Canadian Prairies Group of Chartered Engineers

Calgary Technical Events

2010

The technical presentations are normally scheduled for the second Wednesday of the months of
February through to June and September through to November of each year at
The Danish Canadian Club, 727, 11th Avenue S.W., Calgary.

We meet at 6.30 pm. for a 7.00 pm. start.
The presentation ends with a Q & A session by 8:30 pm.
There will be a complimentary light dinner snack to conclude the event.
Spouses and guests are always welcome.

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Summer break: July and August.



Next technical meeting



Wednesday, September 8, 2010.

"TO BE CONFIRMED"

Guest speaker: "TO BE CONFIRMED"




Wednesday, October 13, 2010.

"TO BE CONFIRMED"

Guest speaker: "TO BE CONFIRMED"




Wednesday, November 10, 2010.

"TO BE CONFIRMED"

Guest speaker: "TO BE CONFIRMED"






Past technical meetings



Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

"Calgary West LRT"

Guest speaker: Meiric Preece, P.Eng.
Partner and Senior Project Manager with Marshall Macklin Monaghan Limited


Meiric Preece is the Design Build Contractor's Technical Manager for the $715 million Design Build Contract for the 8 km extension of the Calgary West LRT System. The presentation will primarily cover the design and construction of the infrastructure. The presentation will also cover the organizational structure of both the Owner and Design Build Contractor, Procurement Process, Design Build Contract, Schedule and Stations.

As construction of the West LRT has only just started, photographs of similar elements from the construction of the $2 B, 19 km Canada Line Rapid Transit Project in Vancouver BC will be used to demonstrate the construction in Calgary.



Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

"ENMAX District Energy Project"

Guest speaker: Gary Czaikowski
Manager, District Energy Development, ENMAX Corp.


District energy technology can be used to meet the heating, cooling and domestic hot water needs of buildings in the form of steam, hot water or chilled water. The system uses 'waste heat' that can be recovered from municipal, commercial or industrial activities (like a power generation facility).

ENMAX is pursuing many district energy opportunities in the City of Calgary and most recently commissioned its first facility , the Downtown District Energy Centre. This heat generating facility, located at 9th Avenue and 4th Street SE, is part of the multi-phase Calgary District Energy Project which will provide heating to up to 10 million square feet of new and existing downtown buildings through a network of underground insulated pipes.

The presentation will cover the district energy project and how ENMAX is moving forward in the industry to provide energy-efficient solutions for consumers.



Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

"VIRTUAL BIOPSIES"
"NON-INVASIVE MOLECULAR DIAGNOSIS OF CANCER"

Guest speaker: J Ross Mitchell, PhD
Associate Professor
Clinical Neurological Sciences; and, Radiology,
University of Calgary.


Our expanding knowledge of the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of cancer is beginning to revolutionize the practice of clinical oncology. Increasingly, molecular biomarkers of prognosis and treatment response are being used to classify tumors and direct treatment decisions. Advanced medical imaging platforms such as MRI, PET, and CT provide incredibly detailed images of tumors that reflect their structure, biochemistry, physiology and perhaps genetics.

Studies by the Imaging Informatics Lab at the University of Calgary, and others, show that information about a tumor’s molecular phenotype can be obtained by using novel algorithms and computational tools to more fully analyze tumor images. Such “virtual biopsies”, performed by applying these image-processing and machine learning techniques to routine diagnostic images (e.g. MRI, PET or CT), could be a rapid and powerful means of assaying important cancer biomarkers.

If successfully validated, and proven to have suitable sensitivity and specificity, the use of non-invasive imaging-based molecular diagnostic tests could be an valuable complement to conventional surgical biopsies. For example, virtual biopsies could be important in the context of large heterogeneous tumors, multiple metastases, surgically inaccessible tumors, and settings where disease progression needs to be monitored frequently over time.

Virtual biopsy research lies at the intersection of molecular imaging, medical imaging physics, and biocomputation, and is highly complementary to these areas. This presentation will cover key enabling technologies behind virtual biopsies, and discuss some recent progress in this research.



Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

"Electric Vehicles: Past, Present and Future"

Guest speaker: Nathan Armstrong, President of Motive Industries Inc., Calgary.

Nathan Armstrong founded Motive Industries Inc. in 2004 in California and it is now based in right here Calgary. Motive is a specialized vehicle design and engineering company with extensive expertise in concept and pre-production vehicle design engineering. With this background, Nathan has led his company to develop innovative ways to incorporate high-tech prototype manufacturing techniques into production systems to achieve superior products at a much lower cost and faster time to market than traditional methods. Motive specializes in taking a project from ideation to full production with their significant expertise in the areas of composite materials and the integration of advanced powertrain systems. Motive’s latest project is to develop an electric vehicle. Nathan’s passion is to drive innovation within the sector by combining art and engineering as well as making advancements in efficiency and sustainability. Nathan’s presentation will cover the history of electric vehicles, analyze the current models, and look ahead to Motive’s car with a cleaner and lighter future.



Wednesday, February 10, 2010.

"Calgary Transit and the Calgary Transportation Plan"

Guest speaker: Chris Jordan,
Coordinator, Strategic Transit Planning with Calgary Transit
The City of Calgary.

The Plan It Calgary process resulted in a new Municipal Development Plan and Calgary Transportation Plan, two documents that guide land use planning and transportation decisions at The City of Calgary.

Chris Jordan will discuss Calgary Transit's role in the future under Plan It Calgary, including the expansion of Calgary Transit's public transportation system and integration with the Calgary Regional Partnership's Regional Transit Plan.



The technical events listed above are subject to change – please check this site for the latest update.
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