees in success, fund your ideas, and grow to be an innovation leader in Manitoba.
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The new, $15-million Community and College Social Innovation Fund offered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) was presented in an info session at Red River College.
View the session here: http://blogs.rrc.ca/etv/information-sessions-and-resources/
 

More info:

The deadline for applications is March 2, 2015.
Proposals to the Community and College Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) are expected to:

• foster social innovation by connecting the talent, facilities and capabilities of Canada’s colleges and polytechnics with the research needs of local community organizations; and
• facilitate the development of collaborative social innovation research that brings together researchers, students and partners to address research challenges pertaining to social innovation.

Applicants can propose partnerships that build on existing collaborations or are new collaborations or innovative models. All partnerships should promote research, connection and professional training. Applicants are encouraged to explore multi-sector partnership approaches with partner organizations from the private, public and/or not-for-profit sectors.
For more information, please contact Jose Delos Reyes at jdelosreyes@RRC.CA