Phytoremediation is a promising in-situ technology that uses plants and its associated microorganisms (particularly bacteria and fungi) to clean up contaminated soils. The efficacy of these processes however, requires an in-depth knowledge on the diversity of microbial communities closely interacting with plant roots. Several studies have demonstrated that plants growing in contaminated soils select for […]

PledgX is interested in building a solution that aims to optimize the bidding process to maximize key performance indicators for contactors and vendors. For bidding optimization, several strategies and methods have been proposed; however, with the massive amount of available bidding datasets, the quality and performance of such methods are questionable. Machine learning introduces intelligent […]

Our research aims to provide reliable information to HRM’s urban forestry staff for decision-making to enhance the sustainability of the city’s tree population. One student will investigate the factors that contribute to poor health and mortality of new street trees, aiming to assist the urban forestry staff to alleviate these factors in future plantings. Another […]

By 2050, agri-food systems must produce enough to feed 9 to billion people, while reversing trends of environmental degradation caused in part by agriculture production. This is no small task, and underscores why countless sustainable agriculture standards, certifications, initiatives and platforms have emerged to encourage and measure the impacts of sustainable agriculture practices. While these […]

Many Canadian reptile populations are declining and need help overcoming the challenges of the modern world. For this reason, numerous organisations and community groups have become involved in conservation actions, often intervening to safeguard eggs and hatchlings from the threats posed to these early life sages (e.g., predators, degraded habitat, roads and traffic). This project […]

As the adverse effects of climate change continue to mount in natural fluvial environments, the balance of river channel characteristics (e.g. ecosystem health and biodiversity, water quality, flow turbulence and riverbed geomorphology) becomes increasingly vulnerable. In fluvial environments, erosion and deposition of bed material can pose a significant risk to channel bank stability, riverbed degradation […]

The overall objective of the proposed project is to construct a simulation model that will estimate production impact of disruption in swine marketing in Ontario, and propose mitigation strategies that could minimize impact of such disruption on swine populations and swine producers. Such disruption could occur due to various reasons such as outbreak of human […]

Reclamation of oil sands fluid fine tailings (FFT) ponds is challenging due to the slow rate of natural consolidation of the suspended sediments generated during the extraction process. In order to reclaim tailings ponds, the shear strength of the sediments must first be increased to make the surface trafficable, at which point further reclamation work […]

Our research goals, which are a mix of theoretical and practical problems, are motivated by the practical near-term problem of delegating tasks to an untrusted remote quantum computer in a secure way. Toward this, we consider the notions of indistinguishability obfuscation for quantum circuits and quantum fully homomorphic encryption schemes. The former refers to algorithms […]

As base and precious metals and natural resources for energy are extracted, mining operators construct tailings dams above ground to hold the liquid or “slurried” waste generated from mining activities. Several high-profile dam failures, including Mount Polley in Canada, highlight the potential risks of tailings dams to human life and the environment. The proposed research […]

The smart combiner is a new device which can help increase the energy yield of large solar farms. However, its control system needs to be well designed. This project aims at developing a new control scheme to best utilize the ability of smart combiners, increasing energy yield while ensuring control accuracy and good dynamics. To […]

As time goes on, we observe a significant growth for the high-speed error-free communication systems. This requires that the optical networks, as the major carrier for data transmission, increase their capacity to meet the current needs of the telecommunication industry. Forward error-correcting (FEC) codes, as the most effective solution to enhance the quality and reliability […]