Member Area
Keynotes, Panels and Plenary Presentations
Sustaining the Industry for the Next Generation
Presentation information to come.
Presentation information to come.
Presentation information to come.
Gordon Sharp, President, International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories
Gordon Sharp is the President of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL), a non-profit organization dedicated to decarbonizing and making laboratories more sustainable across the world. Gordon is also the inventor of many important, widely applied technologies that have had a significant impact on lab sustainability and energy efficiency such as sash sensing VAV fume hood and laboratory airflow controls, the electronic venturi airflow valve, and demand based control of lab ventilation. He is also the founder of two major companies in the lab sustainability field: Phoenix Controls, a well-respected laboratory airflow controls company, and Aircuity, a leader in healthy and energy-efficient ventilation for laboratory and commercial buildings. The many technologies invented by Gordon at Phoenix Controls and Aircuity are today saving well over $2.5 billion annually in energy use and cutting over 7.5 million metric tons annually in carbon emissions from thousands of commercial and laboratory facilities around the world. Gordon has over 35 years of experience and over 35 patents covering energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, laboratory controls, and even airflow-based kinetic artwork. Along with his efforts to decarbonize lab buildings, Gordon also founded and is the President of Airflow Kinetics, which creates large, airflow-based kinetic sculptures that are mesmerizing, educational, and designed to increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of airflow and building ventilation. Gordon is an MIT graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. He is an ASHRAE Fellow and has been an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, and has served as a voting member of the ASHRAE Standard 170 on Healthcare Ventilation, the ANSI Standard Z9.5 on Laboratory Ventilation, the ASHRAE TC9.10 committee on Laboratories and the TC9.11 committee on Clean Spaces. He has also testified before the U.S. Congress on the topics of climate change and energy efficiency.
Presentation information to come.
Presentation information to come.
SLCan’s Membership:
Insights and Opportunities
Ramon Renderos Soto, Lab Architect, Merrick Canada
Sadia Ahmed, Student, Carleton University
Laboratories, with their high energy and material consumption, significantly contribute to fossil fuel emissions. Addressing this challenge is crucial, as laboratories often use up to ten times more resources than typical office spaces. This session presents the findings from a collaboration between Carleton University’s Collaborative Specialization in Climate Change and Sustainable Labs Canada (SLCan) aimed at enhancing sustainability in existing and new lab environments.
Beginning in September 2023, this project engaged graduate and postdoctoral students from architecture, chemistry, and business in a year-long study. The primary goal was to gather SLCan members' perspectives on sustainable lab design and to identify opportunities for further research, education, and knowledge exchange. A secondary objective was to set a precedent for academic involvement in SLCan.
The student group used a sector assessment approach to categorize SLCan members into four roles: Lab Designers/Consultants, Laboratory Owners/Managers, Lab Operators/Researchers, and Product Vendors. A survey was created to collect insights from these groups, which were analyzed to inform sustainability practices, and provide SLCan with recommendations for focus points and engagement opportunities within the lab sector.
This presentation will outline the project’s findings and process, illustrating how interdisciplinary academic efforts can support sustainability in laboratories. Attendees will learn about integrating research with laboratory initiatives and how different stakeholders can reduce laboratories' fossil fuel footprint and advance sustainability goals.
Ramon Renderos Soto has ten years of experience in the design of laboratory projects for Federal Governments and Universities. At Merrick Canada, Ramon works on the design of CL2+/3 (BSL2+/3), CL2/3-Ag (ABSL-2/3) laboratories for human, plant and animal health research and diagnostics by programming, planning and producing architectural drawings and supporting design documents such as functional program reports, feasibility studies and laboratory design guidelines. At Carleton University, Ramon acquired a master’s degree in architecture, with a specialization in climate change where he and a group of graduate students collaborated with SLCan through the SLCan Ottawa Chapter.
Sadia Ahmed is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Sustainable Energy Policy at Carleton University. Prior to that she worked on developing growth strategies for sustainable businesses and on conducting research for the development of social enterprises. She has worked in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Economics.
A Fireside Chat with SLCan
Kevin Humeniuk, Incoming President, Sustainable Labs Canada
John Alberico, Outgoing President, Sustainable Labs Canada
Yvon Lachance, President, Sustainable Labs Canada
Join Sustainable Labs Canada's Incoming President, Outgoing President and Past President as they share an update on SLCan's current activities and their vision for the future of the association. They will also provide an overview of the initiatives that the SLCan will be working on collaboratively with I2SL as both associations work towards the goal of strengthening the sustainable laboratory community across North America.
This discussion will be moderated by Kevin Shea, President, SLCan Vancouver Chapter.
Kevin Humeniuk is Architecture49's National Sector Leader for Science & Technology. He is a design architect, having obtained his Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of Manitoba in 2000. Kevin is a registered member a variety of provincial architectural associations, as well as the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Kevin is also a proud SLCan board member and is a LEED Accredited Professional. Over his twenty-four years in architectural practice Kevin has gained considerable experience in a wide variety of roles and responsibilities. He has been a project manager and design team member responsible for client liaison, functional programming, laboratory planning, and architectural production work on a variety of science projects. For the past fifteen years, Kevin has been exclusively involved in research laboratory projects as a project manager, project architect and laboratory planner. Kevin has presented at various conferences and seminars, including at Tradelines, the RPIC National Workshop, and the Canadian Biosafety Symposium.
John is a Principal and Technical Director at RWDI, with a nearly thirty-year record of delivering high-performance buildings for laboratory projects. John is known for forming strong, highly functional links across project teams, enabling architects, engineers, planners and construction firms to deliver excellent, well integrated results on time and on budget. In addition to his building performance work, John has extensive experience as a sustainability consultant, and is a WELL Accredited Professional.
Now heading YLA Architecture, Yvon Lachance boasts nearly 30 years of practice in architecture. He has extensive experience in the realization of large-scale and complex projects. His portfolio of projects includes major institutional and public buildings, university pavilions, research centres (health, chemistry, physics) as well as contemporary and heritage building envelope renovation projects. He is a Fellow of Construction Specification Canada, a member of the International Association for Preservation and its Techniques, a member of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I²SL), and he is the Immediate Past President of Sustainable Labs Canada. **** Aujourd’hui à la tête de YLA Architecture, Yvon Lachance compte près de 30 ans de pratique en architecture. Il possède une vaste expérience dans la réalisation de projets complexes et d’envergure. Son portfolio de projets comprend d’importants bâtiments institutionnels et publics, des pavillons universitaires, des centres de recherche (santé, chimie, physique) ainsi que des projets de rénovation d’enveloppes de bâtiments contemporains et patrimoniaux. Il est Fellows et 4e Vice-président de Devis de construction Canada, de l’Association internationale pour la préservation et ses techniques, de l’International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I²SL) et président sortant de Laboratoires Écologiques du Canada.
What Our Members Say
Marty Mihowich, Laboratories Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Sustainable Labs Canada exemplifies collaboration and innovation, making a lasting positive impact to all science infrastructure within Canada.