Scholarship and Awards:

Sanjayan Satchithanantham was the recipient of “2012 Petro Canada Resources Graduate Fellowship in Environmental Issues in Engineering”.

Saravanan Nandagopal and Mohammad Al-Amin Sadek received “W.E. Muir Scholarship for Graduate Studies in Biosystems Engineering” for 2012.

Rumana Islam, Ph D student from Biosystems Engineering was awarded “Edward R.Toporeck Graduate Fellowship for Excellence in Engineering”.

Congratulations to award winners!

Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACEG) THIRD Annual Conference 

June 17 to 20, 2012. University of Manitoba – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

The 3rd Annual CEEA/ACEG Conference will be held at the University of Manitoba in vibrant Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) is an organization whose mission is to “enhance the competence and relevance of graduates from Canadian engineering schools through continuous improvement in engineering education and design education.” This third annual CEEA conference continues to build on the previous efforts of the Canadian Design Engineering Network (CDEN) and the Canadian Congress on Engineering Education (C2E2). We strongly encourage the broad community of engineering educators – from faculties of engineering and applied science, arts, science, education to technical colleges, libraries, teaching and learning centres and industry to join us. Relevant student papers are also welcomed. Check the event home page for more information: http://www.ceea.ca/EN/index.php

Heavy Vehicle Technology Workshop

Register now for the limited seating, March 29th Heavy Vehicle Technology Workshop. Network with an exciting line-up of local, national, and international experts in the fields of Heavy Vehicle Manufacturing and Design.  This is your opportunity to interact with current and prospective suppliers and partners in attendance, while learning about the latest techniques, projects, capabilities, and opportunities in your field. 

Two excellent keynote sessions are in store for those who attend this Workshop:  Craig Shankwitz, Director, Intelligent Vehicles Laboratory, University of Minnesota will kick the day off with a presentation on "FreewayConomics" and Paul Soubry, President and CEO of New Flyer Industries will enlighten the audience with an afternoon keynote on "Supply Chain collaboration Throughout the Product Lifecycle".

Learn more by visiting Event Homepage and by viewing the Program Schedule.

When:  March 29, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Where: The Victoria Inn, Winnipeg, MB

Registration: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/222437

Cost: $125 + GST - Includes breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages

This comprehensive technology workshop has been created through a collaboration of the National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program, Red River College, Westest, and the Vehicle Technology Centre. This Workshop is being Officially Supported by: the Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada; Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Manitoba; the Canadian Society for Bioengineering; the Composites Innovation Centre; Certified Technicians and Technologists Association of Manitoba; the Industrial Technology Centre; the Society of Automotive Engineers, Manitoba Section; and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Winnipeg.

For more information, please contact:

Brent Wennekes, Technology Transfer and Communications Manager
Applied Research & Commercialization, Red River College
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
204.631.3323

Staff News:

Ron Britton received the Champion of Engineering Education Award from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba.

Jason Morrison received the Graduating Class Award for Excellence in Teaching from the 2011 graduating class in Biosystems Engineering. Jason Morrison will begin a 6-month research leave on January 1, 2012.

Student News:

Mahesh Sivakumar received his PhD degree, and David Wildeman received his B.Sc degree in Biosystems Engineering at the Fall 2011 Convocation.

Research Profile:

“Recovering high-value fertilizer from livestock manure”

Phosphorus has been widely accepted as the main culprit in eutrophication and related algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg. One of the sources of phosphorus to streams, rivers, and lakes is associated to run-off of livestock manure and crop fertilizers from agricultural fields. Another important aspect to consider is the non-renewable nature of phosphorus (which is traditionally mined from rock) as proven worldwide phosphorus deposits are declining. The current project evaluates the recovery of phosphorus from livestock manure in a high-value crystal form (“struvite”) that can be sold as a slow-release fertilizer to niche industries such as aqua-culture, tree nurseries, golf courses, organic farmers, etc. Phosphorus recovery re-balances the manure phosphorus content to a more favourable agronomic state, where the crops grown on manure fertilizer are picking-up much of the phosphorus, reducing the potential for run-off and stream enrichment. Recovering struvite from livestock manure would reduce the provincial dependence on imported, rock-based fertilizer and provide livestock farmers with an additional revenue stream to offset manure treatment requirements.

Two graduate students in Biosystems Engineering, Elsie Jordaan and Joe Ackerman, have been working on phosphorus recovery from hog manure over the last three years. Elsie has designed, constructed and tested a bench-scale struvite crystallization reactor, which has currently been scaled-up to a pilot-scale system (right picture). Joe has investigated a variety of strategies for releasing more phosphorus from the manure solids to encourage recovery and is currently testing the recovered products for their agronomic value. Joe and Elsie will be operating the new pilot-scale, struvite reactor in a full-scale commercial livestock facility south of Winnipeg, to evaluate its technical and economic feasibility.

This research is being supported by the Agricultural Research and Development Initiative (ARDI), Manitoba Livestock and Manure Management Initiative (MLMMI) and NSERC and is supervised by Prof.
Nazim Cicek. Elsie has completed her B.Sc. and M.Sc. Degrees in Biosystems Engineering and is starting her Ph.D. in Sept 2011, while Joe has completed his M.Sc. Degree in Biosystems Engineering and is in his final year of his Ph.D. program.

Announcements

Mahesh Sivakumar has been appointed as “Biosystems Engineer” in POS Bio-Sciences, Saskatoon. He is responsible for coordinating pilot plant processes, managing pilot plant standard operating procedures, and production schedules.

Mahesh obtained his Ph.D. in 2011 and M.Sc. in 2007 in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Manitoba. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi, India, as well as a B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from the Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute in Trichy, Tamilnadu, India.