The aim of this project is to develop a computer-based algorithm that will integrate a planning model with a scheduling model to improve operations management for analytical service facilities. An iterative decomposition algorithm that can provide optimal production scheduling sequences (in acceptable computational times) based on changes in the strategic planning decisions will be provided […]

Plastics are the prime contributor to the global litter crisis. Every second, a quarter tonne of non-degradable plastics enter the world’s oceans. Despite this, petroleum-based plastic production continues to increase, with more than 300 billion kilograms of virgin plastic produced annually. Our team is slightly altering the metabolism of a strain of bacteria to efficiently […]

Investors, regulators, and the general public consume a wealth of textual information every day. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence make machine-reading of textual information plausible. We tackle text mining of financial conference call transcripts—calls of significant corporate events that are widely followed by investors and institutional investors. Our conference calls data include over 200,000 calls […]

The Caribbean tourism sector is critically important to the Caribbean economy and highly sensitive to climate change and its impacts. Climate-sensitive industries are exploring how to make best use of outputs of climate models, weather forecasting tools and early warning systems as strategies to boost their viability as climate change intensifies. Tools such as these […]

Dental caries is a major health hazard in the general population worldwide. Fluoride-based formulations are conventionally used to resolve this problem but they present certain important disadvantages, which has been overlooked. Here we propose to develop and characterize a non-fluoride based dental varnish using natural product conjugated nanoparticles that holds the potential of inhibiting bacterial […]

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is a common and devastating condition that severely affects millions of people around the world. Following an mTBI, also known as concussion, a medical professional performs standard neurological tests, however, these tests are very subjective, based on patient-reporting, and provide little to no insight on the severity of an mTBI. […]

Gentrification and the commodification of housing have shaped New York City for decades to the detriment of low income communities. In response, these communities have organized to create long-term, viable strategies for maintaining housing affordability, green space, and urban gardens through community control of land. My research will explore how communities can leverage local needs […]

By 2050, it is estimated that two-thirds of the global population will reside in cities. As cities grow and are required to house growing urban populations, however, they are simultaneously grappling with climate change and rising rates of natural disasters. My dissertation examines Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, two cities that despite their differences, are […]

Silicon solar cells have increasingly been recognised as key components in future renewable energy solutions. However, their sustained viability will depend on cell performance and cost, with the current emphasis on thinner cells made from lower grade silicon. However, although such cells would be cheaper, their performance would be compromised by the presence of even […]

Water is an essential commodity for survival of life on earth. The scarcity of potable water is increasing universally and that too is severe in rural and remote areas as they lack suitable treatment facilities/technology. Treatment of polluted water and desalination are the most promising options to meet the fresh water demand. Out of various […]

Protein degradation induced by PROTACs (PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras) constitutes a novel modality of drug discovery, with advantages over the traditional approach. This approach is still at infancy and there is a lot to learn in this field. The trainees will work under academic supervisors at University of Toronto, who are experts in chemical tool development […]

Beyond job creation, entrepreneurship may hold an array of further benefits to a given community which provides support for it. This project works to define some of these additional benefits, as well as to determine some features of a community which may contribute to entrepreneur attraction and youth retention rates. The research will be conducted […]