The 2013 Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award winners

Calgary –  Jennifer Diakiw, president of the Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation announced the winners of the 2013 Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards.

To see the winners and for more information, visit: www.manningawards.ca

The 2013 winners, from B.C., Ontario and Nova Scotia, will share $145,000 in prizes. The 2013 Young Canadian Award winners from Ontario and Quebec will share $16,000 in prizes.

Innovations created by the 2013 Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award winners include:

• A social innovation from Halifax now being offered in four Canadian provinces with outstanding outcomes;
• A device for hearing aids created in Kitchener that reduces loud and sharp sounds which can cause acoustic shock, now being sold in more than 60 countries;
• A safety device manufactured in Scarborough now on public and commercial transportation vehicles on four continents; and,
• “Heads-up display” technology developed in Vancouver now being added to ski/snowboard goggles and athletic sunglasses by leading eye wear manufacturers.

The five Young Canadian award winners, two now in university and three still in high school, created inspiring innovations which were showcased earlier this year at the 2013 Canada-Wide Science Fair.

The 2013 Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award recipients are:

• From Halifax, N.S., Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie and Dr. Patrick McGrath, who are  co-recipients of the $100,000 Encana Principal Award for creating a social innovation, The Strongest Families Institute.  The not-for-profit Institute provides distance services to families dealing with behaviour, anxiety and bedwetting problems. Services are delivered by highly trained coaches who teach families skills through 16 telephone sessions supported by handbooks, videos and websites.  The convenient, family-centered approach increases access for families in need of help and is a proven, evidence- based, cost-effective solution for the health system. (www.strongestfamilies.com);

• From Kitchener, Ont., Dr. Henry Luo, who won the $25,000 David E. Mitchell Award of Distinction, for developing AntiShock Technology. Since its creation in 2006 by Dr. Luo in Unitron’s research labs in Kitchener, AntiShock Technology has been integrated into five million hearing aids, now sold in 60 countries. The innovative technology instantly detects and controls sudden and harsh noises – before they are even detected by the listener  – while preserving a person’s ability to clearly hear speech and conversations.  (www.unitronhearing.com);

• From Oakville, Ont., Ilfor Taffy Caine Davies, who won the $10,000 Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award for developing Zafety Lug Lock, a transport wheel locking device that “cuffs” wheel nuts to create the required resistance to keep wheel bolts secure.  There are now one million Zafety Lug Lock devices on public and commercial vehicles. (www.zafetyluglock.com);

• From Vancouver, B.C., Dan Eisenhardt and Hamid Abdollahi, who won the $10,000 Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award for developing Heads-up Display (HUD) technology, which integrates state-of-the-art micro-computers into goggles and athletic sunglasses.   Their technology is now being incorporated into eye wear by the world’s leading goggle and sunglass manufacturers;   (www.reconinstruments.com);

• From Quebec City, Que., David Drouin, 19, who won the $4,000 Young Canadian Award for his 2013 Canada-Wide Science Fair project where he illustrated the potential of a relatively simple compound found in cinnamon, called cinnemaldehyde, in fighting off dangerous strains of E.coli bacteria;

• From Windsor, Ont. Meagan Fabel, 17, who won the $4,000 Young Canadian Award for her 2013 Canada-Wide Science Fair project where her research showed how to enhance the low-cost electrical energy output of the Gratzel solar cell;

• From Lakefield, Ont. Adam Noble, 19, who won the $4,000 Young Canadian Award for his 2013 Canada-Wide Science Fair project, which showed the benefits of using silver nano-particle therapy as a new cure for cancer. Adam’s findings are now being researched as part of a Drug Discovery Program at Trent University;

• From Saguenay, Que., Pierre Clapperton Richard and Francis-Oliver Couture, 17, who are co-recipients of the $4,000 Young Canadian Award for their 2013 Canada-Wide Science Fair project, EffiClasse, an iPad application that allows full management of “tablet-classes.” The application allows the teacher to create a group and then control the information and view the group users’ tablets. (www.efficlasse.com).

Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award winners are selected by an independent selection committee, comprised of members from across Canada who are established leaders and authorities from various disciplines. They are supported in the selection process by experts in fields as diverse as medicine, genetics, engineering, industrial processes and social entrepreneurship.  A team of judges at the 2013 Canada-Wide Science Fair  selected the Young Canadian Award winners in May 2013.

“This foundation champions Canadian innovators of all ages from across Canada,” said Diakiw, when she announced the 11 winners for 2013.

“These are Canadians who inspire us with their imagination to innovate and the stamina to succeed.  We want to shine a national spotlight on them as Canada works to build our knowledge-based economy.”

The 2013 awards will be presented to recipients at the 32nd annual Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards Gala in Calgary on Oct. 16 before an audience of 600 Canadian innovators and leaders from business, academia and government.

Applications for 2014 Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards are now being accepted on line at manningawards.ca. The deadline is Dec. 2, 2013.