Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture Annual Meeting
Precision Agriculture Team led by Dr. Qamar Zaman, Associate Professor and Precision Agriculture Research Chair at NSAC participated in Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture Annual Meeting and Trade Show at Glen Garry Hotel, Truro, on November 24-25, 2011. This annual meeting included demonstrations and displays of variable rate technologies for spot-application of agrochemicals. The Hon. John MacDonell Minister of Agriculture, and Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations and key agriculture industry executives, producers association’s representatives, government agencies such as Agri-Futures, Agriculture Agri-Food Canada, Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and growers attended the meeting and shared their ideas regarding precision agriculture technologies. These technologies are very useful to (i) reduce agrochemical use, improve product quality and environmental stewardship, enhance production sustainability, reduce agrochemical usage and the overall cost of production; (ii) add value and enhance the efficiency, competitiveness and market position of eastern Canada’s blueberry industry; (iii) fill the growing market for environmentally friendly, safe, and healthy foods; and (iv) facilitate the continued conversion of the agri-food industry to a knowledge-based industry .
Nova Scotia Technology Education Conference 2011
Approximately 165 Nova Scotia Technology Education Teachers attended the Nova Scotia Technology Education Teachers Association annual conference held on October 28th at the Department of Engineering, NSAC. The theme of the conference was "Learning by Doing" and everyone in attendance had a chance to participate in various workshop sessions. The workshop sessions included: Plasma Cutting, Plastic Welding, Planning and Constructing a Roof Truss and Tool Box Challenge, to name a few. Daryl Hayes, NSAC Engineering, was the keynote speaker and emphasized the importance of introducing public school students to hands-on learning and technology literacy. Congratulations to Daryl and his team for organizing this successful event.
Workshop on Sustainable Development of Agricultural Biomass for Combustion
Dr. Kenny Corscadden held a very successful workshop last week to advance the sustainable development of agricultural biomass for combustion in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada with a focus on technologies and markets.
The Workshop Objectives were:
- To learn about the global experience on agricultural biomass, in particular what has worked in comparable jurisdictions in North America and Europe.
- To bring together individuals and agencies working on agricultural biomass in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada and learn from each other.
- To raise and address environmental issues associated with the development of agricultural biomass for combustion in Nova Scotia
- To increase awareness about the economic opportunities associated with the development of agricultural biomass for combustion in Nova Scotia.
- To provide regulators who are responsible for drafting regulations for this emerging sector or industry with the most current information on best practices
The workshop presentations are hosted on the Farm Energy Website
Many thanks to Kenny, his team, and our guest colleagues for a well executed job!
Welcome Ms.Lenka Priatkova....!!!
We welcome Ms.Lenka Priatkova, a Ph.D student in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. Her dissertation topic deals with physical and sensory evaluation of blueberries. Lenka has recently joined our Precision Agriculture Team and will be working under the supervision of Dr. Zaman and some collaboration with Dr. Percival. She will be with us until the end of February 2012, and working with GPS, GIS, and Soil Sensing Dual EM just to name a few.
We look forward to fostering successful partnership between our institutions.
Department of Engineering is happy to welcome Dr. Tri Nguyen Quang, our newest faculty member. Dr. Quang brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise in Math and Biosystems Modeling.
With great happiness we also welcome our new lecturers Dr. Emin Adiguzel (Statics, Dynamics, and Strength of Materials), Mr. Josh Lowrey (Environmental Management), Mr. Aitazaz Farooque (Engineering Design I), and Mr. Tracey MacKenzie (Environmental Impacts & Resources Management). They all bring a wealth of knowledge and lots of hand-on experience in their fields.
Welcome to all future Engineers, IEM & BTech professionals as well.. We look forward to teaching them and learning from them over the years to come..
Thank you all for giving a warm welcome to our new colleagues and students.
Wish you a very productive and successful academic year..
We are glad you chose NSAC-Engineering.
Precision Agriculture Research Team led by Dr. Zaman participated in Plant Canada 2011 Meeting held at Saint Marry's University, Halifax. Mr. Aitazaz A Farooque, graduate student received Best Oral Presentation Award (certificate and $400.00 cash).
The open house this year was a great success and had record number of people visiting. Everyone present fully felt and enjoyed the family environment.
Our engineering team members participated tirelessly before, during, and after the event.
We thank Dr. Young Chang who served as our volunteer photographer, and took lots of pictures some of which are shared here at our Open House Picture Gallery.
Dr. Arnold Schumann, Associate Professor at the Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Engineering will be visiting NSAC from July 24 through 30th.
An expert in precision agriculture, Dr. Schumann will be meeting with graduate students in precision agriculture research program to discuss their thesis research projects. He is also delivering a seminar on “Precision Agriculture and Open Hydroponics for Sustainable Fruit Tree Production”. The seminar will be held at Cornwallis Room - AAFC Agricultural Research Centre, Kentville on Thursday, July 28, 2011. Dr. Schumann will also be available for individual consultations in precision agriculture.
Dr. Schumann is a collaborative member of Dr. Qamar-uz-Zaman research in precision agriculture technologies for improving wild blueberry production here at NSAC. During his time here, Dr. Schumann will also be meeting with researchers, NSAC faculty, wild blueberry producers, fruit growers of Nova Scotia, executives of Oxford Frozen Foods Limited and Doug Bragg Enterprises.
Precision Agriculture Team at New Brunswick Wild Blueberry Field Day
Precision Agriculture Team led by Dr. Zaman participated in Wild Blueberry Producers Association of New Brunswick Technology and Field Day at Sussex, New Brunswick on July 14-15, 2011. The field day included demonstrations and displays of variable rate technologies for spot-application of agrochemicals. Variable rate spray technology were also demonstrated in a commercial wild blueberry field using prototype automated variable rate sprayer equipped with sensors and computerized controllers to spray on weeds only. The Hon. Michael Olscamp Provincial Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, New Brunswick and key wild blueberry industry executives, producers association’s representatives and growers attended the field day. More than 150 people representing different organizations and farming community attended the field day.
Graduate Student Welcome and Social
The Department of Engineering organized an informal gathering to introduce and highlight the Graduate Students on Saturday, June 25. We also welcomed and placed a spotlight on all the post-doctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and research associates who are working with faculty in our department. This social gathering gave everyone an opportunity to casually mingle and enjoy an afternoon of food and beverages. Visit the Picture Gallery to view the highlights from this wonderful afternoon.
Visiting Researchers
Dr. Mumtaz Cheema, from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan will be working with Dr. Qamar Zaman on Precision Agriculture for the next 9 months.
Ms. Selin Karatepe, from Yalova University, Turkey, will be working with Dr. Kenny Corscadden on Wind Energy for the next 6 months.
We welcome them both and look forward to fostering successful partnerships for continued collaborations.
Successful Partnerships
Fine-Tuning the Wind Catchers
The first step in harnessing wind for energy is deciding where to put your wind turbine. Selecting the right location is critical to getting the maximum energy from the installation and it's not as simple as its sounds. The 12- to 18-month measurement process is costly, especially for smaller firms.
To better understand how wind behaves and how it is affected by structures, Cleanfield Energy Corporation joined forces with Kenny Corscadden, of the Department of Engineering at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro, Nova Scotia, for a short-term NSERC Engage Grant project. "Cleanfield was interested in how to improve turbine performance by modifying the wind environment around turbines on buildings," says Dr. Corscadden. "The Engage project was to investigate the potential benefits of modifying the wind with structures."
"We may have very good wind on one corner of a building and on another corner of the same building no wind at all. We want to be able to determine the optimal location of a wind turbine in a way that isn't too costly," says Mihail Stern, Cleanfield's Chief Technology Officer.
Dr. Corscadden and his team developed a multi-stage modelling process that created results for Cleanfield.
"We started with theoretical analysis, with software that allowed us to analyze wind flow around structures and determine what type of shape gave us the best increase in wind speed," says Dr. Corscadden. "Then we moved to a tabletop model, which we put in a small wind tunnel to verify the results we had from the theoretical analysis.Finally we went to large-scale testing, about one-third full scale, and tested with a structure 12-feet square for a few months in one of our research fields."
In testing how different structures affect wind flow at a site with Cleanfield turbines, Dr. Corscadden's team was able to provide valuable insight to Cleanfield."We were able to show them that a couple of the turbines were installed at sub-optimal locations," says Dr. Corscadden. "They could immediately see the potential of using software to determine the placement of multiple turbines on buildings.
"As a result, we've submitted an application to NSERC for a Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Grant to develop this software."
Both Stern and Dr. Corscadden say software to determine the optimal position of small wind turbines in a building environment will be of interest to many companies.
"When they do a business case now, they have to predict the potential performance of each turbine and give the purchaser a return on investment based on that," says Dr. Corscadden. "To be able to choose locations based on the software means they will be able to show their customers where their information comes from."
The Engage Grant project proved critical to jump-starting the relationship between Cleanfield and Dr. Corscadden's group.
"We are very happy with both the theoretical and practical work they did," says Stern. "The software is very promising, and we are looking forward to further testing."
"We wouldn't have had this project without the Engage Grants Program," says Dr. Corscadden. "The project created a great opportunity to demonstrate our ability and our skills."
Source:
http://www.nsercpartnerships.ca/Bulletins/Bulletin-Bulletin_eng.asp?ID=60
EduNova Education Agents Visit NSAC Engineering
NSAC Recruitment hosted the EduNova Education Agents on campus. There were a wonderful group of visitors from around the world representing China, Russia, Thailand, Brazil, Mauritius, Mexico, India, Turkey, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
The purpose of this visit was to introduce NSAC as a potential institution for international students to study. Agents were able to tour some of the facilities during the weekend visit as well. Overall, it was a great success and influenced the agents in recommending NSAC to prospective students!
This event would not have been possible without: Dr. Raj Lada, Dr. Ilhami Yildiz, Ashwini Kulkarni, Heather-Anne Grant, Diane Dunlop, Dr. Nancy Pitts, Jim Goit, Keltie Jones, Dr. Jim Duston, Melanie Dobbin and numerous international students. Pictured above are a few of the EduNova Agents and NSAC Engineering representatives.
Drs. Yildiz & Zaman visited University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan for the celebration of Golden Jubilee Festival on the completion of 50 successful years for interactive learning in an environment of festivity. The events were a big congregation of academia, scientists, farmers, stakeholders and industrialists working in different domains of agriculture. National and international speakers delivered seminars/lectures sharing their lifelong experiences in various international seminars. It provided a forum to scientists and researchers, beyond their research labs and lecture places to exchange their knowledge and skills with other experts in the field at regional, national and international levels and an opportunity for the exposure of national talent to rest of the world and abreast them with the status of latest international developments in the field of agriculture. This event provided an excellent opportunity to display research output and agricultural technologies for the benefit of end users. Drs. Yildiz and Zaman were invited as Keynote Speakers and Resource Persons in an “International Seminar on“Crop Management: Issues and Options” on June 02, 2011. They also participated in another international seminar on June 07, 2011 “Environmental Issues and Strategies” as Keynote Speakers. Dr. Yildiz also chaired technical sessions at both international seminars. Dr. Javed Leghari, Chairman, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, presented shields of honor to Drs. Yildiz and Zaman. They also visited Arid Agriculture University, and toured its labs and facilities in Rawalpindi; Higher Education Commission, and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and its facilities in Islamabad; Ayub Agricultural Research Institution in Faisalabad; Punjab Provincial Agriculture Office and Massey Ferguson (Millat Tractors Ltd.) Manufacturing and Assembling Plant in Lahore. While in Lahore, Drs. Yildiz and Zaman visited the Mughal Era historical places – Badshai Mosque, Lahore Shai Fort, and Jehangir’s Tomb. Architecture, overall engineering, water distribution and drainage systems designed and built four hundred years before, were amazing. They also participated in a press conference on “The Importance of Research on Agricultural Development”.
Lahore Shai Fort and Badshai Mosque
Short Course: Advance DGPS and GIS Applications in Precision Agriculture
Precision Agriculture Research Program led by Dr. Zaman at NSAC is organizing a two day short course for Atlantic Canadian farmer’s community on Feb 24-25, 2011.
The explosion of interest in precision agriculture technologies has been accompanied by blossoming uses for a number of enabling technologies, the two most important of which are the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). While GIS technology offers tremendous capabilities for more informed Agriculture Management decision making, rendering competent decisions still depends on having reliable data. Determination of accurate coordinates with DGPS for soil and plant characteristic, topographic features, weed or insect infestations is essential for proper assessment requiring grower intervention. Once the grower determines where a problem requiring treatment exists, it is important to only treat the problematic areas, and leave the rest of the field untreated, both to save money and environment.
Course Objectives:
-To gain the knowledge of advanced DGPS and GIS in agriculture,
-To learn the practical application of DGPS and GIS for mapping soil, plant and yield variability, and
-To familiarize with precision agriculture technologies and their use for precise or variable rate application of agricultural inputs within fields to improve fruit yield and reduce environmental impacts.
News & Events 2010
Book Publication by Engineering Faculty
Member
Dr. Robert France has published his first book while at
the NSAC Department of Engineering.
High Arctic Extreme Science: Environmental Research From
the Trans-Ellesmere Island Ski Expedition (Scriptorium/Palimpsest
Press, 2010, 149 pgs.)
The book compiles previously published papers in addition
to presenting hitherto unpublished findings from the historic
expedition. The book includes wildlife observations that
were selected as some of the best conservation biology research
of the previous decade; some of the clearest demonstration
of trans-polar industrial pollution from the old Soviet
Union and of particular interest to the NSAC community -
alarming evidence for the long-range deposition and incorporation
of agricultural pesticides and herbicides into arctic biota.
These agricultural chemicals, though long banned in North
America and Europe, are still in use in many southern countries
and are transported to northern regions far removed from
where they were produced and applied. Also, the book contains
a heated exchange about the irresponsibility of scientists
leaving behind research-related material (or is it garbage?)
that was featured in the pages of the premier journal Nature
in addition to the Globe and Mail.
Precision Agriculture Field Day
Precision Agriculture Research Program led by Dr. Zaman at NSAC organized PA Field day wild blueberry research institute Debert on November 08, 2010. This field day included demonstrations and displays of variable rate technologies for spot-application of agrochemicals. The Minister of Agriculture and key wild blueberry industry executives, wild blueberry producers association’s representatives and wild blueberry growers attended the field day.
Precision Agriculture Seminar
Dr. Zaman invited Dr. John Schueller, Professor Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Florida to deliver seminar on Precision Agriculture at Atlantic Agriculture Forum and in Engineering department, NSAC on April 22-23, 2010. Dr. Schueller visited precision agriculture Laboratory and shared his experience with Precision Agriculture team. NSAC faculty and staff, key wild blueberry industry executives, wild blueberry producers association’s representatives and wild blueberry growers participated in the seminar.
November 18th - Department of Engineering
Open House, 6-9 pm, Banting Building
The Department of Engineering will be holding
an Open House on Thursday, November 18th, from 6-9 pm, in
the Banting Building.
Everyone is invited to attend to meet our team and learn
more about sustainable energy systems, water resources,
water quality management, waste management, precision agriculture,
and much more!
Deborah McLellan, a graduate of the NSAC Engineering program
and Project Manager of Nova Scotia Power's Nuttby Wind Farm, will give a talk
at 7 pm in Room 25. Barbara Meens Thistle, Human Resources General Manager for Nova Scotia Power will also be on hand to discuss future employment opportunities in the area of energy. Displays and exhibits will be hosted
by researchers and graduate students. Representatives from
industry will also be on hand to talk about potential career
opportunities.
In our Department, students can study (i) Engineering Program
which leads to a Bachelor of Engineering; (ii) Bachelor
of Science in Bio-Environmental Systems Management in association
with Dalhousie University; or (iii) Bachelor of Technology
in Applied Science. We also offer an active graduate program
in association with Dalhousie University.
We hope you will join us on Thursday, November 18th, in
the Banting Building, from 6-9 pm, for the Department of
Engineering Open House.
For more information and the Open House schedule, go to: http://www.nsac.ca/eng/news_events.asp
NSAC Builds a TREEhouse
The normal response of a person to a rundown house with
no occupants is to tear it down. NSAC’s researchers
don’t respond normally. Instead of seeing a decrepit
building that used to be someone’s home, the NSAC
Engineering team, lead by Dr. Kenny Corscadden, decided
to turn a house on campus into what has been dubbed, “TREEhouse”.
“TREEhouse is an on-campus project to convert an
older style split level dwelling into an energy efficient
and eco-friendly office space. The name stands for ‘Technology
for the Responsible use of Energy and the Environment’,”
says Dr. Corscadden.
NSAC’s TREEhouse will serve as a teaching tool, research
resource and ultimate demonstration site for innovative
building materials and energy efficient equipment.
“TREEhouse will ultimately provide students with
“green office” space that achieves a net zero
carbon foot print as well as providing information which
can help homeowners identify and select materials and technologies
that benefit the environment while simultaneously reducing
energy costs,” he added.
The team, which will involve students in as many aspects
as possible, hopes to achieve these goals through various
methods. The first is to have each room feature different
recycled and green materials for insulation, flooring ,
wall and ceiling covering. Once this is done, each room
will be equipped with sensors linked to remote monitoring
equipment. This will give feedback on the materials used
which can then be distributed to the public.
While equipping each room with sensors and installing green
materials is a great start, more must be done if the group
hopes to achieve a zero carbon footprint.
“Energy efficient equipment and fixtures will be
installed to minimize energy requirements and renewable
sources will be used to provide electricity, heating and
cooling,” Dr. Corscadden explains. “The design
will also employ heat recovery to maximize energy efficiency,
use innovative water management techniques to minimize water
use, employ gray water recovery and potentially facilitate
composting toilets.”
As for the exterior of the house, “It will be covered
with recycled and green materials. It is hoped that a green
roof can be installed and eco-friendly landscaping can be
done to include efficient use of surface and excess gray
water.”
Construction is set to begin as soon as the asbestos found
in the house has been removed. Once started, video diaries
will be made to help document the rise of the first university
TREEhouse. Keep checking facebook.com/nsacu for videos and
updates.
NSAC is a specialized university that cultivates learning
and research, focusing on improving and sustaining our environment
for the health and well-being of society.
High School Students? Engineering Alumni?
We want to hear from you. Contact Scott
Read, Recruitment Liaison.
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