RWI Synthetics

November is Islamophobia Awareness Month in the UK, but Islamophobia is an issue that needs addressing around the world, including in Canada. This campaign began in 2012 by a group of Muslim organizations highlighting Muslims' positive contributions and raising awareness of Islamophobia. The 2024 theme is #SeedsOfChange to emphasize how small actions can lead to significant change. RWI Synthetics encourages you to break down barriers by starting a conversation - we can all plant a seed to help tackle Islamophobia. #IAM #SeedsOfChange #Islamophobia #Muslims #IslamophobiaAwarenessMonth

ASTech Alum RWI Synthetics was honoured to join new and old friends as an award presenter at the 35th ASTech Awards ceremony on November 1, 2024. Celebrating #Alberta’s vibrant and growing tech sector is always a delight! The buzz in the air was fantastic, and it was so inspiring to learn about all the incredible innovations happening across our province. As ASTech Awards winners for “2023 Innovation of the Year” with our partners, Edmonton Global and the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board, and the “2022 AI and ML in Simulation” by CTO Dean Bittner, it was a great pleasure and a privilege for COO Katelyn Petersen to present an AI/ML Application in Research Award. Huge congratulations to all nominees and ASTech Awards winners! Hats off to the Technology Alberta team, the ASTech Awards advisory team, and all the volunteers for hosting such an inspiring, memorable evening. The ASTech Awards create a fantastic opportunity to connect with and celebrate the many talented people who contribute to our bright future in many ways. The nominees, winners, and everyone in attendance are true inspirations for our generation and the next to come. #ASTechAwards #Alberta #AlbertaScienceTechnology #Technology #InspiringInnovation Gail Powley

Choosing what data sets are appropriate for what purposes, comparing data quality and value, and identifying gaps requires careful consideration. That exact topic is the subject of our RWI Synthetics' blog post on the results of our academic partnership with the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University: https://lnkd.in/gx7KTBq4. A heartfelt thank you to the very talented Zao Wang, Sirui Ren, Vansh Chandwaney, Ashfaq Ahmed, Olalekan Fagbuyi, MBA, MMA, and Fahad Ahmad, and their supervisor, Dr. Hari Stirbet! #SyntheticData #Analytics #InternationalStudents #AcademicCollaboration #Data

The excitement is building for tonight’s 35th ASTech Awards! RWI Synthetics is an ASTech Alum, winning “2023 Innovation of the Year” with our partners, Edmonton Global and the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board, for bringing the Edmonton Metropolitan region to life in 5D and the “2022 AI and ML in Simulation” by CTO Dean Bittner. We are thrilled to attend this evening’s ceremony, which will showcase excellence in science and technology leadership and inspiring innovation in Alberta! RWI Synthetics will be a prominent presence at the event, with a dedicated booth and COO Katelyn Petersen presenting one of the awards. We invite you to visit our team, which includes Strategic Accounts Executive  Brent Guidinger, Technical Associate Project Coordination Rory Bittner, and Executive Assistant Megan Sale. ASTech Awards has honoured Alberta’s science, technology, and innovation excellence since 1989. They aim to inspire future innovators by identifying and celebrating outstanding achievements in science and technology each year. #ASTechAwards #Alberta #AlbertaScienceTechnology #Technology #InspiringInnovation Gail Powley

Disasters, by their nature, are disorderly. When they strike, there are often multiple varieties that converge or cascade. Preparedness is a challenging prospect for those preoccupied with resilience. While we might be more equipped to prepare for a well-described disaster — singular — it is challenging to contemplate unimaginable disaster cascades. During an energy futures project we conducted in 2021, we found ourselves in the unprecedented beginnings of COVID-19, where energy was being consumed in dramatically different ways and places. RWI Synthetics was asked to explain what was happening behind the meter during this time in Phoenix and what would happen if the lights went out in a pandemic during a heat event. This was considered a “dual-disaster” — two high-impact, low-frequency events happening concurrently when people were most vulnerable. In this case, we looked at a small slice, a 15.6-square-mile region of the Phoenix/Tempe area of #Arizona. RWI Synthetics used our proprietary Synthetic Modelling Platform to create a Single Synthetic Environment (SSE) where every relevant detail was digitally actualized. We created a virtual, geospatially accurate model of #Phoenix, filled with a synthetic population suffering according to a two-week forecast of COVID-19 infection rates. We inflicted a sweltering July day—over 18,000 homes sheltering in place with no electricity or air conditioning, placed the backup generation capability and capacity of the community and built detailed models of the regional businesses. Using publicly available data, we forecasted outage impacts, the locations of vulnerable populations, and auxiliary power availability and mapped service priorities according to those most at risk. We aggregated the loss of GDP in the region. And we didn’t stop here. We dove deep into the psychographics of trust and how this would change depending on people’s prior experiences with their utility and outages and their existing health vulnerabilities alongside the utility’s chosen methods and frequency of communication during the outage. Our SSE created literally billions of data points, all in an easy-to-parse and manageable model that facilitated critical analysis and learning opportunities for stakeholders, helping them de-risk the future with organizational intelligence they would otherwise not have. Disasters can seemingly team up on us, and they don’t play by the rules, so why should we? Innovate and forecast your resilience measures with RWI Synthetics. Learn more about our work online (https://lnkd.in/gk2rg9qN), and discover more remarkable stories of what we’ve tackled! #DualDisaster #SyntheticModelling #COVID19 #PowerOutage #SingleSyntheticEnvironment

There are plenty of necessities we take for granted. Shelter, potable water, and electricity are vital to our day-to-day survival. But what happens when we’re forced to choose between necessities? Can you imagine having to choose between food and rent? Or between prescription medications and your utilities? This is a reality for many Albertans presently — how can we plan for a future where these household economic burdens may only worsen? When we plan for our future resilience, we need to keep the cost of necessities like energy at the forefront of our organizational intelligence. Our Regional Edmonton Advanced Laboratory initiative (REAL) got an inside look at the future of energy burden in the region — utilizing RWI Synthetics’ Synthetic Modelling Platform. We presented data on today's energy burden and provided a comparative forecast for 2044. Using synthetic data instead of traditional data, we were able to forecast what the cost of energy proportional to income would look like decades into the future and create a synthetic population, adding vital and intersectional human factors to every aspect of our analysis. It looked at how, on average, in 2023, residents of multi-family housing units require seven percent of their income for energy expenses, whereas low-income households pay a disproportionate 19%. Often these residents have less control over energy management, heating and cooling, and energy efficiency program access. Their houses are more permeable and contribute to their occupants’ susceptibility to extreme temperatures.  The presentation also revealed how households with older adults or young children spend more of their monthly income on utilities — 16 and 22% more than average. In 2044’s Synthetic Edmonton, the data visualized nearly double the amount of households with seniors compared to 2023, with demographics shifting towards an aged population. Extreme heat events are particularly dangerous for older adults, but mitigating technologies like air conditioning consume significant power during peak times — disproportionately affecting our seniors’ energy bills and challenging energy management programs. Therefore, rising energy costs are not simply an economic danger — it’s an emergent health, wellness, and affordability issue. We best prepare for an unknown future by improving our organizational intelligence with forecasting and data analysis. And, if you want to be at the forefront of synthetic modelling and look towards improving resilience, prosperity and equity in the Edmonton region — join us in collaboration and become part of REAL (https://lnkd.in/gWdWDDkn) as we enter our second year! #REALInitiative #Anniversary #Collaboration #Growth Edmonton Global Health Cities Edmonton International Airport (YEG) Explore Edmonton Corporation MacEwan University NorQuest College Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board City of Beaumont Parkland County City of St. Albert City of Spruce Grove Sturgeon County City of Edmonton

RWI Synthetics welcomes Santha Krishnasamy as our new Technical Lead, Program Management. Santha focuses on three key pillars of technology: innovation, agile mastery, and strategic leadership. She comes to RWI Synthetics with over 18 years of experience spanning healthcare, construction, oil & gas, and technology. We are so pleased to have her on board. Santha is enthusiastic about persistence and adaptability in challenging situations. She is inspired by resilience, continuous growth, and a desire to impact people and situations positively. We look forward to having her share her enthusiasm with RWI Synthetics! #TechnicalLead #NewEmployee #Welcome #Team #Technology

October is Latin American Heritage Month in Canada. This month is a time to remember, celebrate, and educate Canadians about the Latin American community's significant contributions to our nation regarding social impact, economics, and politics. Latin America is known for vindicating human, civil, and environmental rights. Their idealism, diversity, and culturally rich Indigenous heritage are similar to Canada. RWI Synthetics invites you to celebrate, share, and promote the uniqueness of Latin American culture and traditions. #LatinAmerican #Heritage #October #Contributions #IndigenousCulture

October 31 is World Cities Day 2024 with the theme “Youth Leading Climate and Local Action For Cities.” This day is set aside to bring attention to young people advocating for bolder steps and actions to tackle the climate crisis in our cities. #WCD2024 is intended to explore how we can catalyze local action for urban sustainability to achieve ambitious ideas and targets. RWI Synthetics is actively involved in the Synthetic Modelling of cities. We demonstrate our capabilities to help cities overcome resilience, energy transition, mobility, and equity challenges to improve places to live, work, and play for all. RWI Synthetics can augment or inflect scenarios, ultimately playing forward possible events and projected growth, combined with new policies, technologies, and infrastructure —- from a human-centred perspective. #Youth #ClimateCrisis #Cities #WorldCitiesDay2024 #SyntheticModelling

Diwali 2024 is celebrated in Canada on Thursday, October 31, 2024. This festival, which occurs on the year's darkest night based on the Lunar Calendar, typically in October or November, is known as the Indian "Festival of Lights." It symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and is a significant celebration for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists. Traditionally, a row of clay lamps is lit outside homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. Join RWI Synthetics as we note this special day for all who observe Diwali in our community. #Diwali2024 #FestivalOfLights #InnerLight #Protection #SpecialDay