Innovative Projects Realized

Evaluating the Potential for using Earthworms to Produce Commercially Viable Animal Feed and Vermicompost Biofertilizer from Paper Mill Sludge

The main aim of this research project is to utilize the paper mill sludge, an organic waste product, as a value added product by converting it to animal feed that can be used by the poultry and aquaculture industries. The local paper mill produces wet paper sludge daily as an organic waste material. Currently this organic waste is burnt in the boiler by mixing it with bark and used oil. The research study will optimize the parameters needed to successfully complete the process with minimum retention time. This project will investigate creating an additional revenue stream for the mill while avoiding environmental concern of burning organic material or just dumping on lands. Local poultry and aquaculture industry would immensely benefit from this project as currently most of their animal feed are imported from mainland and transportation over long distance contributing to climate change as well as cost of production.

Industry-coached STEM experiential learning for social and environmental sustainability

Creating an inclusive environment where different innovators can feel welcome and exploit their talents is an ethical imperative no company can ignore. The scientific literature also provides clear evidence that diverse teams are more creative and high-performing, and that the engineering industry has a diversity problem. The general objective of this proposal is to research methodologies, outcomes and best practices for STEM experiential-learning environments that engage student teams in community-driven projects that address societal-impactful, sustainability problems. Engaging women and other underrepresented talent in solving real world problems with a societal impact is a powerful strategy to provide STEM education, empower the participants and stir interest for a long-life career choices in STEM. This project benefits from the sponsorship and mentorship of a number of industrial partners passionate about STEM education in experiential, real-world projects, and in providing guidance, workspace and other project support to students engaged in these developments and research projects around STEM education in community-engaged projects.

Developing CLEWs Modelling Methods to support the SDGs

The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide guidance for how to address the interconnected challenges of climate change. Most modelling does not include consideration of the different factors of the SDGs, though recent work has begun to include the nexus of Climate, Land, Energy and Water interactions in models. This helps identify impacts of the energy system on land and water systems and the climate. This project expands nexus modelling to better represent the water interactions and land interactions to better address the SDGs. Working with the Canadian Executive Service Organization, the project will work with countries in Africa, Asia and/or Latin America to build tools to help them address policy trade-offs. Work with the project will use the open source CLEWs model.

Opportunities and Challenges for Transitioning Out of Single-Use Plastic Items for Advancing towards a Zero-Waste Campus

The Federal Government in Canada announced to ban harmful single-use plastics in 2019. University of Calgary has undertaken responsible stewardship towards sustainable development through the creation of a “zero-waste” campus vision. Eliminating the use of single-use plastics on the campus would directly contribute towards the goal. Dr. Irene Herremans and Kruti Mukesh working with Nature’s Ride (partner organization) have been working on a project for the last 18 months with the Office of Sustainability, a group of student volunteers, and the Facilities Department at UCalgary. The aim of the project is to conduct research to inform and develop policy for transitioning out of single-use plastics and advance towards creation of a zero-waste campus. The research project has the potential to advance into a real-time initiative on campus in collaboration with all the food and beverage vendors who are the primary stakeholders. The proposed internship will help to build on the previous work to prepare an article for publication in the International Journal of Sustainability for Higher Education or another appropriate journal.

Using quantitative methods to assess how dairy farmer stress and occupational health (mental and physical) are related to farm management, barn design, automation, and animal welfare

In a world where animal health and welfare are receiving increasing attention, it is crucial that we understand and support livestock farmers who are under an incredible amount of stress. This research is designed to start a supportive discussion and to collect information on the topic of farmer mental health in the beef and dairy industry, including factors affecting mental health and connections with animal health. We will survey beef and dairy farmers to gain a better understanding of how they are doing and which factors are related to their mental health. This research may help farmers to think and talk more about their mental health. It will improve our understanding and ability to manage farm stress, enhancing the well-being of both farmers and animals, their productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

Commercialization of Lithium Titanate Batteries

The use of products that contain batteries is increasing exponentially due to energy transition and improvements in battery technology. Therefore, using safe and efficient batteries with a longer lifetime, less environmental emissions, and higher power capacity is beneficial for the environment, economy, and energy sectors. Batteries under consideration are as replacements for those currently utilized in 1) vehicles as starter batteries, 2) remote, emergency, and critical infrastructure as a backup for renewable energies, and 3) conventional gasoline or diesel generators as storage. The lithium titanate oxide (LTO) battery is a relative-newcomer among different Li-ion batteries that have an extremely long expected lifetime and has an excellent performance in low-temperature; thus, their use is likely to grow in applications where the weather is cold for extended periods of time, as well as for when mass, lifespan, energy or power density is an essential consideration. The partner organization wants to sell these more reliable batteries to customers. The only problem with the LTO battery is its price which is 2-4 times more than the other batteries. This project will compare the benefits and challenges of this battery to its competitors (Lithium-ion and Lead-acid batteries) and study the leasing/rent options to make them economically feasible. The project can help the partner company find the best market and business model to make the LTO batteries financially feasible.

Formulation d’huiles imprégnantes écoresponsable

Le bois est un matériau courant que l’on retrouve dans tous les aspects de notre vie quotidienne. Cependant, de nombreuses dégradations peuvent subvenir au cours du temps à la suite d’agressions météorologiques (UV, froid, pluie) ou chimiques (tache d’eau, d’aliments…). Afin de préserver le bois, il est donc nécessaire de le traiter avec un traitement de surface. Parmi, les traitements de surface disponible les teintures ou huiles imprégnant démontrent des qualités indéniables. Cependant, les formulations actuelles contiennent des produits polluants ou issus de la pétrochimie. Dans le cadre de ce projet, les partenaires souhaitent s’associer afin de développer une nouvelle formulation plus verte et écoresponsable pour le traitement du bois.

Beaufort Solutions Inc Order management System Bachelor of Science Computer Science Co-op Students

Beaufort Solutions is a software development company located in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador with software products available via Mobile, Websites or Photo Kiosks. Our software combines responsive design, e-commerce ready platforms and robust promo engines. We have a growing customer base in Canada, the US and Europe that include Costco and Shoppers Drug Mart. Our software enables, drives and supports the transformation of digital media into high margin gifting photo merchandise.

This project will us extend the capabilities and feature-sets of the Beaufort Solutions’ Mobile Order Management system into a more dynamic web and app order management system. It will create a more robust product (mobile and web version) that can be integrated in the supply chain with customers of all sizes. The project also aligns with the framework of the viable supply chain resilience and additional features that specifically support integrated supply chain resilience and survivability.

Using qualitative and longitudinal methods to understand dairy farmer stress and mental health as they relate to farm management, barn design, automation, and animal welfare

In a world where animal health and welfare are receiving increasing attention, it is crucial that we understand and support livestock farmers who are under an incredible amount of stress. This research is designed to start a supportive discussion and to collect information on the topic of farmer mental health in the beef and dairy industry, including factors affecting mental health and connections with animal health. We will survey beef and dairy farmers to gain a better understanding of how they are doing and which factors are related to their mental health. This research may help farmers to think and talk more about their mental health. It will improve our understanding and ability to manage farm stress, enhancing the well-being of both farmers and animals, their productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

Development of 3D culture reagents and scoring systems for assays of normal andmalignant epithelial stem cells Year Two

The overarching objective of this proposal is to develop and validate a new, robust and reproducible 3D culture system that supports the clonal growth of primary sources of normal and malignant human epithelial cells and that is suitable for commercialization by STEMCELL Technologies who will partner in its development. The work will systematically address 3 Specific Aims. These will be designed to test, optimize and validate the culture components required to generate clonal structures that mimic in vivo outputs of freshly isolated human epithelial cells at high efficiency, reproducibly, and with a described scoring method that may be adapted to automation for future use for screening molecules that promote or inhibit growth. This project will use cells isolated from normal human mammary tissue and samples of human breast cancer as a prototype, but we expect that the general approach will be transferable to other types of epithelial cells with minimal modification.

Accelerating ESG Related Innnovation and Strengthening Canada’s Financial Sector: Understanding Investment Thesis’ and Alternative Investments to Promote ESG

This innovation project aims to strengthen and accelerate ESG integration within Canada’s financial sector by analyzing key risks, mitigations, and financial processes for effective return on ESG investments. Through empirical research, industry expert focus groups, state/national policy due diligence, and field research, the project will conclude with a robust and industry-agnostic investment strategy for a more sustainable Canadian economy.

Improving dynamic range by using rich sensing and gain-scheduled control for improved haptic feedback

For the past several years Haply Robotics has been developing high-performance, inexpensive, haptic devices that can be used in a variety of applications, such as medical simulation for the purposes of training. Haply is currently interested in the use of commercial off-the-shelf manipulandums, such as the Valve Index (Valve Index, 2022), that measures the user’s applied grip force to characterize the user’s grip as gentle or forceful. The research problem to be addressed is how to effectively use the applied force information from the manipulandum, which indicates the user’s expectation of the haptic device, for control. The overall objective is to improve the user experience by realizing better stability and dynamic behaviour, colloquially referred to as the “feel” of the robot. To reach the objective and solve the research problem, a rich sensor suite and different gain-scheduled control architectures will be explored.