Projets novateurs réalisés

Application of volcanic ash deposits to predict future geologic hazards in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Japan

Japan is one of the most geologically active countries on Earth. It has seen many volcanic eruptions throughout its history, along with earthquakes and tsunamis due to plate tectonic movements. Over time, these eruptions have deposited many volcanic ash layers onto the ground, where they are buried and preserved. We can use these ash layers to determine volcanic activity over time. Additionally, by observing how the previously horizontal ash layers have deformed after they have been buried, we can determine how and when tectonic movements have influenced the area in the past. We will examine one of three potential cores taken from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and compare its ash layers to other sampled cores from past studies. By doing so, we will be able to understand some of the past geologic processes that have occurred in the region. TO BE CONT’D

Edge Biasing of Field Reversed Configuration Plasma

Edge-biasing applied to Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) plasma can mitigate instabilities and improve particle and energy confinement. We propose to use a biasing electrode to actively control the plasma on the FRC Amplification via Translation (FAT) device at Nihon University. The objective of the project will be to experimentally verify the possibility of global and microscopic plasma stability by applying edge-biasing onto an FRC in the FAT-FRC facility. The electrode must be capable of applying different electric potentials onto the magnetic surfaces in order to generate a suitable radial electric field. Detailed design work including the calculation of the magnetic field structure will be conducted prior to the experiment. Coaxial layered electrodes will be designed and installed in the FAT-FRC device. Plasma diagnostic measurements will be made in order to evaluate the properties of the plasma during the experiment. The results will be analyzed and compared with theoretical predictions.

Widefield Time Resolved Fluorescence with Multi-Tap Pixel

We would like to develop a wide-field fluorescence lifetime imaging(FLIM) system with a 4-Tap image sensor developed by the Imaging Devices Laboratory. During the duration of our stay we will develop the software and hardware solution to enable the collection of wide field FLIM images, and test the performance on a standard biology set, and a local biological sample such as a root structure. We wish to show that a multi-tap pixel enables the efficient collection of multi-exponential decays. From these multi exponential decays we can demonstrate that a multi-tap pixel outperforms other time resolved solutions in low signal environments and is compatible for multipoint confocal microscopy. Our lab group has developed a widefield multipoint confocal microscope that uses window scanners to enable uniform scanning of 32×32 confocal points. TO BE CONT’D

Contemporary Cultural Iconography of the Manga Superhero’s Distribution in Japanese Bookstores: A Study in Publication Practices and the American Hero’s Transposed Contexts

Japanese comics, popularly known as manga, are currently experiencing a resurgence of the superhero similar to that of the American comics industry. While most research on manga discusses how it impacts other cultures, I aim to locate the influence of the American comic industry on manga through the superhero figure that has become popular through publishing houses such as Marvel and DC. My research will examine the role of the American superhero on the publication and marketing of manga in Japan by focusing on the importance of the bookstore as a space for the publishing industry and the consuming fan to interact the most directly. My research will address questions of political ideology and the shifting cultural specificities that the popularity of the superhero brings as it populates manga more frequently in Japan from the publishing house to bookstores where fans can access the changing form it symbolizes.

Détection de l’état des roulements avec des mesures ultrasoniques

La compagnie P&W Canada souhaite améliorer ses processus d’inspection et de détection. Plus

spécifiquement, elle a ciblé deux requis critiques pour le fonctionnement et le rendement d’une

turbine. Le premier est l’état des roulements du rotor (avant et après assemblage ainsi qu’après le

test final avant livraison au client). Le deuxième critère est la présence de fuites après assemblage. Il

s’agit essentiellement de localiser les micro-fuites d’air, de carburant ou de lubrifiant.

Un roulement présente plusieurs stades de dégradation. Les techniques usuelles d’inspection de la

dégradation des roulements utilisent les vibrations dans la gamme de fréquence audible (<= 20 kHz) ou le bruit (oreille, stéthoscope, etc.) et permettent de détecter les défauts de roulements dans leur troisième stade de dégradation (vie résiduelle supérieure à 1%). Pour améliorer la précocité et la fiabilité de la détection, P&W Canada s’est associée à l’ÉTS pour développer des outils intelligents basés sur une nouvelle technologie de mesure dans le domaine ultrasonique (20-100 kHz). Il.................................

Optimization of an MR TOF for Barium-tagging with nEXO

A multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR TOF) has been fully designed, simulated, and optimized at McGill university. The MR TOF will be machined, assembled and commissioned throughout 2019. To facilitate this process, the student will travel to the RIKEN Nishina center and gain experience in operating and maintaining an existing MR TOF. This will provide valuable insight into any unforeseen considerations that could be involved with commissioning an MR TOF. It will also equip the student with the expertise needed to conduct research with such a device, under the guidance of experienced researchers.
The goal of the project is to apply an optimization routine, developed at McGill, to an existing MR TOF. This will provide a benchmark for the new MR TOF before it has been commissioned. It will also yield insight into the relationship between simulated and real performance, which will help to troubleshoot issues that arise during commissioning.

Regime Switch Analysis on Time-series Data for Financial Prediction

In recent years, the emergence of massive temporal data has become a reality in almost all aspects of social life, economic activity, security and defense, and poses a big challenge for existing methods. This project focuses on prediction from temporal data that arise ubiquitously in healthcare, social, industrial and financial fields. Events typically include changes in health status such as hospital readmission or death, evolution in social networks such that communities arise or vanish, modifications in energy consumption (e.g., wattage changes) and regime changes in stock markets. To address these, we need advanced survival analysis methods and algorithms.

Animator Agency in Japan’s Character-Centric Media Mix

Human control over technology has become an increasingly political question. As we struggle to regain control over technology, dealing with the effects of the Anthropocene and global climate change, we are lead to ask: do we deserve to have control in the first place? Not limited to the impact on the natural environment, animate media are one more technology for which control is slipping out of human hands. Do media now animate us, and if so how do we respond? This research asks the question: what is the role of human agency in Japan’s media mix? Through an analysis of magical girl media mixes such that of Studio Trigger’s Kill la Kill, this project asks who animates who in the broader mix of animators of all kinds.

Braiding new possibilities for co-existence: holding spaces for difficult conversations

This project uses social cartography as its main methodological and collaborative tool to map practices that enable or hinder successful collaborations in spaces of socially engaged art between members of various communities in historic dissonance. These include artists from Indigenous and other racialized communities. More specifically, this project explores the potentials of post-representational uses of social cartography, as forms of “cognitive art” that are socially engaged in ways that challenge dominant forms of representation and agenda setting. The partner organisation in this project, the Musagetes Foundation, is supporting many projects of socially engaged art and this project will produce collaborative cartographies with the supported artists that will model the creation of spaces of encounter that are inclusive, open and rigorous. The process will be documented and reported in scholarly articles and reports available via Musagetes ArtsEverywhere website to other audiences and organizations.

In vitro digestibility of resistant starch after high-temperature cooking with Rapid Visco Analyzer 4800

In this project, the intern will have the opportunity to work in Perten Instruments Canada and Carbohydrate Chemistry and Utilization Laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan to use the latest model of Rapid Visco Analyzer 4800 (developed by Perten Instruments) to evaluate the performance of resistant starch. The new instrument has the capability to heat resistant starch slurry up to 140°C, which is a significant improvement from previous models as they can only reach a heating temperature of 95°C. This unique feature will enable food ingredient and processing companies to evaluate the digestibility of resistant starch during high temperature food processing, such as in the manufacture of canned, extruded, and dairy products. The research will significantly expand our knowledge on the digestibility of resistant starch, which will be essential for utilizing RVA 4800 as a powerful tool to assess the application value of resistant starch ingredients in different food products.

PITCH – Proactive Integrated Tech-enabled Patient-Centric Healthcare

PITCH is a new initiative focussed on understanding new models for delivering sustainable and proactive health assessments with a focus on patient engagement. It is a collaborative program that includes computer scientists, engineers, data scientists, clinicians, home care providers, and industry partners. In this work, we aim to develop novel security, auditing, analysis and visualization tools to support this and other emerging digital health systems and connected devices. In particular, we aim to understand the requirements for creating safe, private, actionable, and trustable data that can be used by patients, caregivers, and decision makers

Algorithme décisionnel intelligent pour systèmes de stockage énergétique.

Tandis que la diversité et l’efficacité des ressources énergétiques ne cessent de croître, l’emmagasinement d’énergie à moyenne et grande échelle constitue un des défis majeurs de notre secteur énergétique actuel.
Le présent projet met en place une politique décisionnelle automatisée à base d’intelligence artificielle, spécialement entraînée par rapport à l’impact de ses décisions. Ceci permet d’une part d’optimiser le comportement de tout dispositif de stockage sans se soucier de sa nature, de sa technologie ou de ses spécificités; d’autre part de présenter une adaptation continue et en temps réel au changement dans son environnement suite à son instauration.
Le projet bénéfique pour l’environnement et le développement durable présente un intérêt autant pour les distributeurs électriques, que pour les institutions publiques, les clients privés et les industriels.