Projets novateurs réalisés

Exploring water-light interactions and protein dynamics during simultaneous environmental perturbations using near-infrared spectroscopy and aquaphotomics

This project will explore the interactions between water’s molecular structure and light, and use this knowledge to study the behaviour of proteins within the water sample. The intern will collect data using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which can provide insight into what a sample contains based on how different materials absorb light. Samples with a high water content are difficult to study with standard NIRS techniques, so the intern will use aquaphotomics, which connects spectroscopy data with specialized processing and analysis methods to obtain more detailed information.
Using NIRS and aquaphotomics, the intern will study the influence of changing environmental conditions (including dissolving additional substances in water and changing temperature, sound, humidity, and lighting) and the ways these changing conditions interact with each other on the water-light interaction and the information obtained about protein behaviour.
Aquaphotomics is a recent and rapidly growing research field. This project will support an understanding of water’s behaviour that will inform future aquaphotomics research design and practical applications.

System Design of a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) Tool for Repurposing Pit Lakes into Aquaculture Operations

With the mining industry striving to become more sustainable, there is a pressing need to re-evaluate typical open pit restoration practices. Many open pit mining operations are naturally inundated after operations, leaving behind an unproductive lake. These sites neglect the environmental, cultural and socio-economic implications for dependent communities. One promising alternative that generates a positive ecological, social and economic change for the community involves the innovative repurposing of these pit lakes into productive aquaculture operations. The benefits could contribute significantly to the social equity, economic vitality and environmental integrity of mining communities.

With input from international experience and system research training in Japan, this research proposal aims to create a tool that helps identify pit lakes in Ontario that may be suitable for this transformation. This tool, called a multi-criteria decision analysis, evaluates and weighs multiple factors, such as hydrology, water quality, and technical and operational aspects to identify key pits of opportunity. By integrating geographic information system techniques, it also considers proximity to markets, climatic conditions, and socio-economic considerations. Each mine is assigned a score based on the aggregated factors, providing stakeholders with a clear metric to identify the best candidates for repurposing. The tool will be applied to existing pit lake datasets in Ontario, offering a strategic blueprint for sustainable development in the region. By making this tool available to public knowledge users, we generate momentum to deal with the thousands of pit lakes and abandoned open pits that exist in the province today.

Refugee Home Share Program

Happipad is a not-for-profit Canadian corporation which leverages technology to facilitate the matchmaking and support of home-sharing between refugees and hosts in Canada. Launching its pilot projects in Metro Vancouver and Toronto, Happipad wants to assess its effectiveness and benefits for refugees and minimize its potential barriers to make it a replicable framework for implementation in other locations in Canada and Worldwide.
This research study aims to help Happipad with these assessments, identify the barriers and challenges faced by homeowners in hosting refugees and propose potential solutions to overcome these obstacles, analyze the limitations and downsides associated with home sharing with refugees, considering factors such as privacy, cultural differences, and potential conflicts and examine factors impact on the well-being and economic stability of both refugees and hosts.

Design and Analysis of Disaster Warning and Evacuation Systems Using the Network Modelling Approach

Canada’s West coast is prone to tsunamis induced from local megathrust earthquakes that can be generated from the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ). The main objective of this research is to study, analyze and simulate the current detection, notification and response systems for an earthquake and resulting tsunami and develop a comprehensive solution using the network modelling approach to mitigate the impact of future disasters. We will use the results and inferences derived from a tornado mitigation analysis to conduct this research. An activity network is developed to represent the information flow from tsunami detection point to the warning communication point. It is simulated using the Simphony software to obtain the overall time consumption. The network is further refined to analyze the system in the presence of some branch failures. A more detailed modelling work is conducted using the emergency and disaster management modelling expertise and simulation software. The outcome results are used to validate the simulation exercise and to develop a more informative way of using the network modelling approach for different disasters.

Safe, Legal… and Inclusive? A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring Trans People’s Experiences Accessing Abortion Care in Canada

Abortion is an essential component of comprehensive healthcare, where lack of access to safe, affordable, timely and respectful abortion is, according to the World Health Organization, a “critical public health and human rights issue.” Trans people are often left out of abortion research, as well as the clinical delivery of abortion care, which focuses on the experiences and needs of cisgender women. A small handful of USA-based research studies have found that trans people experience oftentimes quite profound barriers to accessing affirming abortion care. Little is known, however, about the abortion experiences of trans people in Canada. This project aims to address this gap, using survey, interview and arts-based methods. Results from this project will be used to create a purpose-built tool that abortion providers can use to assess their space and the services offered therein, to ensure that they would be accessible, as well as safe, affordable, timely and respectful to trans people seeking pregnancy termination. This project will be housed in the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, a research institute whose mission is to advance gender equity in all facets of sexual and reproductive health. Recent research within the centre highlights unmet needs for culturally safe sexual and reproductive health for equity-seeking groups, including sex workers, im/migrants, queer and trans people, and people with HIV. Dr. Lowik’s project will further advance the CGSHE’s work in this area, with a focus on mobilizing research towards policy and practice recommendations, and the delivery of equitable, patient-centred healthcare.

False promises of environmental protection? An historical analysis of the Fisheries Act and ecosystem destruction in the Jordan River Watershed, Vancouver Island, BC

Since the Fisheries Act was enacted in 1868, a year after Confederation, it has been regarded as one of Canada’s oldest and most important environmental laws. Despite the powerful environmental protections provided by the Fisheries Act, various environmental impact studies conducted throughout the Jordan River watershed show high concentrations of copper, hydrocarbon, and wood waste leaching into the river. In 2014, due to high-level of heavy metal contamination, BC’s ministry of environment designated sites along the river as high risk. This ongoing degradation of fish populations and habitat, in the face of the Fisheries Act whose mandate has been to safeguard from this outcome, raises larger important questions about the extent to which current Federal Fisheries laws can achieve these ends. This research examines the ecological disruption operationalized through the Fisheries Act, a principle piece of Canadian environmental legislation.

Machine learning developer interns within cross-functional teams to develop and commercialize AI-powered solutions (16)

AltaML is an innovative company capitalizing on a major technological trend: artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, enabled by big data, are driving a fourth industrial revolution. AI will transform all industries, but traditional industries face challenges in implementing AI. AltaML has a unique business model to overcome barriers to adoption of AI solutions by industry, which is to bring the innovating startup together with the large organization, thereby bringing together rich datasets, AI talent with a playbook for industry application and the close collaboration of subject matter experts and AI experts–with a mindset for change. In addition to AI expertise, we bring agility that our large, corporate partners often lack, and which is so essential for innovation. With a strategic focus on AI adoption and product, AltaML works across industries as well as with the public sector using a co-development approach to create applied AI solutions as well as joint AI ventures. This rich, complex multisectoral environment provides the breadth that enables insights in one area to be applied in new areas, leading to ever increasing opportunities for innovation.

The project comprises internships in a variety of technical and business roles, which are: associate machine learning developer, business development associate, communications associate, finance associate, associate business solutions consultant, and project delivery associate. Outcomes will include algorithm creation and deployment, data visualizations, market research reports, sales collateral, competitive landscape analysis, feasibility analysis; key messages and content writing such as case studies and feature articles, financial model development, data analysis, financial reports and variance analysis, customer workflow mapping, business case reports, resource allocation plans, project update reports, and project plans.

Pacific Herring spawning habitat: Survey of historical sites and gap analysis using remote sensing

Pacific Herring is a very important species in the Salish Sea. Its position in the food web gives it an environmental role, notably because it is one of the salmon’s important sources of food. Its economic and social role for British Columbians is also well known among fishermen and Native communities. However, the reproduction dynamic evolution and repartition over the past decades is not well understood. During those spawning events, the release of the male’s semen allows the use of satellite imagery to survey and quantify the spawning phenomenon. This project aims to develop a robust method to detect those events to better understand how herring population is distributed and how spawning has evolved, giving the Pacific Salmon Foundation a useful tool to assess herring presence in coastal waters.

Blockchain et essor du droit de la protection des données personnelles

La discipline juridique fait plus que jamais face à l’essor du Web.3.0 (blockchain, IA, IoT, etc.). Le numérique nouvelle génération se déploie dès lors plus que mesure, il est de plu en plus présent dans la vie quotidienne des citoyens. Ainsi vu, le droit du numérique doit apporter des réponses juridiques de responsabilisation des acteurs blockchain et de protection de ses utilisateurs afin d’assurer une légitimité et une crédibilité à cette nouvelle économie du numérique. Comment se manifeste concrètement et manifestement la responsabilité juridique des programmateurs informatiques et des mineurs des blockchains ? Comment se protègent-ils ? Comment appliquent-ils les obligations qui leur incombent ? Est-ce suffisant ? Face à des cryptographies informatiques devenant de plus en plus techniques (homomorphes par exemple) quelle place peut et a à prendre la responsabilisation du droit du numérique afin de se rendre compatible, et non devenir un frein juridique, avec l’essor de cette nouvelle technologie ?

Sustainable Engineering Future: Bridging Skills Gap for Effective Carbon Emission Reduction

Evident in extreme weather events and a 1.1°C global temperature increase since the late 1800s, attributed to rising greenhouse gas emissions. It stresses the urgency of addressing climate change to meet 2030 and 2050 carbon and energy targets, presenting a sustainability challenge requiring broad-scale action on environmental, social, and economic fronts. The focus turns to the crucial role of a skilled workforce in addressing this challenge. The proposed research aims to identify necessary skills by investigating a skills gap among engineering students. The study has two objectives: assessing the skills gap and determining the best method for disseminating information gathered from industry experts through an anonymous survey. The research methodology involves conducting a literature review to establish a framework around greenhouse gas emissions, carbon accounting, and decarbonization.

Modelling and Imaging of Fluids in Fractures

Hydraulic fracturing is a process where fluids are injected in high pressure into wells and fracture the rocks. This process is the driver for shale gas extraction and therefore its efficiency plays a major role for unconventional oil recovery. One of the key questions in such a process is the extent that the pressurized fluids penetrate the reservoir. The goal of this research is to investigate the use of electromagnetic methods for the imaging, identification and control of this process. Modeling and imaging the electromagnetic response of fluids in fractured is a challenging task, and deeper
understanding will benefit the industry partners.

Development of A Digital Twin for SAGD Pads – Training and Integrity Testing of Data Analytic Models

Data analytics have been used extensively across various industries to predict and propose optimal operation conditions, ultimately improving project efficiencies and reducing execution costs. However, these methods have
not been widely utilized by any SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) operators. There is an opportunity to adapt this new technology to further optimize process operation and reduce costs and enhance ESG performance.
In order to de-risk this emerging technology, this project aims to develop a digital twin of several SAGD pads through numerical simulations. Synthetic data sets produced by these simulations will be utilized to train data-driven models, which will be used for digital pads optimization. The numerical simulator will monitor any short or long-term impacts on SAGD performance due to changes in the pad operation constraints, validating the integrity
of the data-driven models for process optimization at the pad/field level.