Canada’s pulp and paper sector remains a vital economic engine, particularly for smaller communities. Large volumes of waste residuals, originating primarily from forest biomass and natural minerals, are still landfilled. Research has shown that application of these residues benefits agricultural land and forests, and promotes tree and plant growth in land that has lost its […]

Contemporary society faces a number of information processing challenges. As human lives and digital technology are increasingly connected, our understanding of how we process information and make decisions must keep pace. Philosophy can help with challenges like AI development or fake news by clarifying what we mean by concepts like “knowledge” or “fact”. This project […]

This project will examine the work of Scottish-Canadian experimental animator Norman McLaren through close analysis of the film production infrastructures and cultural programme of nation-building in Canada in the mid-twentieth century. Understanding McLaren as a complex figure caught between contradictory political, aesthetic and social conditions, this project will look at the strategies of complicity and […]

In the West, the arts have played a distinctive role in enabling the fiction of our current perceptions of ecology; one where human mastery of the planet has been mythologised through the production of images. These artistic myths at one level separate us from nature, while also paradoxically, seeking to establish deep, meaningful connections between […]

Prejudice against Muslims has risen in the U.K. and Canada, threatening harmonious intergroup relations and the wellbeing of Muslims. Some politicians endorse and encourage interactions among people from diverse backgrounds, whereas others discourage this. It is currently unclear what effects this has on the desires of non-Muslims to interact with Muslims. Using Canadian politicians’ twitter […]

Cancer cells can be expanded and studied alone outside of the body in two-dimensional plastic dishes. These simplistic conditions lack the genetic variation and complex signals found in human tumours that tell cancer cells to grow uncontrollably and spread throughout the body. To effectively identify the signals that fuel breast cancer spread and develop clinical […]

Recent research studies have pointed to sleeping on the back in late pregnancy as possibly increasing the risk of serious problems pregnancy such as low birth weight and delivering a baby that died in the womb (stillbirth). However, because it is impossible to completely and accurately recollect one’s body position while sleeping, these studies are […]

This project involves researching and developing templates for heritage conservation plans and temporary protection plans to manage impacts to cultural heritage resources, such as historic buildings and landscapes. The objectives of this study are: 1) a Literature Review of best practices and background information; 2) Compare these with current Ontario legislative requirements;3) Develop analytical tables […]

This project aims to develop a new technology for the production of biodegradable plastics that can decompose under various natural conditions, including soil and oceans, by up to 90%, which minimizes plastic waste and its environmental footprint. The technology will first target application in food packaging and drink containers, which is a main market for […]

A climatic chamber can replicate the weather conditions for an entire year, which allows tests to be performed faster, in weeks instead of years and thereby speeding up the product development circle. In traditional climatic wind tunnels, the test vehicles are usually strapped to the floor, and there is no relative motion, with the associated […]

This research project builds on a strong partnership with Parallel Architecture, an architecture and planning firm interested in exploring the role of private city-builders in redressing the housing affordability crisis and finding progressive ways of leveraging current federal, provincial, and local policies. This project seeks to examine: (1) how can new mixed-use suburban development meet […]

The proposed research seeks to learn more about the ways Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs), collaborate with Constituent Groups (CGs) and Co-sponsors to sponsor refugees to resettle in Canada. For this project, the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), will be used as a case study. Given the limited capacity and resources that SAHs have available to them […]