Gradzette The university of mANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT Magazine August 2014
PhD student tracks energy performance in green schools page 3
Gradzette THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT MAGAZINE
August 2014
3-4 5-6
7-8
Gradzette c/o The Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation 105 University Centre University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2 General inquiries and advertising Phone: (204) 474.6535 Fax: (204) 474.7651 Email: editor@gradzette.com Editor: Ryan Harby Copy Editor: Bryce Hoye Designer: Marc Lagace Contributors: Ashley Cyr, Tom Ingram, Rachel Wood Cover: Beibei Lu
The Gradzette is the official student magazine of the University of Manitoba’s graduate student community and is published on the first Monday of each month by the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation.
The Gradzette is a democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens. The magazine’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objec¬tively on issues and events of importance and interest to the graduate students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression and If you have a passion for writing, jourexchange of opinions and ideas, and to stimulate meannalism, photography, or illustration ingful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be the Gradzette is looking for individuof interest to the student body and/or society in general. als to get involved with the produc tion process of the U of M’s graduate The Gradzette serves as a training ground for students instudent paper. terested in any aspect of journalism. Students and other interested parties are invited to contribute. Please contact The Gradzette currently offers 10 the editor listed above for submission guidelines. cents per word for freelance articles, $7 per photo/graphic used, and $30 The Gradzette reserves the right to edit all submissions for images used on the cover. Freeand will not publish any material deemed by its editorilancers will be added to a contact al board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic pool and emailed with potential aror libelous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are ticle, photo, or graphic assignments solely those of the authors. when they become available. The Gradzette is a member of the Canadian University Interested applicants please send Press, a national student press cooperative with members your resume and at least two (2) refrom St. John’s to Victoria. cent work samples to editor@grad zette.com. All contents are ©2014 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation.
Freelance
Gradzette
August 2014
Tracking the energy performance of green schools Researcher Profile: Mohamed Ouf Tom Ingram reen construction is booming. A recent report predicts strong growth in the green building market over the next three years, and recent government initiatives (like the government of Manitoba’s Green Building Policy, which requires all government-funded buildings to meet certain efficiency parameters) are solidifying the push toward sustainable construction.
G
As we enter into a new era of green building, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that the certified buildings are performing as expected. That’s where Mohamed Ouf, a PhD student and research assistant in the department of civil engineering’s construction engineering and management group, comes in.
Combined with research that shows some green buildings consuming more energy than predicted in their design models—in some cases even more energy than older buildings of comparable size and function— the lack of follow-up poses a significant problem for sustainable construction. But Ouf is careful to stress that not all green buildings are underperforming. “I cannot give a percentage, but it’s not very few and it’s not everyone at the same time,” said Ouf. “It’s considerable enough that you have to look at why this is happening, but it’s not all buildings.” He also notes that things are changing in the green construction industry.
“So I’d say hopefully now that the green building According to Ouf, there is an issue with the industry has matured, they’re starting to look into post-occupancy performance. That’s the recent surge in green building. direction it’s going. But it hasn’t been the case “The problem is when you do the certification, for pretty much all buildings that you see now you have to do it through the design phase up on the market.” until the construction. No one really checks Ouf ’s research, which is done in collaboration what happens after.” with the Manitoba Public School Finance For all but the most recent versions of LEED Board and Manitoba Hydro, looks at the energy certification, there was no follow-up process consumption of public schools in Manitoba. required, Ouf said. He is examining the historical consumption of
3
Gradzette
August 2014
36 schools. Ouf is also examining four other schools in more detail: one is green certified, one is recently built but not green certified, one is middle-aged, and one is very old. For these schools he is tracking energy consumption over a several-month period and doing a room-byroom breakdown.
On his own research, Ouf points out that small details can have a large impact on the environmental footprint of a building.
This will be one of the first few studies to examine green schools instead of office buildings and the first to attempt to tie usage to energy consumption. Ouf is aware of two other studies that have examined green schools, both with surprising results. In one study the green schools were not performing as well as expected, and in another they were saving on gas but using more electricity than the older schools. “Both of them assume that the usage is the reason but no one has actually investigated it,” said Ouf. The trend data for the long list of schools has already been collected and Ouf is in the process of installing equipment in the four schools he is investigating in detail. Ouf ’s fellow students in the construction engineering and management group are doing related work on the same schools. While he examines energy consumption, they are investigating the indoor environment, acoustics, and even the productivity of students in green schools. He points out that Canadians spend 90 per cent of their time indoors, and these factors, which most people hardly think about, can have a major impact on everyday life. As an example, he points to “sick building syndrome.”
“Someone will block some window because it’s just annoying them, but this is what the building is designed to do. Daylight views are supposed to save on lighting,” said Ouf. “All those small details that are from our daily life [ . . . ] actually have a huge impact in terms of money and energy consumption and that translates into carbon dioxide emissions.”
“All those small details that are from our daily life [ . . . ] actually have a huge impact in terms of money and energy consumption and that translates into carbon dioxide emissions” —Mohamed Ouf Ouf also believes that it is important for Canada to set the standard in green construction for the developing world.
“If we can set the trend that this is how you build sustainably, if they reach the level of consumption that we do in other ‘developed’ countries, it’s going to be a huge impact. You can imagine one billion people doing the same thing at the same consumption levels as 30 million people here, it’s going to be crazy. So you want to set the trend of how to build green, how to design efficiently, “After the energy crisis, we started to look at and hopefully that will translate into there and energy efficiency, and what they wanted to do just decrease the overall consumption. You want was to make it energy efficient, make the building to make sure that the new developments in other as airtight as possible, and that will save us from countries are doing the right thing.” using a lot of energy to heat it,” said Ouf. “The problem with that is that you’ve kept all the air circulation inside, there are so many problems with carbon dioxide concentration and different chemical concentrations inside the building that you started having people much more sick than normal.” 4
Gradzette
August 2014
U of M PhD Student excels at Western Regional 3MT competition Local winner Andrea Edel moves foward in study and contest Rachel Wood
T
he winner of the University of Manitoba Three-Minute Thesis competition (3MT) recently represented her university well at the Western regional competition in Calgary. Andrea Edel, a PhD student studying the positive effects of flaxseed on lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels, was awarded the third place and people’s choice awards at the event in May. When Edel entered the competition at the U of M, she never expected to end up at the Western finals and originally had a conference booked in Toronto during that time. Her only goals for entering were to promote the research and challenge herself. Ultimately, however, Edel’s presentation brought her to Calgary where she competed alongside 11 other graduate students, presenting on a topic that many can relate to. As she explains in her 3MT presentation, Edel’s research relates to her personally. Both her grandparents and her mother “Merging those two disciplines really allowed me have been affected by high blood pressure and to facilitate the project that would fit me best,” cholesterol. explained Edel. “Most people know someone who has high blood In her presentation, she described a clinical trial she pressure and high cholesterol problems,” said Edel. was involved in that showed the incredible results “So I think it’s a paramount problem.” flaxseed could have on this “paramount problem.” She explains that her interest in chemistry began early on, when she was searching the course catalogue at the beginning of her university degree. After completing her master’s degree in chemistry, Edel’s interests shifted toward a more biological field.
The 2008 trial involved 110 participants with peripheral arterial disease. Within the 110 individuals, 75 per cent were on blood pressure and cholesterol lowering medications. The control group began by eating 30 grams of ground flax seed in a variety of food products, while their blood Now in the midst of her PhD, she described how pressure was monitored at three different points her two supervisors, Dr. Grant Pierce and Dr. over six months. They ended up experiencing Michel Aliani, have different backgrounds and have significant decreases in the two different types of provided both the instrumentation and analysis blood pressure – systolic and diastolic. side and the cardiovascular side of the research. “We weren’t even looking for that being an outcome
5
Gradzette
August 2014
at first. We were looking for outcomes in changes online and you knew people were going to be in heart attacks or strokes, for example. So this was watching and voting [ . . . ] that was very stressful.” a very exciting surprise.” Edel expressed her gratitude to all of the voters who A desire to present this research to a wide audience helped her to secure the people’s choice award at was what attracted Edel to the 3MT competition. the finals, which is bestowed upon the presenter After hearing about the event in 2013, she was who’s video presentation has the highest number intrigued but did not have the time to enter. of likes. “[The] second year came around and I thought, ‘What the heck! Let’s try this. This is totally out of my comfort zone but I really want to challenge myself to see if I could do this.’ ” Edel admitted that the 3MT required heavy preparation. Condensing the research into three minutes while memorizing the presentation in a way that did not seem robotic was particularly difficult, Edel explained. “I didn’t actually anticipate how much work it would be for three minutes.” Ensuring fluidity, appearing friendly and relaxed, and properly presenting the information proved to be challenging and the months prior to the U of M event brought about some setbacks.
“[The] second year came around and I thought, ‘What the heck! Let’s try this. This is totally out of my comfort zone but I really want to challenge myself to see if I could do this.’ ” After returning to Winnipeg with the third place and people’s choice awards, Edel has experienced an increase in networking and more awareness of the effects of flaxseed.
Edel recalled practicing shortly before the first “I think the benefit has been obviously more competition to the 2013 3MT winner and realizing awareness for my supervisors, and just people coming up and talking to me and saying, ‘I really that she needed to completely revise the ending. like what you’re doing.’” The preparation proved successful, however, when Edel explained that people are approaching her she finished first at the U of M competition. and telling her that they saw her presentation and While she presented a nearly identical 3MT began to eat flaxseed. She admitted that it has been presentation, Edel described the differences humbling to see her PhD research affect people’s between the actual events at the U of M and the health in this way. Western Finals in Calgary. While the Alberta competition was very well done as well, she praised While the preparation and overall experience had its obstacles, Edel emphasized the benefits of the the U of M for going above and beyond. event. “U of M did an outstanding job in marketing, in promoting [ . . . ] the evening was very professional.” “It’s a huge challenge and out of your comfort zone but so rewarding. And it would have felt just as Not only were the events themselves different, rewarding had I won or not won because just to get Edel’s personal experience varied between the two up there is something that is so different.” competitions. “I was so nervous for Calgary [ . . . ] because you had the cameras on you, and you knew it was
6
Gradzette
August 2014
Tips for selecting your next education destination Getting a feel for different schools before making your choice Ashley Cyr hoosing a school to attend for a graduate or undergraduate program can be overwhelming; in Canada alone there are many great schools and making a decision can be a huge commitment.
C
ca is dedicated to profiling Canadian universities and colleges. According to their website, Campus Vibez is an alternative media platform that allows students to represent their university from their own perspective.
Of course, one of the primary concerns for “It is where [students] can post raw, authentic students is finding a university that is a good information about their student life experience, academic fit, but the social culture and politics and connect with / help / guide / recruit / mentor of the university can be equally important. For those students looking to make the next step, the following are a few tools and tips for finding the right university for you.
Once you have a handle on your program you may want to investigate the lifestyle and culture at each of your prospective education destinations.
The first step is finding programs and universities to apply to. If you have no idea where to begin your search, the Association of Universities and Collages of Canada (aucc.ca) offers a helpful search tool to find Canadian universities that offer programs you may be interested in. Just enter the level and field you hope to pursue, then decide which provinces you would consider as the next generation of students to their campus.” a destination, and all applicable programs will appear. This is a great starting point to figure out Without the demonizing click bait university scandals are subjected to in the media, or what’s out there. the sugar-coating given to any institution on The site provides links to the home pages of its own home page, Campus Vibez offers a each program, making it a simple, effective tool refreshingly honest perspective on Canadian to guide prospective students toward their ideal campuses. The site recognizes the importance of academic matches. The AUCC also has a link on finding the right social culture of a university, its home page to scholarships and opportunities and the difficulty of this task when choosing for studying abroad. They boast more than 130 between universities spread out from coast to corporate-sponsored scholarships managed coast. The first-hand reports from students offer through the organization. a multimedia alternative to a cross-country Once you have a handle on your program or campus tour – and for some institutions it even academic field, you may want to investigate features virtual campus and dorm tours. the lifestyle and culture present at each of your Campus Vibez allows prospective students to see prospective education destinations. Created by what kinds of activities and academic cultures a young Canadian entrepreneur, Campusvibez.
7
Gradzette
August 2014
about travel reimbursements, as there is usually a fund set aside by the department for this purpose. There are also often student social coordinators who are available to answer any questions you may have about the department, campus, or Once you have contacted prospective supervisors surrounding city. Feel free to ask the graduate at the universities you hope to attend and the coordinator for the contact info of one of the rest of the rigorous application processes for new students willing to talk to prospective incoming universities is complete, you may be faced with students. the happy challenge of choosing between offers. At this juncture, a campus visit is a great way to Once you’ve accepted an offer and start at your help make the final decision. Though it might new institution, don’t forget that you can make not be worth your time and money to visit a the decision process easier for future prospective university to which you are still in the process students by participating with organizations of applying (although speaking from personal like Campus Vibez, or offering to coach new experience, if you have the opportunity it can prospective students on their decision. help in making a great impression on the graduate faculty), a visit to universities which have made you an offer can help you to experience the culture first hand in a unique way. are promoted at each university so that students can make a decision informed by the culture they can expect to spend the next one to five years immersed in.
There are often open house events held for prospective graduate students to check out the campus, meet some faculty and current students, and sometimes even attend a lecture or panel discussion. If you have to travel to attend an open house, ask your potential graduate coordinator
Get your research featured in the Gradzette Are you a graduate student eager to promote your research and provide exposure for your work in the master’s or doctoral program? The Gradzette is looking for individuals interested in participating in our ongoing “Researcher Profile” column, which seeks to showcase important and exciting U of M research for a larger audience. If you would like to be featured in an upcoming “Researcher Profile,” please contact editor@gradzette.com with details regarding your field of study, a short blurb about your current research, and any pertinent contact information for interview purposes.
8