2011 ASTech Honourees
The Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation (ASTech) is very proud to announce twenty-seven 2011 ASTech Honourees. For 22 years ASTech has been identifying and celebrating outstanding leadership from science and technology for twenty two years and once again received many worthy nominations from the community; it is uplifting to see such excellence in our province.
The Alberta Science and Technology (ASTECH) Leadership Foundation was created to celebrate and promote the achievements of Alberta’s scientific and technological communities. Through celebrating we elevate the province’s status as a science and technology leader, and inspire future innovation in Alberta and around the world. The Candidates for the ASTech awards were very impressive this year. The 2011 ASTech Award category winners will be announced at the Gala, October 28, 2011.
Through a rigorous, independent adjudication process the 2011 panel selected 27 ASTech Honourees from a broad breadth of science and technology sectors.
From the Bio Sciences:
• "There’s A Heifer in Your Tank" University of Alberta (Represented by Dr. Frank Robinson)
Program engages the community in agriculture through 'edutainment'
'Edutainment' is how Dr. Frank Robinson describes "There's a Heifer in your Tank", a combination of education and entertainment that brings agriculture into the lives of diverse people all over Alberta.
Under the enthusiastic leadership of Dr. Robinson, Vice Provost and Dean of Students at the University of Alberta, what began as one component of an undergraduate animal science course in 2004, has expanded beyond the walls of the university reaching new audiences and addressing new themes. It has engaged thousands of school children and the general public in active learning about the science behind food production and processing while developing the communications skills of hundreds of undergraduate students. It has also developed a comprehensive social media component that reaches countless more people internationally.
"The most effective learning happens when you're not aware you're learning," Dr. Robinson observes. "That's the moment we're looking for with "There's a Heifer in Your Tank". We've thrown away or laughed at the stereotypes. We've basically made the "Saturday Night Live' of Science." He adds that science tends to take itself overly seriously and uses too many acronyms, which alienates people and becomes a barrier to learning.
"We make it okay for people to let their guard down and ask questions. And that's how they learn." Dr. Robinson continues. "We've made a safe place to dialogue on science." Dr. Robinson runs "There's a Heifer in Your Tank" with program coordinator Dana Penrice and U of A Associate Professor in Poultry Science Martin Zuidhof.
The name "There's a Heifer in Your Tank" comes from the first question posed to students in the program: If your car burned methane, how far could you travel on the methane from one cow? Examples of other questions include: Why can't turkeys mate naturally? Are they just shy?; If people get chicken pox, do chickens get human pox?; and Is Cheez-Whiz really one molecule away from plastic?
The questions are always focused and offbeat. Audiences are engaged through fun skits or video enactments. Sometimes students use poems to explain a concept. It is always entertaining, and humour is a prevailing factor. The result is that community members who participate in the program acquire a stronger connection to production and processing of their food and gain a deeper appreciation of animal science, particularly important in a society where youth may not have a connection to agriculture.
An important component to the program is developing leadership potential in youth. The program has attracted over 1,000 students from all disciplines at the U of A since it began. They take the hugely popular program to public schools, conventions and seniors homes, among other venues, educating a broad spectrum of the public about science and agriculture.
Dr. Robinson says with communications technology like the website, blogs and YouTube, the program is able to bring disparate people together. Seniors, farmers and youth blog with each other. They may never have communicated with each other if not for "There's a Heifer in Your Tank".
"We've actually made a difference by giving knowledge to the food-consuming public. We're myth busting," Dr. Robinson says. "That's our most important contribution to science."
- Dr. Frank Robinson
Vice-Provost and Dean of Students
University of Alberta
Dana Penrice, There's a Heifer in Your Tank Program Coordinator
Martin Zuidhof, Associate Professor, Poultry Science
University of Alberta
• GrowSafe™ (Represented by Mr. Camiel Huisma)
Technology provides livestock industry with profitability and sustainability
GrowSafe Systems Ltd.
GrowSafe Systems Ltd. has used true innovation, engineering excellence and an inspired vision for the future to allow Alberta's six-billion-dollar beef industry to address major market forces pressuring its profitability and sustainability. Worldwide, GrowSafe's data acquisition platform innovation is defining the standards by which livestock are measured, managed and treated.
The company's team of multi-disciplinary engineers and scientists - led by CEO and Founder Camiel Huisma - develop intelligent systems that automatically measure biometric and environmental inputs in livestock production, continuously monitoring individual animal health and performance status. Predictive algorithms identify sick and market-ready animals triggering mechanisms that visually identify and treat them without human intervention.
"Our base technology was discovering how to individually identify animals in a group environment, which to date has not been accomplished elsewhere," says Co-CEO Alison Sunstrum. She adds that the technology can apply to any industry that requires continuous monitoring with predictive mitigation or optimization.
The company's patented technology offers a scientifically proven, unprecedented ability in real-time to enhance animal well-being and product safety; reduce labour, maximize profits, reduce risks; and minimize environmental impact through feed efficient strategies that reduce manure and methane.
"GrowSafe technology enables farmers and ranchers to be more profitable and the industry to be more environmentally sustainable," Ms. Sunstrum says. "The discovery has been used to implement genetic selection for metabolic efficiency in cattle that will reduce feed input by up to 12 per cent and greenhouse gas emissions and manure by as much as 40 per cent."
In 1990 GrowSafe engineers developed a computerized data acquisition system that electronically monitored ostrich chicks. Early findings in cattle using GrowSafe technology indicated similar early predictive abilities using animal behavior to early identify illness. The technological transition from a system that could measure a small bird confined in a controlled environment to a large animal in the cattle environment was extremely complex and required adapting and inventing new electronics, wireless communication methods, data acquisition and analysis techniques.
Adoption of the innovation across the world has made GrowSafe and Alberta a recognized leader in beef production and animal agriculture. The company now has 18 employees. Its technology is used by more than 60 major agricultural research centres and premium seedstock centres worldwide to conduct livestock research and to measure feed efficiency.
"The technology is being used on farms with as few as 200 cows to the largest facilities in the world," Ms. Sunstrum says. "We're proud that the GrowSafe platform can be adopted by anyone."
The beef industry is under significant pressure from rising costs, animal disease, antimicrobial resistance, consumer perception about the safety of beef products, trade barriers and traceability requirements, and animal welfare. Until GrowSafe's innovation, no technology existed that could be employed to address these multiple issues confronting profitability of animal agriculture and the industry's very survival.
"Everyone at GrowSafe recognizes that with the predicted growth in population - from 6.3 billion today to 9 billion in 2050 - we need to increase food production without additional land or resources," Ms. Sunstrum says. "GrowSafe gives the livestock industry the technology to produce more food for less money on less land, which leads to sustainable agriculture and promotes food security globally."
- Mr. Camiel Huisma
CEO Founder
Ms. Alison Sunstrum
Co-CEO
• Dr. Randall Weselake, University of Alberta
Plant scientist tackles some of the world's toughest biotechnological challenges
Dr. Randall Weselake's career has been focused on research targets of practical importance.
"I like basic research that translates into an application," he says modestly. The professor and Tier I Canada Research Chair in Agricultural Lipid Biotechnology in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta has an international reputation as one of Canada's leading lipid scientists.
While best known for his research toward increasing seed oil content in canola, Dr. Weselake has made important contributions to lipid biochemistry in both plants and animals. He continues to demonstrate creativity and innovation in tackling some of the field's toughest biotechnological challenges.
Canada is a world leader in the production and export of oilseeds, and canola is a major driver of our economy. The seed oil is in demand globally as both an edible and industrial oil. Dr. Weselake's work in this area is of strategic importance to the entire oilseed industry.
"Increasing global population, rising incomes, and the demand for renewable liquid fuels have intensified pressure on the world vegetable oil market," says Dr. Weselake. "Understanding the mechanisms of lipid formation in plants has the potential to increase seed oil content in crops relevant to Alberta and Canada and may also lead to alternative strategies for meeting the food and energy demands of our growing population." If we could increase the oil content of the seed by only 1 per cent, we could generate $90 million for the extracting industry in Canada," he says passionately.
His research as Leader of the Bioactive Oils Program (funded by AVAC Ltd.) and Scientific Director of the Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions Phytola Ingenuity Centre (Phytola) has also generated promising results in the development of a potential oilseed-based aquafeed ingredient. This could help address the critical shortage of fish oil required to support the accumulation of healthy omega-3 fatty acids in farmed fish. Developing a sustainable alternative to fish oil for aquafeed has been one of the most important and challenging goals of plant biotechnology over the past decade.
Above all, Dr. Weselake is an exceptional leader, respected around the world as a team-builder who brings together multidisciplinary expertise in large-scale initiatives focused on solving industry-relevant problems.
He is one of 25 members of a global consortium known as ICON (Industrial Crops Producing Value added Oils for Novel Chemicals), collaborating toward the production of biolubricants and other industrial oils in plants. He is also a guest researcher with the Plant Biotechnology Institute and is routinely invited to speak at various international research institutes and conferences.
This internationally celebrated scientist considers among his greatest contributions his role as a teacher and mentor. He has supervised well over 100 undergraduate students, in addition to many graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. He takes a personal interest in their progress and professional success well after they've left his classroom.
- Dr. Randall Weselake
Professor and Tier I Canada Research Chair, Agricultural Lipid Biotechnology
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science
University of Alberta
• Dr. David Bressler, University of Alberta
"Builder" converts abundant biomass to create a sustainable economy
Dr. David Bressler pushes the envelope to utilize the full extent of his many talents to play a pivotal role in bringing Alberta to the forefront in the emerging global bio-industrial sector.
An associate professor of biorefining conversions and fermentations at the University of Alberta in a position supported by Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Bressler has degrees in microbiology and biotechnology, with extensive experience in chemical engineering. He combines these traditional academic disciplines with his experience in government collaborations and policy, industrial development and partnerships. He is a leader in bio-industrial processing and bio-products within the Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences faculty and throughout Alberta.
"We are sitting at a historic transition point in the biomass industry and we need to speak the languages of multiple disciplines to take the province to its maximum potential including forestry, petroleum chemistry, agriculture, energy and engineering - to build an industry that is uniquely Albertan," Dr. Bressler says. He is internationally recognized for mastering those languages, for integrating and communicating with partners and stakeholders, including industry, government and academia, and for his ability to speak to students, producers and the broader community.
A native of northern Alberta, Dr. Bressler has an innate affinity with the industrial sectors that drive the province's economy.
"Albertans have expertise in the soft sciences - like forest management and health and human resources - and wide abundance of energy, forestry and agricultural materials," he says. "We are uniquely positioned to be a major player in the evolving global bioeconomy. We need to continue to build on our success for a value-add bioeconomy here, not by replacing non-renewable energy, but by figuring out how to convert biomass into compatible resources in a way that is environmentally friendly and sustainable without impacting food reserves."
Dr. Bressler serves as leader of the Alberta Biorefining Conversions Network (BCN), a major collaborative effort between industry, government and several postsecondary institutions in Alberta to establish a multi-million-dollar technology investment in this field. The network and Dr. Bressler have played a key role in raising the province's profile internationally and have drawn investment and participation from several international agencies.
"I characterize myself as a builder," he says. "That's what my work is about with the BCN and in my training approaches for postdoctoral and graduate students; to be innovative and multidisciplinary."
Dr. Bressler is also an acclaimed researcher. He focuses on innovations in converting biomass to next generation renewable fuels and chemicals to create value-added products using thermal, chemical and microbial processing technologies.
His earliest patent application is for a green diesel technology made from lipid feedstocks. He recently filed a patent on a new technology to produce plastic materials from bovine protein recovered from specified risk material, generating markets for animal byproducts lost because of the BSE crisis. His patents also include industrial firefighting foams made from animal proteins and production of short-chain fatty acids for the chemicals industry from renewable oils.
"In 50 years from now, we will have a very different world - one that is sustainable, integrated and renewable," he says. "I feel privileged to be one of the vanguard in evolving the whole biosciences sector to make that happen."
- Dr. David Bressler Director, Biorefining Conversions Network
Associate Professor, Biorefining Conversions & Fermentations
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences
Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
University of Alberta
From Energy & Environment:
• University of Calgary Solar Team (Represented by Mr. Brandon Heenan)
Student volunteers inspire, educate and captivate the public with solar car
The University of Calgary Solar Team (Solar Team) endeavours to advance and discover the potential of alternative energy technologies. The team's mission is to use their increased understanding from the construction and racing of the Schulich Axiom solar car to contribute to innovation and ingenuity in Alberta, while educating and captivating people in the community.
Founded in 2004, the Schulich Axiom Project is the third-generation solar car designed, built, operated and managed by a multi-faculty team of U of C students. The Solar Team has sponsorships from a variety of foundations and energy corporations. Most of the 40 Solar Team members are undergraduate students from an array of faculties.
"We are all volunteers and all of our work is extra-curricular," says Business Manager and Co-Chair Brandon Heenan. "It's more than just the design, construction and testing of the Axiom. Students run the business of the team, the logistics and the sponsorships. We are the future leaders in technology and innovation, so this is giving us a chance to work within a team to see how things work in the real world."
One of the key mandates of the solar car program is to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers through school visits and appearances at public events. Twice monthly throughout the school year, the team visits elementary and junior high schools in the Calgary area. The focus of the visits is the solar car, but the real message is that science and technology are great career choices.
The Solar Team has created an affiliation with Calgary Academy, where members of the Solar Team guide chemistry students in building their own alternative energy cars of any size. Mr. Heenan says what excites him most about the project is bringing the solar car to schools and seeing the reactions it gets from the students.
"Kids get really excited by it."
Members of the Solar Team Building have expanded their understanding of sustainable technology by building the vast majority of the Schulich Axiom from the ground up. They are involved with the entire process and can see how the parts fit together to create the whole. This knowledge also allows the team to perform complex troubleshooting should technical difficulties occur during solar challenges. Volunteers view all of the challenges they encounter as potential for learning, growing and creating more public interest. They continuously research and innovate sustainable technologies with the intention of creating cost-effective technology that is available to the public.
The team recently reduced the cost of the Schulich Axiom's solar panels by 95 per cent, from $80,000 to $4,000. And they improved the design to reduce the car's weight by approximately 150 pounds. When losing a pound of weight is equivalent to gaining two minutes in time, this decreased weight will make a significant difference for the team in the 3,000-kilometre World Solar Challenge.
Having successfully raced several international solar-powered vehicle races since 2005, the team is preparing to race the third generation Schulich Axiom in the World Solar Challenge in Australia this October.
The global presence of the Solar Team and its ability to inspire interest locally are beneficial to the reputation of the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta and Canada.
- Brandon Heenan University of Calgary Solar Team Business Manager and Project Co-Chair
• Dr. Kevin Moran, Titanium Corporation Inc.
Oil sands technology good for environment and pays for itself
Dr. Kevin Moran has been a key player in developing a process that has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of oil sands tailings, while providing a positive economic benefit.
"The technology that we've developed makes the oil sands a more sustainable industry," says Dr. Moran, Vice President of Process Development at Titanium Corporation Inc. (TIC). "By reducing the losses of hydrocarbon solvent used in the process it offers important environmental benefits; and pays for itself by increasing the recovery of saleable bitumen and zircon from mineable oil sands. Traditionally, environmental technologies come at a cost; this one generates revenue."
The environmental impact of lost bitumen and hydrocarbon in tailings is a significant issue for the oil sands industry. The TIC technologies will significantly reduce the volatile organic compounds (VOC) in tailings impoundments and residual bitumen. Reducing these and other toxins in process-affected water, and removing hydrocarbons will facilitate air quality improvements and large-scale water treatment for eventual release back into the environment. This will allow more prompt reclamation of disturbed lands and reduce the long-term liability of earth dam structures holding elevated water inventories.
A chemical engineer by training, Dr. Moran has been instrumental in turning conceptual laboratory observations into a commercial prototype pilot plant, from plant design through to taking samples and producing material balances quantifying process performance.
"It's very rewarding to have taken this project from end to end. I've guided it from test tubes and exploratory work to proof-of-concept piloting to a large demonstration plant," Dr. Moran says.
Dr. Moran has pursued innovative options for separating components from froth treatment tailings built on solvent extraction and vapour-phase stripping. TIC has six patents or applications to protect the technologies, collectively known as Creating Value from Waste (CVW).
The CVW Process will recover over 70 per cent of the bitumen lost in tailings and up to 95 per cent of the contained solvent, leading to approximately 80-per cent reduction in VOC emissions. Under Dr. Moran's direction, TIC has invested over $30 million on the development of the process. This work has been supported by grants from Alberta's Department of Energy and federally from the Sustainable Development Technology Canada.
Dr. Moran is the first researcher to show that it is possible to recover the bitumen, solvent and valuable heavy minerals that are currently lost to tailings in a commercially viable process. TIC conservatively estimates that combined revenue from the sale of products that can be recovered from oil sands froth treatment tailings ranges from $400 million to $600 million.
Dr. Moran's technologies allow Alberta to emerge as a world-scale producer of zircon - Canada doesn't currently produce zircon - representing a great opportunity for growth and diversification of the Alberta economy.
TIC is wrapping up the development phase of the work and Dr. Moran intends to take a leadership role in rolling it out the multi-year, multi-million-dollar commercialization.
"This is my passion," he says. "It would be a personal accomplishment to see these technologies implemented commercially."
- Dr. Kevin Moran VP Process Development, Titanium Corporation Inc.
• Alberta’s Wet Area Mapping Initiative, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (Represented by Dr. Barry White)
Team introduces technology platform to foster environmental stewardship
Stewardship is the operative word that motivates Alberta's Wet Areas Mapping (WAM) initiative.
Traditional mapping of water in landscapes results in capturing only major water bodies. But the unseen, near-surface wet areas - the water table and small water channels that can result in unexpected costs, delays or environmental damage - are not captured. WAM takes landscape data from LiDAR- (light detection and ranging) derived digital elevation models of the earth's surface, at one metre resolution. It produces functional datasets in a geographic information system (GIS) that reveal hydrological features, with amazing accuracy.
"By mapping wet areas on the landscape at unprecedented accuracy and resolution, government and industry have a new technology platform," says Dr. Barry White, Forest Management Specialist at Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (ASRD). "This allows us to reduce industry costs in terms of land management, it allows the Alberta government to increase efficiencies and streamline policies and practices, and it provides an innovative platform that a wide variety of disciplines can build on."
He adds that most importantly, it enhances the stewardship of Alberta forests.
The WAM Initiative is an innovative partnership led by Dr. White that took the hydrology science, being developed at the University of New Brunswick's Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management by Professor Paul Arp and Research Associate Jae Ogilvie, and combined it with a convergence of technological capabilities.
"We used LiDAR, improved digital storage and digital computational capacity, advances in GIS, modelling and visualization to help model solutions to real-world environmental concerns for any land-based activity," says Mr. Ogilvie.
ASRD faces unprecedented growth in demand for the use of Crown land and Alberta's natural resources. To meet this demand and ensure the high quality of Alberta's environment is sustained, the department has actively pursued innovative solutions and tools that achieve its goal of sustainability, solutions that balance economic, environmental and social concerns and maintain ecological integrity and biodiversity.
"As a science-based ministry, ASRD recognizes the need to connect the dots from good science, to good policy, to good tools to support improved business practices within government and industry," Dr. White says. "It's not enough for government to establish regulations, it has to enable industries as diverse as construction, forestry and energy by providing a tool so they can be better environmental stewards."
He adds that the complexity of land use challenges in the province stimulates creativity. "Wet areas mapping has become a model of recognizing an innovation opportunity and moving good science through to a simple, robust, cost-effective application."
Lead scientist on the WAM team, Dr. Arp commends ASRD for facilitating the WAM initiative.
"Alberta folks in industry and government quickly realized how the high-resolution LiDAR-derived wet and dry-areas map could play a major role within the forward-looking and recently announced new land-use framework, and supported the resulting initiative whole-heartedly, professionally, and with wide-spread multi-partner support," he says.
The WAM initiative involved successful partnerships between funding organizations, government and industry. It also benefitted from the substantial contributions of several undergraduate and graduate students who worked with the team.
- Dr. Barry White Forest Management Specialist Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
• Dr. David Manz
Humanitarian engineer helps world's poor access clean water
According to the United Nations more than one billion people worldwide do not have access to enough safe water for drinking, food preparation, hygiene and sanitation.
Dr. David Manz developed a solution for this grave issue while he was environmental engineering professor at the University of Calgary. He invented the BioSand Water Filter technology, a lifesaving slow sand filtration system to effectively and affordably treat available water supplies for human use at the household level. The idea evolved during 1988 and 1989 when Dr. Manz, who was interested in water and international development, was conducting assessment of safe water needs in South Africa and the Philippines.
"I wanted to find a solution to the issues I saw," he explains. "I was training engineers, so it seemed like a good project for us." The new technology was based on traditional slow sand filtration and accepted engineering and water treatment practices with changes for use in households of the disadvantaged in developing countries.
Initial testing at the University of Calgary, Environment Canada, National Water Research Institute and field projects in Chile and Nicaragua in the early 1990s demonstrated the potential of the technology. The demonstration project in Nicaragua was the only cholera-free area of the country.
Now VP Marketing and Product Development at Oasis Filter International Ltd., Dr. Manz explains that although he received funding to develop the technology, interest and money dried up. But then, spontaneously, the system became widely adopted in many regions in the developing world.
"The worldwide success and sustainability of the BioSand Water Filter is a direct result of its effectiveness, low capital and operating cost, ability to be constructed locally, ease of use and cultural acceptance," Dr. Manz says. "It is difficult to assess, but it is probable that today up to five million people are being served by the BioSand Water Filters technology and hundreds of units are being constructed each day."
It has proven effective in removing waterborne pathogens and other disease-causing organisms, and has reduced diarrhoeal diseases in communities in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ghana and Cambodia by 40 to 50 per cent. The BioSand Water Filter has gained positive international recognition from major multi-lateral organizations such as the World Health Organization and has become an invaluable tool for international relief agencies providing improved water quality in developing countries.
Several self-sustaining micro enterprises have evolved to supply the system to consumers who are able to afford it themselves. The apparent and growing success has stimulated funding to numerous organizations that manage BioSand Water Filter projects.
The BioSand Water Filter design has been refined and manuals and support documentation for the transfer of the technology are widely available. Dr. Manz has patented the BioSand Water Filter system to protect the integrity of the design and allow continued cost-free dissemination of the concrete version of the technology for humanitarian means. He left his job at the university and is now totally dedicated to encouraging his invention's widespread use and spends part of every day supporting the humanitarian use of the BioSand Water Filter.
"I want this system to keep spreading until we don't have this clean water issue anymore," Dr. Manz says simply.
- Dr. David Manz
Adjunct Professor, Environmental Engineering
University of Calgary
VP Marketing and Product Development
Oasis Filter International Ltd.
• Dr. Wayne Brown, ETX Systems Inc.
Entrepreneurial scientist invents "revolutionary" process for heavy oil industry
In his career in chemical engineering and biotechnology, Dr. Wayne Brown has always been driven by the creative process of finding elegant solutions that have eluded others.
The most recent achievement of Dr. Brown's, Chief Technical Officer of ETX Systems Inc., is the innovative ETX Cross-flow Coking technology. The IYQ process developed by ETX represents a huge step forward for heavy oil upgrading and promises to have a dramatic impact in the field of heavy oil upgrading and the Alberta economy.
The former McGill professor, oil patch researcher and process engineer dropped all of his other projects to lead the decade-long engineering design of a new reactor concept. He engaged research and development experts to test key aspects and develop supporting technologies. The IYQ concept was successfully tested at a one-barrel-per-day scale. That Dr. Brown achieved this feat with a small and dedicated team is a testament to his engineering ability, dedication and drive. Dr. Brown attributes the success of the project to the many public and private funders, industry, and public and individual support.
"Technical development can't be done in a bubble," he says.
The three metrics for evaluating primary upgrading technologies are product yield, product quality, and capital intensity. The IYQ Upgrading reactor design provides all three by allowing the gas and liquid phase dynamics to be tuned independently. Both yield and quality benefits translate into a reduced environmental footprint - 9 per cent less feedstock is required to produce a barrel of upgraded product in this production step, which has by far the largest environmental footprint of all the steps required to bring the liquids to market.
The increased yield combined with the ability to implement upgrading capability in closer proximity to SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) and other small- to medium-sized producers, means increased overall revenues and increased employment in the upgrading facilities in the province.
"Whatever solution you come up with has to be economic to be adopted," Dr. Brown explains. "Our invention doesn't compromise on any of pillars needed to get the technology accepted. It efficiently produces energy, it's better for the environment and there's economic incentive for companies to want to adopt it. The biggest producers have called our invention revolutionary. This gives us confidence."
The value of the IYQ Upgrading technology depends upon the ability of ETX Systems to protect its intellectual property. At each step of the way, Dr. Brown stood in front of engineering audiences and explained his ideas. He combined systematic protection of IP with disclosure of rigorous engineering and scientific work to build credibility. The company diverted significant resources to this area, building a portfolio that includes trademarks, and a mix of process and apparatus patents. The quality and novelty of the research is further supported by independent written reviews by experts, patents on various aspects of the process in numerous jurisdictions, reviews associated with applications for funding, and due diligence by major corporate players in the industry.
Due to the importance of intellectual property management Dr. Brown has become educated in this topic, and has lectured on the topic in the Department of Law at the University of Calgary.
- Dr. Wayne Brown
Co-Founder, CTO
ETX Systems Inc.
• Sustainable Energy Technologies Inc. (Represented by Mr. Brent Harris)
Company's solar technology makes alternative resource attractive to mainstream
When Brent Harris wanted a job in the solar power industry, he quickly realized that no one was hiring and he'd have to start his own company to fulfill his dream. In 1998 the opportunity arrived and Mr. Harris left his job in oil and gas instrumentation to help start Sustainable Energy Technologies Inc. (SET).
Over the past decade, SET's technologies and products have been used in a variety of alternative energy applications, and are now proving that solar electricity in rooftop and building integrated applications can be cost competitive with electricity from the power grid.
"Solar power has always been a very interesting energy alternative to non-renewable resources," Mr. Harris explains. "But there have been price challenges. In the last few years the cost of the technology has dropped substantially and now we are bringing solar to the mainstream as a viable and attractive renewable energy source." He stresses that SET's SUNERGY grid-tie photovoltaic (PV) inverter technology is not a specialty product. He calls it "an appliance".
"We can install it on a rooftop with an air conditioning system, so that solar energy becomes part of the building's system and more attractive to the mainstream," he explains.
The beauty of SET's innovation is that each cell works independently of each other in what is known as a "massively parallel" system. SUNERGY inverters push the boundaries of what is known in the solar industry by removing the barriers created through traditional system design. This translates into less costly system designs and fewer system limitations. As well, increased safety through decreased voltages means systems can be installed in locations otherwise thought too dangerous for PV. Further, the modularity of a parallel system design affords the ability to scale-up system size as funding becomes available.
SUNERGY inverters can operate in the extreme climates found anywhere in the world, unlike conventional solar inverter technologies.
"Solar PV's ability to act as an efficient source of clean renewable energy without huge overhead, land requirements and constant maintenance found with other renewable energy technologies, is quickly making solar PV the renewable energy of choice," Mr. Harris explains.
SET has installed systems in Europe, where electricity prices are far higher than in Alberta. And because of green incentive programs and legislation in Ontario, SET has taken its manufacturing capacity to that province and is doing a brisk business there. The company is also beginning to sell its product into the U.S. market.
"As jurisdictions become interested in cutting energy costs, the demand for solar PV will continue to increase," Mr. Harris says. "Installers are looking for easy, affordable, simple systems whose components are perfectly matched with each other and have high performance under a variety of conditions."
SET is working with researchers at the University of Alberta to advance the technology and allow SET to manufacture the SUNERGY inverter at lower cost at a lower weight, without compromising on efficiency or performance. Mr. Harris says the innovation culture in the province provides the company with a welcoming environment to test its new products. But because of low energy costs, business is slow in the province. Until that changes, SET is focusing on bringing solar power to the mainstream in other parts of the world.
- Brent Harris
Sustainable Energy Technologies Inc.
Founder and CTO
From Health Solutions:
• Patrick Boyle, University of Calgary
Young leader excels in science and communication
Patrick Boyle is a natural leader and undoubtedly a rising star. Recently awarded his PhD in the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program at the University of Calgary, Dr. Boyle excels in computational physiology research. He is respected among students for his leadership in campus organizations. He is also an exemplary teacher's assistant and has contributed as a journalist for on- and off-campus publications.
In all areas Dr. Boyle employs his exceptional communication skills to forward the causes he believes in and the projects he is involved in.
Dr. Boyle's research investigates advanced computational methods to gain insights into the nature of the cardiac function in health and disease. He was inspired to enter the field, switching from his undergraduate studies in computer engineering after a 10-minute meeting with his future supervisor, Dr. Edward Vigmond.
"He showed me a model on his computer screen of the human heart's electricity," Dr. Boyle recalls. "My curiousity quickly drew me in. I realized there were many unanswered questions about how humans work, and as engineers we can delve deeper into those mysteries than in mainstream medicine."
Dr. Boyle has received national scholarships for his M.Sc. and PhD studies from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He was recently awarded a postdoctoral fellowship to support a position at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, where he will be a critical player in one of the leading labs in his field.
He is already contributing significantly to the field. He is the only PhD student whose contributions have been accepted in the code base of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Research Package (CARP), the most advanced simulation environment worldwide for cardiac electrophysiology simulation. Dr. Boyle has made significant contributions to this sophisticated simulation tool and is able to communicate them to make a difference. Presenting his research to a group of clinicians at the Foothills Hospital, he was able to effectively translate his results.
"I feel that I'm part of building relationships between people who provide healthcare," he explains. "It all starts at the bedside with clinicians, who work with patients every day. In biomedical research our job is to work with them to get a deeper understanding into clinical problems. Moving forward we can cross-pollinate ideas, create new knowledge and better solve problems to help patients."
Dr. Boyle is equally skilled at working with his fellow students.
As a member of Graduate Students Association (GSA) Dr. Boyle set out to reform the association's outdated and cumbersome by-laws. This turned out to be a significant task, taking two years and including multiple rounds of consultation with Service Alberta, the branch of government responsible for nonprofit organizations. Once committee recommendations were implemented, clarity about by-laws greatly helped how the GRC was run.
In 2010, Dr. Boyle was awarded an Alberta Graduate Citizenship Award in recognition of his outstanding service as a volunteer. Then, in 2011, the GSA executive awarded him with one of two inaugural and highly coveted Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Looking at his long list of accomplishments, it is clear that this is just the beginning of a successful career for such a talented, dedicated and hard working individual.
- Dr. Patrick M. Boyle
Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program
University of Calgary
• Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc. (Represented by Mr. Greg Ogrodnick)
Cardiologists and patients benefit from an accurate, efficient suite of imaging tools
Inspired by doctors and developed in collaboration with medical professionals, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc.'s (Circle CVI) software is changing how physicians view cardiac images, and how they obtain quantitative data from the images and use it to form better diagnostic reports and treatment plans.
Founded in 2007, the Calgary-based company develops analytical software to meet the needs of the cardiovascular imaging (CVI) community. Circle CVI's software suite - cvi42 -meets the highest industry standards, is based on a deep understanding of users' needs and features outstanding algorithms and functions within a remarkable user interface.
It is clearly an understatement when CEO Greg Ogrodnick says his small dynamic team "gets stuff done". In just three years, the company has become a leader in the global CVI market. "What we are doing is the best in the world and it is being adopted by the best cardiac centres in the world," he says. "We have created a tool that helps patients and improves efficiency in the healthcare system."
Medical imaging has enabled cardiologists and radiologists to effectively detect and diagnose CVD. As image quality improves, so does the diagnostic accuracy potential, shifting away from being simply a visualization evaluation, to include a quantitative analysis.
"Software that is not optimized wastes time and can lead to inaccuracies in patient diagnosis," Mr. Ogrodnick explains. "The less time it takes to perform a diagnosis, the more time the physician has available for other cardiac activities including treatment and overall patient management."
Circle's cvi42 product suite saves lives and time, and improves efficiency of the healthcare system by eliminating the need for additional diagnostic procedures. It provides a range of functional viewing and measurement tools specialized to facilitate efficient qualitative and quantitative evaluation of cardiac imaging studies. These tools have been developed by experienced medical imaging professionals and are optimized for clinical workflow. The first software in the product suite, cmr42 was designed for use in Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR).
In 2005, the World Health Organization reported 17.5 million deaths worldwide as a result of cardiovascular disease (CVD); this figure is forecasted to increase to 20 million by 2015. CVD is expected to be the leading cause of death in all developing countries for some time.
"Our product suite has global penetration," Mr. Ogrodnick says. "We are in 18 countries and cmr42 is currently being used at some of the top heart centers and medical universities in the world." Leading hospitals using cmr42 include Harvard Medical School (US), University of Leipzig (Germany), Mie University (Japan), Bichat Hospital (France), Flinders Medical Centre (Australia), Montreal Heart Institute (Canada), and Mazankowski Heart Institute (Canada), among others.
Back in Alberta, Circle CVI is contributing to diversifying the economy and helping to bring a robust technology sector to the province. "We need success stories and world-class companies that have a presence on a global scale," Mr. Ogrodnick says. "Circle CVI is part of a medical imaging hub in Calgary. The expertise and excellence exists here. We're helping to build that."
- Greg Ogrodnick CEO
Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc.
• Dr. Gerald Zamponi, University of Calgary
World-renowned researcher makes an impact on individuals and on society
"There's no other job like it anywhere in the world," states Dr. Gerald Zamponi, of his work at the University of Calgary as Canada Research Chair, professor and head of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. "The rewards are fantastic from a creative point of view, and you have a great team around you. I've never experienced not wanting to do this."
Dr. Zamponi is an internationally renowned neuroscientist. His work has provided valuable insights into the basis of electrical activity of brain and heart cells. Among his many contributions is the discovery of a novel class of drug molecules for the treatment of pain that culminated in his cofounding of NeuroMed Pharmaceuticals (now Zalicus Inc.), one of Canada's premier biotechnology success stories.
Originally from Austria, Dr. Zamponi moved to Canada 20 years ago with an engineering physics degree, but could only get a job working on a construction site with his foreign credentials.
"I chose to continue my education to escape from a rather bleak future," he says. Medical research proved to be an exciting field and Dr. Zamponi pursued his doctoral degree in neuroscience.
His research focuses on the mechanisms that control the electrical activities of brain and heart cells, and how they are compromised in disorders such as epilepsy, pain and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
"Although there's no guarantee, we're excited about the potential impact of our discovery of the novel mechanism that causes brain damage during Alzheimer's," he says. "We've developed therapeutics that may overcome that mechanism and with the increasing burden of dementia, we see a tremendous ability to help."
Dr. Zamponi's research programs have resulted in numerous important contributions to basic and applied science, and have been published in the best journals worldwide. Seeing his work published in prestigious journals is rewarding, but more so is translating the work he and his colleagues do in the lab into tangible benefits for society.
"Pain affects one-third of the population," he explains. "If we can alleviate pain, we help individuals and we also make an impact on the economic burden that comes from people being in pain. That can make a tremendous difference."
Dr. Zamponi has also trained numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in academia and the biotechnology.
"What matters most to me is mentoring grad students and postdocs to become successful independent thinkers," he says. "Leaving that legacy, knowing that I've contributed to their own discoveries to help people, is more important than anything I do in the lab."
Dr. Zamponi is also the founder and editor in chief of an international scientific journal, and is recognized as a strong and energetic academic leader as head of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, widely considered the strongest basic science department in the U of C. He says Alberta, Calgary and the university have provided him with the support and funding he needs to do his work.
In the future Dr. Zamponi wants only to continue doing what he is doing - undertaking projects that have a big impact on individuals and the world.
- Dr. Gerald W. Zamponi, FRSC, FCAHS
Canada Research Chair
AHFMR Scientist
Professor and Head
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
University of Calgary
• XSENSOR Technology Corporation (Represented by Mr. Ian Main)
Tech corporation positioned for growth in health, automotive and sleep industries
XSENSOR Technology Corporation is the leading innovator in the field of pressure imaging - commonly referred to as pressure mapping - in the patient safety and automotive testing and mattress retail systems businesses.
The first product XSENSOR developed and marketed in 1998 was a pressure sensor specifically for wheelchair seating assessment. Since then the company has grown to provide world-leading pressure imaging technology to hospitals around the world - including Mayo Clinic, Mt. Sinai Hospital and Walter Reid Military Hospital, among others.
"These systems provide vital information to aid health care practitioners to identify excessive pressures that can otherwise lead to skin breakdown and pressure ulcers," says COO Bruce Malkinson. "For individuals at risk, pressure imaging provides information for diagnosis, intervention and prevention that can ensure they maintain or quickly return to their active lifestyle."
With advances in XSENSOR's core technology these same systems can be used to measure pressure over unlimited time periods. ForeSite PT Patient Turn Management is the first product using this technology and will be used on hospital beds to continuously monitor pressures on patient body surfaces to provide nurses with vital information to improve the effectiveness of patient turning strategies.
"Pressure ulcers remain a common problem in all health care settings," comments Mr. Malkinson. In 2009 the US Joint Commissions, the organization responsible for the certification of most US hospitals, called for the elimination of all pressure ulcers in long-term care facilities. The UK, Australia and many other countries are following with similar programs.
Introduction of innovative products like the ForeSite PT system provides growth opportunities for XSENSOR's medical business unit. Commercializing the Patient Turn Management System will increase XSENSOR's business significantly. XSENSOR expects to have an installed base of several thousand systems within five years.
"Successful commercialization will result in creation of new full-time jobs in manufacturing and the commercial team at XSENSOR," Mr. Malkinson explains. "Alberta suppliers of sub-components, materials and design and manufacturing services will also benefit."
In addition, the world's top mattress manufacturers and retailers rely on XSENSOR's pressure imaging to influence their designs and retail offerings. XSENSOR has extended this technology to the retail setting by creating a mattress consumer education and product recommendation system.
XSENSOR has also become the leader in sensor design for the automotive industry, developing imaging for tires ranging from standard passenger to the largest mining and agricultural vehicles.
As the standards of passenger comfort increase XSENSOR's seat and back sensors are becoming widely accepted as the standard of measure in automotive seating.
XSENSOR commits up to 20 per cent of revenues annually to research and development to advance its core competency ? Intelligent and Invisible Sensing - sensors that become part of the environment they were intended to measure and are capable of helping make decisions relevant to the users' needs. This technology sets XSENSOR apart from any other company in the world.
Over the past 15 years XSENSOR's revenue has grown steadily, with the health assessment, personal comfort and automotive engineering markets each contributing approximately one third. With over 30 employees and several key new products in development, XSENSOR is positioned for significant growth in revenue.
- Ian Main, President
- Bruce Malkinson, COO
XSENSOR Technology Corporation
From Technology (application and enabling):
• Dr. Janet Ronsky, University of Calgary
Ambassador for science and technology helps create an important legacy
Dr. Janet Ronsky's substantial contributions to the science and technology community in Alberta and beyond take many forms - education, promotion, research, community building and policy development.
From early in her career, the professor in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, has had a passion for engaging individuals in science, engineering and technology. She has influenced many students through her teaching and mentoring.
"I like to get students to find different ways of approaching complex problems," she says. "I really enjoy challenging these bright young minds and see the light bulb turn on."
Responding to student demand, Dr. Ronsky was instrumental in establishing the graduate Biomedical Engineering (BME) program in 1998 and the undergraduate BME specialization in 2003. She also created the Centre for Bioengineering Research and Education (CBRE) at the U of C, one of the first in Canada, and the model for numerous other programs in the country.
Dr. Ronsky promotes interdisciplinary research and development activities and plays an integral role in the U of C BME executive committee, developing planning and strategic documents and initiatives.
"It's important to open student minds to the possibility of careers in technology and science," she says. "I try to get them to try different things. They don't have to think in narrow disciplines, or be afraid of embarking on new paths in science."
Dr. Ronsky's high calibre of achievement is also apparent in her research endeavours. She is recognized for advancing discoveries in the areas of knee joint mechanics, combining medical imaging with numerical modeling and novel experimental methods to uncover mechanisms relating to joint degeneration - including reducing radiation in adolescents with spinal deformities.
Dr. Ronsky says teamwork is essential in the "exciting and complex field" of BME.
"In order to make advances in a realistic timeframe we have to work in a team," she says. "We each bring our own expertise to the table, but we have to pull together using the same language and challenge each other to realize success."
Dr. Ronsky's outstanding scientific reputation has led her to be recognized both nationally and internationally with numerous awards. She has served on several prestigious committees that drive research and innovation funding direction, policy and implementation.
Provincially, she has played a key role in biomedical technology innovation and commercialization. She has promoted and led the charge for the development of a framework for BME technology innovation with her counterparts at the University of Alberta and numerous government and industry agencies. Nationally, Dr. Ronsky sits on the 2011/12 expert panel review on science and technology for the Council of Canadian Academies, which will help shape Canada's policies on science and technology development for the future.
With these many activities, she has been a strong ambassador for Alberta and has helped to raise the profile of science and technology within Alberta, Canada and internationally.
"I'm proud to contribute to diversifying the Alberta economy through science and technology, so we continue to be known nationally and internationally as leaders in BME. That's a really important legacy," Dr. Ronsky says.
- Dr. Janet Ronsky, Professor
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering with a joint appointment in the Faculty of Kinesiology
University of Calgary
Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Engineering (07/2001 - 07/2011)
Director, Biovantage Alberta Ingenuity Centre
Director, Zymetrix - the Bose Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Technology Development Centre
• Dr. Janet A.W. Elliott, University of Alberta
Curiousity and love of equations the foundation of outstanding science career
Professor Janet Elliott began her accomplished career from a childhood love of math and solving equations.
"A picture tells a thousand words, but an equation draws a thousand pictures," she says, simply.
Recognized for her contributions to the physical and life sciences - in addition to engineering - Dr. Elliott is an unparalleled research leader at the University of Alberta, in Canada, and internationally. She has created new paradigms for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in physics, mathematics, biology and physical chemistry. She has applied these in diverse areas including fundamental fluid and surface science, medicine and industrial chemical engineering, among others. She is a world-recognized expert in interfacial phenomena in microgravity fluid science and was one of the first 100 Canadians to fly on NASA's KC-135 parabolic flight aircraft.
Her groundbreaking research involves the development and application of thermodynamics, particularly with contributions to the Statistical Rate Theory (SRT) introduced by C. A. Ward. Her research has opened up new frontiers in quantum statistical thermodynamics, interfacial transport, nanoscale materials, space physical sciences and cryobiology.
While passionate about thermodynamics for a long time, Dr. Elliott hadn't heard of cryobiology until 15 years ago, when during her first year at the U of A, a cryobiology professor L. E. McGann approached her saying that the field needed a thermodynamicist. It was a challenge this curious scientist couldn't refuse. Drs. Elliott and McGann have since co-supervised 30 trainees.
Her equations, applied to the cryopreservation field, will be instrumental in making cartilage and other transplants more available in Canada. Currently transplants are limited by the short time frame the tissue is viable. Dr. Elliott works with what she describes as "a world-class cryopreservation group" at the U of A that includes medical biophysicists, surgeons, and engineers.
"My part of the work is developing equations to predict the fate of cells or the transport of enough cryoprotectant into the tissue before the cryoprotectant becomes toxic to the tissue," she says. The team is now setting its sites on cornea cryopreservation.
Dr. Elliott says she is not motivated by the immediate use of her research. "Often, when people do great work, the impact is not felt for hundreds of years," she says. "I am interested in developing deep knowledge to solve problems, as opposed to being on a quest to develop a technology in a few years."
When asked what the most rewarding aspect of her career is, Dr. Elliot is unequivocal. "It's getting to work with the graduate students and helping shape how they become scientists, and to be with them during their first discoveries."
"What distinguishes humans is our quest for knowledge and our ability to collaborate, and that's what excites me - learning new stuff and working with people."
- Dr. Janet A. W. Elliott
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Thernodynamics, University of Alberta
• Dr. Sheelagh Carpendale, University of Calgary
Visualization helps put Alberta on the world computer-human interaction map
Dr. Sheelagh Carpendale is an internationally renowned researcher in information visualization and multi-touch interaction. Her work draws upon her combined backgrounds in fine arts and computer science, benefiting from the rich cross-fertilization of ideas between these two fields. Her research and innovations are based on observing everyday practices to improve understanding of how people interact with information and new technologies.
"About 10 years ago, when I came to Calgary and looking for a research agenda, I pondered about how we are more and more an information society. We are all attracted to information, yet we suffer from information overload," says Dr. Carpendale, professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary. "I saw visualization as a way of working with information that makes it more accessible to all people - from scientists and information analysts, to decision makers and the general public."
From that preliminary thinking Dr. Carpendale developed the idea of an interactive table to accommodate small groups working digitally. Her research combines fundamental advances in human-computer interaction with innovative new interaction techniques. These approaches embed people's work and social practices in technology to aid information work and promote collaboration.
About five years ago, Dr. Carpendale brought her pioneering work on interaction models for tabletop displays to Calgary's SMART Technologies' attention. SMART saw potential in tabletop technologies for educational, entertainment and business applications.
"By getting SMART in on this work, we changed the industry," Dr. Carpendale says. Her tabletop interaction research triggered SMART's early start in this direction, which has contributed to their current position as the leader in the interactive tabletop market.
Dr. Carpendale's research strengths and leadership have led U.S. researchers to suggest Alberta as the place to help the establishment of nation-wide interactive visualization research in Canada. She also attracts outstanding international graduate students who have been recruited by such places as MIT, Stanford and Harvard University for fellowships and post-doctoral studies.
"In the 10 years I've been a professor, I've graduated seven PhD students. Five are professors and two hold research chairs and this is when faculty jobs were theoretically nonexistent," Dr. Carpendale says. "Working with these bright young people - to see the computer science field through their eyes and to help them become known for their unique focus on interactive technology and visualization - is a privilege." She was nominated by her students for the top supervisory award at the U of C - and won it.
Dr. Carpendale says she believes she does better science because of her combined arts and computer science background and she wants to encourage learners from different backgrounds to explore interdisciplinary study. She leads the team that has developed a pilot project at the U of C that allows graduate students in various disciplines to pursue studies in computational media design.
"Visualization is not just computing science. It involves medicine, physics, biology and engineering," Dr. Carpendale explains. "We're exploring a whole new strategic research direction to see if we can strengthen the field by forging a university level direction that encompasses this multidisciplinary approach."
Dr. Carpendale's research is a significant part of the international revitalization of tabletop research, helping put Alberta on the map as a human-computer interaction research destination.
- Dr. Sheelagh Carpendale
Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary
Director, Computational Media Design
Canada Research Chair, Information Visualization
Industrial Research Chair, Interactive Technologies
• Kelly Goss, University of Calgary
Leadership creates opportunities for others to flourish
Kelly Goss is a natural leader and she is passionate about service.
Whatever the PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at the University of Calgary chooses to be involved with, she finds her way into a leadership role. She believes that the only way to affect any change is to get deeply involved with the process, and to make those changes from within.
"When I see the potential that exists in people, I want to see it flourish," Ms. Goss says. "I want to be part of making that happen, not just by observing from the sidelines."
Ms. Goss's leadership, entrepreneurship and initiative are exemplified by her implementation of the first U of C Graduate Student Research Conference. She began with the vision during her tenure as the Vice President Academic of the Graduate Student's Association (GSA). She was motivated to improve the graduate student experience. She saw graduate students working in isolation, with at most a few colleagues within their own specialization.
"One of the major needs of graduate students was a sense of academic community and specifically, an interdisciplinary community," she says. "I envisioned creating a community built on our common interest - research - to create a graduate research conference where we could learn about each other and build bridges with industry."
Ms. Goss attributes the success of the conference on the remarkable support she had. "It was an awesome team. It was amazing to see everyone step up," she enthuses. The conference attracted 500 students and will be an annual event.
It is for good reason that the university administration turns to Kelly time and time again to ask for her participation in these activities. They know that with her involvement they are going to get tireless service directed towards the task at hand. She is highly respected for her abilities, and is extremely effective in areas that demand collaboration.
In her other service pursuits Ms. Goss has been no less effective. She has worked on several initiatives, such as starting a university-wide process to have an academic ombudsman; and worked with the university administration to get another career advisor, among several other worthy initiatives.
"I have a passion for education," she says. "I'd like to change the way education is delivered and to improve the experience for grad students." She's equally interested in working with school-age children. "I'd like to share my passion with them and motivate them to go into science," she says.
Ms. Goss's desire to make an impact extends beyond education. During her first year of graduate school, she spent one day a week serving breakfast at the Calgary Homeless Shelter. "Once I see a need, it's hard for me to turn away," she says.
Ms. Goss pursues this level of service while still engaged in pursuit of her graduate degrees. And her work in this regard is no less excellent, as evidenced by her top level awards from NSERC (Natural Science and Engineering Research Council) and the Alberta Ingenuity Foundation, among others.
- Kelly Goss
PhD Candidate in Electrical Engineering
University of Calgary
• Dr. Don Kjosness, Capital Road Foundation
Collaboration key to building long-lasting impact on Alberta technology and science
A lifelong interest in science has driven Dr. Don Kjosness to be an ambassador for the science and technology sector provincially, nationally and internationally in technology commercialization, education and public awareness.
Since graduating with a PhD in Electrical Engineering 40 years ago, Dr. Kjosness has been motivated by his desire to keep learning and changing, and working with extraordinary people to build buildings and communities.
"I like new challenges," Dr. Kjosness says. "I enjoy having the opportunity to make things happen that have never happened before. And I like working with smart people."
He began his career with Saskatchewan-based SED Systems, helping to develop it into one of Canada's premier space and defence communications firms. Since coming to Alberta in the late 1980s, he has built and developed companies, programs, infrastructure and relationships to promote the science and technology sector in the province.
Dr. Kjosness played a critical role in the development of TELUS World of Science - Calgary, Canada's newest and most advanced science centre. During his term as Board Chair, he and his colleagues did critical fundraising and planning that led to the construction of this $160-million landmark in Calgary. The vision is to provide science and technology awareness throughout southern Alberta. Dr. Kjosness continues to support the science centre as a volunteer on the Board and as Chair of the New Science Centre committee, which is responsible for the overall construction of the new science centre.
Dr. Kjosness's work with the TELUS World of Science and the completion of the new science centre project will be a permanent legacy of the importance of innovation to our culture and provide ongoing education and public awareness of science and technology issues to youth.
"Building means to put in place something that has value to community and has staying power," he says. "The science centre will help young people of the future be motivated by technology. And people will get an opportunity to work there. It's lasting in terms of substance and sustainability. I like to feel I've contributed to that."
Dr. Kjosness's diligence, leadership and vision have led to the current successes of CapitalRoad, Canada's leading not-for-profit organizer of internationally important events such as Banff Venture Forum and the Canadian Financing Forum. He has been recognized nationally and internationally for his work in addressing the critical access to capital issue that plagues small- and medium-sized enterprises. And he has facilitated the growth of the Alberta science and technology community by providing the essential infrastructure necessary for the development of technology based businesses.
Through his creative collaborations and vision, Dr. Kjosness has left an indelible mark on science and technology in Canada.
"I believe in being involved in things that are important to the community," he says. He adds the most rewarding aspect of his long career as an engineer is building teams of people. "These projects are never done by an individual. It is teamwork that accomplishes things. My contribution has been to be part of a good team of people."
- Dr. Don Kjosness
President, CEO, Director, CapitalRoad Foundation
Director, Past Chair, TELUS World of Science - Calgary
• Mobile Office Initiative, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (Represented by Mr. George Robertson)
Mobile Office Initiative - "Connecting the field with business information"
Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) - responsible for the management of Alberta's public land, forestry and fish and wildlife resources - has been faced with unprecedented demand for the use of Crown land and its natural resources. Staff were spending increasing amounts of time reconciling hard copy files with digital data files, leaving less time for completing critical approvals, field audits, inspections, surveys and enforcement. They were working at capacity and yet faced with increasing workload pressures.
George Robertson and his team of key SRD field staff recognized the need for a better way of doing business. They designed the Mobile Office Initiative (MOI), which combines hardware, technology and data into an efficient and effective solution. The MOI allows remote access to aggregated digital information via a ruggedized laptop with extraordinary capabilities.
"We honed the requirements of the MOI by getting feedback from the field staff themselves," says George Robertson, Land and Range Manager, Woodlands Area - Whitecourt. "They told us they needed enhanced information and immediate communications, which creates greater efficiencies, better decisions and support for staff safety."
The MOI is dependable in the remote and harsh conditions SRD staff find in their atypical work environment. It provides real-time access to over 30 gigabytes of essential geospatial and non-spatial resource management data to support decision-making in the field. The MOI has been placed on all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, boats, helicopters, horses, and in backpacks. It has been used to support firefighting operations, environmental performance monitoring, compliance assessment, field inspections, land use approvals and fish and wildlife operations.
"Access to mobile, accurate, timely information is a critical component in supporting the needs and expectations of SRD's field operations," explains Mr. Robertson. "The MOI meets these needs, enabling field staff to complete their field work with confidence and provide better service and real benefits to clients." SRD clients include energy companies managing a pipeline or well site, forestry companies planning harvest sequences in their forest management area, or helicopter companies mapping the boundaries of a wildfire in northern Alberta.
Given the global nature of resource management challenges - from responsible, sustainable industrial development to critical, appropriate management of forest fires - the MOI is applicable to industries and jurisdictions around the world.
The social and economic impacts of the MOI are significant. By moving decision-making to the field, resource managers are able to provide unparalleled service to clients resulting in enhanced productivity for both government and industry. Timely, responsive feedback on industry plans, approvals or compliance monitoring, results in improved, more environmentally sustainable access to resources. This translates into positive impacts to industry's economic and environmental performance.
"With Alberta's industrial reputation under national and international scrutiny, the Mobile Office Initiative demonstrates the province's commitment to our natural heritage through the use of innovative management tools," Mr. Robertson says. "An added bonus is that staff have greater job satisfaction from knowing they are doing a better job."
- Mobile Office Initiative
George Robertson
Land and Range Manager, Woodlands Area - Whitecourt
Sustainable Resource Development
Government of Alberta
• Dr. Naser El-Sheimy, University of Calgary
Dreams lead to innovative, low cost navigation and positioning technology
Dr. Naser M. El-Sheimy came to Alberta almost 20 years ago to realize his dreams to apply geomatics research to make a profound difference to society and to the lives of individuals. He has done that.
Dr. El-Sheimy is a professor in geomatics engineering in the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary and a Canada Research Chair in Mobile Multi-Sensor Geomatics. He leads a team of between 15 and 25 researchers and manages funds of $800,000 annually for research and development of geomatics systems for navigation, mapping and GIS (geographic information system) applications.
Dr. El-Sheimy is CEO of Trusted Positioning Inc. (TPI), a start-up company from the University of Calgary. The company has developed an innovative technology platform called the Trusted Positioning Platform (TPP) that harnesses the potential of low-cost sensors. It provides enhanced navigation and positioning technology, products and services that improve on existing navigation and positioning products, and deliver reliable and accurate navigation and positioning indoors and outdoors, underground and undersea and while walking or driving.
One application targets the Canadian Forces who are engaged in missions in hostile territories.
"Our work augments GPS making it more useful in urban battlefields by using sensors that allow soldiers to be located at any time," he says. "We are now working on a device to help search and rescue of personnel."
Another application uses a small device based on sensors to help diagnose movement disorders, generally classified under Essential Tremors or Parkinson's disease.
"More than 20 million people worldwide suffer from these disorders. Neither is adequately characterized, so they are also not being diagnosed properly," he explains. Another device he is working on will track elderly dementia patients and people with mental disabilities.
Dr. El-Sheimy led the establishment of TECTERRA, a nonprofit organization that invests in and supports development and commercialization of geomatics technology across Canada. TECTERRA receives almost $33 million in funding from the Government of Canada's Networks of Centres of Excellence and Alberta Innovates Technology Futures. Dr. El-Sheimy is the company's scientific director.
Dr. El-Sheimy counts mentoring and training over 65 graduate students and researchers among his most important contributions. "I am rewarded knowing that I have trained future generations of highly qualified personnel and have contributed to a sustainable industry in Alberta and the world." He credits his students for their contribution to geomatics.
"These students and researchers help make our research group a leader in multi-sensor geomatics, "he says.
Throughout his career, Dr. El-Sheimy has made major and sustained contributions to the development, dissemination and commercialization of mobile mapping and integrated navigation system technology in Canada and internationally. He hopes to further contribute to better manage the planet's natural resources by building observation systems to monitor forest fires, detect climate change and pollution and track endangered species.
"Most important is that our projects translate into commercially viable services and solutions that align with the industries of strategic importance to Alberta, and make a positive impact on the lives and prosperity of Albertans and all Canadians," he says.
- Dr. Naser El-Sheimy, PEng, CRC
Professor and Canada Research Chair
Scientific Director, TECTERRA
CEO, Trusted Positioning Inc.
Department of Geomatics Engineering, University of Calgary
President, International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Commision I on Sensors and Platforms
From Science and Technology (Educational and awareness focus):
• Dr. Mary Anne Moser
Creativity, collaboration at the heart of successful public awareness of science
In the forward to her new book Science, He Loves Me, Dr. Mary Anne Moser writes "It is not necessary to treat science like an unappealing but good-for-you topic. Science is a world of the most fascinating ideas and the most novel of discoveries."
She makes no apologies for science; instead her mission is to celebrate her passion for science and share that passion with as many people as she can. That's why in 2005 she founded the annual two-week Science Communications Program at the Banff Centre, for scientists and communicators. Dr. Moser is director of the program.
"I want to engage the public by helping science communicators try new ways of talking about science," she explains. "It's way beyond using lay language. It's about using art and culture, like television, stage and poetry to think about science in creative ways. In a nutshell, we're building a community of creative science communicators."
To date about 100 professionals from around the world have come through the program, which has a stellar faculty including award-winning television and radio producers and magazine editors. The community continues to keep in touch and support each other's communications explorations, with Dr. Moser at the helm.
Dr. Moser, also Director of Communications at the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, is at heart a dreamer who works hard to fulfill her dreams, which invariably involves seeing others fulfill their dreams.
"It is one thing to dream big," she says. "But then you have to deliver quality on your ambitions. It takes hard work! You really have to put your heart into it."
Dr. Moser describes herself as a "pencil-behind-the-ear kind of person," someone who works behind the scenes. She believes that the greatest rewards of her career are in bringing like-minded people together.
"I love seeing what is possible when you bring people together who have the same passion," she enthuses. "I started the Banff Centre program with my vision, but the program would not be successful without others - especially the faculty - buying into that vision. What we can accomplish together is far greater than any one individual can accomplish."
It was that same philosophy that led her to launch Iron Science Teacher, a Canada-wide challenge to encourage innovation in science education. Its goal is to create a level of awareness and appreciation for creative science teaching that, through the scale of collaboration, has a greater impact than any individual effort might have.
Tirelessly seeking to share her passion, Dr. Moser is in the midst of collaborating with several Calgary and Alberta institutions to organize an annual arts and engineering festival, called Beakerhead, the first of which will be test-driven at the Calgary Stampede in 2012.
Dr. Moser's passion and vision create public awareness through collaboration and creativity. In all of her endeavours, she asks the question "Why should anyone care about this?" With this question informing her actions, Dr. Moser has become one of Alberta's most creative leaders in advancing science and engineering public awareness and has helped bring Alberta's science to the national and international stage.
- Dr. Mary Anne Moser
Schulich School of Engineering University of Calgary
Founder and Director, Science Communications Program at the Banff Centre
• Let’s Talk Science University of Alberta Chapter (Represented by Mr. Eric Loo)
Let's Talk Science at the University of Alberta
Science awareness program for youth offers big impact for few dollars
Thousands of young Albertans have a better understanding of science, its impact on their world and their options in science-related careers because of Let's Talk Science at the University of Alberta.
Let's Talk Science relies on graduate students to organize and deliver its programs, allowing it to have a huge impact for relatively little investment.
"It brings young Albertans into contact with actual science and engineering researchers who bring real world experience with leading-edge science and technology research into classrooms and community centres," says Eric Loo, Let's Talk Science coordinator and PhD candidate in immunology. "Often we are only a few years out of high school and can connect with the young students, making the possibility of a science-related career more real to them."
The student volunteers at Let's Talk Science demonstrate creativity and leadership with each hands-on activity or workshop they design to engage students ranging from 6 to 18 years old. Events include helping elementary students have fun with science and exposing high school students to careers in leading-edge technology fields. To begin a new program, Let's Talk Science coordinators need to raise funds to support it.
Founded in 1993, the national parent organization, Let's Talk Science, has excited, inspired and engaged more than 2 million children, youth, educators and volunteers in science, engineering and technology. Its goals are to turn children and youth on to science, keep them engaged in learning and develop their potential as citizens, innovators and stewards.
"The U of A group has taken the national model and adapted it to support the Alberta educational curriculum and highlight Alberta's unique opportunities for science-related careers," explains Jeremy Bau, Let's Talk Science coordinator and PhD candidate in chemistry. Our group focuses on subjects like geology, health sciences and nanoscience, all strengths of the university.
"We tailor it to what the teacher wants us to present," Mr. Loo adds.
In its longest running program, Classroom Outreach, graduate student volunteers are paired with teachers from Grades 1 to 12, with whom they partner to create a curriculum-related topic to explore with the students. The program emphasizes hands-on activities. In the past three years the program has reached more than 100 schools, 160 classes and 6,100 students in northern Alberta.
The U of A chapter organizes the Edmonton edition of the All Science Challenge, a national event in which Grade 6 to 8 students acquire science knowledge beyond their curriculum, participate in a 'Reach for the Top'-like competition.
Participating in Let's Talk Science not only engages elementary and high school students in science, it has a positive impact on the volunteer graduate students who organize and present the activities. This year, the 65 U of A graduate students volunteers took the opportunity to improve their communication, teaching, organization and leadership skills.
"Let's Talk Science reminds grad students that scientists need to promote science and connect with the public," Mr. Loo explains. "It's important to keep people engaged through programs like this one."
The variety of learning opportunities, impact for money spent, and a willingness to provide creative programming to students from rural to inner-city Alberta make this an exemplary public awareness program.
- Mr. Eric Loo
Let's Talk Science Coordinator
PhD Candidate in Surgery
University of Alberta
• Do You Know What Nano Means Animation, Science Alberta Foundation (Represented by Dr. Arlene Ponting)
Do You Know What Nano Means? Animated Online Video:
Organization embodies modern concept that "small is big"
A small team at Science Alberta Foundation won big at an international competition with an animation about a very small-scale technology - nanotechnology. Do You Know What Nano Means? was chosen for the Academy's 15th Annual Webby Award, the leading international award for excellence on the web.
"It's big for us, it's big for Alberta," says Science Alberta Foundation's CEO Dr. Arlene Ponting. "It's a little not-for-profit organization competing with the best and winning."
She adds that nanotechnology is a significant part of Alberta's economy and it is a growing field of technology internationally. According to the editors of Discover, nanotechnology is one of the 12 most important trends in science over the last 30 years.
The three-minute-long animated video explains the concept of nano to 8-12 year olds, and it also creates interest in possible career opportunities for children at an early age.
"Our work - including this video - is about valuing science," Dr. Ponting says. "Science learning, awareness and promotion is as important as research itself. We need to educate our children and grandchildren if we want homegrown talent to work in the growing science industry in Alberta."
It's clear that the executive 750-member body of leading web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities who judge the Webby Awards agree with Dr. Ponting. They chose this short educational video over the work of several of the world's best advertising agencies and animation studios, some of which have won Oscars. This year, the Webby Awards received a record nearly 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries worldwide.
The creation of Do You Know What Nano Means? was supported by Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures, under the Alberta government's Advanced Education and Technology department. The script and artwork for the video were created by an Alberta artist and animator, who collaborated directly with the Foundation's project managers.
As a result of Science Alberta Foundation's Webby Award, visits to the organization's wonderville.ca website have increased, and Do You Know What Nano Means? has been viewed about 13,000 times by people from 114 countries. The success of the animation has made it clear to Dr. Ponting and her colleagues that they've got a winning concept.
"In a world of sound bites and multi-tasking, these short animations are powerful learning pieces," she says. "I think we've hit the sweet spot of getting interesting science facts out there in a way that's embraced and loved." She adds that kids learn visually and adults, too, have responded enthusiastically to the animation.
Science Alberta Foundation consists of 15 individuals and an extended team of creative talent who in 2009/2010 alone provided science programming to nearly 800,000 individuals, reaching 218 Alberta communities. The organization embodies the modern spirit of nano - "small is the new big." The win at the Webby's puts Alberta on the red carpet, while playing a vital role in increasing public awareness of the benefits of science and technology and enhancing the understanding of science and technology in the province and around the world.
- Dr. Arlene Ponting
CEO, Science Alberta Foundation
• 3D Interactive Inc. (Represented by Mr. Don Hauck)
3D Interactive Inc.
Alberta company transforms video-game technology into industrial training vehicle
3D Interactive Inc. (3DI) of Edmonton, Alberta, is gaining a foothold in many industries internationally because of its creativity and innovative use of leading-edge game-based technologies for industrial training and visualization.
The world's largest industries, including mining, energy and construction are increasingly using simulation-based training for young workers entering these industries. These new workers grew up with video games and are naturally attracted to interactive computer-based systems, rather than text based learning.
"Alberta has one of the highest concentrations of heavy equipment in the world, including large fleets in the construction, mining, energy, forestry and agriculture industries," explains 3DI Founder and President Don Hauck. He started the company in 1995. "Alberta industry is recognizing the long-term advantages of having a workforce trained to operate large and dangerous equipment as efficiently and safely as possible."
3DI is working with NAIT, Keyano College, the Oil Sands Safety Association and Western Diversification to promote best practice and simulation-based training in all the major industries driving Alberta's economy.
"Creating top quality 3D assets requires a diverse mix of creative talents, professional skills, and superb technology," Art Director Andrew Czarnietzki says of the staff of approximately 21. "3DI is a growing company with fascinating employment opportunities for some of Alberta's brightest young minds, most of whom are trained in Alberta."
3DI's technical team comprises engineers, industrial designers, programmers, 3D graphic artists, and artificial intelligence and gaming specialists. They design and create high-fidelity, physics-enabled digital versions of industrial equipment that looks, feels, and performs like the actual equipment.
At the core of 3DI's development platform is the Epic? Unreal? Engine 3, one of the most advanced development platforms available, known for cutting-edge graphics and superior development tools. Epic's Unreal Engine is the three-time consecutive winner of the Best Engine Front Line Award (Game Developer Magazine) and a Hall of Fame inductee.
3DI also developed its own pureLIGHT lighting system that has provided a significant advantage in fine tuning lighting and complex reflections within virtual industrial environments. In another innovative use of pureLIGHT, 3DI was able to simulate X-rays and hopes to use it to train technicians without exposing humans to the harmful effects of X-rays.
In 2010, Barrick Gold Corporation approached 3DI to improve the company's ability to visualize its mines. Operating mines generally use LIDAR data to measure and map surface mining operations, involving extremely large data sets and the resulting images. Using pureLIGHT, 3DI has developed a technology that allows this data to be broken down and published in a game engine environment for use in visualization and simulation-based training.
As well, 3DI has taken a lead in developing multi-player capabilities - commonplace in entertainment video games - for industrial simulations, creating a robust system to provide advanced training features such as multiple ways to connect into, store, record, replay and continue simulations, while also providing multiplayer support.
"We are raising the bar in terms of physical and training realism, to enhance safety in industrial settings," says Development Director Danielle Enns. "We want to make this kind of technology-based training pervasive in Alberta and worldwide."
- Mr. Don Hauck Founder and President
• Mary E. Hofstetter, The Banff Centre
Champion leads The Banff Centre to become a global science and technology hub
Mary Hofstetter has been a champion for establishing The Banff Centre as a pre-eminent research centre, reflecting Alberta's strategy of becoming a global knowledge leader.
She has been a proponent of research activity at The Banff Centre, and within the system of colleges and technical institutes in Alberta (AACTI) since her appointment as President and CEO of The Banff Centre in 2001.
She was instrumental in locating the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences to The Banff Centre. Established in 2002, the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery, has brought together teams of leading mathematicians from around the globe to research, discuss and lecture. For Ms. Hofstetter, who has been involved in arts and culture in post-secondary institutions throughout her career, BIRS reinforces her belief that artists and scientists are linked by their creativity.
"The Banff Centre is uniquely positioned to build bridges between the arts and sciences and encourage creative foment," she says. To assist that creative exchange Ms. Hofstetter implemented cross-disciplinary events and social opportunities for artists and scientists to mingle.
Under the leadership of Ms. Hofstetter, The Banff Centre secured significant funding from the province of Alberta, NSERC, the National Science Foundation (USA) and the Government of Mexico, allowing BIRS to establish itself among the top two facilities for mathematics research in the world. This also has a positive impact on the academic landscape in Alberta.
BIRS is moving into a building dedicated to the program, which will allow lectures, debates and dialogues to be live-streamed globally, taking the program and The Banff Centre to institutions around the world.
"This allows our outreach to be exponentially increased," Ms. Hofstetter says.
In 2002 several Western Canadian universities in Alberta and British Columbia, joined with The Banff Centre to collaborate on the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), establishing a consortium for high-performance grid computing, known as Westgrid. This facility linked the computing capacity of the seven sites. At The Banff Centre, it resulted in the first connection to CANARIE, Canada's advanced research and education network, and to establishing two labs for high performance computing specifically related to the arts and culture focus of The Banff Centre.
Ms. Hofstetter served on the board of directors of iCORE, an Alberta organization committed to building capacity among information and communications technology researchers. Under her leadership, The Banff Centre hosted the annual iCORE conference, which has expanded to include research and administrative teams from across the Alberta Innovates system.
As well, Ms. Hofstetter established a separate Office of Research at The Banff Centre. As a result, a number of the Arts and Culture programs at the Banff Centre are now aligned with research activities and interests. For example, the Science Communications program, now in its fifth year, brings science communicators to The Banff Centre for intensive training to improve communications about science.
"What we've done at The Banff Centre is to bring disparate groups together to foster innovation and inspire creativity," Ms. Hofstetter explains. "We have become a catalyst for inquiry and creativity, and we've enriched the cultural, social and economic wellbeing of the province and the country."
- Mary E. Hofstetter
President and CEO
The Banff Centre
• Userful Corporation (Represented by Mr. Tim Griffin)
Userful Corporation
Multiple-station computer system creates opportunities for children, governments
An Alberta-based software company is performing a sleight-of-hand - turning one computer into ten, and changing the lives of millions of children with installations in over 75,000 schools in 100 countries.
"Our software helps governments deploy two to three times more computers for the same budget dollars, giving a leg up in life to kids who wouldn't otherwise have access to a computer," says Userful Corporation's President and CEO Tim Griffin. "For many of the students in these schools this is their first encounter with computers. And they now can have internet access and can learn anything that they are interested in. Improving the education of two to three times more kids has a huge and long lasting social impact."
Userful's multi-station platform allows up to 10 users to share a single computer, reducing hardware costs by up to 80 per cent, and required infrastructure - power plugs, cabling, energy costs, etc. - by a factor of 10 as compared to a traditional PC-per-seat solution. The desktop is virtually unbreakable, which allows locked-down, secure, yet fully-featured computer use for the public.
Additionally expensive software costs are cut to zero because Userful includes the free Linux operating system and application software along with every seat sold. Governments globally are looking to move to Linux due to the massive long-term economic advantages gained by broad scale adoption of the open source operating system within their country.
"What's unique about our innovation is that it is based on Linux and open source software," Mr. Griffin explains. "Practically every Windows application has a free equivalent from Linux, dramatically reducing software license costs."
Developing countries in particular, are reaping the benefits of Userful's technology. In collaboration with the Brazilian firms ThinNetworks, Positivo, CCE, Daruma & Itautech and local installers, Userful has equipped over 50,000 schools in Brazil with over 500,000 computer stations, in the largest digital inclusion project ever undertaken in the world.
In addition, because of reduced costs the Brazilian Ministry of Education's Linux-based computer labs reach over 35 million students. Many of them are in remote schools in indigenous villages where infrastructure is minimal, electricity is unreliable, and roads are impassable by car. Userful's substantially reduced infrastructure requirements allow the government to install these labs without upgrading wiring in the school, achieving even further savings over traditional approaches. Additionally these computers can be used outside of school hours for community and adult education programs, creating even broader reach and impact.
"We've made Linux accessible to governments worldwide," Mr. Griffin says. "This allows them to deploy large numbers of computers, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way. More people need to know that there's an alternative to the waste, expense, maintenance burden of a traditional Windows PC deployment."
Most of the company's products go to international markets. But with almost all of its sales income directed to hiring more staff, mostly in research and development, Userful has made a significant contribution to diversifying the Alberta economy.
In recent years, Userful has experienced double and triple digit revenue growth. The company has grown from four employees in 1999 to over 50 employees today most of whom are in Calgary.
- Mr. Tim Griffin
President and CEO
We look forward to honouring all our honourees and announcing the winners at our Gala on October 28th, 2011 at the Palomino Room, Calgary Stampede Park. For more information on how you can join us, contact the ASTech Office at 403-220-9130 or go to http://www.astech.ab.ca/gala/