Projets novateurs réalisés

Combler l’écart : une évaluation de recherche d’un programme préparatoire du secondaire au postsecondaire pour les groupes à risque et sous-représentés

Le programme NEXUS de Mathstronauts est un programme de 12 semaines dans lequel les élèves de 11e et 12e année issus de groupes sous-représentés acquièrent des compétences techniques fondamentales dans les domaines des STIM (sciences, technologie, ingénierie et mathématiques) ainsi que des compétences interpersonnelles (gestion du temps, prise de notes, etc.) afin de soutenir leur transition vers l’enseignement postsecondaire. Pour étudier l’impact de cette intervention, notre stagiaire utilisera des sondages et des groupes de discussion pour identifier la faisabilité du programme sous forme de format en ligne, les impacts à court terme de ce programme sur les compétences techniques et interpersonnelles des participants, ainsi que les impacts à long terme du programme sur les attitudes et décisions postsecondaires six mois après la fin du programme. Ces évaluations contribueront à un rapport final du programme NEXUS qui sera utilisé par les Mathstronauts pour orienter les améliorations futures du programme. De plus, le rapport servira d’outil aux conseils scolaires, aux organismes communautaires et aux institutions de recherche afin de rendre des programmes similaires largement accessibles aux élèves.

Towards Automated Recommendations for Taxonomy Expansion

The partner organization is building a knowledge graph to integrate the knowledge in the SharePoint documents/pages of each domain, which will be used as the central information base to support various information retrieval tasks such as intelligent chatbots that can automatically identify relevant information. A critical element of the knowledge graph is a taxonomy of the entities (keywords) extracted from the SharePoint documents/pages, which can enrich the relations between the entities. However, with the explosive increase of entities, maintaining the taxonomy becomes beyond the capacity of the taxonomists. Thus, this project aims to develop a prototype tool to assist taxonomists in expanding the taxonomy with new entities. The tool accepts a new entity as its input, analyzes its relationship with the existing taxonomy, and outputs the recommendation for how to integrate the entity. The tool is expected to save the analysis time of the taxonomists by 50%.

Communicating outcomes of future what-if scenarios for municipal climate action

This project communicates interactive cross-sectoral data about how municipal planning policies related to urban form may address both climate action and urban livability. The research generates numerous measured future what-if scenarios for neighbourhood-scale changes to population, population density, built form, building energy, mobility, urban greening. This project addresses a problem of communication by designing and delivering an interactive visually accessible dashboard to communicate the results of the research to planners and their constituent audiences- the public and elected officials.

Presence of SSAT-1 as a marker for early diagnosis and monitoring of cancer

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In Canada, cancer accounts for 30% of all deaths, and half of all
Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetime. Many cancers can be prevented or controlled through early detection, but the
availability of such tests is scarce and a reliable general biomarker for different types of cancers has not been yet discovered.
Moreover, cancer survivors are at greater risk of developing a second cancer, and affordable and safe monitoring for the rest
of their lives is not available. We propose the development of serological and qPCR tests for early diagnosis of cancer based
on the presence of SSAT-1.
Since the technology will be used to screen for early-stage cancers, it is a life-saving approach, and therefore of clear social
benefit to Canada. The health benefits to Canada in developing reliable and cost-effective early cancer detection and screening
devices will assist the Canadian medical community and patients at large. Early detection and screening save lives and costs
that burden the medical budget. Also, this methodology is beneficial to monitor populations at high cancer development risk,
such as smokers, industrial, and occupational workers.

Characterization of a novel humanized monoclonal antibody specific to VEGF-C: Impact on lymphatic metastasis in cancer

Les cellules cancéreuses peuvent voyager vers des sites éloignés via le système lymphatique; Ce système est similaire à un réseau de tuyaux à l’intérieur du corps qui transporte des fluides et des cellules vers tous les organes. La propagation métastatique des cellules cancéreuses à travers ce réseau est l’une des raisons pour lesquelles cette maladie est si difficile à arrêter. Nous collaborons avec Kalgene Pharmaceuticals pour tester un nouveau composé qui peut affecter le système lymphatique. L’espoir est de bloquer ce réseau et ainsi stopper la propagation métastatique, améliorant ainsi la survie des patients. En partenariat avec Kalgene, nous fournirons l’expertise scientifique et technique nécessaire pour promouvoir ce nouveau composé en clinique.

Ideal growth conditions for optimal nutrient content and yield in companion crops grown in vertical farming

Just Vertical builds, sells, and supports indoor growing gardens and farming modules. Indoor vertical farming is becoming more popular but is currently limited by the varieties of crops that can be grown and subsequently, the nutritionally density of those crops grown indoors. Building on the first research project between Just Vertical and Seneca in 2020, this project will produce recipes to effectively grow nutritious, high-yielding crops in AEVA units using conditions that optimize the growth of a variety of
crops grown at the same time.
The Seneca research team will develop methods for crop nutrient analysis, perform chemical analyses, and make recommendations to Just Vertical on optimizing food growth and nutrition. The project will also evaluate how common growing mistakes can affect crop yield and nutrition. These results will be implemented by customers through proprietary growth recipes, which will give Just Vertical a competitive edge to attract new customers and market share.

Data & Reporting Analyst

Learners.ai is pioneering the application of a new approach for financial services and eCommerce firms to scale their products/services and accelerate revenue using a data-driven approach. The project “Scalable Reveune Operations for Learners.ai” is aimed at implementing the go-to-market strategy for a scalable Revenue Operations service created by Learners.ai after successfully delivering results several clients.

An Enhanced Micro-Suspension System

VueReal is currently developing LED technology that requires transfer of devices during fabrication to other sites. However, these devices are fragile. During the transfer process, an unacceptably large number of devices are damaged due to failures in their suspension systems. This reduces the fabrication yield and therefore increases production cost. It is not obvious whether these failures arise due to temperature variations, shocks during transportation, or other reasons. This project aims to address this challenge and propose directions for further development.

The objective of this project is to propose a solution that will alleviate device failures during transportation. The first step in the proposed approach is to model and simulate the device and its suspension system using Finite Element Modeling and to carry out thermal and structural (shock) analyses on the model. This will allow us to identify the root cause(s) of those failures. We will then re-design the suspension system in order to address those causes. Different solutions will be developed, simulated, and validated. Finally, a candidate solution will be proposed.

VueReal is a Canadian leader in Micro-LED technology.

Développement d’un système de test déployable sur le terrain pour la surveillance environnementale

Il y a actuellement plus de 9 000 sites potentiellement contaminés au Canada qui nécessitent une évaluation environnementale. Le test déployable sur le terrain (FDA) est une méthode simple et économique pour effectuer une surveillance environnementale précise et des évaluations de sites. Les FDA sont composées d’un corps principal fixe et d’une variété de cartouches interchangeables. Ces cartouches agissent comme de mini serres, permettant facilement de surveiller la croissance des plantes et des champignons sur une période prolongée. En fonction du taux de germination des graines, de la croissance des semis et des interactions plante-champignon, le degré de contamination d’un site peut être déterminé. L’objectif de la recherche est d’affiner les modèles de cartouches existants ainsi que de développer de nouveaux modèles. De nouvelles espèces seront également ajoutées à la liste des candidats appropriés pouvant être utilisés, permettant des évaluations environnementales plus approfondies.

Promoting BEST (BEtter, Faster, Longer, STronger) Walking for People with Parkinsons

This project aims to improve how people with Parkinson Disease (PD) walk. Typically, people with PD develop a shuffling gait and limits walking for health and fitness and can also lead to falls and fractures. This project is based on a SMART sensor, Heel2ToeTM, that attaches to the outside of the shoe and gives a “beep” when the wearer makes a good step, one in which the heel is the first point of contact with the surface. Starting a step with a strong heel strike, changes a stooped shuffling gait to one that is upright and striding. The aim here is to make this technology as useful as possible. To do this, we will invite 100 people with PD to try the Heel2Toe sensor and give us feedback about their experience while we track their progress. According to Parkinson Quebec, there are 25,000 people with PD in Quebec and 3924 are registered with Parkinson Quebec.

Land-use regulation modelling and conflicts detection in 3D city models: A proof of concept based on Bentley software solutions (3D CityLuR)

In the process of issuing building permit, urban planners need to check the compliance of proposed development with all required rules, policies, and land-use regulations (e.g., 2D and 3D) of the city mostly by using 2D graphical representations. In this internship, we will assess the value added of having 3D digital representation of land-use regulation to support this process. Currently there is not such commercial solution or professional services dedicated to this end. Based on conceptual framework developed at Université Laval, the internship proposes to apply those concepts and develop a proof of concept on Bentley products (iTwin and OpenCitiesPlanner). This may represent a main commercial advantage for Bentley Canada. Based on the case study of city of Melbourne (Australia), the internship will investigate how, in using iTwin, the regulations related to planning permits can be modeled in 3D (called 3D CityLuR) and combined with the 3D city model (Building Information Model). Then, a procedure developed on OpenCitiesPlanner will be utilized to verify the possibility of locating and ranking the potential conflicts between the 3D CityLuR and the 3D model of the proposed and existing buildings.

Analysis of Quality Control Processes & Consumer Journey within the Agri-Food Industry of Canada

The focus of this internship is to build upon initial market research conducted on consumer segments currently focused on by Allos Bioscience. There will be a comprehensive analysis to detail and refine the consumer journey within the industry / market, as well as the development of a decision matrix used to rank industrial feedback. The decision matrix will allow Allos to determine what additional biosensors and additional features should be prioritized from a qualitative and quantitative / economic standpoint such that Allos can best utilize its financial runway. Financial models and tools will be utilized to make forward looking projections that will help analyze market growth in each consumer segment – working in tangent with the decision matrix to outline the best path(s) for Allos moving forward.