Tag Archives: Saskatchewan

nano tech 2017 being held in Tokyo from February 15-17, 2017

I found some news about the Alberta technology scene in the programme for Japan’s nano tech 2017 exhibition and conference to be held Feb. 15 – 17, 2017 in Tokyo. First, here’s more about the show in Japan from a Jan. 17, 2017 nano tech 2017 press release on Business Wire (also on Yahoo News),

The nano tech executive committee (chairman: Tomoji Kawai, Specially Appointed Professor, Osaka University) will be holding “nano tech 2017” – one of the world’s largest nanotechnology exhibitions, now in its 16th year – on February 15, 2017, at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in Japan. 600 organizations (including over 40 first-time exhibitors) from 23 countries and regions are set to exhibit at the event in 1,000 booths, demonstrating revolutionary and cutting edge core technologies spanning such industries as automotive, aerospace, environment/energy, next-generation sensors, cutting-edge medicine, and more. Including attendees at the concurrently held exhibitions, the total number of visitors to the event is expected to exceed 50,000.

The theme of this year’s nano tech exhibition is “Open Nano Collaboration.” By bringing together organizations working in a wide variety of fields, the business matching event aims to promote joint development through cross-field collaboration.

Special Symposium: “Nanotechnology Contributing to the Super Smart Society”

Each year nano tech holds Special Symposium, in which industry specialists from top organizations from Japan and abroad speak about the issues surrounding the latest trends in nanotech. The themes of this year’s Symposium are Life Nanotechnology, Graphene, AI/IoT, Cellulose Nanofibers, and Materials Informatics.

Notable sessions include:

Life Nanotechnology
“Development of microRNA liquid biopsy for early detection of cancer”
Takahiro Ochiya, National Cancer Center Research Institute Division of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Chief

AI / IoT
“AI Embedded in the Real World”
Hideki Asoh, AIST Deputy Director, Artificial Intelligence Research Center

Cellulose Nanofibers [emphasis mine]
“The Current Trends and Challenges for Industrialization of Nanocellulose”
Satoshi Hirata, Nanocellulose Forum Secretary-General

Materials Informatics
“Perspective of Materials Research”
Hideo Hosono, Tokyo Institute of Technology Professor

View the full list of sessions:
>> http://nanotech2017.icsbizmatch.jp/Presentation/en/Info/List#main_theater

nano tech 2017 Homepage:
>> http://nanotechexpo.jp/

nano tech 2017, the 16th International Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference
Date: February 15-17, 2017, 10:00-17:00
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight (East Halls 4-6 & Conference Tower)
Organizer: nano tech Executive Committee, JTB Communication Design

As you may have guessed the Alberta information can be found in the .Cellulose Nanofibers session. From the conference/seminar program page; scroll down about 25% of the way to find the Alberta presentation,

Production and Applications Development of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC) at InnoTech Alberta

Behzad (Benji) Ahvazi
InnoTech Alberta Team Lead, Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC)

[ Abstract ]

The production and use of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is an emerging technology that has gained considerable interest from a range of industries that are working towards increased use of “green” biobased materials. The construction of one-of-a-kind CNC pilot plant [emphasis mine] at InnoTech Alberta and production of CNC samples represents a critical step for introducing the cellulosic based biomaterials to industrial markets and provides a platform for the development of novel high value and high volume applications. Major key components including feedstock, acid hydrolysis formulation, purification, and drying processes were optimized significantly to reduce the operation cost. Fully characterized CNC samples were provided to a large number of academic and research laboratories including various industries domestically and internationally for applications development.

[ Profile ]

Dr. Ahvazi completed his Bachelor of Science in Honours program at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and graduated with distinction at Concordia University in Montréal, Québec. His Ph.D. program was completed in 1998 at McGill Pulp and Paper Research Centre in the area of macromolecules with solid background in Lignocellulosic, organic wood chemistry as well as pulping and paper technology. After completing his post-doctoral fellowship, he joined FPInnovations formally [formerly?] known as PAPRICAN as a research scientist (R&D) focusing on a number of confidential chemical pulping and bleaching projects. In 2006, he worked at Tembec as a senior research scientist and as a Leader in Alcohol and Lignin (R&D). In April 2009, he held a position as a Research Officer in both National Bioproducts (NBP1 & NBP2) and Industrial Biomaterials Flagship programs at National Research Council Canada (NRC). During his tenure, he had directed and performed innovative R&D activities within both programs on extraction, modification, and characterization of biomass as well as polymer synthesis and formulation for industrial applications. Currently, he is working at InnoTech Alberta as Team Lead for Biomass Conversion and Processing Technologies.

Canada scene update

InnoTech Alberta was until Nov. 1, 2016 known as Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures. Here’s more about InnoTech Alberta from the Alberta Innovates … home page,

Effective November 1, 2016, Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures is one of four corporations now consolidated into Alberta Innovates and a wholly owned subsidiary called InnoTech Alberta.

You will find all the existing programs, services and information offered by InnoTech Alberta on this website. To access the basic research funding and commercialization programs previously offered by Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures, explore here. For more information on Alberta Innovates, visit the new Alberta Innovates website.

As for InnoTech Alberta’s “one-of-a-kind CNC pilot plant,” I’d like to know more about it’s one-of-a-kind status since there are two other CNC production plants in Canada. (Is the status a consequence of regional chauvinism or a writer unfamiliar with the topic?). Getting back to the topic, the largest company (and I believe the first) with a CNC plant was CelluForce, which started as a joint venture between Domtar and FPInnovations and powered with some very heavy investment from the government of Canada. (See my July 16, 2010 posting about the construction of the plant in Quebec and my June 6, 2011 posting about the newly named CelluForce.) Interestingly, CelluForce will have a booth at nano tech 2017 (according to its Jan. 27, 2017 news release) although the company doesn’t seem to have any presentations on the schedule. The other Canadian company is Blue Goose Biorefineries in Saskatchewan. Here’s more about Blue Goose from the company website’s home page,

Blue Goose Biorefineries Inc. (Blue Goose) is pleased to introduce our R3TM process. R3TM technology incorporates green chemistry to fractionate renewable plant biomass into high value products.

Traditionally, separating lignocellulosic biomass required high temperatures, harsh chemicals, and complicated processes. R3TM breaks this costly compromise to yield high quality cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose products.

The robust and environmentally friendly R3TM technology has numerous applications. Our current product focus is cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). Cellulose nanocrystals are “Mother Nature’s Building Blocks” possessing unique properties. These unique properties encourage the design of innovative products from a safe, inherently renewable, sustainable, and carbon neutral resource.

Blue Goose assists companies and research groups in the development of applications for CNC, by offering CNC for sale without Intellectual Property restrictions. [emphasis mine]

Bravo to Blue Goose! Unfortunately, I was not able to determine if the company will be at nano tech 2017.

One final comment, there was some excitement about CNC a while back where I had more than one person contact me asking for information about how to buy CNC. I wasn’t able to be helpful because there was, apparently, an attempt by producers to control sales and limit CNC access to a select few for competitive advantage. Coincidentally or not, CelluForce developed a stockpile which has persisted for some years as I noted in my Aug. 17, 2016 posting (scroll down about 70% of the way) where the company announced amongst other events that it expected deplete its stockpile by mid-2017.

Bob McDonald: How is Canada on the ‘forefront of pushing nanotechnology forward’?

Mr. Quirks & Quarks, also known as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) Bob McDonald, host of the science radio programme Quirks & Quarks, published an Oct. 9, 2016 posting on the programme’s CBC blog about the recently awarded 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry and Canada’s efforts in the field of nanotechnology (Links have been removed),

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded this week for developments in nanotechnology heralds a new era in science, akin to the discovery of electromagnetic induction 185 years ago. And like electricity, nanotechnology could influence the world in dramatic ways, not even imaginable today.

The world’s tiniest machines

The Nobel Laureates developed molecular machines, which are incredibly tiny devices assembled one molecule at a time, including a working motor, a lifting machine, a micro-muscle, and even a four wheel drive vehicle, all of which can only be seen with the most powerful electron microscopes. While these lab experiments are novel curiosities, the implications are huge, and Canada is on the forefront of pushing this research forward. [emphasis mine]

McDonald never explains how Canadians are pushing nanotechnology research further but there is this (Note: Links have been removed),

Many universities offer degree programs on the subject while organizations such as the National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta, and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, are conducting fundamental research on these new novel materials.

Somehow he never mentions any boundary-pushing research. hmmm

To be blunt, it’s very hard to establish Canada’s position in the field since ‘nanotechnolgy research’ as such doesn’t exist here in the way it does in the United States, Korea, Iran, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, and others. It’s not a federally coordinated effort in Canada despite the fact that we have a Canada National Research Council (NRC) National Institute of Nanotechnology (NINT) in Alberta. (There’s very little information about research on the NINT website.) A Government of Canada NanoPortal is poorly maintained and includes information that is seriously out-of-date. One area where Canadians have been influential has been at the international level where we’ve collaborated on a number of OECD (Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development) projects focused on safety (occupational and environmental, in particular) issues.

Canada’s Ingenuity Lab, a nanotechnology project that appeared promising, hasn’t made many research announcements and seems to be a provincial (Alberta) initiative rather than a federal one. In fact, the most activity in the field of nanotechnology research has been at the provincial level with Alberta and Québec in the lead, if financial investment is your primary measure, and Ontario following, then the other provinces trailing from behind. Unfortunately, I’ve never come across any nanotechnology research from the Yukon or other parts North.

With regard to research announcements, the situation changes and you have Québec and Ontario assuming the lead positions with Alberta following. As McDonald noted, the University of Waterloo has a major nanotechnology education programme and the University of Toronto seems to have a very active research focus in that field (Ted Sargent and solar cells and quantum dots) and the University of Guelph is known for its work in agriculture and nanotechnolgy (search this blog using any of the three universities as a search term). In Québec, they’ve made a number of announcements about cutting edge research. You can search this blog for the names Sylvain Martel, Federico Rosei, and Claude Ostiguy (who seems to work primarily in French), amongst others. CelluForce, based in Quebec, and once  a leader (not sure about the situation these days) in the production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). One side comment, CNC was first developed at the University of British Columbia, however, Québec showed more support (provincial funding) and interest and the bulk of that research effort moved.

There’s one more shout out and that’s for Blue Goose Biorefineries in the province of Saskatchewan, which sells CNC and offers services to help companies  research applications for the material.

One other significant area of interest comes to mind, the graphite mines in Québec and Ontario which supply graphite flakes used to produce graphene, a material that is supposed to revolutionize electronics, in particular.

There are other research efforts and laboratories in Canada but these are the institutions and researchers with which I’m most familiar after more than eight years of blogging about Canadian nanotechnology. That said, if I’ve missed any significant, please do let me know in the comments section of this blog.

Cindy Patton talks about evidence and the invention of a Crystal Meth-HIV connection via press release

Canada’s Situating Science research cluster is launching a national lecture series (from a Jan. 30, 2014 announcement)

The Lives of Evidence
A multi-part national lecture series examining the cultural, ethical, political, and scientific role of evidence in our world.

They are kicking the series off with what appears to be a two city tour of Vancouver and Saskatoon (from the announcement),

The Press and the Press Release: Inventing the Crystal Meth-HIV Connection
Cindy Patton, Canada Research Chair in Community, Culture, and Health
Sociology and Anthropology, Simon Fraser University

What does the rise and fall of a scientific fact look like? In her analysis of the Crystal Meth-AIDS superbug connection in US media coverage, Dr. Patton explores scientific evidence as it circulates through the lab, the media, and society. Scientific studies, expertise, and anecdotal human-interest stories are used to “prove” a causal relationship between the (probably temporary) rise in crystal use and a (less than clear) rise in HIV rates. But far from helping to avoid hasty and ill-conceived policy in a moment of panic, the media coverage justifies something more problematic: discrimination and medical policing that appear to rest on scientific proof.

Monday February 3, 2014, 4 PM
Buchanan A-201, University of British Columbia, 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC

Wednesday, February 5, 2014, 4 PM CST / 5 PM ET
Room 18, Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan, 25 Campus Drive, Sakatoon, Saksatchewan
Watch the U. Sask reprise live online here:
www.livestream.com/situsci

Maybe I’ll see you at the Vancouver event.

Future biomedical applications for CNC (cellulose nanocrystals, aka NCC [nanocrystalline cellulose]) from Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly)

It’s good to see a project that might result in applications for CNC (aka, NCC). I commented briefly about the CNC situation earlier today in my Nov. 25, 2013 posting about Lomiko Metals (based in Surrey, BC, Canada) and its focus on developing markets for its product (graphite flakes/graphene). By contrast, Canada’s CelluForce plant (in Québec) has stopped production to avoid adding to its stockpile (as per my Oct. 3, 2013 posting), Alberta has launched a pilot CNC plant (my Nov. 19, 2013 posting), Blue Goose Biorefineries in Saskatchewan was ramping up production according to my May 7, 2013 posting and someone, in a blog posting comment, claimed that Pure Liganin in BC produces CNC (which I cannot confirm since the company mentions neither CNC nor NCC).,

Back to happier matters, a research team from Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) has discovered information that could be helpful for scientists working with protein polymers (from the Nov. 22, 2013 news item on Azonano,,

A team of researchers has uncovered critical information that could help scientists understand how protein polymers interact with other self-assembling biopolymers. The research helps explain naturally occurring nano-material within cells and could one day lead to engineered bio-composites for drug delivery, artificial tissue, bio-sensing, or cancer diagnosis.

The Nov. 21, 2013 NYU-Poly press release, which originated the news item, goes on to explain the CNC connection to this work,

Bionanocomposites provide a singular area of research that incorporates biology, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and nanotechnology. Medical researchers believe they hold particular promise because—unlike the materials that build today’s medical implants, for example—they are biodegradable and biocompatible, not subject to rejection by the body’s immune defenses. As biocomposites rarely exist isolated from other substances in nature, scientists do not yet understand how they interact with other materials such as lipids, nucleic acids, or other organic materials and on a molecular level. This study, which explored the ways in which protein polymers interact with another biopolymer, cellulose, provides the key to better understanding how biocomposite materials would interact with the human body for medical applications.

The materials analyzed were composed of bioengineered protein polymers and cellulose nanocrystals and hold promise for medical applications including non-toxic, targeted drug delivery systems. [emphasis mine] Such bionanocomposites could also be used as scaffolding for tissue growth, synthetic biomaterials, or an environmentally friendly replacement for petroleum-derived polymers currently in use.

I wonder if the researchers obtained their CNC from the production plant in Wisconsin (US), assuming it has opened since my July 27, 2012 posting featuring an announcement of future plans. Getting back to this latest work, here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Bionanocomposites: Differential Effects of Cellulose Nanocrystals on Protein Diblock Copolymers by Jennifer S. Haghpanah, Raymond Tu, Sandra Da Silva, Deng Yan, Silvana Mueller, Christoph Weder, E. Johan Foster, Iulia Sacui, Jeffery W. Gilman, and Jin Kim Montclare. Biomacromolecules, Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/bm401304w Publication Date (Web): October 18, 2013
Copyright © 2013 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

Offhand I can think of only one Canadian laboratory (although I’m certain there are others), which is working on applications for CNC and that’s Mark MacLaclan’s lab at the University of British Columbia (UBC). For example, there is this ‘in press’ paper,

Shopsowitz, K.E.; Kelly, J.A.; Hamad, W.Y.; MacLachlan, M.J. “Biopolymer Templated Glass with a Twist: Controlling the Chirality, Porosity, and Photonic Properties of Silica with Cellulose Nanocrystals” Adv. Funct. Mater. 2013, in press. DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201301737

You can find more about MacLachlan’s work here.

Canada’s Peachy Printer; a 3D printer that sells for $100.00

On the heels of the Togo story featured in my Oct. 1, 2013 posting titled, Kodjo Afate Gnikou and his team in Togo create the world’s first 3D printer for less than $US100, it seems there’s another $100 3D printer and one much closer to home. From a Nov. 6, 2013 news item on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting News) online,

Rylan Grayston, 28, from Yorkton [Saskatchewan], said curiosity fuelled his quest to create a 3-D copier that sells for just $100. Other versions of the high-tech device exist for several thousand dollars or more.

“I didn’t have enough money for a 3-D printer that I wanted, so I just started thinking about how can I do this myself?” Grayston told CBC News in an interview at a shop in Saskatoon where he is working, with his brother, on his project.

“All I want to do is invent,” Grayston said about the possible riches associated with an affordable 3-D printer. “I would love to have lots of money so I can pull off my other inventions. … I don’t want to buy a yacht. I won’t be buying any fancy cars.”

According to the CBC news item, Grayston has no formal engineering or computer science training/education. I gather he likes to figure things out for himself. He and his brother have produced a video (one of a series produced for their Kickstarter and inidiegogo crowdfunding campaigns and other publicity and public outreach campaigns), explaining the principles behind their printer,

The CBC news item describes the technology more simply,

Grayston’s software converts an object into file data using a sound-card on his laptop. The information on that audio file is sent to mirrors and laser beams which vibrate and move in accord with the data to carve 3-D objects from a specialized acrylic resin.

Unlike other, more expensive, devices Grayston’s Peachy Printer has no motors or microprocessors.

At least one expert  is impressed (from the CBC news item),

“It blows my mind,” David Gerhard, a computer science professor at the University of Regina told CBC News. “The way that they’re doing things is so sort of different from the way normal 3-D printers work, that it’s quite amazing to see the shift in thinking.”

… 

“It completely changes the game,” Gerhard said of the machine he saw, first hand, in Yorkton. “To be able to do it for a hundred bucks and basically with stuff you can find around your house, that’s the thing that changes everything.”

The Peachy Printer website‘s store isn’t open yet but once the participants in the two crowdfunding campaigns have received their kits (you do have to build your 3D Peachy Printer) the rest of us can purchase one.

Interestingly, the Graystons have included a page on Ethics on their Peachy Printer website,

We want to run our business on a set of specific moral principles…

1. Using Freedom Respecting and Open Source software.  We think that you should have the right to:

– Choose and change how your computer does its computing.
– Let others change how your computer does its computing.
– Share your changes so that other people can benefit from them.
– See exactly how our software works.   We won’t ask you to trust us blindly, you can read our source code and see for yourself!

“I see software patents as a very sad anomaly, especially the way they are being used in this day and age.  I’m not saying that I disagree with patents entirely, or that I won’t ever use them.  I’m saying that I wish the whole situation was different…  More focused on really encouraging innovation instead of stifling it in the name of profit.  I think that patents can be a useful tool, however they should not be allowed to exist for 20 years.  That’s not in the best interest of innovation, that’s in the best interest of maximum profit for corporations.  I also find it rather disturbing that our legal system allows one person to sue another person simply for acting on some thoughts that they genuinely had on their own, wrote down in code, and implemented.”

– Rylan Grayston – Inventor of the Peachy Printer

,I am particularly interested in the first principle for which I applaud Rylan Grayston. I have written many times on the topic of patents (intellectual property) and my Nov. 23, 2012 posting which focuses on nanotechnology patents and a situation in the 3D printing community seems a good fit here. Of course, I wish I hadn’t seen this on the Peachy Printer Kickstarter campaign page,

You know how everyone and their Grandmother has a paper printer? Well, wouldn’t it be cool if everyone and their Grandmother had a 3D printer? It definitely would, but this isn’t a reality for 2 reasons:

– 3D Printers still quite expensive.

– They aren’t very simple. Good luck teaching your Grandma how to use one! [emphasis mine]

Old ladies can’t figure out complicated things, eh? The Graystons may want to check the Grandma Got STEM website profiled in my March 27, 2013 posting,,

Jeff Bittel thank you for a story (Mar. 26, 2013 on Slate) about Rachel Levy and the website where she gently blows up the notion/stereotype that older women don’t understand science and technology and that they are too old to learn (Note: A link has been removed),

Is your grandmother a particle physicist? Did she help the Navy build submarines or make concoctions of chlorine gas on the family’s front porch? Or is she a mathematician, inventor, or engineer? If so, then baby, your grandma’s got STEM.

Grandma Got STEM is a celebration of women working in and contributing to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is also designed to combat the doting, fumbling, pie-making stereotype of grandmatrons.

That’s why Rachel Levy, an associate professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, is collecting the stories of grandmas across the various fields of STEM. She first got the idea after hearing someone utter the phrase, “Just explain it like you would to your grandma.”

At first blush, such a thing seems harmless. But think about what it means—basically, all older women are stupid.

“For two or three years I thought about how I could address this issue without just making people angry and more inclined to use the phrase,” Levy told me. “If I could come up with a million examples of grandmothers who were tech-savvy, people wouldn’t say it anymore because it wouldn’t be apt.”

Here’s an excerpt from a Sept. 27, 2013 posting on Grandma Got STEM,

… mathematician, and electronic music composer Delia Derbyshire.  Derbyshire realized Ron Grainer’s score for the theme song of the popular science fiction series Doctor Who, but never received credit or royalties for her work.[emphasis mine]

Sigh.

While it’s more common to dismiss ‘old women’, it also happens to old men. Let’s hope that the Graystons come to realize they too will be old one day and dismissed as unable to learn new things, likely by their own children and grandchildren. Isn’t it time to start changing our attitudes towards aging and learning?

Moving on, it’s good to see innovation in Canada, I wonder if anyone will notice?  There’s so much bemoaning by Canadian politicians, bureaucrats, and the aristocrats of the business community about the lack of innovation here (as per my latest on the topic, a Nov. 1, 2013 posting) that no one seems to be asking the question, how do we encourage the innovation already present in Canada?

I also want to note that Canada’s Prairie provinces seem to be a good place to innovate. There’s the Peachy Printer in Saskatchewan and the Urbee car (my latest on that project is in an Aug. 28, 2012 posting) in Manitoba. Go Prairies!

Stained glass cathedral window solar panels being hooked up to Saskatoon’s (Canada) power grid

The Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada) is about to have its art glass windows (“Lux Gloria”) complete with solar panels hooked up to the Saskatoon Light & Power’s distribution network. It’s not often one sees beauty and utility combined. You can see the stained glass windows as they appear, from outside the cathedral, on this book cover for “A Beacon of Welcome” A Glimpse Inside the Cathedral of the Holy Family,

“A Beacon of Welcome” A Glimpse Inside the Cathedral of the Holy Family book cover [downloaded from http://holyfamilycathedral.ca/holyfamily-parish-life/59-gala-week-books]

“A Beacon of Welcome” A Glimpse Inside the Cathedral of the Holy Family [book cover downloaded from http://holyfamilycathedral.ca/holyfamily-parish-life/59-gala-week-books]

Emily Chung’s July 29, 2013 news item for CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) online describes the project at more length,

“Lux Gloria” by Sarah Hall, at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon, is currently being connected to Saskatoon Light & Power’s electrical distribution network, confirmed Jim Nakoneshny, facilities manager at the cathedral.

The artwork, which consists of solar panels embedded in brightly coloured, hand-painted art glass, had just been reinstalled and upgraded after breaking and falling into the church last year.

According to Kevin Hudson, manager of metering and sustainable electricity for Saskatoon Light & Power, the solar panels are expected to produce about 2,500 kilowatt hours annually or about a third to a quarter of the 8,000 to 10,000 kilowatt hours consumed by a typical home in Saskatoon each year.

In fact, the installation will become Saskatchewan’s first building-integrated photovoltaic system (BIPV), where solar panels are embedded directly into walls, windows or other parts of a building’s main structure. It’s a trend that is expected to grow in the future as the traditional practice of mounting solar panels on rooftops isn’t practical for many city buildings, including some churches.

Chung’s article features some specific technical information about the solar art windows supplied by artist Sarah Hall,

In the case of the Cathedral of the Holy Family, each solar panel was a different size and was trapezoidal in shape, Hall said. As a result, “all the solar work had to be hand soldered.”

Because the solar cells aren’t transparent, Hall adds a high-tech “dichroic” glass to the back of the cells in some cases to make them colourful and reflective.

You can find more  images of Hall’s work on her website. Unfortunately, Hall does not provide much detail about the technical aspects of her work.

The Cathedral of the Holy Family features a book about their stained glass windows,

“Transfiguring Prairie Skies”  Stained Glass at Cathedral of the Holy Family [book cover downloaded from http://holyfamilycathedral.ca/holyfamily-parish-life/59-gala-week-books]

“Transfiguring Prairie Skies” Stained Glass at Cathedral of the Holy Family [book cover downloaded from http://holyfamilycathedral.ca/holyfamily-parish-life/59-gala-week-books]

Here’s more information about the book,

“Transfiguring Prairie Skies”  Stained Glass at Cathedral of the Holy Family  written by Bishop Donald Bolen and Sarah Hall, photography by Grant Kernan and Sarah Hall.  A 116 page hard cover book which includes incredibly detailed close-up shots of our stained glass windows, complete with poetic and theological reflections for each window.

Cost is $25.00

You can visit the Cathedral of the Holy Family website here.

Saskatchewan’s Blue Goose Biorefineries and cellulose at the nanoscale and microscale

Thank you to the reader who put me onto this Saskatchewan-based company that claims to produce nanoscale (sometimes called nanocrystalline cellulose [NCC] or nanocellulose crystals [CNC]) and microscale cellulose in an environmentally friendly fashion. From the Blue Goose Biorefineries’ home page,

BLUE GOOSE BIOREFINERIES INC. TM

Blue Goose Biorefineries Inc. introduces the R3TM (Renewable Residual Refining) technology and process to the Canadian marketplace.  R3TM is the world’s most advanced process and technology for the conversion of  carbon-based biomass into high-value, in-demand market commodities

 Economical, Sustainable, Efficient, Benign

 The Patent-Pending technology and process, together with closely held trade secrets, have created an entirely new, efficient and economically viable perspective on the treatment of biomass for the production of high value-added, sustainable and renewable commodities and energy sources.

 Microcrystalline Cellulose, Nanocrystalline Cellulose, Green Platform Chemicals

 Blue Goose Biorefineries Inc. is a Canadian innovation leader resolving environmental issues and generating economic opportunities through innovative, green, and renewable materials manufactured by our unique process and technology.

There doesn’t seem to be any information about the company’s management team, its products, or its technologies on its website. As well, the Blue Goose website does not host any press releases relating to company developments and/or business deals but there is a July 20, 2012 notice on the Advanced Foods and Materials (AFM) Canada website about a joint project,

Advanced Foods and Materials (AFM) Canada and Blue Goose Biorefineries Inc. (BGB) are pleased to announce they have been awarded a $500,000 grant from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agricultural Innovation Program. The project will focus on the pre-commercialization and development of biorefining methods for flax and hemp straw in order to produce high value cellulose products, lignin, and green platform chemicals in Saskatchewan. BGB’s core technology is a “green chemistry” based, nano-catalytic biorefining process, Renewable Residuals RefiningTM (R3TM).  The R3TM process fractionates and breaks down the major components in lignocellulosic biomass: lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. This green technology offers many process advantages over existing biorefining methods including cost, yield, environmental impact, and flexibility. Specifically, the technology offers a very strong industry transforming potential for the production of high value microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), lignin and green platform chemicals from flax and hemp straw.

The process has been proven at the lab bench scale for flax and hemp straw. Through this project, Advanced Foods and Materials Canada will manage institutional research activities and the pilot plant scale-up of the biorefining process. The production of larger quantities of bioproducts for testing, process development and lock-down including design parameters, engineering costs and tuning, will facilitate the development of a demonstration plant for Blue Goose Biorefineries. The impact of this project’s activities will add-value to Canadian hemp, flax and other cereal crops by creating a more efficient and economical source of high-quality MCC, NCC, lignin, and green platform chemicals for food, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications across North America.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s July 18, 2012 news release can be read here.

There is one other piece of information, Dr. Bernard Laarveld of the University of Saskatchewan lists Blue Goose Biorefineries as a current employer on his LinkedIn profile.

http://www.afmcanada.ca/event/BGBAIP

Science festival (?) in Vancouver, 2012 National Science and Technology Week in Canada; and a science writing session at ScienceOnline Vancouver

Thanks to Sarah Chow’s Sept. 4, 2012 post about science events around Vancouver for the month of September 2012 I’ve found out about something brand new and was reminded of two other upcoming events. (For a full listing and an absence of critique, please do read Chow’s post.)

The science festival (and I’m not sure why they’re calling it a festival) is scheduled for Sept. 21 – Oct. 21, 2012. ‘Around the Dome in 30 Days’ is  described this way on its events page on Vancouver’s Science World at Telus World of Science website,

Around the Dome in 30 Days is a month-long science extravaganza hosted by Science World British Columbia from September 21 to October 21, 2012. This series of activities will bring the community together to showcase and explore the science and technology all around us to cultivate a general public informed, inspired and engaged with the wonders of science. Signature events will be hosted at our expanded TELUS World of Science facility, which includes our new outdoor sustainability experience, the Ken Spencer Science Park.

Schedule of Events

• The grand opening of the Ken Spencer Science Park
• National Science and Technology Week (Oct 12 to 21)
• The Community Science Celebration family weekend (Oct 13 & 14)
• Café Scientifique evening events (Sept 22 & Oct 20)
• Events for teachers, teens, seniors and more!
• Partner events and activities
• A speakers series
. . . and much much more

Extravaganza? I guess their standard for one is a little different than mine. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to describe their lineup of events as ‘special’. Clicking on the Schedule of Events will bring you a calendar, which lists events such as ‘Start up Canada’ on Sept. 21. No details. On Sept. 22, there’s a Café Scientifque, Fall equinox activities and bubble programming, and a Meet a Scientist event. No details. In fact, there are no details for any programmes on any of the 30 days.

This festival (?) seems to be the usual programming albeit packed into a shorter than usual time frame. Where are the exciting guests? Where are the details? Where is the imagination?

You can’t advertize ice cream (a science festival) and then hand out a bowl of oatmeal (your usual programming in a compressed time frame with the addition of an opening event for your new science park). The substitution will be noticed and usually resented.

Getting on to Canada’s National Science and Technology Week which is neither in September, nor one week in duration (Oct. 12 – 21, 2012) but does seem to be forgotten. Sadly, there are very few events listed nationally. This is the list as today (Sept. 11, 2012),

Western Development Museum

Title of Event: Saskatchewan Innovations – Virtual Exhibit
Location: www.wdm.ca/saskinnovations.htm
Date: October 14-20, 2012, All Day
Description: The WDM is proud to have a collection rich in science and technology innovations, from calculators to the ‘cobalt bomb.’ Our virtual exhibit Saskatchewan Innovations showcases seven inventions and their creators. New artifacts will be added to the website daily.

Alberta

Praxis

Title of Event: Family Science Olympics
Location: Medicine Hat High School, Medicine Hat, Alberta
Date: October 20, 2012, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Description: *Family Science Olympics’ fun-filled day will please, intrigue and inspire “scientists” of all ages. 10 “hands-on” events. Numerous draw prizes. *Family – at least one person over the age of 18. http://www.praxismh.ca/s&tweek.html

Ontario

Canada Science and Technology Museum

Title of Event: National Science and Technology Week
Location: Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa
Date: October 12 to 20, 2012
Description: Celebrate National Science and Technology Week at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. On October 13, 14, 20 and 21, take part in exciting hands-on activities. Try your hand at science experiments, and discover how science and technology touch the lives of all Canadians.

Title of Event: Science and Technology Lecture Series
Location: Canada Science and Technology Museum
Date: October 16 and 17, 2012, 10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
Description: Register for the Museum’s exciting lectures showcasing dynamic research by Canadian scientists and engineers. This is a perfect opportunity for students in grades 9 and up to explore potential careers in science, while supplementing your science curriculum! Each presentation is approximately 45 minutes.

Title of Event: What Museums Do
Location: Canada Science and Technology Museum
Date: October 18, 2012, 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Description: There’s more to museums than meets the eye! Go behind the scenes and learn more about some of the exciting work we do. Discover how we collect, restore, preserve and store artifacts as you visit our collection facilities and meet the people who work there. See some of the more than 40,000 artifacts in storage, and discover what they reveal about the transformation of Canada. For school groups only.

London Children’s Museum

Title of Event: National Science and Technology Week Celebration!
Location: London Children’s Museum
Date: October 21, 2012, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Description: Experiment with us while we celebrate National Science and Technology Week! Play with polymers, create your own rollercoaster, investigate acids and bases, and make some slime.

Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre

Title of Event: ARTIE (Advanced Research Technology & Innovation Expo)
Location: Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre
Date: October 19, 2012, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Description: ARTIE brings together elementary and high school students in an expo format to interact with local businesses in the field of science and technology, while inspiring young minds to pursue academic careers in these fields.

By this time, the list is usually longer and includes events for most if not all the provinces. Like Vancouver’s 30 day science festival, I would describe these listings as lacking imagination. They certainly don’t rouse any interest or excitement. Hopefully, this is just an off year.

The last event I’m mentioning is the Sept. 20, 2012 meeting  (Writing for Action) for ScienceOnlineVancouver. I like the opening paragraph but after that I have some problems. Here’s the description from their website,

On 20 September, 2012 from 19:00 to 21:00

Science World at TELUS World of Science 1455 Quebec Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 3Z7

You have an issue you’re passionate about – and you know all the information to back it up – but how do you convey that message to an audience that will promote action? You might need different goals and messages for government officials, funders, or even family and friends.

Here’s your chance to learn and practice effective communication to different audiences, with an online twist with Andy Torr.

Andy Torr is a communications strategist in the Office of the Vice President Research at UBC. He specializes in explaining complex scientific concepts to general audiences, and he develops targeted messaging about UBC research for government, industry, funding agencies, peer universities, and the public.

The panel will start at 7 pm but we’ll have mingling (with BEvERages) at 6:30. Please RSVP so that we comply with liquor laws.

So, who is this guy and why is he qualified to teach me or anyone else?  That description of Torr doesn’t provide many details. Exactly what has he strategized? Where is his science writing? Can I read it?

I did go searching and found a LinkedIn profile for Torr which lists his work experience and education (B.Sc. [Env.], Environmental Science, Water Resources at University of Guelph) but not much more.

The first para., which I’ve praised, does seem focused on a beginner with a science background who wants to get their message out to one audience or another. I notice there is no mention of a media audience. The reference to ‘promoting action’ seems similar to writing for marketing/sales collateral where they include what’s referred to as the ‘call to action’. As for learning to write for different audiences (government official, funders, family and friends), that seems pretty ambitious for a two hour event.

Canadian scientists get more light in deal with the US Argonne National Laboratory

Canada’s synchrotron, Canadian Light Source (based in Saskatchewan), has signed a new three-year deal with the US Dept. of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source (APS)  that will give Canadian scientists more access to the APS facilities, according to the June 18, 2012 news item at the  Nanowerk website,

Seeking to solve some of today’s greatest global problems, scientists using x-ray light source facilities at national research laboratories in the United States and Canada are sharing more expertise.

The Canadian Light Source (CLS) and the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory agreed in January 2012 to a Partner User Proposal that cements a stronger working relationship between the two facilities for the next three years. These two premier light sources use different but complementary x-ray techniques to probe materials in order to understand chemical and structural behavior.

Tone Kunz’s June 18, 2012 news release for the APS provides details about the deal,

This new agreement will provide Canadian scientists with more research time to use the x-ray light source facilities and more time on a larger number of APS beamlines. Using varied x-ray and imaging capabilities will broaden the range of experiments Canadians may undertake at the APS to augment their research done at the Canadian Light Source. X-ray science offers potential solutions to a broad range of problems in surface, material, environmental and earth sciences, condensed matter physics, chemistry, and geosciences.

Since the Sector 20 beamlines became fully operational, scientists from Canada and other areas who have used these beamlines at the APS have produced an average of 51 scientific publications a year. This research includes the study of more effective mineral exploration strategies, ways to mitigate mine waste and mercury contamination, and novel ways to fabricate nanomaterials for use in fuel cells, batteries, and LEDs.

I had not realized how longstanding the  CLS/APS relationship has been,

Before the Canadian Light Source began operation in 2004, a Canadian group led by Daryl Crozier of Simon Fraser University, working in partnership with colleagues at the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, helped found the Sector 20 beamlines at the APS as part of the Pacific Northwest Consortium Collaborative Access Team, or PNC-CAT. Parts of this team were included in the X-ray Science Division of the APS when it was formed.

This long-standing partnership has led to scientifically significant upgrades to the beamline. The new agreement will provide the valuable manpower and expertise to allow the APS to continue to push the innovation envelope. [emphasis mine]

As I was reading Kunz’s news release I kept asking, what’s in it for the APS? Apparently they need more “manpower and expertise.” Unfortunately, their future plans are a little shy of detail,

Scientists from the APS and the Canadian Light Source will work together on R&D projects to improve light-source technology. In particular, scientists will upgrade even further the two beamlines at Sector 20 in four key areas. This will provide a unique capability to prepare and measure in situ films and interfaces, a new technique to create quantitative three-dimensional chemical maps of samples, and improved forms of spectroscopy to expand the range of elements and types of environments that can be examined.

What are the four key areas? For that matter, what is Sector 20? I suspect some of my readers have similar questions about my postings. It’s easy (especially if you write frequently) to forget that your readers may not be as familiar as you are with the subject matter.

(I wrote about the CLS and another deal with a synchrotron in the UK in my May 31, 2011 posting.)

GRAND offers $7500 for innovative media

The Canadian government funds a set of initiatives known collectively as the Network Centres of Excellence (NCE). GRAND (Graphics, Animation, and New Media), is located in Vancouver, BC. Here’s how the agency describes itself (from the About GRAND webpage),

GRAND is a research network and commercialization engine whose goal is to address complex issues in digital media and transform multidisciplinary research into user-centred solutions. GRAND will explore the use and application of digital media in a variety of settings including entertainment, healthcare, education, environmental sustainability, and public policy.

GRAND is a federally-funded Network of Centres of Excellence supporting 34 research projects divided into 5 cross-pollinating themes involving researchers at 25 universities across Canada with more than 60 industry, government, and nonprofit partners.

Aug. 19, 2011 there was an announcement that GRAND was getting a funding boost for commercialization projects (from the Aug. 19, 2011 news release),

The Canadian government, through Western Economic Diversification (WD), announced a funding commitment to boost GRAND’s research commercialization initiatives. The two-year agreement will support technology transfer, start-up creation, prototype development and networking events.  WD’s $399,000 will be matched by GRAND and industry for a total investment of $649,000 for the digital media economies of BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The program expects to develop nine technology prototypes, conduct 40 technology demonstrations and bring nine technologies to market.

Coincidentally or not, Mark Salopek, GRAND’s Manager of Technology Transfer and Commercialization, made this announcement via a Nov. 18, 2011 article by Dan Verhaeghe on Techvibes,

Grand is offering $7500 to any company that is willing to employ one of the program’s PH.D student researchers to build the frameworks of innovation towards a goal that will help Canada continue to become a world leader in the digital media industry in any of the latter sectors mentioned.

Verhaeghe’s article mentions computing, simulation, 3D, and gaming technology sectors in addition to the graphics, animation, and new media technology sectors mentioned in GRAND’s own profile.

If you are interested in getting more details, contact Mark Salopek by e-mail here. Certainly, I have a few questions, how long would you have to employ someone? Are the funds for a salary? How much work do you have to do to get this money (anyone who’s ever filled out a government grant application will tell you that it is an arduous process)? Is there some sort of reporting process for outcomes and how much work is involved with writing that up? Is there a pool of PhD students to choose from or do you go out and find one yourself? Is there a deadline? Why isn’t there any information about this grant on the GRAND website?