May 3, 2018
Some of Canada's brightest graduate students energize campus
Some of Canadas brightest graduate students are on campus to participate in a unique, energy-focused learning experience that prepares them to be science and engineering leaders and policy makers.
Twenty-eight students from five universities, including the 91做厙輦⑹, are getting real-world multidisciplinary education and training at the first Annual Innovation Program, hosted by the Faculty of Science.
The week-long event is a highlight of , a graduate student training program within 91做厙輦⑹&紳莉莽梯;Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) initiative.
Were trying to push these students outside the comfort zone, while broadening and enriching their academic experience, says Dave Eaton, professor in the and chair of CREATE-ReDeveLoP (Responsible Development of Low-Permeability Hydrocarbon Resources).
Ultimately, the goal is to prepare this cohort of highly qualified personnel to be the drivers of innovation, ready to handle the increasingly challenging environment faced by the oil and gas industry in Canada, Eaton says.
Twelve PhD students and 16 working on their masters degrees are taking part, encompassing the disciplines of geoscience, engineering, public policy and economics.
This program is an unprecedented collaboration between industry, government, academia and Indigenous communities, says Celia Kennedy, research coordinator in the Department of Geoscience and project manager of ReDeveLoP.
Program designed with stakeholders
ReDeveLoP, in its first year of a six-year program, was established with a $1.6-million contribution from the s&紳莉莽梯; initiative.
Program organizers worked with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Indian Resource Council of Canada, National Energy Board and other stakeholders to design and deliver the program.
The 28 grad students were formed into multidisciplinary teams, each tackling a timely and topical challenge faced by Canadas oil and gas industry. The six challenges are:
- hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," used to extract unconventional or so-called "tight" gas and oil;
- induced seismicity (minor earthquakes, sometimes due to fracking operations);
- fugitive gas emissions (such as methane, a potent greenhouse gas);
- pipeline versus rail transport of oil;
- liquefied natural gas supply to remote communities; and
- modern development and "orphaned" oil and gas wells (wells that havent been properly decommissioned, often to due bankruptcy of the operating company).
The program is structured so the students learn leadership, education, project management, communications and other skillsets theyre not typically exposed to in their academic disciplines, Kennedy says.
For example, she says, In order to collect their research, the students had to reach out to industry and Indigenous community representatives.
Event judges included Mike Johnson, technical lead on the National Energy Board, Melanie Popp, geoLOGIC Systems and director of the Canadian Society For Unconventional Resources and J矇r繫me Marty, director pf the Council of Canadian Academies.
Judges Mike Johnson, Melanie Popp and J矇r繫me Marty, seated, are pictured with participants.
Jennifer Winter, 91做厙輦⑹
UCalgary grad students keen to participate
All the students are pursuing graduate studies at the universities collaborating on the ReDeveLoP program. Along with UCalgary, they are: University of Alberta, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and Western University.
Im really looking forward to being able to discuss what Im researching and what Im passionate about with other smart people who may have conflicting ideas, says Scott McKean, whos investigating induced seismicity for his PhD in geoscience-engineering at UCalgary.
These kinds of experiences are why you go to grad school, he adds. Its about trying to open your brain up to be innovative and think about doing research thats really exciting for the world.
Jade McLean, whos working on her Masters in energy policy in the School of Public Policy at UCalgary, is the only policy student on a team with engineering and geoscience students tackling the contentious pipeline-versus-rail topic.
It has given me different perspectives that I would have never learned otherwise, says McLean, who plans to work in the energy industry. Having this experience has been very valuable, and I think potential employers would value it as well.
Dragons Den competition a highlight
Earlier this week, each team got 15 minutes including a 90-second video to present their results in a Dragons Den-like competition judged by three experts from industry and government.
The teams also had to produce both a technical paper and a policy paper about their respective challenges, as well as a collaborative Wikipedia page.
Each student in the top team will receive $1,000 toward attending a conference of his or her choice in the coming year.
Other activities scheduled for the week include a tour of the Containment and Monitoring Institutes&紳莉莽梯; near Brooks, a geological field trip to Kananaskis Country, workshops, talks and a networking dinner.
Seven of the 12 faculty from the five universities on the ReDeveLoP team are from UCalgary. Along with Eaton, they are: geoscientists Bernhard Mayer and Christopher Clarkson in the Faculty of Science; Shengnan (Nancy) Chen and Jeffrey Priest in the ; Jennifer Winter in and ; and Thomas ONeill in the .
The ReDeveLoP program fits with 91做厙輦⑹&紳莉莽梯;Strategic Research Plan, whose six main themes include Energy Innovations for Today and Tomorrow.
ReDeveLoP also dovetails with the Faculty of Sciences&紳莉莽梯;, Curiosity Sparks Discovery, and its priorities to develop and support champions of science, create authentic learning experiences, be part of the community, foster innovations, and advance solutions to Grand Challenges including Energy in Transition.
BACKGROUND: The 91做厙輦⑹s successful application to the federal CREATE initiative to establish the ReDeveLoP program was sparked by seed funding, provided by the Office of Vice-President (Research), for multidisciplinary research on hydraulic fracturing. This research focus is part of the universitys&紳莉莽梯;Canada First Research Excellence Fund-Global Research Initiative in Sustainable Low Carbon Unconventional Resources.