One of the Technology Access Centre for Aerospace and Manufacturing‘s (TACAM) newest team members, Heather Smart, helped inspire the next generation of engineers at an event this past November.

The Committee for Increasing Participation of Women in Engineering (CIPWIE) hosted Manitoba’s inaugural Engineering Badge Day for Girl Guides on November 12, 2017. The half-day event was enthusiastically attended by over 90 girls of the Girl Guide age group (age 9-11) and approximately 20 Guide leaders.

Heather helped with the event and wrote a summary of the event in The Keystone Professional 2018 Spring issue. View the full issue HERE.

Red River College has been honoured with a Partner Award from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Manitoba — for its role as a leader in training, programming and applied research within the province’s robust aerospace and manufacturing industries.

“As Manitoba’s largest institute of applied learning, we are proud to play a critical role in driving Manitoba’s economy,” says RRC President Paul Vogt.

“Since we first opened our doors, the College has been central to the growth and success of our province, and has continually responded to the ever-increasing demand for highly trained and highly skilled graduates to meet the needs of businesses and industry. We are honoured to be recognized by CME Manitoba for our efforts.”

Each year, CME Manitoba’s Partner Award is presented to an organization that makes a notable contribution to the province’s manufacturing and exporting community.

It recognizes partners and service providers who demonstrate a measureable impact on the growth, sustainability or mission of manufacturing companies. Recipients are widely recognized for their integrity, dedication and collaboration in service to manufacturing.

“One of our key priorities at the College is to foster strategic partnerships that allow us to drive research and innovation by matching industry problems and needs with College expertise, resources, capabilities and facilities,” says Vogt.

“These partnerships are the backbone of the advancements we are seeing in the aerospace and manufacturing industries here in Manitoba. We must continue to grow and compete here at home, and on the global stage, with the latest research, state-of-the-art technology, and a highly trained workforce that has the knowledge and skills needed to meet the needs of industry today, and the future.”

Vogt will accept the award this evening at the 2018 CME Gala Awards Dinner, held at the RBC Convention Centre as part of Manitoba Manufacturing Week.

We are excited to release the 32 student applied research projects that will be on display during Applied Research & Innovation Day on April 5, 2018.

Space is filling up fast for the event so register now!

Come see how what Red River College students are doing is working.

PROJECT LISTINGS:

ABR Modular Solutions – Stock Management System
Richard Zabar, Bryson Schettler, Andrea Casanova
One of the biggest problems plaguing manufacturing companies comes from their material storage and handling. This team developed a business idea to manage raw stock and in-process parts by controlling how they are stored, tracked, and moved around any given factory setting. Designed to be integrated into any manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning system, the products are made so that any manufacturing business can operate them with ease.

Access to Law – Business Project
Tyler Quick, Jaspreet Sohal, Jordan VanLeeuwen
A divorce package that allows low-income families to get a divorce without a majority of the legal costs.

Advocating for Change: The Impact of Introducing Safe Injection Sites in Winnipeg
Suzanne Guay, Tessera Ball, Caitlyn Edwards
Winnipeg has a drug-use and overdose crisis and existing solutions are proving ineffective. In 2003, Vancouver was the first city in Canada to pioneer a safe injection site model. In Winnipeg, to date, there have been many barriers both publicly and politically to implementing a similar model. This team of nursing students have developed an advocacy model and photo essay to raise awareness and inspire change by showing the benefits of safe injection sites.

Alternator-Driven Electric Bicycle – New Product
Patryk Siedlik, Seokmin Oh
An alternator-driven electric bicycle that is built using recycled vehicle materials to help reduce vehicle waste and emissions. This product prototype repurposes existing bicycle and car components, runs on renewable energy, and provides efficient performance for a low cost. 

Bedside Reporting – Nursing Research & Advocacy Project
Gurpreet Sandhu, Shelby Marks, Candace Blahey, Kelsey Pashishnik
Bedside reporting is now a mandatory policy in the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. However, after years of completing patient reports at a nursing station, not all nurses are in favor of bedside reporting. This nursing research team determined that the benefits of bedside reporting outweigh the drawbacks, and argue that an advocacy-based approach is necessary to implement bedside reporting in WRHA hospitals in order to put patient-centered care first.

Beyond VR
Jonah Perron, Eric Steinke
Public speaking is the number one fear in the world, and most people never overcome it. Beyond VR aims to help people master their speaking skills in the easiest, most convenient, yet effective way possible. Beyond VR offer the opportunity to practice public speaking in front of a virtual audience, and receive instant feedback on every aspect of speech ranging from eye contact to voice volume.

Blockchain and Home Security – Business Idea
Aiden Farrell
With the increase of connected devices from your phone to thermostat and lighting, these connections can conceivably be hacked as a means of accessing home networks and the residency itself. This student argues that Blockchain can be used to encrypt your devices to assist in home security.

Building Information Modelling – Real-Time Data Analysis
Bradley Froese, Kaiqiang Xu, Bradley Froese, Gurjit Kaur, Xueyin Xia
Monitoring and remediating faults within existing buildings is time-consuming, expensive and an inefficient use of resources. In order to decrease maintenance costs, this team is developing an integrated BIM (Building Information Modelling) platform that combines 3D Building Modelling software with Measuring and Monitoring Systems to aid facility managers to see a 3D representation of their building populated with real-time data (energy, circuitry, backfill, pressure, and outdoor environmental conditions).

Conversion of Portage Place to an Urban Farm – Thinking Big
Wanda Farian
The advantages of a downtown farm, in place of what is primarily a place of commerce, are many-fold. The majority of the goods sold in Portage Place are manufactured overseas, in factories employed by underpaid workers, and these same goods will be found in landfills within in two years of purchase. There is a correlation between the social benefit of work that boosts worker morale and community well-being. By working together we can create a downtown all of us will be proud of calling our own.

Domestic Violence – Nursing Research & Advocacy Project
Anna Hanstein, Dylan Benstead, Tiffany Arnfinson, Tannis Thiessen
Domestic violence is common in Canada and often happens between two individuals in a close relationship. This nursing team conducted a review of existing literature, and argue that the law does not provide enough support to victimized individuals.

DueNorth Systems – Peer Tutor Management System
Prince Hector, Caleb Hiebert
Students have not had access to technologies in school that facilitates the process of getting, or becoming, a peer tutor. Teachers are also then responsible for the manual upkeep and maintenance of such activities. This project solves these problems through the use of a flexible organization and time management web application. Students can request appointments when they feel like they need help, without having to wait. Teachers can manage more than twice the amount of tutors and students with greater ease, allowing them to focus on teaching, rather than organizing.

Easy Forms – Marketing & Business Plan
Dylan Murray, Felipe Matoso, Alexander Hartung, Keaton Thibeaut
A marketing and business plan for Easy Forms, an online divorce agency that aims to service the large number of Manitobans who do not qualify for legal aid but are unable to afford the rates charged by family law firms.

eCareSmart – Mobile App Development
Gurkirat Kaur, Manvir Dhillon, Jonathan Garcia Galeas
eCareSmart is a mobile app that would be a platform for making patient-doctor collaboration easier. It helps doctors assign home-based tasks to patients, allowing doctors to keep track of a patient’s health after they are discharged from the hospital. The app would enable patients to contact their doctors easily too.

Electric Bus Data Collection, Monitoring, and Analysis Project
Jeongsoo Bae, Seokmin Mike Oh
The Battery Redevelopment Project is an applied research project with Winnipeg Transit and New Flyer as industry partners. The project requires the installation of data loggers to monitor the health of a transit bus that is in operation. The collected data provides insights into battery health, and allows for prognostic analysis to ensure that issues can be addressed early on to minimize and prevent battery problems from occurring.

Electric Monk – Marketing & Business Plan
Dylan Murray, Felipe Matoso, Craig Fisher, Alyssa Jonasson
A marketing and business plan for a spinoff company for Electric Monk, an electric arts company that uses advanced laser scanners to render live buildings into fulling interactive VR environments. The software rendering enables accurate measurements and plugs-ins for outside building modifications such as windows, doors, and equipment.

Ethnic Market Research – Business Proposal
Truc Quynh Doan, Xuan Nguyen
This student-team developed Ethnic Market Research as a business idea to offer preliminary market research services to Canadian export companies. Prior to exporting a product, local and regional firms can test the commercial viability of their products on a target market within Canada. Newcomers and immigrants in Canada would not only provide valuable insights about product viability in their home-countries, but can also be opinion-leaders and influencers to home countries and export markets, helping ease market entry for Canadian firms.

Full Of Life Youth Services – LGBTTQ* Housing & Support Project
McKenzie Wainwright, Savanna Norris, Nikolai Bola
In Winnipeg, there is a large number of homeless youth that identify on the LGBTTQ* spectrum. There are currently no intersectional supports in place that address mental health, shelter and LGBTTQ* specific programming. Full of Life Youth (FOL) Services will be the first of its kind in Manitoba, offering a unique mentorship program, which partners LGBTTQ* identified youth with community volunteer members that identify similarly. Coupled with long-term care, program-specific supports and professional counselling will help empower the youth involved. It is FOL’s vision to better society by helping educate and serve a marginalized demographic to become successful in their future.

Go Oil Canada – Online Service Platform
Christian Uminga, Ruoyu Zhang, Gurkirat Kaur
Go Oil Canada is a start-up from Winnipeg providing mobile oil changes, battery replacements and vehicle check-ups. This student team worked to remove the manual process of getting appointments booked, scheduled, and re-scheduled by creating and developing a website where the customer can book an appointment online, see available dates and times, and prepay for the service.

Harnessing the “Collective Intelligence” of Police-Civilian Relations – Website Proposal
Bernard Cansino, Vikas Kumar, Jiawei Zhu
This team evaluated online communication channels of the Winnipeg Police Department, and subsequently develop a website proposal as a new communication channel to improve police-civilian relations, which would provide an efficient flow of credible information, improve understanding within communities, and potentially save tax dollars through technological efficiencies.

InMotion Group Physiotherapy – Marketing Strategy Proposal
Dylan Murray, Felipe Matoso, Nicole Veloso
A marketing campaign for a physiotherapy company, inMotion Network, with eight clinics under five different brands. The final marketing proposal involves brand structure, visual identity, an advertising campaign, social media configuration, community involvement activities, online presence recommendations, and customer engagement ideas.

Laughing Yoga and Meditation Club – Business Development Idea
Shloka Trivedi, Yen Hoang Vu, Shama Verma, Loc Huu Do, Shloka Trivedi
Laughter yoga is based on the belief that voluntary laughter provides physiological and psychological benefits. This International Business team conducted a public survey and found that people were responsive to a Laughing Yoga and Meditation Club business idea. The team subsequently developed a business plan for the Club.

Lullaby Music Therapy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – Nursing Research & Advocacy Project
Bridget Burns
This nursing project explored the use of lullaby therapy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The stressful physical environment and invasive interventions within the NICU may adversely hinder growth and development, and cause excess stress to the already fragile neonate with long-term implications. A review of existing research was conducted to confirm the benefits of lullaby music therapy. Infants who participated in musical intervention were discharged three days sooner than other NICU patients.

Motor Vehicle Challenge 2018 – Energy Efficiency Study
Bin Yang, Jeongsoo Bae, Michael Myrowich
This student team competed in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ 2nd Vehicular Technology Society motor vehicle challenge earlier this academic year. The challenge focused on the energy management of a Range Extender Electric Vehicle (RE-EV). The team used vehicle system simulation tools to modify a Chevrolet Volt model in order to develop a robust energy management strategy to minimize gas consumption and optimize battery use.

Open Democracy WordPress Plugin – Web Platform Development Project
Daniel Axelsson, Heng Yu, Joel Hurtig
This Business Information Technology team are developing several features for an unbiased election resources website for Open Democracy Manitoba, converting it into a custom WordPress plugin to upload to the WordPress plugin directory. This totally free and open source website package will be easily adoptable by groups like ODM in other cities that are interested in increasing voter awareness and empowering the electorate.

Random Transport Tracking App
Weslie Navarette, Sean Thickson, Zhaoping Luo
This Business Technology Management student team are working with an external partner to create a web application and mobile web application to track cargo and communicate efficiently with users including customers, drivers, dispatchers, and administrators. This will allow all parties involved to communicate with each other through an innovative, user-friendly interface.

Redirecting Prepared Foods from Landfill to Filling Plates – Feasibility Study
Larissa Crescente
Approximately $31 billion of food is wasted every year in Canada. One solution is to redistribute this food to feed people. The challenge for industry is storage and safety, since the food is ready to eat. This project identifies opportunities and barriers to redistributing prepared foods, and provides technology solutions to facilitate the connection between source and user. One possible solution identified is a mobile/website application that notifies recipients, facilitates deliveries, addresses safety and liability concerns, and manages potential financial incentives.

ReGen Composite Blocks
Guia Lalic, Angela Grafilo, Danika Bouvier
Regen Composites have designed a block that is made with wood waste and polymer from industrial and construction waste. The intention is that these blocks will become an environmentally friendly replacement to concrete masonry blocks. This student team conducted research to confirm that the blocks comply with building standards and are actually better than concrete blocks for some building components. The team is now testing the block’s thermal and water resistance properties.

Shell Eco-Marathon: Efficient Vehicle Design, Build, & Race
Ari Robinson, Bin Yang
A team of Mechanical Engineering Technology students designed and fabricated a battery-powered car and will be racing it in the 2018 Shell Eco-Marathon in California. The Shell Eco-Marathon is an annual design competition that challenges student groups around the world to design and build the most energy efficient vehicles possible. 

Story Time – Childhood Literacy Project
Sanket Dhameliya, Anna Aleikina, Georgia Brackett, Weiyun Mao
A project that tackles the social challenge of improving early childhood literacy among immigrant children, through the translation of traditional stories with the help of modern software.

Talminds Website Promoting Life Sciences – Website Proposal
Vikas Nair, John kabiru, Andrzej Jendrula
This team aims to create, curate, and distribute high quality written content about life sciences. The team have conducted interviews and have articles ready for publication, and have aspirations to publish and distribute student-led projects to give maximum exposure and unlock new possibilities and opportunities for students. The team plans to evolve beyond bloggers and become certified consultants for streamlining the processes of biotech start-ups and supply talents.

Tooliaba – Website Development Project
Rahul Randev, Eric Gagne, Pengfei Sun
Tooliaba is tool rental website which allows a customer to rent out a tool from the another customer any time to earn profit. Their goal is to create a fully functional website to their client by spring 2018 that will include the ability to rent and post tools, an online payment system and a rating system, and a back-end portal for Tooliaba staff.

Virtual Reality Escape Room – Business Development Project
Prince Hector, Lawrence Llanes, Peace-Peggy Abua, Quiwen Zhang
This Business Information Technology student team worked with an external client to help merge the concept of an escape room with virtual reality, creating interactive puzzles to facilitate communication with a player in virtual reality, who would then communicate with their fellow team members in the real world.

Heather Smart, an Applied Research Professional at the Technology Access Centre for Aerospace & Manufacturing (TACAM) based at Red River College, is participating in a panel today at the 17th annual Research Money Conference in Ottawa.

Heather is participating in a panel titled “Demand for Innovative Talent: Employer Perspective” that addresses the question of how Canadian firms working with educational institutions and other innovation intermediaries can prepare the talent needed to scale Canada’s innovation game.

This year’s conference theme is “Breaking Through the Status Quo: Scaling Canada’s Innovation Game.” The conference aims to “look at a number of challenge areas that keep coming up in studies of Canada’s innovation ecosystem.

“Instead of repeating the difficulties, we will hear from innovators who are breaking new ground and overcoming old habits of thinking and doing to generate wealth and social benefits from knowledge. From these exemplars, we will review policy implications and how we can generate more success at scale.”

View conference website HERE.

Look no further than Christopher Basilio to get a sense of where the vehicle technology industry is headed. Chris is the Research Coordinator for the Vehicle Technology & Energy Centre (VTEC) at Red River College.

He works on applied research and development projects in partnership with industry, with an emphasis on vehicle development and performance improvement. This includes research on vehicle weight reduction, emissions reductions, vehicle electrification and sensor applications on vehicles.

A recent project highlight for Chris was working with New Flyer and Winnipeg Transit, installing data loggers on an electric bus to study battery performance in a climate that undergoes significant change between winter and summer.

“It’s an eye-opener for students to work hand-in-hand with industry and have a glimpse into what industry is doing and to work with experts,” Chris said of the project. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase what the College can bring to industry, and what we can do with industry in the future.”

Adapting to the Climate in Work & Life

A newcomer to Canada, Chris arrived with his wife and two daughters from the Philippines in August, 2016. The key to a big move like this is to embrace change, Chris said.

“It’s really totally different in Canada,” he said. “In the Philippines, 35 degrees is the normal. The key on that is embracing the culture, weather, and people. That’s what I find unique in Canada because it really has been very welcoming, unlike some other countries. We really appreciated that. We chose wisely.”

The College chose wisely too. Chis has over 10 years of experience in semiconductor industry, and joined the VTEC team in March, 2017.

He has a Chemical Engineering Degree from University of the City of Manila and a Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering and Semiconductor Packaging from Arizona State University. He’s also a Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and member of Engineers Geoscientist Manitoba as an Engineer in Training.

Chris is guided by VTEC Research Manager Jojo Delos Reyes, and works alongside a growing team of student research assistants, recent graduates, faculty, and staff.

“It really is an honour to work at the College and to impart the knowledge that I’ve gained in industry, and to help students understand what it’s like to work in industry and in research settings,” Chris said. “It’s really a privilege to work in this setting, and to get the kind of input that we get from students, faculty and industry. It’s really a great model.”

The future of vehicle technology

VTEC have drafted plans for the coming years to adapt to a rapidly changing vehicle technology industry, Chris said.

“We have a very good list of projects that we’ll be working on in the coming years,” he said. “Right now, we’re just aligning those projects with industry partners, and it’s very exciting.”

VTEC have held planning sessions to identify priorities and trends, and the VTEC team continue to consult closely with industry partners. The team has also expanded in preparation for an ambitious research agenda.

As for trends, Chris says the emphasis is shifting toward big data analytics, electrification, and autonomous vehicles.

“We’re moving on that trend and industry is pushing us in that direction too. Data is really the future. It’s a big and exciting challenge,” Chris said. “Alternative energy sources will become a major thing in the future, so some of the projects we’ll be dealing with will involve alternative energy sources like hydrogen.”

Teamwork putting it all together

The backbone of all of this is softer skills like communications, flexibility, and an ability to work with diverse stakeholders. That is the nature of applied research partnerships, and it’s where Chris thrives.

“You really need to have a good sense of camaraderie, how to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, students and industry,” he said. “We all have our own schedules and priorities, yet have to work together because each of us have specific expertise.”

Chris said curriculum will also have to adapt to meet these changing trends, keeping up with input received from industry.

“We need to anticipate those kinds of technologies and be ready as a College,” Chris said. “These skill-sets are continually and rapidly evolving, so we need to stay ahead of this in our work and curriculum.”

There’s also the summer to look forward to. Chris enjoys playing badminton, biking, reading sci-fi, and learning about new technologies.

“When you watch old sci-fi films, there’s lots of future technology there that has become reality. Science-fiction can often project or give inspiration for the future,” he said.

For now, the future is electric.

Register now and join industry, business, and applied research leaders for this Lunch & Learn to explore how federal support can bring your work to the next level.

Get a practical snapshot of the spectrum of federal programming available from exploratory applied research, to pre-commercialization, and support for late-stage procurement and testing.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

Lunch & Learn
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Date: Thursday, May 10, 2018
Location: Red River College

About the Event:

A representative from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will explain how to leverage federal funding through Engage Grants, which provide up to 6-month and $25,000 in industry-researcher collaboration. Other NSERC programs and offerings will also be briefly detailed.

A representative from the Office of Small & Medium Enterprises will then provide a brief overview of the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP), which helps companies bridge the pre-commercialization gap by procuring and testing late stage innovative goods and services within the federal government before taking them to market.

We will aim to provide ample time for Q&A and discussion from participants, to make this session as useful as possible for you.

This event is being organized by the Research Partnerships & Innovation office at Red River College in collaboration with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Event inquiries:

Jojo Delos Reyes
Research Manager, Research Partnerships & Innovation
NSERC/SSHRC RGO & VTEC Program Manager
Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology
Cell: (204) 330-9919 | Office: (204) 631-330
www.rrc.ca/appliedresearch | jdelosreyes@rrc.ca

Imagine a world where your vehicle drives itself, connects to the Internet, and charges just like your phone.

That’s how Joel Turner, a student in Red River College’s Electronic Engineering Technology program, describes the concept that won his group first place in the 2018 Electric Mobility Canada Kia Student Competition.

This is the first time an RRC team has won the competition, and the second time the College has entered.

“The benefits to our team’s solution are countless. The best of them are reduced air pollution, reduced vehicle maintenance cost, and better learning by having available data,” says Turner, who worked on the project with teammates from RRC’s Electronics Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology and Business Administration programs.

Since 2012, the competition has tasked student groups with finding and presenting solutions that will advance the electric vehicle industry. This year’s competition asked what technological breakthrough will be a game-changer for e-mobility within five years, and why this will have a major impact on e-mobility at large.

The RRC team’s solution combines 5G (fifth-generation wireless technology) and new battery technology to connect the three current megatrends in transportation e-mobility: autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles and connected/shared vehicles. The vision points to an almost Jetsons-like world where vehicles are connected to each other and their surroundings to create a safer, more energy efficient driving environment.

“When we started this project the students already had background knowledge, so we challenged them to look further and see what technology we can use to enable 5G,” says Chris Basilio, Research Coordinator for the Vehicle Technology & Energy Centre (VTEC) at RRC, who assisted the students with their proposal.

“They were able to look at existing 4G infrastructure and what could happen if it were updated to 5G.”

Turner said the competition allowed him to use the knowledge he learned in class — specifically, how wireless communications are implemented and how networks are built and operated — while also helping him form a better understanding of what his instructors are teaching through applied learning.

“For the students, the competition can be an eye opener on what they will be doing when they graduate,” says Basilio. “They have the opportunity to see what’s out there in the industry, enrich their presentation skills and learn how to work with people who come from different areas of expertise.”

As part of their win, the team received a $2,000 prize from Kia Canada and had their solution shared at the 2018 Electric Vehicle Conference & Trade Show in Ottawa. The team took part in the competition with support from VTEC members Jeongsoo Bae, Bin Yang, Mike Oh and Jojo Delos Reyes.

Shown above: Garam Park (student), Jairuz Agang-Ang (student), Joel Turner (student), Xinzhi Liu (student), Seokmin Mike Oh (coach), Bin Yang (coach), Chris Basilio (coach/integrator).

Not shown: Students Keith-Daniel Cross, Ari Robinson and Justin Schroeder.

This week, the Business/Higher-Education Roundtable (BHER) released a research partnership guide, aimed to help more companies and firms navigate new partnership opportunities working with Canadian polytechnics, colleges and universities.

This guide is designed to help pave more pathways to successful partnerships and working relationships between firms and post-secondary institutions across Canada, and contains comprehensive and practical information for users on:

• Advice on approaching institutions about an agreement;
• Lists of common terms, including the various types of College partnerships;
• Mock project lifecycles;
• Case studies of successful partnerships; and   
• Frequently asked questions and answers.  ‎

Red River College’s Executive Director of Research Partnerships and Innovations, Ray Hoemsen, contributed to the development of the guide and provided further insight to the work that we are doing here at the College.

The guide also features a case study on the success of Red River College’s, ‘Multiple Partnership’ with the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, New Flyer Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Sustainable Development Technology Canada, to create a zero-emission battery-electric propulsion transit bus, which will significantly reduce greenhouse gas and smog-causing emissions.

The Business/Higher Education Roundtable represents businesses and schools from coast to coast – RRC President and CEO, Paul Vogt is a Member of the Roundtable group. The research partnership guides were developed with Polytechnics Canada and the U15 Group of Research Universities, and are an initiative of BHER’s research partnerships working group. George Brown College was a key leader in the development of this document.

Click here to download the Guide to Research Partnerships with Canada’s Colleges and Polytechnics.

Bringing more than 10 years of experience in the agri-food industry, Heather Hill has joined Red River College’s Culinary Research and Innovation team for a six-month term as a Research Manager.

Peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas – collectively termed pulses, are what Heather brings to the table in terms of expertise in food development research. She has worked in partnership with agri-food companies and organizations from Beijing, Switzerland, Morocco, Minneapolis, Steinbach and Portage la Prairie – from large multi-national corporations, to farmers looking to add more value to their crops, and everything in between.

With a Master’s of Science degree in food science, and a background in value-added ingredient development, Heather brings a bold new perspective to the team. She loves being presented with a challenge and providing practical solutions to overcome an issue. In her new role here in Culinary Research and Innovation, Heather will be providing a science-based approach to help with the applied research activities of the department.

Heather can be reached at hhill@rrc.ca.

Q: Science and art seem to be on nearly opposite ends of the spectrum, how does science play a role in the culinary arts within Culinary Research and Innovation?

Food is such a complex composite material. With many interactions and reactions taking place during processing it requires both art and science to truly understand how a food system will respond to treatments, while still being a high-quality product. I think the science component really helps to explain the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of food while the art piece brings out creativity, style, ingenuity and especially the deliciousness of food.

Q: Food science is not an extremely known discipline here in Canada, what interested you about studying food?

I love the universality of food; that it is something we all relate to, and that we can use as a starting point to get to know so much more about one another and our cultures. Food physically brings people together, it makes me smile to think of this as I’m working in food development.

Q: Trends in food are constantly changing, what trends are currently catching your eyes, ears and taste buds?

Coming from the plant protein world, I am always watching trends that incorporate plant and sustainable protein sources in product development applications. There is so much going on in this area, especially in Western Canada, and it will continue to boom. I’m looking forward to seeing the role Canada will play in plant protein technology and food development.

I’m also very interested in seeing more recognition of traditional indigenous foods here in Manitoba. I think this has so much potential to improve food security of our Northern communities and build cultural bridges here, as well as to add greater diversity to our local food supply. Red River College is so well positioned to be a leader in this area, I think exciting things are in our future.

With an 18 month toddler at home I am also always scanning for new ideas to feed my little one that are both tasty and nutritious. She is a tough critic and is constantly changing her list of preferred foods. Right now I’m trying out chia puddings… and spending a lot of time cleaning our floors where the rejects are landing.

Q: What is your favourite thing to cook and eat and home?

In the summer we spend a lot of time barbequing so we don’t heat up our house too much. We love to cook ribs, actually we have an annual rib competition with our family every November so we need to spend the summer perfecting our next award winning recipe!

Q: What’s the most interesting dish you’ve made using pulses?

I love to learn about different cultures and their traditional pulse dishes. I’ll research the recipe and history and give it a try in my kitchen. When I was last in Morocco I heard about a traditional chickpea cake they make called karane or kalinti, which is basically a chickpea-flour egg quiche. Every time I make it, it reminds me of the busy, colourful, sights and sounds of the medina of Fez.

Q: What excites you about being a part of the Culinary Research and Innovation team?

I’m really looking forward to being a part of the multi-disciplinary team here, not only with the blending of food science and culinary arts in Culinary Research and Innovation but also having the opportunity to work with other departments within the College. I don’t know where else you can find expertise in culinary arts, engineering, communication, design, life sciences and social sciences all in one setting!

• Funding announced for new culinary research centre at PGI

Ray Hoemsen, Executive Director, Research Partnerships and Innovation, Red River College (RRC), Ian Seymour, Board Director, CFI, Paul Vogt, President and CEO, Red River College, Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, Sue Leclair, President and CEO of The Pretzel Place and RRC alumni, Doug Eyolfson, Member of Parliament for CharleswoodÑSt. JamesÑAssiniboiaÑHeadingly, and Rick Tofani, Director, Applied Research and Innovation Services, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology are photographed after an announcement of a total federal investment of $10,678,322 in research infrastructure funding for recipients awarded in the latest round of the Canada Foundation for InnovationÕs (CFI) College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) competition at Red River College in Winnipeg, Wednesday, January 18, 2012. The funding will support 11 projects at 11 different colleges/polytechnics across Canada. Canadian Press Images/John Woods

On Wednesday, Science and Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan stopped by Jane’s restaurant to announce a total federal investment of over $10 million in research infrastructure funding for recipients awarded in the latest round of the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) competition.

Red River College was one of eleven successful colleges and polytechnics across Canada, and now thanks to the CFI’s investment of more than $1 million, construction is underway to build the College’s first-ever multi-functional culinary research centre.

“Red River College’s Culinary Research & Innovation (CR&I) continues to grow, and expand its work with students and industry partners to develop healthy and delicious new products from Prairie ingredients,” said Ray Hoemsen, Executive Director of Research Partnerships & Innovation.

“The support we are receiving from CFI will enable us to establish our Culinary Research and Food Innovation Kitchen on the 11th floor of the Paterson GlobalFoods Insitute; coincidentally the same floor where the Union Bank and then the Royal Bank of Canada had kitchen and dining facilities.”

This state-of-the-art research lab will enable researchers, faculty and students to collaborate with the food and agriculture industry on projects that will enhance food safety research, and address changing consumer needs and challenges such as food waste.

Once complete, the new research centre will feature:

• A fully equipped commercial kitchen and second modular-style kitchen for project-specific equipment
• An analytical and culturing lab
• A client collaboration and focus group space
• A specialized food photography room

The new space and equipment will primarily be used for research with industry partners, but will also be available to instructors and students seeking to enhance their education and professional development.

“Red River College is a leader in culinary research and innovation,” said RRC President Paul Vogt. “To date we’ve worked on more than 40 different projects with local food and agricultural producers in Manitoba to help them innovate and bring new products to market.

“This support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation means that we can expand our research capabilities to meet this growing demand, and create a dedicated state-of-the-art facility for researchers, instructors and students to work collaboratively — shoulder-to-shoulder with industry — to make the impossible possible when it comes to new food product creation and culinary innovation.”

Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, samples some food products after announcing a total federal investment of $10,678,322 in research infrastructure funding for recipients awarded in the latest round of the Canada Foundation for InnovationÕs (CFI) College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) competition at Red River College in Winnipeg, Wednesday, January 18, 2012. The funding will support 11 projects at 11 different colleges/polytechnics across Canada. Canadian Press Images/John Woods

The CFIs grant, delivered through its College-Industry Innovation Fund, is part of a $2.74-million renovation and equipment acquisition plan for the space at PGI.

Here are some of the highlights from various industry projects with Canadian companies and producers that CR&I has been involved with over the last year:

• Creation of an award-winning all-hemp macaroon, as part of a product line for Piccola Cucina. Our team used locally sourced hemp instead of almonds; the new products are now ready for shelf-life testing.
• Development of a miso paste using spent grain from local microbreweries. Working with the Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network, our team turned what would have been waste into a tasty value-added product.
• Development of a new recipes and applications of a prebiotic aimed at improving digestive tract health, in partnership with nutritional supplement provider MSPrebiotic Inc. Under the supervision of a Research Chef, RRC students developed recipes that met requirements related to dose requirements and temperature limitations.
• Creation of a new beer-flavoured pretzel seasoning in partnership with local snack mainstay The Pretzel Place. Our team worked with RRC alumni and The Pretzel Place owner Sue Leclair to develop this new twist on flavour, now available at both Winnipeg locations; Shaw Park and Investors Group Field.