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followed by a 3,000-kilometre snorkel relay of the Canadian Northwest Passage in 2017. Ms. Eaton is the co-founder and leader of the Sedna Epic Expedition, an international team of female scientists, explorers, journalists, movie makers, snorkelers, and scuba diving professionals. Their research will help raise awareness of climate change and its impacts on the Arctic ecosystem and the local Inuit people. On the ground, team members will record the climate change observations of elders. In the water, they’ll observe Arctic wildlife in its natural habitat. They’ll keep warm in the -2 C waters with the help of dry suits and they'll propel themselves alongside icebergs with the help of dive scooters and flippers. Ms. Eaton spoke about the expedition at the Alberta Women’s Science Network (AWSN) inaugural awards gala at the University of Calgary in March. -Jacqueline Louie NATURAL GAS PLANT SHEPARDS IN NEW ERA OF CLEANER ENERGY Alberta’s newest and largest gas-fueled power plant became fully operational in mid-March. The Shepard Energy Centre, east of Calgary, adds more than 800 megawatts of electricity to the province’s grid. That’s enough to power about half of Calgary. The project was developed by ENMAX and Capital Power. In a news release, the energy giants describe the plant as “an important step in Alberta's transition away from aging coal-fired generation facilities.” The facility is about 30 per cent more efficient than conventional coal plants, with less than half the CO 2 emis- sions. It’s also the first in Alberta to use reclaimed water for power production. Its cooling towers use 14 million litres of reclaimed water a day from Calgary’s Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant. -Corinne Lutter
-artist rendering courtesy Diamond Schmitt Architects
-photo courtesy Lethbridge College
CONCRETE AND COLUMNS The new Trades and Technology Facility at Lethbridge College is LEED-certified and built with concrete, steel, glulam beams and columns, enveloped by brick and glazing and a thermoplastic polyolefin roof. The first phase of the $65 million building is on schedule for a September opening.
GIRLS WITH GEAR: EPIC SNORKEL RELAY STUDIES EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ARCTIC Last summer, Susan Eaton, P.Geol., P.Geoph., snorkeled the frigid waters off Labrador and Greenland to study climate change in the Arctic. Now, she’s preparing for a second expedition to Nunavut in the summer of 2016,
up healthier pet food formulas that include more fresh, locally sourced meats. The company will work closely with researchers at the University of Alberta’s Agri-Food Discovery Place, which is home to a new, pilot-scale food extruder, partially funded by Champion. The university's extruder is for the test production of food from new recipes. -Corinne Lutter
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