The Pulse: Feb. 9, 2023

Named for a Farsi word meaning "bright," Edmonton's Roshan Water Solutions is commercializing a novel water-testing technology that its founders hope will save lives.

"It's (a word) that can describe both clean water as well as a bright future," said CEO Amirreza Sohrabi, who co-founded the company with his wife, Parmiss Mojir Shaibani, in 2017.

At the time, both were PhD students in materials engineering at the University of Alberta. They saw commercial potential in Mojir Shaibani's research into a new way to test water for bacteria at the site of sample collection. From her doctoral work, they created a portable water testing kit called VeloCens that can be used in the field to analyze water samples for harmful bacteria, producing results in just an hour, while lab-based tests take 24 hours.

After finishing their doctoral work, the couple continued their early research and development as postdoctoral scholars in the U of A's Advanced Water Research Lab, run by Mohtada Sadrzadeh. They had secured funding from the national non-profit Mitacs and were making progress.

Then COVID-19 hit. They were visiting family in Iran with their toddler, and travel restrictions left them stranded for six months. When they returned, pandemic protocols severely limited their lab access, so they built an R&D space in their basement.

Since then, they've regained their momentum, securing funding from government sources like Alberta Innovates and NRC IRAP and making the top 20 at Startup TNT's cleantech investment summit in February 2022. In January 2023, they pitched at Newchip Accelerator's Online Demo Week and have since connected with four prospective investors.

Within the last year, they've done 10 demonstration projects with small municipalities across Alberta, such as Sturgeon County and Edson, and they began collaborating with Calgary's Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technologies (CAWST), a non-profit that creates engineering solutions for the water issues in developing countries.

• The city is supporting a series of events in February to celebrate Black History Month, including the annual AfroQuiz hosted by the Council of Canadians of African and Caribbean Heritage, the Feed the Soul dining week event, and a free mental health workshop hosted by Black Literacy Code. A complete list of events is available online.
• Edmonton Public School Board trustees received a report updating them on measures that are saving the division money and directing spending to classrooms, which was requested by chair Trisha Estabrooks in November. The report found that solar arrays installed on many schools will save the division an estimated $650,000 and offset about 7.5% of its electricity consumption. Cost savings also came from sharing bus routes with Edmonton Catholic Schools and implementing an electronic ordering system for print services.
• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Coun. Ashley Salvador both spoke in support of heightened restrictions around the handling and sale of oleoresin capsicum (OC) sprays, which Edmonton police proposed at a community and public services committee meeting on Feb. 7. Criminal defence lawyer Zack Elias disagreed, suggesting the rules could be used to target unhoused Edmontonians who use OC sprays for protection. He also accused the Edmonton Police Service of inflating its data by reporting the number of times OC sprays were encountered rather than how often they were used as a weapon or their use led to charges. OC sprays, including pepper spray, bear spray, and dog spray, are all illegal to use against humans under Canadian law.
• The 2023 Broker Panel hosted by NAIOP Edmonton on Feb. 8 drew together real estate industry stakeholders looking for ways to improve the state of downtown Edmonton, which has an office vacancy rate of 23% and a variety of safety issues on top of regular inflationary pressures. "It's easy for us to get into that echo chamber thinking that this is just our problem," said Mark Anderson, vice president of CBRE Edmonton, stressing the issues are not unique to Edmonton. He also hinted at an upcoming announcement by a company that plans to move its head office to Edmonton and occupy 42,000 square feet of office space.
• Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley promised to pick up the party's plan to build a hospital near Ellerslie Road and 127 Street if her party is elected in the spring, noting that south Edmonton has seen "some of the fastest population growth in the country." The NDP announced the facility in 2017 with plans to open it by 2026, but the project was delayed and scaled down after the UCP was elected in 2019. Provincial representatives said the details about budget and completion dates for the hospital are still being finalized and that contracting and survey work is ongoing.
• The Edmonton Valley Zoo is celebrating Valentine's Day by letting people name a mealworm or rodent after their ex and watch it be fed to a mob of meerkats. Taking part in the Dump Your Ex & Adopt an Animal Campaign requires a donation of at least $5, with all proceeds going to the zoo.
• The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation is partnering with the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation to launch a Mega 50/50 raffle to support the Ben Stelter Fund, which was created to honour a young Oilers fan who died of an aggressive glioblastoma brain tumour on Aug. 9.