Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits that can be programmed after manufacturing. It has applications in a wide variety of fields, from cryptography to machine learning. Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools are used to automate the process of programming FPGAs. Routing is a component of CAD that attempts to find an optimal design of wiring to connect logic blocks on an FPGA. Although it is an old problem, there are many interesting problems to solve and it is an active area of current research.

Organic coatings are used to protect surfaces in many prominent industries such as automotive and aerospace. The industrial partner has found it imperative to develop their varnish for aircraft interiors in-house. They have identified a “super varnish” that must have exceptional resistance to cracking, prevention of shrinkage and adhesion to wood substrates (grouped herein as material properties). Secondary "must-have" properties are non-flammability, self-healing characteristics and greener processes.

The ability to hear, and the quality of our hearing, depends on the health of the eardrum. Eardrum perforations due to diseases and accidents can be treated using grafts, such as autologous grafts, allografts and xenografts. These replacements suffer from various limitations such as donor site morbidity, long operation time and healing time, and risk of infection transmission, and more importantly, none of these grafts are able to replicate the complex microanatomy for sound quality reproduced by the native eardrum.

In this project, Global Heat Transfer Ltd. (GHT) partners with the Composites & Optimization research group at the University of British Columbia in the Okanagan in order to integrate additive manufacturing into GHT's current production line. Fabrication of high-performance compact radiator cores through additive manufacturing (AM) will not only resolve some of the current radiator manufacturing issues, but also will make the manufacturing process faster and environmentally friendlier.

The Ford Motor Company is bringing 800 jobs into the Oakville Assembly Plant. These jobs will be concerned with sequencing parts for the new Material Sequencing Centre. To ensure that workers remain healthy, and their
productivity and quality output is up to Ford's high standards, Ford (through this fellowship) wants to establish clear ergonomic guidelines for this type of work. The post-doctoral fellow will conduct surveys in the plant, as well as review existing ergonomic guidelines within Ford.

This project is aimed at using machine learning algorithms and techniques to enhance the current state of the art of missing tooth detection in mining monitoring systems. Unlike heuristic approaches that follow strictly static program instructions, machine learning techniques operate by building a model from example inputs in order to make data-driven predictions or decisions. We use machine learning techniques to identify the bucket and its teeth within the video frames taken by a camera located on the mining device.

With the growing demand for energy efficient buildings, conventional steel wall studs are no longer an appropriate choice for exterior walls. Conventional steel studs cause an inordinately high degree of thermal bridging which lowers the energy efficiency of the building. New building codes are demanding higher energy efficient buildings. To address this concern, Structa Wire Corporation started the development of an innovative steel stud that replaces the solid steel web in the conventional steel stud with welded wires.

Composite materials have been increasingly used in today’s aerospace products such as Bombardier CSeries and Boeing787 airplanes. A widely used composite manufacturing process is Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) utilizing robotics, precision control, and other high tech tools. Quality requirements for aerospace products are at very high level for product safety and performance. Statistical quality control have been widely used for many decades in automotive, aerospace and other manufacturing as well as service industries.