Projets novateurs réalisés

Effects of exotic invasion and terrestrial DOC on aquatic food web quality, and the body condition and Hg bioaccumulation of sportfish

The project will quantify spatial variation in food web quality associated with round goby / dreissenid mussel invasion and terrestrial dissolved organic carbon to understand how it may mediate the nutritional state (fatty acid content), body size, and Hg contaminant load of sportfish. We will work across existing spatial aquatic gradients in historical inorganic Hg sediment contamination, abundance of exotic round gobies and dreissenid mussels, and terrestrial DOC in the Upper St. Lawrence River. The Upper St. Lawrence River system has an economically-important sportfish industry, and we will provide insight into how the interplay of multiple stressors in this anthropogenically-impacted ecosystem plays out for contaminant loads and fitness of sportfish. TO BE CONT’D

Les facteurs influençant les décisions en matière de retraite ou demaintien en emploi des professionnels âgés de 50 ans : une étudedans le secteur de la finance et des assurances au Québec

Cette recherche nous permettra de comprendre ce qui motive et encourage les travailleurs âgés du secteur de la finance et des assurances à prolonger leur vie professionnelle. De plus, cette recherche s’inscrit dans la continuité d’une précédente recherche ayant été entreprise auprès d’employeurs du secteur de la finance et des assurances au Québec. Cette dernière a servi à récolter des données auprès de professionnels RH afin de connaître quelles pratiques de rémunération globale favorisant la rétention en emploi des professionnels âgés sont en place dansces organisations. Cette présente recherche permettra donc d’arrimer les deux collectes de données afin d’établir un portrait de ce qui se fait dans les organisations et d’explorer ce que les professionnels âgés du secteur privilégient dans la rémunération globale offerte par leur employeur pour leur rétention en emploi. Les conclusions de cette étude pourront contribuer à la croissance des entreprises du secteur de la finance, mais également à d’autres organisations aux prises avec une problématique de pénurie de talents et de vieillissement de leur maind’oeuvre.

Importance du frêne pour la biodiversité dans les forêts ripariennes sous influence du castor et de l’agrile du frêne

Depuis l’arrivée de l’agrile du frêne en Amérique du Nord, et plus particulièrement suite aux reportages sur les ravages de cet insecte exotique au niveau des arbres dans les villes, nous sommes plus vigileants lorsque les nouvelles traitent des frênes.
Une large proportion des gens connaissent néanmoins peu lesrôles écologiques des frênes, et il est vrai que les scientifiques ont beaucoup moins étudié ces essences que celles qui ont un caractère commercial plus évident.
Si les frênes dans les villes sont nombreux, ils sont aussi très présents dans les forêts feuillues du sud du Québec, et plus particulièrement dans les forêts situées en zone inondable.
Ce projet cherche à mieux comprendre l’importance des frênes dans ces milieux afin de mieux orienter ce qui devrait être entrepris afin de minimiser les impacts de leur disparition suite à l’attaque de l’agrile, car cet insecte fait désormais parti de notre environnement.
Sachant que les frênes sont aussi des essences prisées par le castor, on cherchera notamment à mieux cerner l’importance de ces essences pour cet animal, qui par son activité, soutient une riche diversité. On cherchera également à déterminer si les forêts dominées par les frênes en milieux riverains des cours d’eau abritent un biodiversité particulière.

Hardware Support and Heterogeneous Compilation for P4

Today’s data-center network services cover a broad spectrum that evolve rapidly which means that regularly new services need to be deployed in production networks in a timely manner. Using network programmability, a network programmer can write a precise specification of what the network behaviour should be, and this specification is translated by a compiler and executed on the hardware. The goal of the project is to allow this programmability to include automatically leveraging hardware to improve performance. The results of the project will help improve the partner’s competitiveness in this market.

L’impact des décisions prises pendant la conception architecturale sur le fonctionnement du bâtiment : Le cas de la Maison du développement durable à Montréal

L’impact du cadre bâti sur l’environnement est énorme : environ 40% de la consommation totale d’énergie et 30% des émissions de gaz à effet de serre proviennent de l’industrie de la construction. Alors que l’on essaie de remédier à cette situation en construisant des bâtiments plus performants et durables, il existe souvent un écart entre la performance anticipée de ces bâtiments et leur performance réelle après la construction. Conçue et construite entre 2014-2011, la Maison du développement durable à Montréal est considérée l’un des bâtiments les plus durables au Québec. Pourtant, comment savoir si le bâtiment fonctionne comme il devrait? Ce projet MITACS vise à effectuer une étude approfondie sur les aspects qualitatifs et fonctionnels de ce bâtiment emblématique. Les résultats aideront les professionnels et les entreprises à concentrer leurs efforts et leurs ressources sur les éléments essentiels à la conception des bâtiments performants.

Application of lean construction in small and medium-sized enterprises

Construction SMEs significantly contribute to Canada’s economy. Therefore high productivity within the SMEs is highly beneficial for the development of the country. Building constructions and renovations are everyday occurrences which involve the constant need to improve and readapt business practices to market forces and trends of globalization. Consumers and business owners face problemsduring each project that may result in delayed project delivery or extra cost spending. No one really likes this right? Research indicates that large construction firms have successfully incorporated lean construction elements in their processes. However, the application of lean elements in Construction SMEs is not particularly defined. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to bring relief to construction clients and business owners among SMEs through on-time project delivery and precise budget spending with little or no modifications, by application of lean construction principles which will increase the credibility of construction SMEs (case example Kinetic). This, in turn, would increase customer base through referrals, thus, resulting in long-term sustainability and profitability for the company. This project should serve as an example of the practical application of Lean philosophy within the construction SMEs and encourage several other SMEs in Canada to adopt it successfully.

VAIA : Vente assistée par Intelligence Artificielle

Ce projet est une preuve de concept sur l’utilisation de l’intelligence artificielle afin d’améliorer l’efficacité des agents d’un centre d’appels. Ce système analysera la voix de l’agent afin d’extraire certaines caractéristiques tel que le nombre de mots par minute ou le ratio entre le temps de parole de l’agent et celui du client. En plus de ces caractéristiques vocales, le système sera aussi en mesure d’analyser le contenu lexical du message. Cette analyse permettra de vérifier à quel point le vendeur suit le script proposé par les administrateurs. Le tout permettra de donner des conseils à l’agent à temps réel. De plus, le système permettra d’obtenir différents types d’information sur les ventes, permettant à l’entreprise d’améliorer ces processus ainsi que d’offrir aux agents une formation plus adéquate.

Development of a CNC Machine Tool Performance Simulation System:“The VCNC System”

The industry uses computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools to manufacture

parts efficiently at high speed. Before batch manufacturing is performed confidently, a

trial-and-error cutting test is required to validate if part tolerances are violated, which is a

costly and time-consuming procedure. The objective of this research project is to develop

a Virtual CNC System, which can simulate the CNC motion in virtual environment.

Hence, the feed motion of general multi-axis machine tools will be modeled by

considering the machine’s kinematics structure and the dynamics of the servo system,

namely the ball-screw and linear drives. The effect of cutting process will be integrated

through the servo loop as disturbance to simulate the interaction between machine and

process. Thus, packaging the complete engineering design, analysis and simulation

system, namely the Virtual CNC System, has significant potential to be used both in the

industry as well as in engineering schools as an advanced design and teaching tool for

multi-axis motion control systems.

Advanced pricing methods for Property and Casualty Insurance

Pricing risks is of pivotal importance for the insurer’s well-being. Indeed, inappropriately determined prices, whether too high or too low, may result in insolvency of insurance policies, failure of business lines, and even bankruptcy of entire insurance enterprises. This project will help Wawanesa Insurance to develop sophisticated pricing techniques that will take into account (a) exogenous pricing factors, and (b) interdependencies among risks. Wawanesa Insurance will therefore benefit from the resulting competitive advantage. Also, as strong insurance sector is often linked to the stability of the state’s financial system, the entire Canadian community will benefit from the outcomes of this research project.

Investigating the effectiveness of mental health services offered through the Zebra Centre: Assessing what works for children who have been abused

This project will serve as the first formal program evaluation for the Zebra Centre, which has been serving victims of abuse in Edmonton and the surrounding area for 15 years. Program evaluation would open up opportunities for the Zebra Centre to learn about their strengths and areas of need in regards to their ability to support families who have undergone childhood trauma. As the Zebra Centre is preparing to expand their services to include on-site mental health support, it will be critical to investigate factors that are more likely to produce positive outcomes in families who have experienced trauma. The results gath

Natural lime biocomposite panels for sustainable building applications

This project deals with the development and optimization of natural biocomposite panels for sustainable, cost effective housing application. The application of these novel panels has several benefits for the public. First of all, pollution by carbon dioxide will be dramatically reduced as these panels not only emit less carbon dioxide for their production, but are made of materials such as natural limes that absorb carbon dioxide from the environment over time and carbon-based biomaterials which are sequestered in the composite. These materials are also non-toxic, and have very good performance in terms of acoustic and thermal insulation as well as moist retention. With these research projects, the panel design will be optimized considering multiple performance requirements (structural, thermal and sound insulation, and durability) and considering the most cost-effective and sustainable materials available in Canada. TO BE CONT’D

Investigating the causes of asphaltenes formation during visbreaking of deasphalted oil

Canadian bitumen has high viscosity compared to conventional crude oils which unable its transportation to upgraders and refineries by pipeline. In order to improve its fluidity, bitumen is submitted to high temperatures that will allow the break of chemical bonds. This process is called visbreaking. Nevertheless, the product is unstable due to the presence of asphaltenes which can precipitate and cause clogging of equipment and olefins that can further polymerize and form gums upon storage. BituMaxTM process (developed by Nexen Energy Inc.) integrates visbreaking with deasphalting process, i.e., the feed is first deasphalted before visbreaking. However, it is observed the formation of asphaltenes during the process. In order to mitigate asphaltenes formation during BituMaxTM, it is necessary to first understand the nature of molecules and the chemical conversions that take place during the process that will ultimately lead to an increase in asphaltenes content. TO BE CONT’D