Innovative Projects Realized

Detoxification of oil sands process-affected water

Alberta’s oil sands tailings ponds contain approximately one billion m3of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). This water is toxic and must be treated in order to comply with environmental regulations. In this project, Metabolik’s team will conduct two sequential field trials in small, contained environments, where they will identify, and assess the impact of the key environmental parameters such as dissolved oxygen, pH, osmolarity and temperature on the ability of the strains to degrade the toxins in tailings pond water. These results will provide critical information for the company’s on-going efforts to evolve the microorganism strains to improve their toxin degradation rates. Metabolik will also develop standards and testing protocols to assess the effectiveness of the technology, which will allow the company to establish the optimal environmental and operational conditions for the large-scale deployments.
Metabolik’s technology will initially be focused on detoxifying of OSPW but the methods and analytics developed during this project can be customized to remediate other challenging water pollutants, allowing BC to become a world leader in developing genomics tools to remediate contaminated sites.

Portable Device for COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Tests

We have seen the recent surge of COVID-19 because we cannot afford another massive shut-down. A portable and timely detection device for the COVID-19 nucleic test is more desirable. In this proposal, we propose to develop an impedance-based nucleic acid testing device. Our LOC devices are low cost, user friendly alternatives to centralized lab tests. By partnering with Hidaca Ltd., our ultimate goal is to have this made-in-Canada technology available on the market as soon as possible to benefit Canadians and the Canadian economy.

A Data-Driven Automation Framework for Chromatography-based Purification of High-value Biotherapeutics

A critical task towards maximizing productivity in the manufacturing of biotherapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies is selecting the appropriate separation technology or sequence of technologies that meet the purity requirements of regulatory agencies (e.g. Health Canada) and maximize product recovery to reduce the overall cost per dose. The focus of this research project is two-fold. First to develop new performance monitoring tools for continuous chromatography processes. Second to optimize the downstream purification process by removing process bottlenecks and incorporating process simplifications. Sartorius, the partner for this project, will provide the state-of-the-art equipment that is needed to conduct the experimental work and student training opportunities at their R&D facilities in North America and Europe. As a global leader in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and life sciences research, Sartorius is ideally suited to translate the outcomes from this research project into the biotherapeutics manufacturing facilities of their wide network of clients.

Toronto Ambient Air Quality Impacts from COVID-19

The use and burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and gas for transportation and industrial activities, are sources of both air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. While air pollution affects human health, greenhouse gas contributes to climate change. Therefore, reducing fossil fuel use can improve air quality as well as help fight climate change. The restrictions on transportation and industrial activities put in place in Toronto to limit the spread of COVID-19 provide a unique opportunity to help identify the sources of air pollution in the area. The proposed project will study variations of air pollutants concentrations before, during, and after the implementation of movement restrictions to understand the relative contributions of local sources to air pollution and their relationships with human behavior and activity. Further, as there may be a possible link between air pollution exposure and higher incidences of contracting COVID-19, this study will also help inform the City for the implementation of a recovery and rebuild scenario post COVID-19.

It takes a village: Investigating the scaffolding strategies of writing development employed by ANS communities to support early literacy development.

The achievement gap observed between African Nova Scotia (ANS) learners and their peers has been a concern to the researchers, the community, policy-makers and other education sponsors. Also, the on-going COVID-19 crisis has increased calls for research studies that can share light on how education investors can trust and work together to address the achievement gap and inform policy. This research intends to use an Africentric collaborative approach to understand how parents, extended family members and other education stakeholders partner together to support ANS learner’s early writing skills. The study will also look into the challenges of providing support to enhance writing development, including challenges associated with the COVID-19 crisis. The findings from this research will help DBDLI and policy-makers to identify gaps related to home and community support of early literacy competence, and develop policies that address this challenge.

Targeting SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) methyltransferases (nsp14 and nsp10-nsp16 complex) toward developing small molecule antiviral therapeutics – Part 2

COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to standstill with more than 55 million people infected to-date and more than 1.34 million mortality so far. It has literally brought the health care systems in many countries to the breaking point, if not beyond. The economic consequences have been devastating with millions of people out of work. We are taking a novel approach by focusing on two SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) methyltransferases that are essential for viral replication. Both enzymes (nsp14 and nsp16) are druggable. Therefore, identifying potent inhibitor of these two proteins could be used in providing new therapeutics for COVID-19. In addition, because these proteins are highly similar in other coronaviruses such as SARS (SARS-Cov) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), and many other coronaviruses currently infecting animals, the same drugs likely could be effective in treatment of other current coronavirus infections, and those possibly infecting humans in future.

Development of a software module for integrity analysis of subsea pipelines facing ice-induced geohazards

The Arctic Region is considered an extreme environment for natural resources extraction. One potential threat to an Offshore Pipeline is the constant movement of ice based structures, such as icebergs and ice ridges. The project is focused on developing a numerical methodology to simulate the effects of ice gouging/ ice scouring on buried pipelines. The developed tool will incorporate all the latest advances in terms of soil properties and sophisticated interactions modeling between ice, soil and pipeline. The developed numerical tool will serve as a test platform for the numerous parameters that rule the phenomenon and as a paradigm for simplified models. The partner organization will be responsible for developing this research, under the supervision of the academic organization. The benefits will include research funding for the members of the partner organization and opportunity to work in the Offshore industry.

Integration sound considerations into the Montreal nightlife policy

Noise affects everyone, and our cities try to limit noise impacts through effective policy. We focus on the issue of night noise, where the needs of different people can vary widely between wanting quiet for sleeping and for the great nightlife that cities are known for. This collaboration between the City of Montreal and the Sounds in the City research team uses Montreal as a living laboratory to develop new tools and methods to take sound into account when developing and evaluating a new nightlife policy. The project focuses on participatory approaches to integrate the perspectives of different city users on night noise into a coherent nightlife strategy and policy. Building upon a review of regulations and best practices, the project will support the implementation of the new nightlife policy with a sound dimension. We will first determine an auditory diagnosis of the current situation in Montreal in relation to sound and noise aspects, and then develop pilot projects to evaluate innovative approaches for nightlife policy and management.

Verification methodologies for autonomous agents to enable safe marine autonomous surface ships (MASS)

The application of autonomy is driven by a desire to safeguard lives by removing crew from dangerous environments and reducing the likelihood or impact of accidents arising from human error. State of the art Marine Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) deployed for extended periods in complex in-land, coastal, and off-shore applications, must be able to address changes in their state, environment, and mission by adapting their mission plan. While ongoing developments in robotic autonomy result in systems that are capable of creating adaptable mission plans, due to the complexity, the plans these systems propose may not be predictable. It is therefore important to develop and implement verification methodologies to minimize the risk of incorporating these autonomously-created mission plans, and build confidence in their use.

This project will develop a novel verification methodology building from an understanding of traditional and emerging off-line and run-time verification methods, as they apply to autonomous mission planners that cannot be verified through existing codes and standards. The ultimate objective is to enhance the safety of the MASS and other entities (e.g. people, ships, other unmanned systems etc.) it interacts with and those it is not intended to interact with (like marine mammals, the seabed etc.).

This research brings together complementary capabilities of Dalhousie University in research and development of autonomous systems, and the expertise of Martec Ltd. in compliance and verification of manned and unmanned ships. The project will help extend Martec’s capabilities in autonomous marine systems to provide access to this active market segment.

In-Situ X-Ray Imaging of Carbon Fibre Composite Manufacturing Processes

Carbon fibre composites are a family of lightweight, high-performance materials that consist of high-strength carbon fibres embedded in a resin. These materials are used in a variety of demanding applications, such as aerospace, automotive, and marine sectors. The reduction of material weight in these transportation industries results in improved energy efficiency and reduction in greenhouse gases. One drawback of carbon fibre composites is the complexity of manufacturing, as conditions during the resin curing process must be carefully controlled in order to avoid the formation of defects that can compromise the structural stability of the material. Despite significant efforts to model and control these defects, they sometimes occur nonetheless and the mechanisms and dynamic changes behind their formation are not always well understood. The best way to understand how these defects form is to observe them directly. In order to accomplish this, x-ray imaging is often used to see inside the carbon fibre at the microscopic level. Unfortunately, this kind of imaging is too slow to watch the formation of defects in real time. One way around this is to use a special source of x-rays called a synchrotron, which can scan materials very fast at the microscopic scale.

Advanced non-destructive testing solutions for mass concrete and deepfoundations

This project aims to develop an improved methodology for condition assessment of mass concrete structures and deep foundations using customized NDT solutions and an integrated approach. The project builds on recent advances developed by the project partner (FPrimeC Solutions) and the academic research group (uOttawa) for next-generation NDT products and services. Assessing the condition of large foundations and other mass concrete structures is complex, yet critical for the protection and maintenance of valuable infrastructure assets. The results of this research collaboration, and the technology developed, will serve to consolidate FPrimeC’s position as a market leader in this field. The guidelines produced during this work will also benefit infrastructure owners and the industry at large by enabling better and more cost-efficient management strategies.

The development of nanoparticle-doped redox active hole transport materials for next-generation solar cell cathodes

Koivisto Materials Consulting Inc (KMC) is a Canadian-owned and operated for-profit company that seeks to commercialize a low-cost optically transparent photovoltaic windows and coatings. KMCs proprietary technology is based on a modified dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) architecture and novel bio-inspired dyes. The two major advantages for DSSC devices are their optical transparency and ability to operate more effectively in diffuse light conditions (cloudy days, indirect sunlight, etc.); making them amenable for urban landscapes and all interior surfaces. Specifically this project looks to incorporate nanotechnology into polymeric materials to make thinner and more efficient solar cells.