Future Energy Systems

Meet the #TWOSEscitap panelists! Dr. Pierre Mertiny is a Professor and the Associate Chair (Undergraduate Program) in Mechanical Engineering at the University o...f Alberta Engineering at Alberta. Besides inspiring young minds in his engineering design courses, he is the faculty advisor for the famed University of Alberta EcoCar Team, and a researcher guiding his team of graduate students to explore advanced materials for energy systems applications. We can't wait to hear from Pierre and have his expertise on the panel to answer your questions about our energy future!

The year is 2050... An energy transition has occurred -- decisions made decades ago shaped a new energy landscape. How we produce and consume energy looks different than it did in 2021. Join TELUS World of Science - Edmonton for Science on Tap: The Future of Energy to imagine what energy could look like in 2050 and how the choices we make today will impact society, the economy, and the environment for decades to come. Projections show that global energy demand will increase b...y 50% by 2050. What could the energy landscape look like to meet the increased demand? How can emerging energy technologies be incorporated into existing infrastructure? How might our homes and lifestyles evolve? The evening's discussion will explore these questions and more with the help of expert panelists, including Professor Pierre Mertiny and Dr. Neelakshi Joshi, Post-doctoral Fellow from Future Energy Systems. See more

Let’s explore solar energy with Future Energy Systems. In this series of clips, you will join Future Energy Systems’ Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller to learn the basics of solar energy, complete a craft to remind you of the power of the sun and then try and cook with it. If you want to stay around longer, you can meet two researchers who study how to explore and develop solar materials. Are you ready? https://youtu.be/i-1HwEqOduQ Science Odyssey Science Rendezvous Nserc Canada Inside Education DiscoverE

Make sure not to miss Future Energy Systems' new Science Odyssey video this afternoon "Let’s Explore Electricity and Circuits". How many times a day do we turn on the lights or plug in our phones and computers? Most of us use electricity everyday, but how much do we know about it? In this series of videos, you will join Future Energy Systems’ Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, to explore electricity and circuits through a series of experiments you can try at home. https://youtu.be/jToG6Fx9mEg

From May 1 - 16, 2021, Future Energy Systems encourages you to join the adventure with thousands of other kids and families and dive into the Science Odyssey. We have 13 videos of fun at home experiments, lab tours, mini research talks and more!! Plus 4 live events!! Details are available on https://www.futureenergysystems.ca//learni/science-odyssey Science Odyssey #OdySci Science Rendezvous Nserc Canada Inside Education DiscoverE

Have a burning question about energy? Our past, present or energy future? This week, our question was submitted by a Grade 5 student: how will we find new sources of energy? Check out the response of Harshadeep Kukkikatte, MSc student, from Mechanical Engineering. https://youtu.be/vtnk_zfrWGw

From an acorn to a forest, everything is connected. But how does this relate to energy and the actions we take? Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, in exploring Because Of An Acorn by Lola M Schaefer and Adam Schaefer and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon (published 2016, read with permission from Chronicle Books under their COVID guidelines). https://youtu.be/0CvsTIoQMvY.

Carbon capture could be the tool we need to cut through some of the toughest knots of the global heating problem, says a U of A scientist. University of Alberta chemical engineering professor Arvind Rajendran gave a free online talk on carbon dioxide capture and greenhouse gas emissions Aug. 19. The talk was part of a partnership between the Edmonton Public Library and Future Energy Systems.

Carbon emissions are on the rise, and so are the global climate change consequences. A transition to a zero carbon economy is the ultimate goal, and Future Energy Systems Principal Investigator Arvind Rajendran is one of the researchers who will help buy us enough time to get there. His specialty is finding new carbon capture materials to reduce the impact of our current, carbon-emitting energy systems. https://www.futureenergysystems.ca//capturing-attention-by

Future Energy Systems researchers are demonstrating how energy systems are connected to social issues and homelessness in northern Indigenous communities Tackling the social issues of the north takes money and energy. This is the central understanding that guided Abhimanyu Jamwals Masters research project on the cost of energy in the Canadian north, under the supervision of Future Energy Systems Principal Investigator Sandeep Agrawal, a Professor in the University of Albertas Faculty of Science. https://www.futureenergysystems.ca//we-cant-afford-to-forg

What happens when you flip the light switch? Where does electricity come from? Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, in exploring these questions and more in Switch On, Switch Off by Melvin Berger and illustrated by Carolyn Croll (read with permission from HarperCollins Publishers under their COVID guidelines). Sign up at https://www.futureenergysystems.ca/resources/learning to access the story.

Join Ahmed Mostafa, president of the University of Alberta Permaculture Group, explore the greenhouse effect, aquaponics and how they are all related. Use ice cubes to explore how the greenhouse effect impacts the world and build your own hydroponics system. https://youtu.be/TB0kJI0GlJc Try your knowledge at the Aquaponics Quiz by September 30, 2020. If you answer all the questions correctly, you are entered to win a prize from the University of Alberta Permaculture Group (only if you live in Alberta, additional rules in the quiz): https://forms.gle/BRxBCsCbdmTtrfzb7 DiscoverE, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, Ontario Science Centre, WISEST-Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science & Technology

Check out the hard work of DiscoverE over the past couple of months creating exciting new programming for you and your family. They are excited to officially LAUNCH the new line of Activity Boxes!!! The boxes are available for curbside pickup, or shipping. Shipping out boxes will begin the week of August 24. The Activity Boxes have three different age group options: Grades 1-3 (Robotics) , 4-6 (Mechanical Engineering), and 7-9 (Biomedical Engineering) Each... box has been tested and re-tested to ensure excellence in all aspects. The boxes are less than $45 each and the box price reflects materials in each box and is unique to each activity. Best of all, batteries are included! With each purchase, you can help grow our bursary program. For every box sold, a portion of the proceeds will go towards the bursary program. This allows all families to engage in this hands-on experience! Check them out here https://estore.engineering.ualberta.ca/discovere/ #DEActivityBox #engineeredforfunandlearning #STEMathome #learningfromhome #yegkids #edmontonkids #yegfamily #yegmade #activitiesforkids #DEactivitybox #localyeg #buylocalyeg #yeglocal See more

What does an engineer do? How do we build a bridge? What was the role of Emily Roebling in building the Brooklyn Bridge? Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, in exploring these questions and more in Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built The Brooklyn Bridge written and illustrated by Rachel Dougherty (read with permission from Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan Publishers) under their COVID guidelines). Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, WISEST-Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science & Technology, Ontario Science Centre

Did you miss our live Energy Talk, Carbon Dioxide Capture: Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions, last week? Check it out here https://youtu.be/OKMANIFoJLc. Power generation and manufacturing processes are the major contributors to CO2 emissions. Currently, several approaches are being considered to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions including improving process efficiencies, fuel switching and renewable energy sources. Carbon capture and storage/utilization, where CO2 from industrial emissions and intermediate streams is concentrated and either stored or utilized, is considered as a viable and scalable mitigation option. This talk will provide an introduction to this technology, address key challenges and developments, and discuss the negative-emission technology of direct air capture that aims to concentrate CO2 from the atmosphere.

Cities and towns account for a large portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. Future energy technologies are vital to ensure that cities become sustainable and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Join Dr. Sandeep Agrawal, Professor and Director, School of Urban and Regional Planning, as he introduces his labs research studying how prepared communities are to make this transition. Ingenium, Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, Ontario Science Centre, University of Alberta Faculty of Science https://youtu.be/sNyJgMdm-XU

Future Energy Systems Principal Investigator Arman Hemmati talks about the facts of Climate Change during TEDx UAlberta. When Arman Hemmati was an observer at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015, he was astonished and disappointed by some of the things he encountered: politicians from around the world seeking to shift blame for climate change; efforts to shift the burden of mitigation and transition to others; good questions being raised, but few... realistic, science-based solutions being proposed. As an Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering who works on both renewable and conventional energy technologies, Arman is deeply familiar with the challenges inherent in addressing the climate impacts of our societys dependence on energy. He knows it is a complex problem one that can only be solved by a global innovation effort. Unfortunately, he finds advocates on all sides of the issue often avoid the true complexity with the problem, prioritizing rhetoric over reality. In July, as one of five presenters in TEDx UAlbertas Up All Night digital conference, Arman explained what he believes is necessary for humanity to win the battle against climate change. The first step: an end to the blame game.

Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is an important technology for oil production, however it uses large amounts of water and pipeline breaches may cause damage. Join Dr. Masoud Baghelani, post-doctoral fellow, explore his research developing wireless sensor technology which is key for better monitoring of SAGD operations. TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, Ontario Science Centre, Science North, Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, Ingenium

Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, to explore this in Green City: How One Community Survived A Tornado And Rebuilt For A Sustainable Future by Allan Drummond (read with permission from Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers (Macmillan Publishers) under their COVID guidelines). Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library

Researchers looked at 15 strategies that would decrease sectors energy use intensity, thereby lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and found increased profits from all of them.

How do we use the sun? What is solar energy and how does it work? Can solar energy change the world? Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, in exploring these questions and more in Running On Sunshine: How Does Solar Energy Work? by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano and illustrated by Giovana Medeiros. Access the story by registering at https://www.futureenergysystems.ca/resources/learning

Join Willow Dew, Jade Webster, and Anita Petrovic, members of the University of Alberta EcoCar team, explore vehicle efficiency and learn about their work creating an ecocar. Experiment at home to determine effective methods of propelling your car and how to improve car efficiency. DiscoverE, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, Ontario Science Centre, Science North

Future Energy Systems researcher Juliana Leung is using subsurface engineering to find a social solution for our oil addiction. Modern society relies on energy. Whether youre thinking globally, regionally, or in our personal lives, thats a fact as solid as the ground we stand on. And that ground is where a lot of our energy comes from. Whether coal, geothermal, or oil and gas, the Earth beneath our feet is an essential well of energy resources, but accessing them isnt ea...sy or straightforward. Harnessing energy sources under the ground can present major challenges because theyre hard to assess and even harder to access. Future Energy Systems researcher Juliana Leung is studying these problems. A subsurface engineer specializing in operations that occur below ground, where information, monitoring, and operations can only be observed or accessed with difficulty Juliana leads her research group in analysing and improving the behaviour of deep oil well extraction processes. Her work focuses on balancing our societys pressing need for energy and the equally important need to improve environmental performance in how we harvest that energy, all within systems that run out of sight deep underground.

If you missed Future Energy Systems researcher Dr. Hao Tian explain alternating and direct currents and how they affect our electrical grid in Julys Energy Talk with the Edmonton Public Library, you can watch the talk online.

Check out the final part of Science Comics: Cars - Engines That Move You Part 2 by Dan Zettwoch (read with permission from First Second (Macmillan Publishers) under their COVID guidelines). Who invented cars? How have they changed over time and are they still changing? How have cars changed the environment and our relationship with each other and the environment?

Power generation and manufacturing processes are the major contributors to CO2 emissions. Currently, several approaches are being considered to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions including improving process efficiencies, fuel switching and renewable energy sources. Carbon capture and storage/utilization, where CO2 from industrial emissions and intermediate streams is concentrated and either stored or utilized, is considered as a viable and scalable mitigation option. This talk... will provide an introduction to this technology, address key challenges and developments, and discuss the negative-emission technology of direct air capture that aims to concentrate CO2 from the atmosphere. Join us on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 for Energy Talks Online: Carbon Dioxide Capture - Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions at 7:00 pm 8:00 pm for a live Zoom event. Sign up below. Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, Ingenium, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, APEGA, City of Edmonton, Change for Climate Edmonton

Check out Part 3 of Science Comics: Cars - Engines That Move You Part 2 by Dan Zettwoch (read with permission from First Second (Macmillan Publishers) under their COVID guidelines). Who invented cars? How have they changed over time and are they still changing? How have cars changed the environment and our relationship with each other and the environment?

Check out Part 2 of Science Comics: Cars - Engines That Move You Part 2 by Dan Zettwoch (read with permission from First Second (Macmillan Publishers) under their COVID guidelines). Who invented cars? How have they changed over time and are they still changing? How have cars changed the environment and our relationship with each other and the environment?

Who invented cars? How have they changed over time and are they still changing? How have cars changed the environment and our relationship with each other and the environment? Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, to explore this in Science Comics: Cars - Engines That Move You Part 1 by Dan Zettwoch (read with permission from First Second (Macmillan Publishers) under their COVID guidelines). Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, DiscoverE, TELUS Spark, TELUS World of Science Edmonton

If you imagine a bicycle city - where to you see? Probably Amsterdam! But how did Amsterdam become the bicycle capital of the world? Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, to explore this in Pedal Power: How One Community Became The Bicycle Capital Of The World by Allan Drummond (read with permission from Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers (Macmillan Publishers) under their COVID guidelines). Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, Macmillan Publishers, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, Science North

From the war between alternating and direct currents to future grid technology, electricity is a central part of our lives. Power electronics, technology to control power conversion, play a role enabling the modern grid and address many challenges of our current and future system. Join Hao Tian, PhD, from the ELITE (Electronic and Intelligent Grid) Research Lab explore the war of currents, power electronics and the future grid in The Currents: From War to Harmony - Power Electronics Enable Revolution in the Electric Grid, presented in partnership with the Edmonton Public Library. Join us and the Edmonton Public Library on July 29 at 7pm. Solar Alberta, Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues - EFCL, Solar Energy in Edmonton, University of Alberta, Engineering at Alberta, APEGA

Join Leslie Guo, BSc student with specialization in pharmacology and former Vice President YSIP (Youth Science Innovate Program in TeamUp Science) explore electrical circuits. Learn about how circuits work, the importance of insulators and conductors and build your own circuit at home. TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, DiscoverE, Science North, Ontario Science Centre, Lets Talk Science, Inside Education

Introducing DiscoverEs brand-new Activity Boxes! Each Activity Box will focus on a different topic in STEM, includes three hands-on activities, interviews with local mentors, puzzles, and additional resources to spark your childs curiosity and imagination! Its engineered for fun and learning with boxes available for grades 1-9. DiscoverEs Activity Boxes are launching August 2020! Fill out this survey to receive our DE Activity Box Launch Alert (https://docs.goo...gle.com//1FAIpQLSelDYDfGz9UOXYNjQ/viewform) #DEActivityBox #engineeredforfunandlearning #STEMathome #learningfromhome #yegkids #activitiesforkids #activitybox @Engineeringatualberta #yeg #yeglife #yeg #yeglocal #yegevents #stalbert #sherwoodpark #fortsask

In the age of COVID-19, can Alberta transition to a more sustainable economy? University of Alberta economic and business experts and members of Future Energy Systems weigh in.

I may not have a sidewalk, but we can do balcony science Royal Canadian Institute for Science! Submit your questions at https://futureenergysystems.ca//submit-your-energy-question & well film experts responding. Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, Science North, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, DiscoverE, Lets Talk Science

Make sure to sign up for the talk next week, July 29

What is energy? Where does it come from? How do we use energy? Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, in exploring the questions and more in Energy Makes Things Happen by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and illustrated by Paul Meisel (read with permission from HarperCollins under their COVID guidelines). Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, DiscoverE, TELUS Spark, TELUS World of Science Edmonton Sign up below for weekly notifications to get access at https://www.futureenergysystems.ca/resources/learning.

Join Future Energy Systems Outreach Coordinator, Valerie Miller, as she explores the early life of a seed. Grab your own seeds and together figure out if your seeds will grow. With all of the guidance to try this at home, we will discover germination and many of the factors that influence it, and calculate the rate at which it is happening. CLRA, Land Reclamation International Graduate School (LRIGS), Nature Alberta, TELUS World of Science Edmonton, TELUS Spark, Edmonton Public Library, Calgary Public Library, DiscoverE, Nature Albertas Nature Kids - Edmonton Chapter

At the intersectionality of ideation, imagination and interdisciplinarity, this years TEDxUAlberta conference, Up All Night, will share stories of dreamers and doers. Become inspired by short, powerful talks from across a plethora of human endeavour! We will be featuring local leaders and innovators to discuss innovation in Edmonton - whether this be in technology, entertainment, business, education, healthcare, arts, or global issues. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, we hope to spark discussion and connection over shared passion for issues that face Edmonton. This years conference will be presented via Zoom as a free to attend event. Saturday, July 25, 2020, 11:00 AM MDT - 2:00 PM MDT. Register at https://tedxualberta.ca/up-all-night

This summer DiscoverE is bringing STEM to you with their brand-new Activity Boxes! Each Activity Box will focus on a different topic in STEM, includes three hands-on activities, interviews with local mentors, puzzles, and additional resources to spark your childs curiosity and imagination! Its engineered for fun and learning with boxes available for grades 1-9. DiscoverEs Activity Boxes are launching August 2020! Fill out this survey to receive the Activity Box Launch Alert https://forms.gle/LhCLSkhoyaVaoT5h9