Drinking Water Treatment Infrastructure: Responding to Climate Change and Increasingly Variable Source Water Quality

As a result of climate change and other pressures that result in “extreme events” like wildfire and flooding, many drinking water utilities are at risk of potentially catastrophic failure and need treatment adaptation strategies to prepare for increasingly variable and potentially rapid deterioration in source water quality. Currently there are no recognized tools for evaluating the anticipated impacts […]

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Nonlinear adaptive neural controllers

Contemporary machine learning has been very successfully applied to processing static images and words in consumer applications, resulting in billions of dollars in recent acquisitions of machine learning companies by Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. However, applications to dynamic information (e.g. movies, controlling robotics) has been less well-developed. In this project, will develop and apply […]

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Further investigation of Paced Electrogram Fraction Analysis (PEFA)

The goal of this project is to develop a faster and more accurate way to detect ventricular tachycardia using an algorithm to analyze the signal results from Paced Electrogram Fractionation Analysis (PEFA); ideally real time through use of a basket catheter. St Jude Medical, our research partner, creates medical hardware specifically geared towards detecting and […]

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Tribological Effect and Honing Studies of PEO Coated Engine Cylinder Bores

The automotive industry is striving towards greater fuel efficiency, and one of the ways in which it is trying to achieve this is through light weighting. The use of aluminum alloys in engine blocks to reduce weight is part of the solution for better fuel efficiency. However, the automotive sector is always striving for innovation […]

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Diagnosing Security Risks in an Industrial Control System using a Novel Real-Time Device

The integration of control system workstations with wireless networks in critical infrastructure systems raises a major challenge as it now requires the ability to detect cyber security threats which could ultimately cripple the organization’s network. Cyber risk management and the ability to apply appropriate countermeasures requires the ability to predict, restrain and detect threats, which […]

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Characterization and application of multidimensional coherent imaging systems for monitoring and control of laser welding

Inline coherent imaging (ICI) may be used to take real-time one dimensional measurements of laser material processes such as industrial laser welding. Multidimensional coherent imaging and measurement of the vapour capillary (or ‘keyhole’) created during the welding process is a critical evolution of the technology for implementation in manufacturing production addressing many needs. This project […]

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Surface modification to reduce biofouling on water quality monitoring devices

Biofouling is the unwanted accumulation of proteins and microorganisms on wetted surfaces. Accumulation of biofoulers on sensors and microfluidic devices greatly impairs their performance in assessing the physical, chemical, and biological condition of natural and processed water. Failure to obtain accurate data on these changes and respond in a timely manner may lead to serious […]

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Towards the commercialization of an infrared-heated sample introduction system and development of an argon recycling system for inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES)

Numerous industries and government agencies carry out analyses every day using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) instruments that typically waste 95% of the sample and consume large amounts of argon. A greener approach would not generate any sample waste and reduce expensive argon consumption. The first year will be devoted to making a viable commercial product […]

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The Science of Body Sugaring

Sugarbush Spa is a London-based company that specializes in the removal of unwanted body hair by a method known as sugaring. The method, used for centuries in the Middle East, has several notable advantages over traditional waxing. Commercially available sugaring pastes suffer from inconsistency in production and unsatisfactory performance. At its core, the creation of […]

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F508-del CFTR rescue by mutated toxoids and evaluation of its functional efficacy in vivo

Many genetic diseases caused by small genetic mutations do not result in complete loss of protein fnction, but rather are due to the degradation of mutant protein by a “quality control” mechanism (endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation-ERAD) soon after it is made. Prominent amongst such ERAD-dependent diseases is Cystic Fibrosis(CF), a chronic, progressive, life-threatening genetic disease that […]

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Feasibility Study of a New Fully Flexible Hydraulic Variable Valve Actuation System for Engines

Recently, due to stringent emission regulations such as US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and CARB (California Air Resource Board), improvement in fuel economy and reduction in the exhaust gas emissions have become the two major challenges for engine manufacturers. To meet the new emission standards, new innovative technologies are needed to improve the performance of […]

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