It’s hardly a surprise that the April 26, 2018 monthly meeting of the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association was very well attended. Many folks were there, including some who haven’t attended a meeting for quite a while. All were eager to see Manitoba Public Insurance’s 35,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, J.W. Zacharias Physical Damage Research Centre, at 1981 Plessis Road, Winnipeg. This exceptional centre is the only such facility in Canada to be a member of the Research Council for Automobile Repairs, the world-wide organization of automotive research centres, which develops policy, guidelines and information used in the design, manufacture, repair and insurance of motor vehicles (http://www.rcar.org). Our knowledgeable and affable host for the evening was Professional Engineer Cameron Huber, the Zacharias Centre’s Manager of Research and Training. Everyone appreciated Cams very informative presentation, outlining the important work being done by Manitobans at the Research Centre, and his tour of the facilities was a real treat.

In addition to Cameron, this MEVA meeting featured two other special guest presenters,

Patryk Siedlik and Seokmin “Mike” Oh, Red River College Electrical Engineering Technology students.

In March, this impressive duo bested dozens of other outstanding teams to win the College’s 2nd annual Applied Research and Innovation Day competition (http://blogs.rrc.ca/ar/2018/03/student-research-showcase-project-listings/). Working together, Mike and Patryk devised a way to utilize scrap automobile alternators and other used parts to create inexpensive, battery-electric-powered bicycles. We invited Patryk and Mike to this MEVA meeting to tell us how they developed their truly innovative EV technology, in Manitoba. Kudos gents! Thanks to MEVA member Ric Lim, you can watch this recording of their presentation.

Thanks to MEVA Executive Member-At-Large James Hart for arranging this tour with Cam Huber. Also, we thank Patryk Siedlik and Mike Oh for sharing their inspiring EV story with us.  We look forward to seeing them, and their exceptional e-bike, on Saturday, September 8, at MEVAfest 2018.