Projets novateurs réalisés

Plasma-assisted ammonia and value-added hydrocarbons productions from CH4 and N2

Ammonia is crucial for life as a primary element for fertilizer production and it is also a foundational feedstock for pharmaceuticals, dyes, and chemical synthesis. Ammonia has also emerged as an energy carrier and transportation fuel. Plasma-based reactors are potentially operated by renewable electricity sources (wind and solar), offering lightweight, flexible, straightforward on/off switch, and safety operations, which highlight them as promising candidates decentralized ammonia and hydrocarbon production plants. The project aims to produce high ammonia yield and value-added hydrocarbon products from an abundance of natural gas (CH4) and N2. The project is also dedicated to providing novel insights into the activation mechanisms of these two stable molecules to ammonia and hydrocarbons under the plasma regime. The findings from this project will provide fundamental understandings to fill the existing knowledge gaps in the field and set important steps for the future optimization of plasma technology for ammonia production at industrial scales.

Understanding cybersecurity data and analysis models with intelligent visualization

Cybersecurity incidents such as data breaches have become more critical and costly than ever, as we are generating, processing, and relying on more digital information every day. To quickly identify potential security attacks and prevent them in a sea of system activities, machine learning (ML) has been applied to support security analysts’ decisions. However, the task is challenging as cybersecurity data is often large, noisy, and complex, and there lack sufficient ground truth. Further, ML models are often a black box to the analysts, which usually produce results not easily interpretable. Due to such lack of understanding, ML deficiency largely impact customers’ experience and business operations. This research will design, develop, and evaluate a suite of intelligent visualization tools and analytical pipelines that allow security analysts and model developers to effectively explore large cybersecurity data, identify and investigate security attacks, as well as understand security analysis models and their predictions.

The Microglia and NLRP3 Inflammasome as a Potential Area of Interest in Understanding the Mechanism of Cerebiome

Chronic stress increases the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Specifically, chronic stress can cause increased microglial activation, leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines through the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. Pro-inflammatory cytokines play a role in the development and progression of certain brain diseases. Cerebiome has been associated with a reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, there is limited research on Cerebiome’s impact on microglia cells and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Therefore, our research will establish whether probiotics positively alleviate the activation of microglia and the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and explore the mechanism by which this occurs. Understanding how neuroinflammation occurs and the triggering factors would allow greater insight into implementing specific therapeutics in chronic stress models. This research will provide the medical community with proactive alternative treatments, as well as expand upon the current knowledge of the capacity of probiotics (such as Lallemand Health Solutions, Inc.’s Cerebiome) to positively influence healthy neurodevelopment.

Cougar habitat use and predation in a changing landscape

Cougars are one of the most important predators of BC’s large mammals, especially species valued for hunting. Yet, we know little about the habitat needs and responses of cougars to landscape disturbance and hunter harvest. In this project, we fit GPS-collars on 50 adult cougars in order to quantify their seasonal habitat use and predation rates of mule deer and other ungulates in relation to wildfires, roads, and forestry activity. Our project takes place across three study areas in southern British Columbia (Okanagan, Boundary, and East Kootenay) which overlap with ongoing studies on GPS-collared mule deer, white-tailed deer, and bighorn sheep. This project supports the British Columbia Wildlife Federation’s mission to understand threats to mule deer populations and the role of landscape change on predator-prey interactions to inform long-term habitat restoration initiatives.

Évaluation d’implantation du programme Living without violence

Ce projet vise à évaluer l’implantation du programme Living Without Violence, développé en 2019. Il s’agit d’un programme d’intervention de groupe à distance, pour des hommes auteurs de violence conjugale ou familiale dont la langue d’usage principale est l’anglais et qui sont dispersés sur le territoire québécois. Hors de Montréal, aucun organisme n’offre de services spécialisés en violence aux hommes anglophones. L’évaluation du programme est pertinente afin de fournir des informations sur son fonctionnement et d’apporter d’éventuels ajustements en vue d’un déploiement à plus grande échelle dans différentes régions du Québec.

Utilisation de GRESB pour la divulgation ESG : Inventaire des mesures pertinentes, actuelles et potentielles, du Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ

Les entreprises sensibles aux externalités négatives générées par leurs activités et leurs actifs souscrivent de plus en plus à des mesures de divulgation volontaire de leurs impacts sociaux, économiques, environnementaux et rendent compte de la performance de leur mode de gouvernance à ce propos. Le Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) est un organisme qui fournit un outil d’étalonnage de la performance ESG (économique, sociale et de gouvernance) de l’investissement en immobilier, lequel s’inscrit dans l’axe des objectifs de développement durable tel qu’énoncé par l’Organisation des Nations Unies et par le PRI (Principles for Responsable Investment).
La mise en place effective de GRESB chez le partenaire de ce projet permettra de répondre à un besoin de transparence face aux investisseurs et à la société civile malgré le fait qu’il y a encore peu d’exemples disponibles pour inspirer et guider. Les deux stages et la méthodologie vise à permettre une évaluation progressive du système actuel et de ses itérations par le développement de processus de production des données et de saisie dans le système GRESB incluant autant l’environnement physique que l’ensemble des parties prenantes, leur attitude et comportement.

Réseaux de sous-longueur d’onde pour lignes à retard en photonique intégrée

Nous proposons la mise en œuvre de circuits de traitement optique utilisant des réseaux de sous-longueur d’onde qui est un type spécial de guide d’onde qui permet la manipulation des propriétés optiques résultant en des dispositifs avec des performances sans précédent. Nous utiliserons du nitrure de silicium pour la mise en œuvre car il s’agit d’une technologie prometteuse avec une très faible perte par rapport à la photonique sur silicium. Nous combinerons les deux technologies pour la mise en œuvre des lignes à retard optiques. Enfin, nous caractériserons et testerons la faisabilité de ces lignes à retard pour des applications de formation de faisceaux.

A Non-Degenerate Entangled Photon Source for Memory-Based Quantum Repeater Protocols

Our group specializes in the design of optical fibers that can generate entangled pairs of photons when exposed to certain colours of light. As a consequence of this “entanglement”, these photons possess unique correlations that can be exploited for both quantum communications and computation.

The proposed project is concerned with the design of a fiber-based entangled photon source that serves as an interface between quantum memory devices and optical telecommunications networks. Quantum memory devices are essential for the design of repeaters that can be used for the transmission of quantum information over large distances, yet they are incompatible with wavelengths of light frequently used in fiber optic networks. Our source shall combat this problem by emitting two entangled photons: one compatible with quantum memory devices, the other that resides in the telecom band. In doing so, one could entangle the state of a quantum memory with a photon in the telecom band, and thus, facilitate the distribution of entangled states over longer distances of fiber.

Investigating Social Locations related to Depressive Symptoms in University Students

With intersectionality theory as the underlying framework for this project, the first aim of this project is to identify specific social locations that are associated with depression/depressive symptoms among post-secondary students. I intend to investigate social locations that go beyond the traditional social justice considerations of intersections between only race/ethnicity and gender. The second aim of this project is to explore more deeply the roles that various social processes and behaviours play as mediators along the pathway between social locations and depression among university students. More specifically, I will be investigating the roles of sleep quality as a potential mediators in the relationship between social exposures and depression.