Stability of Geobag Elements for Riverbank Protection

Riverbank erosion is a major threat to millions of Bangladeshi citizens who live in the vicinity of the country’s rivers, causing loss of life, land and livelihood. Sand-filled geotextile bags (geobags) are a solution to this problem and are widely used across Bangladesh to guide river flow and redirect channels in the wide braided rivers, […]

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Integrated Far- and Near-Field Human Exposure Modelling for Organic Substances – Year two

Thousands of organic chemicals have been synthesized and commercialized for industrial and consumer uses. However, an increasing number of organic chemicals are revealed to be “hazardous” because of their potential adverse environmental and/or health effects. The project seeks to identify the primary route(s) that humans take up these organic substances, e.g., use of personal care […]

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Research for Innovative Mining Methods

Narrow-vein steeply dipping deposits are challenging to mine economically because they are poorly oriented for surface mining, and underground mining normally requires development of extensive underground infrastructure before mining the vein. Memorial University is currently collaborating with Anaconda Mining for the development of innovative narrow-vein mining (NVM) technology to mine several of these deposits currently […]

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Achieving aspirations of Canadian aboriginal communities through participatory cultural mapping and dynamic decision modelling – Year two

The Aboriginal housing situation in Canada is in crisis with a lack of culturally and environmentally appropriate housing. To address this need, this Mitacs Elevate project involves a collaboration between the Heiltsuk Nation (in Bella Bella, BC), the University of British Columbia, and FPInnovations. Through this project, a Participatory Approach towards Holistic Solutions (PATHS) framework […]

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Assessment of the Neonatal Lung Using Structural and Functional MRI – Year two

Currently available medical imaging tools, such as x-rays, are inadequate for assessing the lungs of preterm neonates. There is considerable interest in using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor lung development in neonates longitudinally, since it is a non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging modality. MRI can potentially detect complications at an early stage and improve outcomes […]

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Mapping associations between drought and simultaneous fires across space and time within the Southern Canadian Cordillera

The sequence of costly wildfires that burned at multiple locations in British Columbia and Alberta during fire seasons in 2003, 2015, 2016 and 2017 remind people that fires play an important part in forests of southwestern Canada. However, people are also increasingly recognizing the role of fire in providing ecological renewal and diversification. As a […]

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Anomaly Detection in Financial Data

In this joint collaboration with Scotiabank we hope to solve a commonly faced problem by large financial institutions. It is to detect errors in financial datasets. This could be due to typing errors made by a human or a computer glitch that causes an incorrect value to be stored. To identify these errors, we plan […]

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Development and optimization of a new roll-to-roll atmospheric pressure plasma reactor: deposition of functional nanocomposite coatings on polymer and paper rolls

Wood and wood-related substances have been among the most important materials in human history. Today, various forms of wood are being used in numerous industries, and therefore a significant market exists for improved and functionalized wood-based products. In this context, we’re proposing an atmospheric-pressure plasma-based approach to treatment of wood-based surfaces using a roll-to-roll cold […]

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Assessing the role of small-scale structures in controlling auriferous fluid flow: Nadaleen trend, Yukon.

Carlin-type gold deposits (CTGDs) are large, high-grade gold deposits named after the world renowned occurrences in Nevada. Despite their economic importance, agreement on how they formed is still lacking. We are undertaking an integrated geological and geochemical study of CTGDs in the Nadaleen trend, Yukon, to better define the hydrological regime that controlled their formation. […]

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Interfaces and algorithms to interactively improve medical datasets for machine learning

Galmed is creating leading edge medical image processing technology that exploits machine learning to empower physicians and improve patient care. The success of our algorithms depends on the availability of high-quality data, which in our current study means working with chest x-ray images (CXRs) that are accurately labeled with the findings that a radiologist would […]

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Experimental testing of employing large grains as a bank erosion mitigation technique

Traditional engineering approaches to stabilizing stream’s (e.g. dams and cemented banks), typically alter a stream’s natural function and are expensive to maintain. Using large grains naturally found in a stream, could provide a way to stabilize the channel’s banks while still allowing natural system movement. To test if treatments of large grains could be used […]

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Reduced-order thermo-fluid modelling of automotive interior

Recreational vehicles operating off the grid rely on battery power to maintain climate control and, by doing so, the occupants’ comfort. Extended battery usage in these vehicle can be achieved by optimizing the thermal-fluid design of the interior space through the judicious selection of insulation material, properly sized HVAC systems, window glazing, and even external […]

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