This research project investigates the effects of large-scale land use change on organized violence in rural Africa. Through an analysis of contested land in Northern Kenya, this project analyses how the Kenyan Government’s ‘Vision 2030’ project impacts conflicts in the region through large-scale infrastructure and conservation projects. The student is expected to join one of […]

This project aims build an autonomous underwriting system that can provide debt financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the technology sector without human intervention. The research will explore mathematical methods and key factors that are unique to evaluating creditworthiness of those SMEs. The result will be an underwriting system that incorporates statistical methods […]

Several Ontario regions have agreed to reduce their carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. However, many of these cities don’t actually have a plan for how they’ll reach this noble but challenging goal. In response, the Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) (in partnership with several Waterloo Region collaborators) has created a prototype board game called […]

Immunoglobulin A1 proteases (IgAPs) are biological catalysts (enzymes) produced by many pathogens of the human respiratory tract. Their ability to infect these tissues heavily relies on IgAPs, so much so that those unable to produce a functional enzyme are unable to cause disease. As blocking IgAP activity theoretically halts the infection process, IgAPs are a […]

Deep neural networks have demonstrated state-of-the-art modeling accuracy on a wide range of real-life problems, with some cases surpassing human performance. Despite the promise of deep neural networks as an enabling technology for a large number of industries and fields, there are two particular key challenges in the design of deep neural networks in real-world, […]

As the urgency for action against climate change increases, local governments around the world are committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through deep decarbonization targets. Cities are the largest place-based sources of GHG emissions and therefore have great potential to reduce emissions on a global scale. In order to reach meaningful reduction levels, transformative change […]

Sarcopenia is a disease characterized by the decline of skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance. To gain a better understanding of this disease and to assess both functional and anatomical effects of sarcopenia, experimental and modeling data have been collected. The neuromuscular models developed in our team and the studies built on them […]

The detection of a biological agent has become paramount to anticipate a possible health threat (epidemic or pandemic), an environmental threat or to combat other contextual threats (bioterrorism, chemical and biological weapons). A cost effective, portable, reliable and safe solution is required to allow detection in location where biological equipment is not available (such as […]

The recovery of facial mimics for patients with facial paralysis allows to improve their living conditions and social identity. Functional rehabilitation of facial disorders is also an important clinical step to improve the quality of surgical interventions and drug therapies. However, the recovery and rehabilitation of facial mimics and expressiveness remains a major scientific and […]

This project is intended to further the videogame industry’s understanding of user presence and immersive game design, where the player feels that they exist in a virtual space and can control a virtual environment with their physical body. Rather than trying to achieve immersion in a virtual world by escaping from the body, this project […]

The design and operation of energy systems, specifically those driven by chemical processes such as gasification and coal combustion have long been associated with theoretical model-ling studies done within chemical engineering. However, with the rising need to face challenges brought upon by a warming climate and increased emissions from fossil fuel sources, there is significant […]

Spinal cord injuries and other pathologies of the spinal column represent a large cause of disabilities or deaths and significantly affect the quality of life of the individuals affected. To reduce the risk of further injury during spinal surgery and to support diagnostic and treatment, there is a need for a non-invasive real time monitoring […]