Including people who use drugs (PWUD) in research related to the use of substances and community harm-reduction
interventions is crucial for understanding the target population. This population can be difficult capture in research and may
be hesitant to participate due to the stigmatized nature of substance use. This scoping review will summarize the existing
literature on facilitating the engagement of PWUD in research, and identify the best practices and barriers to facilitating their
participation.

AgeTech refers to a range of technologies designed explicitly for or with the potential to provide benefit to older adults and caregivers, often to help them live longer in homes and communities of their choice. Despite these technologies’ potential, the lack of standards-based solutions for AgeTech design and evaluation has meant that product designers and manufacturers have created products that are either not fit-for-purpose or do not address a real need, and thus adoption by older adults and those involved in their care has been limited.

Mind wandering refers to when attention shifts away from the task at hand towards unrelated thoughts, which can
interfere with learning. Researchers have identified various signs of mind wandering, such as changes in eye movements,
heart rate, and brain activity. These signs can then be utilized to train computer models that predict when mind wandering is
likely to occur. However, these models often face difficulties when applied to different tasks and different individuals.
Furthermore, some indicators, like brain activity, are challenging to measure in everyday situations.

With recent advances in microscopy techniques for calcium imaging, scientists are now able to monitor the neurons in large brain areas of living animals. However, this also creates significant challenges for scientists who must make sense of the large and complex datasets generated. As a result, there is a need for new componential methods and systems to augment current workflows used by neuroscientists. This study seeks to address this problem by leveraging advanced visualization techniques, building on the results of our previous successful collaboration with a partner.

Climate change due to CO2 emission as a result of burning fossil fuels has become an urgent environmental
concern. Moving towards developing clean and sustainable energy sources is inevitable. Expansion of
electrification in the energy sector is one of the effective approaches to developing cleaner and more sustainable
energy sources. Metal-air batteries that are assembled from a metal anode and an air-breathing cathode in a
proper electrolyte, are very promising candidates for clean energy substitutes.

This project builds a suite of network performance sensitive connected robotics applications. The focus is on assistive robotics applications which require low latency and high reliability to be useful and enable workers to control off-site robots effectively and safely. Using these applications as a benchmarking tool, a variety of novel 5G and Wi-Fi network technologies are compared.

In this project, our intern will explore advanced quantum computing techniques to tackle the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), a complex challenge that involves finding the most efficient routes for vehicles to deliver goods. They will work with cutting-edge neutral-atom quantum computing platforms, which offer significant advantages in solving such problems. By developing and implementing quantum machine learning algorithms, our intern aims to improve the way we optimize routes, potentially saving time, energy, and resources.

Membranes that are used in wastewater treatment have been found to clog more rapidly at cold temperatures. This study will examine alternative operating strategies that will reduce clogging and thereby reduce the needs for extra energy and chemical consumption under these operating conditions.

This project seeks to play a role in making fusion energy a reality, a big step in energy decarbonization. The project is in collaboration with General Fusion, based in British Columbia, where a fusion reactor is being designed, based on a spinning cylinder of liquid lithium which is mechanically collapsed around a plasma to produce fusion, releasing energy the same way as the sun.

One design challenge is for the lithium to be collapsed perfectly, since any asymmetry in the collapse leads to inadequate pressure and temperature for fusion.

This research project is a collaborative effort between the University of Waterloo and Oceana Canada and is guided by several core objectives:
1) To define, compile, and assess best practices (BPs) that are commonly used for reducing plastic production in selected international jurisdictions;
2) Explore and examine the mechanisms, barriers, policies, policy instruments, etc.