Projets novateurs réalisés

Library Fission: Improving APIs by observing real-world API usage

Modern software development heavily relies on external libraries. The proposed collaboration will create techniques and publicly-available tools useful to both users of external libraries and maintainers of these libraries.

Our hypothesis is that different clients use different subsets of libraries’ API surfaces, and that it is possible to use clustering algorithms to automatically split libraries into smaller, more agile libraries, which we call “library fission”. This has the helpful side-effect of reducing client exposure to security vulnerabilities in libraries: a client is only affected by vulnerabilities in the parts of the library that it actually uses, not everything else brought in by the library.

The proposed funding will enable a collaboration with the Victoria University of Wellington. Working with NZ-based experts in static analysis, empirical software engineering, and software visualization, we will develop techniques for library fission. The expected outcome of the research is a novel set of techniques and tools for improving library APIs, which will be disseminated through academic publications as well as open-source tools. These research outcomes will help both users and designers of libraries work more effectively.

Ancestral aches? An assessment of the relationship between bipedal locomotion, primate vertebral shape and human spinal health

The project will investigate the relationship between evolutionary adaptations to upright posture and the occurrence of common back problems in humans. It will use three-dimensional shape analysis techniques to investigate the vertebral shape of both humans and apes, as well as their fossil ancestors. It will also use motion capture technology to explore the relationship between human locomotion, vertebral morphology, and spinal health. The aim of this research is to identify shape characteristics of vertebrae related to human locomotion and explore any relationship between these characteristics and the presence or absence of common spinal lesions. If successful, the results will provide information on possible causes of intervertebral disc herniations and spinal osteoarthritis. This would benefit the industry partner by providing important insight into why certain individuals are afflicted by back problems which would allow new understanding of how to prevent or treat common back issues.

Community benefits of shared e-scooter pilot program in a suburban municipality

Shared e-scooters have recently emerged as a new form of micro-mobility. E-scooters offer an arguably environmentally sustainable transportation option that create an opportunity to replace some automobile trips. To date, most research focusing on e-scooters is situated in dense urban contexts, with little to no insights within suburban settings. The proposed project will explore the community benefits related to environmental sustainability and social equity, of the upcoming e-scooter pilot program in the City of Brampton. Intern 1 will explore if the City’s e-scooter pilot rollout and community engagement approaches are inclusive. Using trip data collected by e-scooter companies and survey data collected by Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), interns 1 and 2 will examine who are using e-scooters, when, where and for what purposes, with a specific focus on sustainable and equitable transportation outcomes. Findings from the research will inform the future sustainability of Brampton’s e-scooter pilot program, informing infrastructure spending and transportation policy.

Carbon-based fertilizer formulations and their effects on greenhouse gas emissions and soil fertility

Sulvaris’ Carbon Control Technology (CCT™) is a patented, simple, scalable and strongly economical to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) and generate multiple benefits. The newly developed high value carbon-based enhanced efficient fertilizers through the CCT, such as the CCT-ammonium sulphate, is thought to be able to remediate the soil by providing benefits such as increasing crop yield, improving soil quality, sequestering carbon and reducing soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The CCT-ammonium sulphate products have a carbon content of 14-30%, nitrogen 11-14%, and sulfur 13-15%. However, the effects of CCT-ammonium sulphate on soil GHG emissions, soil nutrient availability and microbial activities compared with other types of products that are also C rich (e.g., biochar, humic acid) need to be investigated to better understand the effect of CCT-ammonium sulphate on soil properties and processes. We will assess the effect of different CCT-based chemical fertilizers, wood-chip biochar, humic acid and traditional fertilizers (e.g., ammonium sulphate and urea) on soil fertility and the release of GHG in a laboratory incubation experiment. The results will help the industry partner refine the biochar-based fertilizers to maximize the efficacy in the improvement of soil fertility and reduction in GHG emissions.

Représentation matérielle des femmes : pour une analyse codicologique du “Renart le Contrefait”

Notre projet entend se concentrer sur une particularité du roman “Renart le Contrefait” (XIVe siècle) qui a jusqu’ici assez peu interpellé la critique : dans un monde inversé où des animaux s’approprient déjà les traits d’humains, des femelles anthropomorphisées renversent à leur tour l’ordre du monde et résistent à l’idéalisation d’un féminin obéissant et tempéré prescrit à la même époque. Bouleversant les conceptions identitaires du genre, certaines « femmes » iront jusqu’à affirmer qu’elles auraient voulu naître hommes. En prenant compte des annotations et des commentaires laissés en marge dans les manuscrits du “Contrefait”, notre recherche a pour but de noter comment cet aspect textuel a pu être interprété par les lecteurs du XIVe siècle. Étaient-ils choqués par cette « révolte » du féminin ? Y adhéraient-ils? Il s’agira enfin pour nous de voir si cette interprétation informe les représentations iconographiques des femmes que l’on retrouve par la suite dans ces mêmes manuscrits afin de présenter un portrait plus global des dimensions textuelle et matérielle du roman.

Techno-Economic Feasibility of Eavor-Loop Electrolytic Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen fuel is currently being explored as a replacement for diesel, which is heavily relied upon for long-haul transportation. The benefits of hydrogen fuel include carbon-free emissions (US Department of Energy, n.d.) and quick refueling (FuelCellWorks, 2021). There are logistical and financial issues with transportation and storage of hydrogen, and using green, dispatchable energy for hydrogen production on site solves these issues. The Eavor-Loop 2.0 design is a closed loop that extends approximately 7km into the ground and provides ample subsurface area for heat exchange with 12 multilateral passes. (Eavor Technologies Inc., 2022). The components of the proposed site design would include an Eavor-Loop, an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) generator to convert heat to electricity, and an electrolyser system to convert electricity to hydrogen. This project will include a preliminary life cycle analysis (LCA) for materials required to produce a comparable amount of hydrogen using an Eavor-Loop with an ORC generator versus energy from wind and solar.

Integrating social enterprise elements within a sexual assault centre

The purpose of this project is to develop and pilot a social enterprise for a sexual assault centre. In this context, the term social enterprise refers to adding revenue-generating services to the sexual assault centre. The proposed idea for the social enterprise is to offer training modules and educational material on a variety of topics. The project consists of creating, marketing, and implementing accessible training modules. Research conducted will include focus group to test out the training material. The additional revenue generated would contribute to maintaining current and future programs and services. The social enterprise would also aid in promoting the mission and values of the sexual assault centre throughout the province.

The Effects of the Tripartite Intervention on Attitudes Toward Disability

The proposed research project aims to understand junior students’ (grades 4-6) attitudes towards disability. The students are part of an inclusive school board in Ontario. The research will be done through the use of three surveys, two worksheets, and an intervention utilizing parasport athletes. Surveys and worksheets will be given to students before and after the intervention and again at the end of the school year to determine if the intervention made an impact on their attitudes towards disability. Parasport Ontario has a specific goal to gain more exposure to local school boards, thus they will benefit from this partnership. CTC is committed to inclusivity and this research, if the intervention is successful, will provide CTC with another program to advertise to families, educators, and school boards.

The Effect of Integrated Crop Management on Weed Phenology and Weed Persistance

Weeds can adapt to diverse crop management practices altering their growth, phenology (timing of developmental events such as emergence, flowering, seed production etc), and seed persistence (seed viability and dormancy). Managing herbicide resistance in weeds with integrated weed management and reducing greenhouse gas emissions with integrated nutrient management are becoming the two most important crop production strategies in the prairies at present. In this research project, our goal is to determine the effect of INM and IWM practices and their interactions on weed abundance, phenology (emergence, time to flowering and seed shatter), and persistence (germination traits). The interns will be engaged in establishing the field and greenhouse experiments, collecting weed and crop growth and development data using conventional methods (density, biomass, plant height etc) as well as using drone-based remote sensing data. All these data will be utilized to determine how crop-weed competition is altered due to changes in IWM and INM practices and how weeds demonstrate adaptations to changes in crop production practices. This project other than training HQPs, will generate new knowledge on weed adaptation and how farm management practices can influence weed persistence.

Risques d’érosion et d’inondation côtière au Nouveau-Brunswick

Le projet s’inscrit dans le plan d’action du Nouveau-Brunswick d’atténuation des impacts de la hausse du niveau marin, des ondes de tempête et de l’érosion sur les localités côtières de la province. Les infrastructures côtières comme les bâtiments et les routes auront un risque accru d’inondation parce que la mer sera de plus en plus haute et que les hauts niveaux d’eau de tempête atteindront des surfaces jusque-là hors d’atteinte causant des dommages importants. De plus, l’érosion du littoral sera accélérée par cette hausse du niveau marin, par le fait que les glaces hivernales qui protègent les côtes diminueront pour finir par disparaître et que les tempêtes seront possiblement plus violentes. L’étude va déterminer les nouvelles zones à risque futur d’érosion et d’inondation pour appuyer la planification et l’aménagement des localités vulnérables.

Regional and individual-level factors influencing common loon reproductive success

We will use several databases from Canada and the USA which hold more than 30 years of scientific survey and citizen-science observations of common loon breeding on lakes across eastern and central North America, to determine regional population trajectories and evaluate what threats or factors might explain variation in reproductive success. We will also focus on a multi-decadal study of individually-marked loons to see how fine-scale, local factors compare to broad regional factors influencing loon reproduction. The information will help the partners and stakeholders inform and tailor ongoing research and monitoring, including a national citizen science program, and will yield key information to wildlife managers for managing loon populations.

Flexible and fully integrated power patch for self-powering sensors

Nowadays the most rewarding aspect of engineering is to create solutions to the needs of society in a natural and resource efficient manner, therefore we must come up with more innovative and resource efficient solutions. One such solution can be a novel, flexible and scalable power-patch, which integrates an inductive coupling, a power conversion and conditioning unit and a super capacitor based energy storage system using a state-of-the-art polymer integration and packaging technology. All three components of power-patch can be printed individually using low-cost inkjet printable inks on to common plastic films using low cost material printer before they are integrated using advanced polymer technologies. The novel polymer based integration and packaging technology can also provide modular connectivity for wide variety of applications even though initial target for our power-patch is stand-alone wireless sensors and sensor networks.