Innovative Projects Realized

Explore thousands of successful projects resulting from collaboration between organizations and post-secondary talent.

13270 Completed Projects

1072
AB
2795
BC
430
MB
106
NF
348
SK
4184
ON
2671
QC
43
PE
209
NB
474
NS

Projects by Category

10%
Computer science
9%
Engineering
1%
Engineering - biomedical
4%
Engineering - chemical / biological

Gaming Floor Performance Prediction

The purpose of this internship project is to explore the possibility for mathematically modelling casino floors in order to predict floor performance in partnership with SPIELO, a Moncton, NB-based company which designs, manufactures and distributes high-tech gaming products. Such a model could be used to assist floor operators with deciding where to place games. Recent advancements in game machine technology make it possible to change a game provided at a given location on a casino floor by simply downloading software to a physical machine permanently placed at that location. It is current practice for floor operators to collect data about machine performance regularly and switch games based on this data and a set of heuristics acquired through experience. The mathematical model proposed in this project could assist operators with developing optimal floor plans.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Dawn MacIsaac

Student:

Daniel Rogers

Partner:

SPIELO

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Digital media

University:

University of New Brunswick

Program:

Accelerate

Fertilization to Increase Soil C Sequestration and Mitigate Climate Change

Forest soils are a significant sink for the greenhouse gas, CO2. Concerns over climate change have led to increased interest in methods to increase the forest C sink. Fertilization of forests has been demonstrated to increase productivity of many forest types and this has an associated benefit of increased C sequestration in biomass. There is mounting evidence that N fertilization will also increase C sequestration in soil as more and more little material is produced. N also appears to interfere with the decomposition of this litter. However, the mechanisms behind the increased soil C sequestration are unclear; N may alter the composition of the soil microbial communities which differ in their ability to produce litter-degrading enzymes. The intern will, therefore, assess the potential of fertilization to increase C stores in humus and soil by comparing soil C, microbial communities and their enzyme activities related to cycling of C and N in fertilized and unfertilized plots of western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock, Yellow Cypress and Amabilis Firs near Port McNeill, BC. The study, in partnership with Western Forest Products – an integrated Canadian forest products company – will inform development of carbon indicators for certification schemes and will add to our understanding of ecosystem function.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Sue Grayston

Student:

Joyce Shen

Partner:

Western Forest Products Inc.

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Forestry

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Ecosystem Recovery after Disturbance: Thresholds for Biodiversity and Resiliency Indicators

This project will use vegetation indicators of biodiversity to define response curves for measuring ecological resilience in three forest ecosystems in central BC. The vegetation indicators to be evaluated are: 1) the rate of regrowth; 2) the rate of recovery of species richness; and 3) the rate of recovery of original species composition. The research team hypothesizes that ecological resilience increases with site productivity and decreases with the length of intervals between wildfires. The team will use the post-burn vegetation data collected in the summer of 2007 to develop a structural equation model to help explain why differences in ecological resilience exist across the environmental gradients of these forest ecosystems. This research will support the partner’s Future Forest Ecosystems Initiative which is aimed at protecting and enhancing the resilience of BC’s forests through an adaptive management strategy.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Suzanne Simard

Student:

Julia Chandler

Partner:

BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Forestry

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Climate Change Impacts Monitoring of Shoreline Systems in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve

The intern’s study will establish a network to monitor coastal erosion and shoreline changes related to erosive water levels and longer-term trends (e.g. sea level rise, storm surges) associated with climate variability and change in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. Climate data, water levels, air photos and cross-shore profiles are crucial indicators of coastal responses to climate change yet their availability and continuity are sparse in some regions. The specific objectives of this research project are: 1) to establish a monitoring network to assess the dynamics and future vulnerability of shoreline systems to geomorphic changes within Gulf Islands National Park Reserve; 2) to identify regional historical and modern trends in oceanographic variables; and 3) to provide park-specific management and planning recommendations for ongoing and potential future climate change impacts within the park.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Ian J. Walker

Student:

Rebecca Cumming

Partner:

Parks Canada

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

An Integrated Evaluation and Planning System for Supporting Sustainable Management of Groundwater Resources

Groundwater over-extraction and the associated adverse effects have raised significant concerns. In order to respond to the urgent calls for effective management approaches and control actions, this study aims to develop an innovative groundwater evaluation and planning system by integrating water balance modelling, system optimization, scenario analysis and capability assessment. The main research tasks to be carried out during the project, in partnership with InCoreTec, an applied engineering and consulting firm, include: identification and characterization of the existing problems in groundwater and the supply systems in Newfoundland, the development of an integrated and comprehensive planning framework based on the water evaluation and planning system, conducting investigations and interviews to formulate the system specifications to find the end-user’s needs and development preferences, evaluation of existing and alternative water management strategies and preparation of recommendations for local operational water plans to promote sustainable groundwater management.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Bing Chen

Student:

A. Moein M. Shahwan

Partner:

InCoreTec Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Program:

Accelerate

Air Quality Monitoring and Modelling of Emissions from Cruise Ships and the Associated Traffic in James Bay in Victoria, BC

Victoria, BC has become a favorite stopping point for cruise liners, the majority of which are en route to, or heading back from, Alaska. A record number of 184 ships and 352,000 passengers visited Victoria during the 2006 cruise season (April to October) and 163 calls are expected in 2007. To help understand the impact of the cruise traffic on the surrounding waterways, the intern will use CALPUFF atmospheric dispersion modeling to model emissions from visiting cruise ships and the associated bus and taxi traffic. Field monitoring will be performed in the James Bay community surrounding the cruise terminal to quantify ground level concentrations of known pollutants. Residents from the surrounding community have questioned the effects of the terminal’s operations on air quality for a number of years and these findings will hopefully help to answer their inquiries.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Peter Keller

Student:

Karla Poplawski

Partner:

BC Ministry of Environment

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

Developing Microkinetics Oxidation Models

The emissions of NOx and SO2 are subject to increasingly severe environmental regulations. In an effort to reduce the amount of NOx and SO2 emitted by DuPont’s industrial facilities, the intern will develop new capabilities in NOx and SO2 absorption modeling. During the project, the intern will begin by learning the ChemKin™ software, which he will apply to simulate the absorption of NOx and SO2 into caustic. Caustic is a liquid solution currently used to “clean” exhaust gases from NOx and SO2 in wet scrubber equipment. This model will then permit the optimization of existing scrubbers to enhance their effectiveness. The model will also simulate the formation and reaction of NOx and SO2 with other reactants in chemical plants to identify operating conditions that could lower pollutant formation.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Gregory S. Patience

Student:

Jean-Philippe Laviolette

Partner:

DuPont Canada

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Chemicals

University:

Polytechnique Montréal

Program:

Accelerate

Tree Usage Optimization

Western Forest Products is an integrated Canadian forest products company and currently the second largest coastal woodland operator in British Columbia. Traditionally, a tree is cut based on a logger’s observation of the tree including any defects, its species as well as its taper. Currently, these factors do not explicitly consider the products which are in demand. Thus, the goal of this internship is to develop a method to assist the logger to produce the optimal ratio of products demanded by the market. To accomplish this, the intern will find, for each division of a tree, the sum of the profits for each piece of tree as determined by the market and then choose the division which maximizes the sum of the profits.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Ramesh Krishnamurti

Student:

Justin Hebert

Partner:

Western Forest Products Inc.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Forestry

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Stochastic Modelling of Pre-sales and Network Request Provisioning Sub-processes at Bell Canada

The objective of this project is to contribute a quantitative framework for analyzing potential inefficiencies of current practices at Bell Canada in the early stages of telecommunication service provisioning, particularly pre-sales and network request sub-processes. Models of these processes incorporating randomness are to be estimated from past data and utilized as a basis for efficiency improvement using both simulation and analytical optimization tools.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Roland Malhamé

Student:

Fatima Zahra-Mhada

Partner:

Bell Canada

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Polytechnique Montréal

Program:

Accelerate

Novel Approaches for Heart Failure Screening Based on Ballistocardiograph Signals

Identifying early onset of cardiac diseases is not easy and can be very expensive. For this reason, the first symptom of cardiac problems is often catastrophic for patients. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce a low-cost screening device that effectively identifies the presence of the disease early, allowing patients to take corrective action in terms of lifestyle, diet and stress management in order to eliminate the need for surgical intervention and/or drug therapy. The intern will adopt a new focus on Ballistocardiograph signals in order to detect signs of heart disease early on.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Bozena Kaminska

Student:

Kouhya Tavakolian

Partner:

Heart Force Medical Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Monitoring Sleep-related Breathing Irregularities with Computer Vision Techniques

Sleep monitoring plays an essential role in the diagnosis of sleep disturbances. While the polysomnogram represents the gold standard, it has the disadvantage of assessing the patient’s sleep in an unfamiliar environment, usually a sleep clinic. This proposal targets the development of new computer vision-based methods for home-based sleep monitoring in partnership with Vigil Health Solutions, a company providing healthcare services and products internationally. The implementation of these methods will result in a software package that will be compatible with inexpensive, unobtrusive bed sensors composed of a flat array of pressure-sensitive devices. The project will target the automatic detection and measurement of sleep apnea, of bidirectional transitions from profound to shallow breathing, of whole body motion occurring during sleep and other sleep quality indicators.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Alexandra Albu

Student:

Kaveh Malakuti

Partner:

Vigil Health Solutions Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

Model Transformation

In recent years, model-driven approaches have been used to tackle problems of ever-increasing complexity. A crucial component is the modelling of model transformation. This project will develop theory, techniques and a prototype implementation of a model transformation system in partnership with Manyeta, a provider of high-performance support systems and content management solutions which help clients to optimize business-processes by using technology more effectively and through the control of IT spending. In particular, the intern will build a Triple Graph Grammar (TGG) rewriting system and add explicit representation of hierarchy as well as control structures to it. The latter is called programmed graph rewriting and TGG will be grafted onto the discrete event formalism.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Hans Vangheluwe

Student:

Eugene Syriani

Partner:

Manyeta Informatique

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

University:

McGill University

Program:

Accelerate

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