Bentonite is a naturally occurring clay containing montmorillonite, a smectic clay mineral that has a high cation exchange capacity and swells upon contact with water. The swelling capacity of bentonite limits movement of water which makes it an attractive candidate to be used as an engineered barrier system to protect used nuclear fuel containers that are stored in deep geological repositories. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is responsible for Canada’s implementation of the plan for the long-term care of nuclear-spent fuel produced by Canadian nuclear reactors.

Solvent-based coatings are used for protecting transportation vessels, buildings and infrastructures. They give glossy and durable coatings to protect materials, but their continued use is dangerous to workers and causes environmental damage. Environmentally friendly and safer water-based alternatives exist, but they are less durable and suffer from inferior performance. Unfortunately, the process used to make water-based coatings requires the use of surfactants, which cause the performance problems.

This Mitacs-NSERC COVID-19 joint initiative is to investigate the mechanism of COVID-19 inducing hyperinflammation and cytokine storm. COVID-19 infected cells cause injury that triggers immune cells to release inflammatory cytokines. The partnership with Encyt Technologies Inc. and PI will use established immune macrophage cell lines to identify the molecular mechanism of hyperinflammation induced by COVID-19 ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/Mas GPCR platform in triggering the processes associated with this cytokine storm.

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel, highly infections virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to its rapid spread and high mortality rate, intense research efforts are focused on developing screening tests, antiviral therapies and vaccines. Further research is needed to understand how this virus interacts with host cells to infect them, replicate and release new virus to spread the disease. This project will study the interaction between the viral protein called Spike and a cellular protein called Ezrin.

Present navigation applications rely mostly on the integration of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS). However, GNSS signals are prone to interruption due to various disturbances, including signal interference and jamming. On the other hand, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations from several providers are becoming rapidly accessible. LEO-based communication systems offer much stronger signals with higher satellite availability than GNSS.

The proposed research will allow any device to contribute its computing capabilities to the general distributed computer. Combined, these devices become a super-computer — providing resources for researchers and scientists in their quest for discovery. This research focuses on the finely calibrated aspects of scheduling slices of computing on this computing network. The intern will be involved in performing the raw science in the laboratory and then bringing those results to the non-academic partner for incorporation into the product’s commercialization.

There is a disconnect between the development of advanced research methods in academia, and their use to inform real-world policies. The purpose of this research is to apply rigorous tools to support real-world policy questions at the local, regional, and global level, and assist various types of institutions meet their strategic objectives. At the local level, interns will work on an analysis of equitable access to broadband connectivity in Kingston, ON, as part of the City’s plan to expand broadband access.

Hybrid low-inertia Turbine Storage System (HITSS) is a samara-inspired wind turbine accompanied by any commercial battery storage system. Inspired by the autorotating maple seeds, the HITSS wind turbine is designed to track the sudden changes of the wind speed in a similar way to maple seeds (samara seeds). The main objective of the proposed project is to develop strategies for gathering market intelligence and learn to assess the market value of HITSS through workshops offered by Lab2Market.

USB Type-C Power Delivery (PD) is a universal fast-charging protocol for powering cell phones, tablets and laptop computers with the same power supply. It has been promoted as the next generation of charging technology by industry leading companies such as Google and Apple. This all-in-one charging solution will allow customers to carry only one charger for all their portable devices. It is anticipated that PD adapter will gain an exponentially increase of market share of the whopping 1.7 billion shipment market in the coming few years.

There is a paramount need to treat symptoms, find cures, and reduce/contain the virus’s continuous spread due to the global pandemic caused by the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The most life-threatening symptoms of COVID-19 result in severe respiratory failure due to pneumonia complications. While antiviral treatments and vaccines are under development globally, patients in critical condition cannot wait. It usually takes one to two years to develop vaccines, and cases continue to present with severe complications requiring immediate, life-saving intervention in the meantime.