Toyo Pumps is performing research to upgrade their current line of recessed impeller or vortex pumps. Currently, these pumps can only operate in very limited and specific conditions. The goal is to redesign these pumps to allow them to operate in a wider variety of conditions and improve the efficiency, producing more work at a lower power cost. New designs will be made using advanced technology that makes it possible to virtually investigate hydraulic designs using software that simulates the flow through a pump.

Injury is a leading cause of death and disability world-wide, however rates are especially high for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Trauma registries— databases that document information on the injured patient related to the injury event, demographics, process of care, and outcome— are commonly used in high-income countries and have proven extremely effective in reducing rates of death and disability through informing injury prevention and quality improvement programs.

The proposed research is a collaboration between Persistant Studios’ PopcornFX and SFU’s iVizLab to collaboratively work on ways to understand the processes involved in content creation using a real-time particle system. The iVizLab’s research focuses on using real-time visuals with the biodata from the users as one of the main interfaces to create affective systems that can intelligently interact with the users. In creating the visuals for the iVizLab, it is important to be able to create content that can be modified in real-time with the incoming data.

This project is a collaboration between Vantage Airport Group Ltd. and Dr. Krishna Vijayaraghavan research group at SFU to identify best current sustainable practices in the airport industry. The focus of this project is on the economic and environmental aspect of sustainability, and this research aims to identify the best terminal and hub design practices that can minimize the energy consumption with the focus on green and net-zero energy solutions.

The project is the start of a bigger vision to help improve ‘Employability in an ever-changing, global and digital economy.’ The Partner organization and SFU Communications lab has a larger vision for where we may take this innovation initiative over the long-term, however initial pursuits will start out to develop a better understanding through an applied research project to explore ‘just-in-time learning practices impacting employability’.

International transfer of funds (also known as remittance) plays an important role in the global economy. Existing research has studied the impact of international remittances on economic development, poverty, employment, and education. In developing countries such as Lesotho, remittances constitute 20% - 30% of the gross domestic product (World Bank, 2006). Policy makers worldwide have made an attempt to reduce the historically high cost of international remittances.

Diabetes mellitus, a common metabolic disorder, exhibits neuropathic complications that can eventually lead to disabling pain (Todorovic 2015). This is attributed to hyperglycemia/high glucose resulting in neuronal hyperexcitability (Todorovic 2015). Importantly, diabetes-evoked neuronal hyperexcitability and neurotoxicity can be caused by alterations in voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) expression (Hong, Morrow et al. 2004), resulting in changes in the sodium currents lowering the action potential threshold (Hong, Morrow et al. 2004, Chen, Wang et al. 2018).

Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas produced by the natural decay of uranium in rocks and soils. Radon can enter buildings and reach high levels in indoor air (Khan and Gomes, 2017). It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking). killing approximating 3200 Canadians a year (Chen et al. 2012). High radon concentrations can be easily remedied, and doing so is a cost effective way to prolong life and reduce death from disease (Gaskin, et. al. 2018). However, Canada’s legal rights and remedies to respond to radon in Canada are largely inadequate (Dunn and Cooper, 2015).

Human locomotion can be influenced by several factors such as neuromuscular and joint disorders that affect the functionality of joints and can cause partial or complete paralysis. Reduced mobility is estimated to
affect over 1% of the population in the world. Many individuals require mobility assistive technologies to keep up with their daily life and the demand for those devices increases with age.