Applied Research & Commercialization (AR&C) is pleased to announce that Red River College (RRC) students can apply for and receive grants of up to $5,000 (plus the cost of materials) to conduct applied research on improving the energy performance of commercial and/or institutional buildings.
This grant program is possible due to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) which, through its College and Community Innovation Program, awarded RRC $2.3M to establish and support the research program of the Sustainable Infrastructure Technology Research Group (SITRG).
“The NSERC SITRG Student Innovation Awards are an excellent opportunity for students to get hands-on research experience in what is increasingly becoming one of the most important and cutting-edge aspects of building design, construction, and operation,” says Rob Spewak, Research Manager for AR&C.
The projects are required to focus on one or more of four main research areas: building envelopes, building performance monitoring, mechanical and renewable energy systems, and reducing the embodied energy of building materials.
“We hope to build on the success of our existing faculty-focused Research Innovation Fund (RIF) to provide a similar platform for student innovation and applied learning,” said Spewak.  “And we already have a solid base of tools, facilities, and knowledgeable staff available to assist them with their projects.”
All RRC students in good academic standing are eligible for this award.  They may work individually or in teams of up to four members and each member can receive up to $5,000.  Each individual or team will be asked to find a suitable project advisor. The annual budget for the NSERC SITRG Student Innovation Awards is $200,000, not including any necessary funding for instructor release time.
“We are available to support the students throughout the application and project idea creation process,” says Spewak.
Since this is an open competition – there is NO DEADLINE, therefore applications can be submitted at any time. The application form also has detailed project and funding guidelines as well as contact information for additional support.
“A critical commitment tied to the NSERC award is the active engagement of RRC faculty, staff, and students in applied research projects related to improving the energy performance of commercial and institutional buildings,” said Ray Hoemsen, Director of AR&C at Red River College.  “So we encourage all members of the RRC community to contact our office with their project ideas.”
Project Contact:
Rob Spewak, EIT
Research Manager, AR&C
rspewak@rrc.mb.ca
 

 
Red River College (RRC) recently completed three-year testing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology at its Advanced Transportation and Energy Centre.

The demonstration project, one of the largest of its kind in Canada, involved participation of instructors from the RRC automotive program and Applied Research & Commercialization (AR&C) staff.  Instructors from the RRC automotive program converted 10 Toyota Prius cars to operate as PHEV using Hymotion Plug-in Conversion Modules (PCMs) from A123Systems Inc.
RRC used one of the vehicles, while the Vehicle and Equipment Management Agency (VEMA) of the Province of Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, Manitoba Public Insurance, and the City of Winnipeg used the others. The vehicles operated in the vicinity of Winnipeg for three years while undergoing monitoring.
One of the purposes for the demonstration was to test the effectiveness of PHEVs in a cold-weather environment, such as Manitoba’s, and to make cold-weather adaptations as necessary. AR&C staff performed cold-weather monitoring and upgrades to the vehicles.
“The cold-weather improvements undertaken at Red River College turned out to be a critical success factor for the Manitoba PHEV Demonstration,” said Robert Parsons, who acted as the Project Manager for the demonstration and is the Secretary/Treasurer of the non-profit Centre for Emerging Renewable Energy Inc., which acted as administrator.
“Without these modifications, vehicle failures and reduced performance would have resulted.”
Parsons reported the cold-weather findings of the project at the IEEE 2011 Electrical Power and Energy Conference in Winnipeg during October. For more information about cold-weather modification of PHEVs please visit the following link:
http://www.rrc.mb.ca/files/file/appliedresearch/2011IEEE.pdf
The Province of Manitoba provided funding for the Manitoba PHEV Demonstration.

Join Red River College (RRC) on Oct. 26, 2011 at the Western Canadian Aviation Museum for a discussion about the latest in vision-enabled robotic technology from an international expert in the field of robotics and machinery vision.
Michael Monnin, Products Manager, Robots & Vision, Wayne Trail Technologies, will provide a practical guide of the technology currently available to manufacturers interested in more intelligent robot solutions.

Machine vision technology continues to advance in capability while the complexity and cost of these systems drops.  At the same time, robot systems and software platforms have become more open to integration and device communication.  The marriage of machine vision and robotic technology has never been easier or more cost effective and continues to prove easier to implement with a growing library of successful applications.

Attendees will leave this seminar with practical knowledge of vision-enabled robot technology, a clear understanding of the current trends in robotic vision, and an insight into the future of intelligent robotics.
Following the seminar, attendees will be invited to tour RRC’s Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training (CATT).

SEMINAR INFO
DATE: Oct. 26th, 2011
TIME: 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (Breakfast will be served)
LOCATION: Western Aviation Museum, 958 Ferry Rd. Winnipeg, MB, upper floor classroom
REGISTRATION
Registration for this event is free. To register, please contact Valerie Howat at vhowat@rrc.mb.ca or at 204.632.2064 with the following information:
Name & Title
Organization
Contact Info (phone or email)
Your intention to join/not join the CATT tour
The deadline for registration is Oct. 21, 2011.

 



***UPDATE***
The WADE Building Capacity Workshop from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. will no longer be taking place. The 50 by ’30 Lunch & Learn from 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. will still be on, with some extended networking time at the end of the presentation.
****************
 
 
Red River College (RRC) and the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association are hosting back-to-back Clean Energy events on Oct. 17, 2011 at the College. 50 by ’30 will be leading a Lunch and Learn and this will be immediately followed by an event hosted by the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE).
Lunch & Learn: 50 by ’30 | 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
50 by ’30 will present on its vision to generate 50 per cent of the energy consumed in Manitoba from renewable sources by 2030 without increasing global greenhouse gases.
Through the implementation of the “Green Plan”, 50 by ‘30 hopes to:

• Grow Manitoba’s green business sector
• Reduce Manitoba’s environmental footprint
• Build individual, corporate, and community capacity to design and implement green projects
• Encourage widespread public support and involvement

Daniel Friesen, leader of the 50 by ’30 initiative, will present on Manitoba’s current energy situation, what can be done to achieve 50 by ’30, and some practical things organizations can do to help.
Building Capacity Workshop: WADE | 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
WADE Canada, one of the country’s leading industry associations for clean and decentralized energy, is hosting this free “Building Capacity” workshop to help SMEs prepare for success.
On November 1 – 3, 2011, the Global Clean Energy Congress & Exhibition will bring together leading experts from around the world in the field of clean energy to discuss emerging technologies and strategies.  The Congress will provide a venue for companies in Western Canada to commercialize their technology, penetrate new markets and identify strategic relationships to grow their businesses.
Companies who attend this workshop will have the chance to earn a free booth at Global Clean Energy Congress.
The workshop topics will include:

• Domestic and International Market Opportunities in Clean Energy
• Business Planning and Targeting
• Pre-Congress Preparation

LOCATION: Both events take place RRC’s Notre Dame Campus (2055 Notre Dame Avenue) in room C709. Parking and directions will be provided following your registration.
REGISTRATION:
Registrations are limited and will be provided on first-come, first-serve basis. You must register to each event separately to attend both events. There is no cost to register.  Registration deadline is Oct. 14, 2011.
To register for 50 by ’30 Lunch & Learn: Please contact Deborah Tardiff at dtardiff@meia.mb.ca
To register for WADE’s Building Capacity Workshop: Please follow this link
There is no cost to register thanks to the support of:
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Western Economic Diversification, and Economic Development Winnipeg, and the Sustainable Infrastructure Technology Research Group.
 
 

 
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a forum on clean-energy technologies and the future of sustainable development in Manitoba. The forum, led by chamber president and CEO Dave Angus, included Hank Venema, director of Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development, and Neil Krovats, owner of Clearline Technology.
Among the topics discussed included raising awareness of Manitoba as a clean-energy centre in North America, and how government can help grow the sustainable-development private sector in Canada.
The forum was a part of the BOLD speaker series, a chamber initiative that is aiming to make job growth a key element of the upcoming Manitoba provincial election.
Below is video of the forum, courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press.

 
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.