Top row: Rob Spewak, RRC BETAC Manager; Lloyd Kuczek, VP with Manitoba Hydro; Jose Delos Reyes, RRC Research Manager. Bottom row: Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science; Ray Hoemsen, RRC Research Director; David Johnston, Governor General of Canada; Neil Cooke, Dean, Teaching Excellence, Innovation and Research, RRC; Mario Pinto, President of NSERC. Credit: MCpl Vincent Carbonneau, Rideau Hall, OSGG

WINNIPEG, MB: A research partnership between Red River College (RRC) and Manitoba Hydro that focuses on sustainable building infrastructure and transportation has received Canada’s top honour from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) at a ceremony held at the Governor General of Canada’s residence in Ottawa.
NSERC’s Synergy Award for Innovation recognizes outstanding research and development partnerships between Canadian colleges and industry partners in the natural sciences and engineering. Only one Canadian college receives the award each year.
“This award is the highest level of validation a college can receive for the impact and lasting benefits of its research partnerships efforts,” said Paul Vogt, president and CEO of Red River College. “Our partnerships with industry stakeholders like Manitoba Hydro are critical to our mandate for supporting innovation in Manitoba and providing our graduates with the skills that industry requires.”
The partners have now spent more than a decade conducting applied research in sustainable building infrastructure and transportation, and there is plenty to show for it.
Two major projects associated with the collaborative research by Red River College and Manitoba Hydro include the award-winning Manitoba Hydro Place, which has added an iconic image to energy efficiency on Winnipeg’s skyline, and the development of a zero-emissions electric battery transit bus.
The ongoing four-year demonstration of the electric buses on the streets of Winnipeg is in partnership with the Winnipeg Transit, the Province of Manitoba, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and New Flyer Industries, the industry-leading Winnipeg-based manufacturer of transit buses in North America.
“The legacy of the relationship between Manitoba Hydro and Red River College will live on in our downtown office tower and zero emission buses operating within many North American cities for decades to come,” said Lloyd Kuczek, Manitoba Hydro’s vice president of Customer Care and Energy Conservation. “These projects provide daily reminders of what we can accomplish through collaborative research and of the importance of leveraging the capabilities of research partners like Red River College.”
The partnership was vital in validating the performance of innovative technologies showcased within Manitoba Hydro Place, resulting in the most energy efficient office tower in North America and the first LEED Platinum commercial building in Canada. Manitoba Hydro Place saves more than 70 per cent of the energy used in a typical office building while providing the highest quality of space for its occupants.
Red River College and Manitoba Hydro moved forward from this foundation into a number of ground-breaking initiatives including the formation of an international consortium that is developing, testing, and demonstrating an all-electric battery transit bus and high-capacity charging system — the first of its size in Canada.
“We now have a total of four buses in daily service in Winnipeg and New Flyer has already accepted orders for international sales,” said Ray Hoemsen, director of Applied Research and Commercialization at RRC. “Each in-service bus leads to a reduction of 160 tonnes of green house gases each year, as well as significant fuel savings.”
Manitoba Hydro’s partnership with the College has also been instrumental in the establishment the new NSERC-funded Building Envelope Technology Access Centre.
“Our partnerships with Red River College allows for sustainable thinking to become entrenched in the next generation of industry leaders,” said Dale Friesen, Industrial and Commercial Solutions Division Manager with Manitoba Hydro. “Students graduating from the College will bring an enhanced level of knowledge and understanding in energy efficiency to their future careers, benefiting our province for decades to come.”
The Synergy award grants Red River College up to $100,000 in funding for applied research tools and instruments and Manitoba Hydro will receive a $20,000 voucher towards any future NSERC-funded applied research project.
Earlier this year, Red River College was ranked as the top college in Canada in research partnership growth, and as a top 10 research college overall for the third consecutive year by Research Infosource. The college was also ranked as one of Canada’s greenest employers for the fifth year in a row.
Manitoba Hydro is the leading proponent of energy efficiency in Manitoba through its Power Smart demand-side management programs, which allows the Crown corporation to encourage and support the sustainable and efficient use of energy by the province’s residential, commercial and industrial consumers.
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Additional Quotes:
“Polytechnics Canada heartily congratulates the Applied Research team at Red River on this well-deserved NSERC award,” said Nobina Robinson, CEO, Polytechnics Canada. “Red River’s Applied Research team has led the way in demonstrating that colleges and polytechnics have sophisticated research and development capabilities that lead to win-win outcomes for industry, for students and for federally-funded research through agencies such as NSERC.”
“The tremendous achievements of Red River College and its partners demonstrate the strength and potential of the applied research enterprise in colleges and institutes across the country”, said Denise Amyot, President and CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada.  “Federal government investments in applied research are closing Canada’s innovation gap and benefiting students, industry and communities in every province and territory.”
NSERC Award Video:

Photos from the Ceremony:

Sustainable building infrastructure and demand side energy initiatives between Red River College and Manitoba Hydro were a contributing factor in the recent NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation announcement for both organizations.

Read about the award

The installation of an air, water and structural test chamber for evaluating building components and wall systems at the Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure (CARSI) facility at Red River College’s main campus in Winnipeg will enhance the College’s capacity to conduct applied research and provide training in the area of building envelope performance.

RRC’s new test chamber will allow building envelope details, windows and doors to be evaluated for airtightness, water penetration and structural testing prior to their use in actual construction.

This will accelerate the adoption of new and innovative materials, products and assemblies for projects in Manitoba.

Training activities for building professionals and students enabled by RRC’s new test chamber will increase the use of best practices for design and construction.

Test walls that will be used for commissioning activities of the new chamber will be constructed in-house by RRC Construction Trades’ students.

Download informational PDF ›

The requirements to become a licenced to grow operation for medical marijuana in Canada are governed by the Federal Minister of Health Controlled Substances and Tobacco Directorate Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch.

A Guidance Document titled the Building and Production Security Requirements for Marijuana for Medical Purposes has been published.

The Regulatory Provisions are related to securing the site, monitoring and detection, access control, intrusion detection and air filtration. While the Guide addresses security and health issues, it offers no information or guidance on the design and construction of the building housing the growth operation.

Services Provided

This project entails the development of a best practices guide which addresses the requirements for the building envelope of medical marijuana production facilities in cold climates.

The nature of growing marijuana involves operating in conditions of high temperature and humidity. The building envelope must be capable of supporting the controlled interior environment during the winter months, meet the production facilities service life expectations and be compliant with all Government regulations.

The development of new products for the construction industry can be a very long, expensive and daunting process. Adding to the complication, almost all products used in the construction industry have to comply with one or more technical standards which define the minimum requirements the product must meet. Entrepreneurs and businesses who are developing or considering developing new products need to understand this process.

For that reason, BETAC is developing a “Building Product Commercialization Roadmap” which explains the regulatory hurdles that must be met to bring a new construction product to market.

The roadmap will also provide insight into the product development process and how BETAC can provide contract services for new product development to assist with research, evaluation and testing.

The Winnipeg Free Press’ Martin Cash recently shared news about RRC’s new program that will provide a key resource for both entrepreneurial RRC students and local startups.  RRC students get hands-on learning and experience in a real startup, and the startup receives development assistance at no cost, other than their time and effort in mentoring the students.

Ace that Startup

RRC launches program to help entrepreneurial students to turn their ideas in to businesses.
Writeen by Martin Cash and published in the Winnipeg Free Press on 01/14/2016
Excerpt:
From the vantage point of its Princess Street campus, Red River College has the perfect perspective on the potential of Innovation Alley.

That’s why it launched a new program that some believe could become the missing link between the education system and the burgeoning entrepreneurial eco-system in Winnipeg.
Read the full article.

For its building airtightness testing activities at Fort Whyte Alive, Red River College’s Building Envelope Technology Access Centre was recently featured in the Globe and Mail’s Property Report.
Read more about the BETAC →

The objective of this applied research project is to conduct airtightness testing on the interpretive centre at Fort Whyte Alive, located in southwest Winnipeg.

Background

The interpretive centre will be undergoing a major envelope upgrade that is projected to take place in 2016.

Services Provided

• The project will involve the testing of the existing building prior to the renovations as well as comparative testing after the work has been completed.
• During the pre-renovation test, major leakage paths will be identified through the use of diagnostic tools such as smoke machines and infrared thermography.

Results

• The results of the pre-renovation testing, which was completed in December 2015, will help guide the scope of work for the retrofits.

An article about the pre-renovation testing was published in the Globe and Mail.

Red River College’s partnership with Granny’s Poultry Co-operative was featured in the NSERC Research News recently. Read the full story here.
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Gluten-free Turkeys from Freezer to Oven

Two new turkey products have been introduced to retail stores in the Prairies thanks to testing and tasting at Red River College’s (RRC) School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts.

Granny’s Poultry was able to launch two new products. The Cornbread Stuffed Turkey and an Unstuffed Slow Cooker Turkey Roast are now sold through a major retailer in over 100 stores across the Prairies. The products are the first on the market to be naturally gluten-free and cooked straight from the freezer without thawing.

“By working closely with chefs and students at the college on the final phase of development we were able to fine tune our unique corn bread stuffing formula and validate cooking methods,” said Wortzman. “After testing our finished product on a broad demographic we were able to confidently partner with a national retailer on an ambitious new product launch plan.”
Read more.