9 Alberta tech innovators nominated for $100,000 Manning Innovation Awards

A record nine nominees from southern Alberta are contending for the country’s largest innovation prize, the Manning Innovation Awards.

The $100,000 top purse, plus $25,000 and $10,000 awards, are presented each year to Canadians who have demonstrated recent innovative talent and successfully marketed their innovations. The nominees are being recognized at a celebration hosted by Cybera Inc., and sponsored by Innovate Calgary on Thursday night in Calgary.

The winners will be announced at the annual Awards Gala in Ottawa on October 17, 2012. The awards are named after former Alberta premier Ernest C Manning.

The nominees include:

Wael Badawy of IntelliView Technologies. The company created software that analyzes security video to detect situations that require immediate attention.

As a professor and professional engineer at the University of Calgary, Dr. Badawy developed a new model to describe optical video, thermal, infrared, and 3D data in general. These models have been awarded several awards and patents, as well as published in conference and journal papers. He is president of IntellliView.

Marvin Fritzler of the University of Calgary. Fritzler discovered new ways of detecting autoimmune diseases.

Fritzler is currently a professor in medicine at the University of Calgary. Alongside his very active research roles, he is the founder and director of Mitogen, a medical diagnostic laboratory, and serves on numerous boards and advisory committees, including the Alberta Research and Innovation Authority, which was established by the Government of Alberta to provide strategy and policy advice in science and technology, for which he is chair of the board.

Jacob Halldorson of Aqua-Pure Ventures Inc. Aqua-Pure found an energy-efficient process for distilling wastewater created during the production of shale gas (a source of natural gas).

Halldorson is chief executive officer of Aqua-Pure Ventures Inc., and has served on the Board of Directors of the company since 1998.

Michael Loh of iConnectivity. The company invented a portable mini-mixer for creating professional-sounding music.

iConnectivity specializes in creating  music gear that enables connectivity of iOS, Mac, PC and electronic music equipment all at the same time. Loh is an electrical engineer who graduated from the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. He holds three patents and has one patent application.

Howard Malm of REM Technology. REM Technology conceived of a system that recovers vented hydrocarbons for use as a supplementary fuel source for natural gas engines. The hydrocarbon recovery product called Slipstream was patented in 2004 and 2005 by REM Technology. Malm helped form the independent company REM Technology, where he is the chief technology officer.

Scott Moore of Precise Transcript Management Ltd. The company developed a web-based management services platform for courtroom transcriptions.

Moore is founder, president and chief information officer of Precise Transcript Management Ltd. He is now commercializing the world’s first enterprise transcript management utility services platform, and has received interest from provincial, state and federal clients.

Daniel Pomerleau of FP Marangoni Inc. Pomerleau invented a vacuum technology for recovering oil-based mud containing drilling fluid. He is chief executive officer at FP Marangoni and the holder of numerous patents related to drilling fluids, fluid recovery and well logging systems, as well as point-of-sales and communication systems, and composite structure vessels, unrelated to the oil and gas industry.

John Remmers of the University of Calgary. Remmers invented a controlled breathing device for people suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Remmers is an expert in the field of sleep physiology and sleep medicine. He is a professor in medicine at the University of Calgary, and the first investigator to develop a practical solution to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which affects an estimated 10 percent of the adult population.

DJ Sures of EZ-Robot. Sures created an easy kit for building advanced robotics that caters between beginners and advanced research facilities.

Sures was soldering and programming before he entered grade school. His fascination with electronics, software and man-machine interface has been a lifelong pursuit. When he was 10, he received the first Computer Badge issued by Cub Scouts Canada and was designing 3D software in high school. After high school, he worked as software development and embedded system programmer for companies such as Cisco Systems, Security Focus, Symantec and NASA. His company, EZ-Robot, was founded in 2011, and he is combining his diverse experiences to help others create their own experiences building their dream robots.

The $100,000 top purse, plus $25,000 and $10,000 awards, are presented each year to Canadians who have demonstrated recent innovative talent and successfully marketed their innovations. The nominees are being recognized at a celebration hosted by Cybera Inc., and sponsored by Innovate Calgary on Thursday night in Calgary. The winners will be announced at the annual Awards Gala in Ottawa on October 17, 2012. The awards are named after former Alberta premier Ernest