Projets novateurs réalisés

Exploring the benefits and risks associated with online preparation resources for situational judgment tests

Selecting the right person for a job or admitting the right individual into a medical school of similar professional program is an important but complex task. Decision-makers rely on assessment tools to help them know more about the knowledge, skills, and abilities of potential applicants before they make their choices. The Casper test by Acuity Insight is one such tools, which is used by schools in Canada and around the world to assess thousands of applicants every year.
Because performing well on that test can be the difference between being admitted into (or rejected from) an attractive program, applicants sometimes invest a lot of time and money preparing themselves. This might involve relying on advice and resources made available by the test provider, but also external ones (e.g., on social media platforms like Reddit, for-profit coaching or preparation companies, or via artificial intelligence). Yet, we do not know whether these external resources are beneficial or harmful to applicants. This project will explore this problem, relying on both in-depth analyses of the content available via such resources and an experiment testing the effectiveness of response strategies based on different types of resources.

Penstock air inlet performance during emergency closure

This project aims enhance the safety and reliability of hydropower systems by preventing the creation of significant sub-atmospheric pressures (i.e. vacuum) in penstocks during rapid dewatering events. Air-intake systems relieve vacuum conditions, but the 3D flow dynamics around these systems during emergency scenarios are not fully understood. The project will develop a comprehensive suite of computer-based flow models to simulate these conditions accurately, enhancing the design and redundancy of air-inlet systems in hydropower conduits.

L2M – Collabrix AI: Bridging the Gap Between Academic Talent and Startup Needs

Collabrix AI is developing a platform to connect startups and SMEs with student teams for project execution. By using an AI algorithm to match projects with the right student teams, Collabrix AI helps businesses access flexible, affordable talent while providing students with valuable real-world experience. This project aims to validate the market need for such a platform through customer interviews, surveys, and industry engagement. The expected benefit is a streamlined, cost-effective solution for startups and SMEs to manage short-term projects, reducing recruitment costs and enhancing project outcomes.

L2M – Development of Waste Paper Biomass Technology: Transformation of Recycled Waste Paper into Carbon-Based Products.

Waste paper is considered to have no value, destined for landfills. There is significant potential to process this waste and convert it to value added carbon-based products that will be developed, tested, and produced, namely Biochar, activated carbon, and carbon electrodes. Biochar is used in the agriculture industry for soil remediation to promote plant growth, activated carbon is used for oil, air and water filtration, and carbon electrodes are used in lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors.

Exploring distinctions in microbial spatial distribution in patients with active and quiescent Crohn’s disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, characterised by periods of remission and flare-ups. The two main types of IBD are Crohn’s disease (CD), which can affect any part of the GI tract, and ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon. Predicting flare-ups and choosing the best treatments are major challenges in managing IBD. The gut microbiota, the community of microbes in our GI tract, may serve as a useful marker of treatment success and disease flare.
While most research has focused on stool samples, microbes associated with with gut’s mucus and tissues might have greater impact on immune responses. This project aims to explore the difference in bacteria and fungi at various locations within and along the GI tract of patients with CD. By partnering with the IBD Centre of BC, we hope to improve personalised care and treatment options for IBD patients.

L2M – Commercialization Plan for Terahertz Measurement in Printed Electronics

Printed electronics has the potential to deliver low-cost, high-volume fabrication of electronic devices, but is currently held back by the lack of a specialized quality control solution. Today, verification of functional properties such as conductivity is done with teams of technicians using simple multimeter probes, lacking the speed and accuracy required to characterize roll-to-roll production. Terahertz measurement offers a uniquely rich breadth of data for these producers, but so far the technique has remained undeveloped for these industries. We have already worked to develop a commercial terahertz measurement device, and now need to ensure product-market-fit. Through the Lab2Market program, we hope to gain additional market validation through stakeholder interviews and demonstrations discussing the main features of our quality control system.

Machine Learning developer intern working with the Government of Alberta to develop and commercialize AI-powered solutions in the Public Services sector (1)

The project comprises internships in a variety of technical and business roles within our organization and within our GovLab program. Within the organization, roles include associate machine learning developer, business development associate, communications associate and finance associate. Within GovLab specifically, roles include associate machine learning developer, associate business solutions consultant, and project delivery associate. The difference is mainly that in GovLab, there is a focus on public sector problems, whereas in AltaML overall, we work across sectors.

Volting : Une solution de mobilité augmentée

Au Canada, 288 800 personnes âgées de 15 ans et plus utilisent un fauteuil roulant manuel ou motorisé ou un quadriporteur. Les bénéfices de aides à la mobilité pour les personnes ayant des incapacités sont bien connus. Volting (www.volting.org) est une technologie actuellement en développement qui se distingue du fauteuil roulant par sa capacité à libérer les mains de l’utilisateur. Il n’y a plus de phase de poussée. En repensant la mécanique du fauteuil, Volting offre à l’utilisateur la possibilité d’incliner latéralement le fauteuil (troisième degré de liberté). Actuellement, Volting est exploré dans trois domaines clés : la danse, le sport adapté et la réadaptation. Ces applications ouvrent des perspectives passionnantes pour l’amélioration de la participation sociale et de l’autonomie des personnes ayant des incapacités motrices. Étant donné la nature innovante de Volting, une approche d’évaluation de ses bénéfices qui soit spécifique à ses caractéristiques est requise. Ainsi, l’objectif du projet consiste à codévelopper et à tester la faisabilité d’un protocole d’évaluation de Volting dans des contextes variés (arts/danse, sport adapté et activités de réadaptation). Cet objectif sera atteint par une démarche où les chercheurs et les utilisateurs potentiels de Volting seront consultés de différentes manières.

L2M – Enhancing Skin Care Efficacy and Stability with Development of Nanogel-Based Delivery Systems

Our technology surrounds the development of nanogel-based delivery systems to enhance the efficacy and stability of cosmetic products for skin care. Nanogels encapsulate active ingredients, protecting them from degradation and sustained release on the skin surface. This can act as a delivery system to ensure beneficial compounds’ controlled and sustained release, maximizing their impact. The nanogels are hygroscopic and can form a hydrating layer on the skin, improving moisture retention and providing a smooth, non-greasy feel, making them ideal for products like moisturizers and serums. The nanogels will be designed with environmentally friendly materials, reducing the ecological footprint of cosmetic formulations.

Use of Metakaolin as Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials in 3D Printing of Concrete

3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) could potentially increase the efficiency of construction projects and profitability. However, 3DCP typically mixes contain high volume of paste which implies high volume of binder. The expeditious development of 3DCP requires exploring other prospective and sustainable mixes besides the use of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) based mixes to meet the high-volume binder content requirement. The cement industry emits approximately 814-935 kg of carbon dioxide. As such, the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to meet the high binder dosage requirement in 3DCP is the use Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs). To respond to the relative scarcity and diminishing of traditional SCMs, the proposed project aims at synthesizing and optimization of locally available calcined clay (metakaolin) as an alternative SCM for 3DCP purposes. Success of this research will help in accelerating the widespread adoption of metakaolin and the resulting type of blended cement across Canada and elsewhere.

Understanding sex-differences in heart valve calcification through correlative cryo-microscopy

CAVD shows in the deposition of calcifications in the aortic valve, which eventually leads to heart failure. We recently found that the types (phases) and morphologies of calcifications that form in the disease are completely different in men and women. This suggests that calcification in the two sexes follows an entirely different pathway. In this project, we want to better understand the different calcification pathways in men and women by relating the phases and the morphologies of the minerals in the two sexes to each other and to their associated tissue components. We will use a state-of-the-art correlative cryogenic Raman mapping and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) set-up at Radboud University Medical Center. Raman allows us to map the chemical composition of the heart valve tissue, while cryogenic TEM generates highly magnified images of the valve calcifications with corresponding phase information. The exchange between our spectroscopy expertise and our partner laboratory’s expertise in multi-scale microscopic analysis will allow both groups to more thoroughly answer mineralization-related questions. Applying these complementary techniques to heart valves from CAVD patients will elucidate the sex-specific calcification mechanisms of the disease, which could pave the way for the development of new sex-specific detection and treatment methods.

Circular Food Innovation Lab II

Wasted food – the result of a linear pattern of producing, under-consuming and disposing of food – is a pervasive problem globally and in Canada, where 58% of the food produced is wasted each year: that’s 11.17 million tonnes of edible food at a value of $49.46 billion (Varney, 2021). Wasted food is a complex challenge, in that it intersects with issues of food security, climate change, social justice and health, and involves many actors across the public and private sector. In Vancouver, the pandemic, extreme weather events, increased inflation and extractive relationships with lands and waters have disproportionately affected food access for systemically marginalized communities, resulting in increased reliance on charitable food sources (Soma, 2022; Varney, 2022). Meanwhile, many local food charities and non-profits are questioning the trajectory and effectiveness of the charitable food system in Canada in addressing food insecurity, and their role within it (Pellegrini, 2024).

This project will use action research and co-design methods, and focuses on deepening the relationships of food system stakeholders and rights-holders, reducing wasted food, and promoting an equitable and culturally meaningful food system. Ultimately, the pilot project will study the conditions for an equitable circular economy of food.