ASTech’s 2005 Winners – ASTech Awards

Dr. Paul Kubes won the Outstanding Leadership in Alberta Science award for pioneering inflammation and leukocyte recruitment research. Through the use of intravital microscopy, he uncovered crucial insights into the behaviour of white blood cells in living organisms, leading to significant discoveries with broad implications for diseases like asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. In the spring of 2024, Dr. Kubes moved to Queen’s University with a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy while maintaining an active program in Calgary for the next 5 years through a CIHR grant to study wildfire particles and asthma. Achievements include election to the Royal Society of Canada (2009), the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2023), and CIHR Researcher of the Year (2011), among numerous others.

Dr. Norman Beaulieu, Canada Research Chair in Broadband Wireless Communications, was recipient of the ASTech Outstanding Leadership in Alberta Technology Award. A professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Alberta – with many patents and numerous awards – his mathematical method, known as the “Beaulieu series”, is widely used for computing outages and coverage in cellular telephone systems, profoundly impacting wireless communications.

Dr. Karl A. Clark, co-recipient of the ASTech Special Award, pioneered the revolutionary hot-water extraction process for separating oil from oil sands, laying the groundwork for Alberta’s thriving oil sands industry. Initially examining oil sands for use in road materials, his patented process in 1929 transformed previously low value oil sands into a valuable fuel source – contributing billions of dollars to Alberta’s economy. The oil sands resource, unique to Canada, required local investigation to unlock its potential. Clark’s work began at the University of Alberta and continued with the Research Council of Alberta (Now Alberta Innovates/Innotech).

Dr. Roger Butler, was made a co-recipient of the ASTech Special Award, for his part in the invention of SAG-D in the 1980s, further revolutionizing the extraction of over 300 billion barrels of crude oil from Alberta’s challenging deposits. Dr. Butler held significant roles at Imperial Oil, then AOSTRA (Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority), and then the University of Calgary.

Drs. Thava Vasanthan and Feral Temelli won the Innovation in Agricultural Science award for revolutionizing beta-glucan extraction from oats and barley. Their patented process, Viscofiber®, commercialized through the University of Alberta spin-off company Cevena Bioproducts Inc., preserved the health benefits of beta-glucan, paving the way for affordable dietary supplements and healthier food options. This breakthrough promised significant healthcare savings and new markets for Alberta’s grain growers. Cevena Bioproducts Inc. was acquired in 2007 by Natraceutical Group. Dr. Vasanthan and Dr Temelli are faculty members at the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Science, University of Alberta.

Recognized for Outstanding Commercial Achievement in Alberta Science and Technology, NovAtel Inc. became a global leader in the GPS industry through its commitment to innovation, customer service, and strategic management. Headquartered in Calgary, NovAtel served industries including aviation, geomatics, mining, precision agriculture, marine, and defence, offering hardware and software solutions integrated with satellite navigational systems. NovAtel is now part of Hexagon and operates out of Hexagon Calgary Campus.

Cold-FX medication developer CV Technologies Inc. won the Outstanding Commercial Achievement in Alberta Science and Technology award. Led by co-founder Dr. Jacqueline Shan, the company advanced Canada’s natural health product industry with its flagship product, a top-selling cold and flu remedy endorsed by hockey legends Don Cherry and Mark Messier. Originating as a University of Alberta spin-off, CV Technologies saw its sales surge to $21 million by mid-2005. Currently, Dr. Shan is the Founder, President, and CEO of PBG BioPharma Inc., operating a 25,000-square-foot research laboratory and manufacturing facility in Leduc. They focus on developing and producing evidence-based natural health products and medicinal cannabis products using their proprietary GenBioChem® fingerprinting technology platform. Dr.Shan is a four-time recipient of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women by WXN , Canada’s 50 Most Powerful Women by Profit magazine, and BioIndustry Hall of fame by BioAlberta.

XSENSOR Technology Corporation won the Industrial Research – Southern Region Award for revolutionizing pressure imaging systems for medical and industrial applications. Based in Calgary, the company’s innovative sensor technology prevents pressure-related medical issues. Its applications ranged from assessing patient support surfaces to industrial uses like tire tread designs and windshield wiper blade pressure measurement. Today, XSENSOR uses their Intelligent Dynamic Sensing platform to create sensor technology for Continuous Skin Monitoring, Human Performance, Product Design & Safety Testing, and Sleep Improvement applications.

Shad Valley, now Shad Canada, won the Excellence in Science and Technology Public Awareness award for its summer enrichment program that recognized and nurtured Canada’s brightest high school students. The program offered a month-long immersion at top universities, where participants engaged in team-based projects to design and prototype new products, competing for the RBC/Shad Entrepreneurship Cup. Over the years, Shad Valley has significantly influenced career paths, with 85 percent of its alumni pursuing professions in science or engineering, thereby contributing to the future of Canada’s knowledge economy. Continuing its mission, Shad offers a month-long program for grades 10 & 11. Pan-Canadian classrooms with university-level STEAM and entrepreneurship content and access to mentors.

Additional 2005 Winners Include:

Dr. William Bridger was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to the Alberta Science and Technology Community award. He was pivotal in elevating the University of Alberta’s Department of Biochemistry to international prominence, as despite budget constraints, he strategically expanded the department, doubling the number of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows and fostering leaders in Alberta’s biomedical research community. Dr. Bridger then served as the founding President and CEO of the Alberta Ingenuity Fund (now part of Alberta Innovates, and an original funder of amii) – which supported the growth of Alberta’s research capacity by recruiting and retaining top researchers.
The IMUS Research Team won the Applied Technology and Innovation award for pioneering the Integrated Manure Utilization System. This system transforms animal waste into green power, organic fertilizers, and reusable water through anaerobic digestion, producing biogas for electricity generation and bio-based fertilizers from recovered nutrients. Developed collaboratively by the Alberta Research Council(now Alberta Innovates/Innotech), Highland Feeders Limited, and partners, the IMUS technology was commercialized in Vegreville by Himark BioGas, creating North America’s first co-generation plant of its kind and offering practical benefits for feedlot operators.
Rodney Ridley (Alberta Research Council – Now Alberta Innovates/Innotech) and Patrick Dougan (Syncrude) won the Innovation in Oil Sands Research award for significantly enhancing oil sands production in Alberta. They developed innovative sensor technologies that improved the efficiency of bitumen extraction and reduced losses. Their contributions included an online tailings analyzer for real-time bitumen level monitoring and a K40 gamma spectrometer analyzer for measuring clay content in the oil sand slurry. These, along with other sensor-based innovations like remote infrared analysis systems and an automated froth level monitoring system, optimized the extraction process, leading to economic gains and wider industry adoption.
Ryan Schneider, recognized with the Leaders of Tomorrow award, made significant advancements in computer simulations. As a University of Calgary alumni and co-founder of Acceleware Inc., he developed the technology during his Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering that significantly sped-up computer calculations, applicable in fields such as cancer diagnostics and reservoir simulation. Serving as CTO of Acceleware until 2011, he led the development of hardware accelerators that improved computer performance, making complex simulations feasible on conventional desktops. Mr. Schneider has published extensively and has led the Computer Modelling Group Ltd, later moving to wellpad planning company PrePad.
Nickle’s New Technology Magazine (NTM) won the ASTech Excellence in Science and Technology Journalism Prize for its exceptional reporting on upstream oil and gas innovations. Catering to engineers, geologists, and other professionals, NTM provided high-quality, in-depth coverage of technological advancements, such as remote drilling operations and adaptations of Martian exploration technology for Alberta’s oilsands production. The magazine engaged industry professionals with its gripping accounts and continued publishing until 2016.