35th ASTech Awards celebrate UCalgary research community and alumni

On Nov. 1, the 2024 ASTech Awards were presented in Edmonton, where eight UCalgary researchers and six alumni were recognized for their advancements in research and innovation. 

Since 1989, the ASTech Awards have showcased Alberta’s excellence in science, technology, and innovation, recognizing the bright minds and great achievements from across the province.

“Congratulations to all our UCalgary ASTech award winners from across campus. Their impactful work demonstrates new technologies, applications and processes that are pushing boundaries and making significant societal and economic impact," says Dr. William Ghali, vice-president (research), University of Calgary. "Our university community is proud of their accomplishments and dedication to innovation."

UCalgary research community winners

Digital Innovation – Research

• Dr. Naser El-Sheimy, PhD’97, professor, Department of Geomatics Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering (SSE)

El-Sheimy was recognized for his work in bringing high-accuracy navigation to everyday applications. His research focuses on multi-sensor systems for pedestrian navigation, self-driving cars and unmanned ground vehicles, integrating Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), and mobile mapping systems. He is the founder of TECTERRA, which supports the advancement of the geospatial technology sector in Canada, and co-founder of Micro Engineering Tech Inc (METI). He is a Killam Professor, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the U.S. Institute of Navigation and is a Canada Research Chair in Geomatics Multi-Sensor Systems. 

AI / ML Advancement - Research

• Dr. Nils Daniel Forkert, PhD, professor, departments of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences, Cumming School of Medicine (CSM)

Forkert was recognized for his work on advanced machine learning methods for precision medicine applications. His research has led to the development of numerous methods for the automated analysis of complex medical images and multi-modal clinical data to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. His work addresses challenges such as bias and patient privacy and is central to conducting computer-aided clinical studies and disease modelling. He is a Canada Research Chair in Medical Image Analysis.

Forkert is a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the One Child Every Child initiative.

Environmental Innovation in Energy - Academia

• Dr. Nashaat Nassar, PhD’08, professor and Schulich Industry Chair in Nanotechnology for Energy and Environmental Application Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, SSE

Nassar was recognized for his work in advancing energy and environmental efficiency through nanoparticle technology. His research emphasizes the development of naturally derived nanoparticles for applications such as carbon capture, heavy oil upgrading and recovery, valuable mineral extraction, oil spill cleanup, and tailings treatment. These nanoparticles, designed for industrial applications, are cost-effective, energy efficient, and emit fewer emissions, offering sustainable alternative methods for bitumen recovery, wastewater treatment, and mineral extraction. 

Environmental Innovation in Energy - Company

• Mohammad Alikarami, PhD candidate, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, SSE; CEO and Co-founder, BioOilSolv

BioOilSolv is committed to reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable innovation practices in the oilsands industry. Their technology converts agricultural and forestry biomass into carbon-negative solvents and biochar, offering solutions that lower greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing bitumen recovery. Created at the University of Calgary’s Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, BioOilSolv was co-founded by associate professor, Dr. Hector De La Hoz Siegler, PhD, an expert in sustainable process engineering and includes collaboration with other department researchers.

Innovation in Energy 

• Dr. Christopher Clarkson, PhD, professor, Department of Earth, Energy and Environment, Faculty of Science; Dr. Danial Zeinabady, PhD’23, ResFrac; Dr. Behnam Zanganeh, PhD’19, Chevron

Clarkson leads the Tight Oil Consortium, an industry and government-sponsored group focused on unconventional light-oil reservoirs, which has developed a revolutionary well testing method. The Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test-Flowback Analysis (DFIT-FBA) has become an industry standard in both British Columbia and Alberta, and is currently being tested in the U.S. The DFIT-FBA was developed through a UCalgary and industry collaboration.

Change Maker - Academic

• Dr. M. Ethan MacDonald, PhD’14, MSc’10, assistant professor, departments of Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical and Software Engineering, SSE; Department of Radiology, CSM

MacDonald was recognized for advancing brain imaging and data analytics for stroke, aging, and dementia. His research focuses on data acquisition, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence for biomedical and MRI applications. The methods he has developed include approaches to improve risk assessment during stroke, new insights into brain aging physiology, as well as provide early detection for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. 

MacDonald is a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Social Innovation/Educational Technologies – Research Collaboration

• Dr. Karen Benzies, PhD, professor, Faculty of Nursing; departments of Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences, CSM; founder and CEO, and Kristen Graham, MBA’24, executive director, operations, Liminality Innovations

Liminality is a social enterprise that has developed Merge, a clinical trial-validated model of family-integrated care for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Merge’s certified eLearning modules train health-care providers to educate and support parents of critically ill newborns to be part of the NICU care team. Merge has demonstrated a decrease in the length of stay for babies in the NICU and reduced emergency department visits and hospital readmissions after discharge. Merge is scaling to neonatal units across Canada, ensuring more families have access to the support and resources they need during their journey in neonatal care.

Benzies is a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, the Owerko Centre, and the One Child Every Child initiative.

Researcher of the Year

• Dr. Ian D. Gates, PEng, PhD, BSc’99, Professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, SSE

Gates is an accomplished researcher and innovator in the field of fundamental and applied energy. He has been awarded over 30 patents with 35 pending and has commercialized and co-founded multiple companies out of his research discoveries, including TOSSA Sustainability Services and ProtonH2. His work through the Global Research Initiative in Sustainable Low Carbon Unconventional Resources and the Natural Gas Innovation Fund Emissions Testing Centre is pursuing cleaner technologies for our energy future. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

UCalgary alumni winners

Medical, Healthcare, and Pharmaceuticals – Application (Company)

• Nanotess | Megan Leslie, BSc (Eng)’15, BComm’19, Chief Executive Officer, and Julian Mulia, BSc (Eng)’15, MEng’19, Chief Operating Officer

Nanotess’ wound care treatment is an easy-to-use gel that helps prevent and manage chronic, acute and minor wounds from pressure injuries, burns, ulcers, cuts and surgery. Their treatment improves healing outcomes, modulates inflammation, and provides safe antimicrobial and biofilm protection. Nanotess is an alumni company of the Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies (CDL-R) and their technology has been validated by the W21C Research and Innovation Centre.

Innovation in Cleantech 

• Summit Nanotech | Amanda Hall, BSc’07, CEO and founder

Summit Nanotech is evolving today's lithium mines by extracting more high-purity lithium from natural resources faster and more sustainably to support the global electric vehicle demand. Summit Nanotech is an alumni company of the Haskayne ScaleUp program powered by CDL-R.