Innovative Projects Realized

Digital Strategy Coordinator – Tenzin Ozaki – Queen’s University

Problem: Lawyers need to earn professional credits each year. Sometimes their firms provide accreditation options, but many lawyers have to source their own accredited training. They are busy people who need a good selection of learning, on-the-go.
Project: Develop a strategy for a digital lawyer accreditation product.

Shawcor – Business Strategy Internship

Shawcor wants to work with a team of three MBA students looking for a challenge. Each student will be assigned one of the business segments of pipeline and pipe services, composite systems, or automotive and industrial (connection systems), stretching across all served markets.

1) After they complete an orientation and conduct an in-depth analysis of our company, segment, and its operations, they will also participate in several discovery sessions for their assigned business segment and assist in the
development of key findings and observations.
2) Following the segment review the team will work on the enterprise level Shawcor purpose and impact and contribute based on their segment findings and view of the company.
3) Final presentations will be to business segment leaders and Shawcor executives with a December milestone presenting a vision of the future to the board and executive team.

Business and Marketing Strategist

As the business and marketing strategist, I will develop a strategy for Hovey’s new outdoor product line and an e-commerce platform to market, sell, and fulfill orders.

Analyse et optimisation des operations logistique d’Electrobac suite a I’implantation de son reseau.

Depuis la mi-octobre 2012, Electrobac a implante un reseau de bacs de recuperation de dechets electroniques a I’intention des citoyens montrealais supporte par un plan logistique elabore lors du premier stage. Electrobac enregistre presentement une forte augmentation de ses points de collecte. Cette croissance va poser un defi de taille au niveau de la gestion des operations logistiques. Pour ce faire, nous conduirons une mise a jour des previsions suite a I’implementation du reseau; no us analyserons les resultats d’un sondage pour mesurer la perception et I’image de la compagnie Electrobac au sein de son ecosysteme et enfin, la resolution probleme de tournee multi periodes permettra de mieux controlerles coats lies aux operations de collecte.

Public Interest Law Centre 2.0 – Independent Business Plan

I will be working alongside distinguished industry professionals (CPAs, lawyers, etc) to create and enact a business plan to ensure a comprehensive and promising 3-year projection can be made and followed through with. My role will be modelling things such as risk, financial problems and revenue-generation.

Utilisation de nuage de points lidar à haute densité en foresterie de précision

Dans l’est du Canada, la gestion durable des forêts de feuillus et des peuplements de bois mixtes passe, entre autres, par l’implémentation d’une sylviculture de précision. En effet, dans ce type de peuplement, l’identification des tiges de haute valeur marchande et de celles à conserver est un élément primordial tant au niveau économique qu’au niveau écologique. Bien que les compagnies forestières bénéficient d’un soutien des technologies de télédétection (ex. lidar aérien, imagerie satellitaire ou relevés photogrammétriques), elles manquent d’informations précises à l’échelle de l’arbre individuel pour optimiser les opérations de récolte. Avec les avancées récentes dans les domaines des véhicules aériens sans pilotes (UAV) et la miniaturisation des capteurs lidar, l’acquisition mobile de nuage de points à ultra-haute résolution (> 1000 points/m²) est de plus en plus accessible et pourrait bien combler les besoins de l’industrie. Ce projet vise donc à valider le concept d’utilisation de données lidar mobile (terrestre et sur drone) à très haute résolution pour le support de la sylviculture de précision et leurs intégrations dans la nouvelle génération d’inventaires forestiers.

Deep learning-based illuminant estimation for mobile devices

Humans possess the ability to see objects as having the same color even when viewed under different illuminations. Cameras inherently lack this capability. A process called auto white balance (AWB) has to be applied by the camera to mimic this behavior of the human visual system. AWB is one of the first steps in a series of operations performed on-board the camera as the raw image recorded by the sensor is processed. It plays a crucial role in ensuring that the colors in the final image that is output to the user are correctly represented. In recent years, AI algorithms for AWB have demonstrated superior performance over conventional methods. However, existing AI solutions are too computationally expensive for use on smartphones and mobile cameras. The goal of this project is to devise an AI algorithm that is light-weight and capable of running in real time on-device. This project will help Samsung Electronics Canada develop an improved and more practical auto white balance AI algorithm applicable to modern smartphone camera images.

Holocene fire history as a predictor of watershed responses to future wildfires in southwestern British Columbia

Approximately 2.6 million people in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland depend on the Seymour, Capilano and Coquitlam watersheds for clean, fresh drinking water. A key component of maintaining watershed health and resilience is understanding the relationships between climate, fire and vegetation within the Water Supply Area. As the climate warms these relationships will likely change, presenting a challenge for watershed managers. Historical fire behavior, and the speed and magnitude of associated vegetational regime shifts, can act as gauges for the potential changes Vancouver’s watersheds may experience in the coming decades. By studying the pollen, charcoal and macrofossil content of a sediment core from a small, mid-elevation lake within the watershed, mangers can gain insight into Holocene climate-fire-vegetation relationships. The resulting paleoclimate history will provide information about regional fire and vegetation regime shifts during past warm periods to aid in adopting appropriate adaptive management strategies that minimize damage to watershed ecosystems.

QU02 MRI: a new window on mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease

This project seeks to develop new methods for imaging oxidative and vascular function in the brain. The methods under development are based on widely available MRI hardware, which will make them feasible for use in future clinical drug trials, an application that is of interest to the partner organization CQDM. Before the approach is ready for commercial application, a number of methodological issues must be addressed to achieve optimal sensitivity, specificity, and tolerability in patients. The project thus consists of an initial development phase, during which MRI acquisition procedures will be optimized, followed by a clinical phase in which 100 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients as well as 100 age-matched controls will undergo imaging with the final protocol. The new data provided on oxidative and vascular changes in the brains of AD patients will provide a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms in AD.

Optimisation de la régie d’irrigation en production d’amandes

La sécheresse qui perdure depuis plusieurs années en Californie entraîne les producteurs agricoles à modifier leurs pratiques culturales pour faire face à cette nouvelle réalité. Ce projet de recherche appliquée vise à définir la régie d’irrigation optimale pour la production d’amandes qui maximisera l’utilisation des ressources naturelles telles que l’eau et l’énergie nécessaire pour pomper l’eau d’irrigation. Hortau, une entreprise québécoise, développe des outils technologiques permettant à ses clients d’améliorer leurs pratiques d’irrigation. L’amande constitue un marché de niche pour l’entreprise québécoise. En testant différentes stratégies d’irrigation, les résultats de ce projet permettront d’améliorer la compréhension des besoins en eau de l’amande, permettant ainsi aux agronomes d’accompagner les producteurs à optimiser davantage l’utilisation des ressources naturelles.

Identifying Opportunities and Barriers for Local Food Infrastructure in Yellowknife, NWT

Communities throughout Canada’s North are turning to small-scale agriculture in hopes of solving food security issues, fostering economic growth and adapting to climate change. The City of Yellowknife has developed an Agriculture Strategy to build a resilient local food system. Through an emerging partnership between the City of Yellowknife and Wilfrid Laurier University, the Mitacs intern will engage community members and local food actors to identify how potential infrastructure, such as a food hub, can foster opportunities and address community-defined needs to enhance the local food economy. Through interviews and focus groups, community members will envision a sustainable food system in Yellowknife and provide input into how infrastructure can improve access to healthy, locally produced food and support the emerging local food economy. This research will result in recommendations to the City Council on infrastructure, programming and policy needs to further the dialog of local and sustainable food systems in the North.

Prospective Cohort Study of Chronic Cough in the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (CLSA)

Chronic cough is a common symptom affecting approximately 10% of the general population that has major social, psychological and physical implications including depression, anxiety, and a reduction in social participation. Current data suggests the prevalence of chronic cough increases with age and is twice as common in female than in males. The exact reasons for this are unknown and there is no licensed treatment for this condition. There are some conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which may be associated with chronic cough, but often treatment of these conditions with inhalers still leaves patients very symptomatic with cough. Therefore, there is an unmet need to better understand this condition. Unfortunately, there is no data evaluating the prevalence, incidence, characteristics, risk factors, and health consequences of the condition in the Canadian population and hence the CLSA provides a perfect opportunity to gain a better understanding of this condition. This information will be valuable in working towards better identification and treatment of chronic cough.