Recent technological advances in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, including the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and automated data capturing tools, have enabled the AEC industry to commence its digital journey in the era of big data. Over the last decade, electronic permitting (e-permitting) practices have been introduced in many municipal jurisdictions […]

Millions of bats have died in eastern North America since the introduction of the invasive fungus known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) in 2006. This fungus is rapidly spreading through bat-to-bat contact during hibernation. The impact of WNS in Nova Scotia is estimated to be 95% mortality based on the population estimates at a select few […]

Since the environments that athletes train and compete in can negatively impact their performance, their mental wellbeing, and their personal development, it is important to understand how these environments may be designed to more positively influence the athletes involved. It is also important for researchers to learn from the experiences of more than just athletes. […]

The proposed research involves both a laboratory component and computational component. Lab research will involve optimization of fork-ligation, optimization of DNA-RNA hybrid ligation, and methods necessary or advantageous in library preparation procedure. The bioinformatics/computational biology research will involve the integration of software packages from the group into the Galaxy Server, expression analysis of small RNA […]

This research project would entail developing a system to encapsulate compounds in order to protect them during processing, storage and digestion. Saponins are a compound found in pants that are made up of water attracting and water repelling components. This balance allows them to group together to form groups of saponins called micelles with the […]

This research will measure the effects of the Cycling Without Age program on participants by observing a variety of indicators. An existing program in a long-term care home will be observed, and 50 residents will be recruited: a biking group (n=25) who will be biked twice a week for 12 weeks and a strolls group […]

Clearpath Robotics has developed an accurate GPS navigation system that enables autonomous robots to move in outdoor environments. However, to move toward a target location and avoid obstacles along the path, a path planner is required. The objective of this project is to develop, tune and modify an efficient path planner for the robot in […]

Wetlands are important habitats for many plant and animal species, and also provide valuable ecosystem services to society such as improving water quality and releasing groundwater into streams. While wetlands are often protected from development through the land use planning process in Ontario, development and land use change near wetlands can still alter the amount […]

The research’s aim for the first project is to identify early structural characteristics of osteoarthritis in cartilage and the aim for the second project is to test if these characteristics can be used to detect joint-protection effects from injectable polymers. For both projects, I will be using microcomputed tomography, to collect high resolution 3D images […]

Near the end of every maple syrup harvest season, the syrup can acquire an unpalatable off-flavour called ‘buddy’. Buddy flavor cannot be tasted or detected in the tree sap prior to processing into syrup. This can loss of income, and unnecessary expenditure to produce the syrup that is unpalatable. This work seeks to identify chemical […]

This research seeks to understand the motivations behind sa jiao behaviour, understood as performed pamperedness, among Chinese university students. Performed pamperedness is an act in which one party of a romantic relationship behaves in a child-like manner (pouting, throwing tantrums, engaging in ‘baby talk’) in hopes of attaining benefits from their partner (attention, concern, material […]

The emigration of people across vast distances has undoubtedly fractured the direct relationship between the state and its populations. Yet, some countries have effectively adopted policies that aim to, not only re-establish a kinship foundation with their communities abroad, but to simultaneously encourage contributions back to the kin-state. Relatively new policy research in the field […]