Towards development of a biodegradable polymer for use in single-use surgical gloves

The proposed university-industry research aims to develop a biodegradable polymer with a target application in personal protective equipment (PPE), aligned with the ongoing global research efforts towards Next Generation Plastics (NGPs). The new NGP is expected to fully degrade within 2-5 years when disposed in soil and exposed to a combination of water, UV and […]

Read More
Establishing productivities of violacein production in recombinant E.coli using CSTR batch processing

Material Futures Inc. has developed a bioprocess to manufacture coloured pigments using cells, instead of petroleum. The process is carbon neutral, renewable, and has the potential to eliminate water pollution resulting from current dyeing methods. Working with students at the University of Waterloo, Material Futures Inc. will be scaling their bioprocess while exposing students to […]

Read More
Sniffing Line in Mass Spectrometry for Direct Analysis

Mass spectrometry is a known for its capacity of detection of sample material with high sensitivity paired with high resolution and accuracy. Developing a “sniffing line” that would provide point-of-measurement capabilities for direct analysis of particulates on various surfaces is a necessary and novel method that will influence the mass spectrometry technique. Referred to as […]

Read More
Characterization of Parasitic Lead Inductances of E-mode pGaN HEMTs to Debug the Early Drain Breakdown Problem

In the field of power electronics, it is vitally important to fabricate transistors that can work under high-voltage regimes, that are more energy-efficient. Our sponsor Crosslight has a customer, GaNPower, which is a Canadian company that designs and makes GaN transistors for this purpose. However, the transistors break down more easily when used on circuit […]

Read More
Developing Sustainable Aquaculture by Intensifying Seawater Gas Transfer

Over the past few decades, aquaculture has assumed a leading role in providing food security and meeting the increasing worldwide demand for a nutritious diet. However, the ability to continue this important role is threatened by the climate-change driven increase in ocean temperature and by the adverse impact aquaculture operations can have on the environment. […]

Read More
Integration of Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) to improve workflow of reconstruction projects and space utilization

The focus of this project will be how modern technologies, specifically static and mobile laser scanners, drone photogrammetry, and Virtual Reality (VR) can be applied to solve issues related to renovating and utilizing (repurposing) old buildings. This is a multi-disciplinary approach with college interns from Geomatics Engineering and Architecture Engineering programs.

Read More
The Acquisition of Land for Community Benefit: Dynamics of Organizational Structure and Management

Union: Sustainable Development Co-operative (Union Co-operative) seeks to democratize city-building by empowering its members to collectively buy, upgrade, and manage commercial and residential properties to improve the environmental, social, and economic health of Waterloo Region. This project will support the evolution of the Co-operative’s model, the development of affordable housing for refugees, and create templates […]

Read More
Rare-earth element doping of dielectric thin films using ion implantation

The requirement for online communication continues to grow exponentially, primarily a result of the increased demand for information sharing bandwidth. This demand is driven by video-over-internet applications used for both entertainment, and conferencing (felt most recently in the need for remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic). Integrated optical components fabricated in silicon are receiving particular […]

Read More
bridgeVUE – leveraging emerging technologies for safer and more efficient marine navigation.

Navigation at sea is a complex and comprehensive task. Combined with the challenges of navigating in heavy traffic, and avoiding dangers in low light and low visibility, it becomes considerably more difficult. This project, bridgeVUE, leverages an emerging technology to enhance marine navigation by contextualizing radar data over an individual’s field of vision, in real […]

Read More
Development of Biodegradable Soft Bait Fishing Lures from Natural Materials

There is an increase in reporting of angling activities linked to environmental pollution and exploitation. Soft plastic lures (SPLs) are a major pollution source arising from recreational angling. A small portion of SPLs currently commercially available are designed to be more environmentally friendly alternatives to PVC as they are biodegradable and are manufactured using natural […]

Read More
Prototyping and Industrial Testing of Novel Non-Consumable Thermocouples/Sensor Holders in Molten Steel

Secondary metallurgy is the most value adding step in the steelmaking process. As more sophisticated steel grades are developed, better process control is required to adjust and monitor properties of molten steel in secondary metallurgy. Improved process control also serves to increase productivity and profitability of steel mills. In steelmaking, process control is achieved through […]

Read More
StreamSight: Deep Learning Techniques for Managing Contaminants in Residential Curbside Recycling

This project works to classify contaminants found in residential curb-side recycling. This is done automatically using computer vision techniques. As recycling is tipped into the recycling truck, cameras take pictures of the recycling and computer vision software works to identify contaminants found in the load. With municipalities equipped with this fine-grained data, they will have […]

Read More