In water quality management, mathematical models are used to evaluate management alternatives, and to support the policy making process. Environmental models involve substantial uncertainty which can be very critical when striving to identify polluters, to direct the use of taxpayers' dollars, and to determine management strategies that have considerable social and economic implications.

Video annotation is the allocation of video shots or video segments to different, predefined semantic concepts such as person, car, sky, people walking, etc. We aim to present a  novel approach to semi-automatically annotate the videos based on visual attention, which can detect the focus of interest such as salient objects in video frames automatically. The pre-selection of regions of interest facilitates the recognition of objects of different shapes, poses, scales, and illuminations and benefits the tedious manual labeling.

In this project we intend to find an abstract understanding of heterogeneous networks (HetNets. Our main focus is the small cell networks based on LTE-A and WiFi systems. We will start by investigating simple and efficient resource management algorithms in such networks and attempt to find a simplified model for the quality of service (QoS) in such networks. This model will be interfaced with a software tool already developed at Siradel and used to clarify the expected performance of a HetNet in a given wireless environment.

Performance optimization and prototype demonstration of the low-cost high-efficiency Localized Inherently Thin (LIT) solar cell technology platform will be carried out during the two year Mitacs Elevate Post Doctoral Fellowship program. The candidate will also design and optimize the fabrication process, working alongside industry staff, for technology transfer and commercialization. A business study will also be carried out as part of the program in order to establish the framework for large scale manufacturing.

A lack of physical infrastructure and the corresponding fear of harm are a significant barrier to urban cycling, and an impediment to the expansion of Curbside Cycle’s target demographic. Using outreach and education through a collaborative process involving partners Curbside Cycle and Cycle Toronto we will empower local experts, enlist local businesses as powerful community stakeholders, and foster coalitions of community support for improved bicycle infrastructure.

When a user makes an input to a computer, there is a necessary delay before the computer is able to respond. For mouse-based computers, responding within 100ms was sufficient to appear ‘immediate’. In touch-based systems, latency is more apparent, represented as a physical separation between the finger and the object moved onscreen. Technologies capable of immediate (1ms) reporting of input to the computer are being developed by Tactual Labs. Such sensors hold the key to the elimination of lag in the user interface.

The Shoichet laboratory has developed a biomaterial composed of hyaluronan and methylcellulose, termed HAMC which can be utilised in biomedical applications. HAMC has significant advantages for the delivery of therapeutics including stem cells and drugs to the central nervous system. Combining therapeutics and HAMC complicates the commercialization process as clinical approval will be required for both the therapeutic element and HAMC.

This project will determine whether genetic variation in salivary amylase, an enzyme involved in the digestion of carbohydrates, affects blood glucose responses after eating and affects the glycemic index of foods. Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how high the carbohydrates in foods raise blood glucose. Higher amylase activity might lead to faster digestion and higher glycemic responses and a higher GI.

This project will determine whether genetic variation in salivary amylase, an enzyme involved in the digestion of carbohydrates, affects blood glucose responses after eating and affects the glycemic index of foods. Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how high the carbohydrates in foods raise blood glucose. Higher amylase activity might lead to faster digestion and higher glycemic responses and a higher GI.

This project will upgrade the Climate and Infrastructure Forensic Analysis System (CIFAS), originally developed to characterize snow- and permafrost-related impacts to ground transportation and mine access roads in the Canadian North. My first objective is to enhance the analytical capacity of CIFAS by improving its ability to quantify uncertainties associated with empirical knowledge used to causally connect infrastructure service levels with climate-induced disturbances, as well as with climate projections from climate models.