Genetic evaluation of sow efficiency traits using single step genomic evaluation methods – Year 2

Most economically important traits associated with lactation and reproduction in pigs are either less heritable, sex-limited, expressed later in life, or difficult to measure on a routine basis. Genomic predictions using single step best linear unbiased prediction (SSBLUP) methodologies, which utilizes information on phenotypes, pedigree and markers from genotyped and non-genotyped animals simultaneously, is an […]

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Capacity Building to Bolster Well-Being Among Early Childhood Educators and the Children they Support in Alberta

Well-being problems (e.g., burnout, depression, and efficacy) have been a long standing issue among educators in Early Learning and Care (ELC) settings. This issue not only impacts the health status and work performance among educators, and by association influences the social and emotional development of children. To address this problem, a coaching model has been […]

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Practical portfolio management beyond mean-variance analysis

Portfolio management is crucial to both individual investors and our economy as a whole. For example, pension funds have large amounts of money to invest, taking their risk and gain potential into consideration. The project partner, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment fund managers. AIMCo manages […]

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Deterministic Decision Making Using All Geological Realizations

Predicting the quantity of mineral (gold, coper, etc) or hydrocarbon (oil, gas) extracted from a given deposit is difficult. One concern is the uncertainty in the resources underground. A few initial wells or drill holes give us access to an estimate of the quantity of resource, but there is great uncertainty because sampling can be […]

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Emulsion Breaker/Reverse Emulsion Breaker (EB/REB) for Oil Sands Production

Heavy oil production by oil sands surface mining and/or steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) processes presents many challenges, but oil and water separation is among the most critical within the industry. The crude oil coming out of reservoir normally carries significant concentration of bitumen and other surface-active species (e.g., asphaltenes, naphthenic acid and even solid […]

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Augmented Reality in Surgery

Augmented Reality (AR) is the combination of virtual images with real objects in order to improve perception. It is a rapidly growing field and has many applications in medicine. For this research project we would like to apply AR to the surgical site during a simulated operation in order to provide additional information and improve […]

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Testing Erosion Prediction Tools in the Simonette River Watershed, Northern Alberta

This project aims to provide real-world, verifiable estimates of impacts to watersheds from usage of back-country logging and resource roads. fRI in partnership with the University of Alberta, MiTACS and Canfor is testing computer-based tools developed in the United States to apply them to watersheds in Alberta. Given the different geography, soil types, and relief […]

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Broadband energy harvesting from tree-like mechanical structures

Harvesting energy from renewable resources, such as wind and ocean waves, is an important issue facing our world today. With the increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, there is a need to move away from nonrenewable resources and to find new methods for capturing energy. Wind turbines operate most efficiently within a narrow […]

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Development of fabrication, microstructure and performance relationships in inkjet printed polymer electrolyte fuel cell electrodes for automotive applications

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) running on hydrogen are a preferred choice for on-board electricity generation in automobiles. A major challenge associated with this technology is its high cost due to the use of platinum as electrocatalyst. Implementation of inkjet printing as a fabrication tool has been investigated by the applicant and the academic supervisor […]

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Smart public toilets using Internet of things

The washrooms can be equipped with smart objects to be controlled and monitored to increase the customer satisfaction. This technology utilizes connected washroom equipment such as toilet paper, towels, soap dispensers, and water leakage sensors. In smart washrooms, the condition of the washroom is monitored and the management is informed when anything needs attention. This […]

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