Innovative Projects Realized

Explore thousands of successful projects resulting from collaboration between organizations and post-secondary talent.

13270 Completed Projects

1072
AB
2795
BC
430
MB
106
NF
348
SK
4184
ON
2671
QC
43
PE
209
NB
474
NS

Projects by Category

10%
Computer science
9%
Engineering
1%
Engineering - biomedical
4%
Engineering - chemical / biological

Universal surface modification method to encourage cell patterning

Surface modification to promote the patterning of mammalian cells is an important tool in cellular biology. It aids in the development of different tissue engineering scaffolds, biosensors, and validation of high throughput screening assays. Surface modification protocols must be tailored to each individual material which limits the utility of a successful antifouling strategy to individual materials. The cost to modify individual materials for multi-material devices, often used in biomedical development, is high. Therefore, a single antifouling method is highly desirable. Through collaboration with leading experts in this field at Soochow University, we hope to gain experience in polyethylene glycol grafting methods to apply to surface modification. Their expertise will improve high throughput screening assays as well as a number of other assays used to study biological interactions and characteristics of cells. This research opportunity provided by Mitacs Globalink will facilitate international collaboration for the development of a surface modification tool in extraordinarily high demand.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Qiyin Fang

Student:

Jessica Kun

Partner:

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

University:

McMaster University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Lab-on-a-chip device for blood filtration and separation

Blood is composed primarily of cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, etc.) and plasma (the fluid in which the cells are suspended). Health care providers commonly require the components of blood to be separated before performing tests; currently, this requires blood samples be taken to a medical laboratory for processing. Recent advances in “lab-on-a-chip” technology have produced devices with branched microchannels (channels approximately the width of a human hair) that are designed so that, as blood flows through them, the different components take different paths and can be isolated. This research project will seek to use a new, cheap “rapid prototyping” manufacturing method to produce similar devices, and then to modify the channel arrangement for more efficient and controllable separation. The project will study the way in which the fluid/particle mixture flows through such small channels, which will result in microchannel designs with applications in industry as well as in health care.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Prashant Waghmare

Student:

Geoffrey Casey

Partner:

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

University:

University of Alberta

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Changes of people’s livelihood in nature reserve areas in China during a rapid transition period

The development of nature reserves (NRs) in China is occurring simultaneously with the huge economic and social changes in the past 30 years. The rapid changes of economic and society push local people to change their livelihood faster to adapt to it. What’s the effects of all of those changes among society, economic and environment? How to adapt to them? Is there anything to do to help them better adapt to the rapid changes? How to improve the current management system? To answer these questions, a multiple case study method combining with semistructure interview will be conducted in three NRs in China. The relationships among economic development, society changes and environment policies will be analyzed and a governance management suggestion will be provided in order to help local people to adapt changes and improve livelihoods.

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Faculty Supervisor:

John Innes

Student:

Weiye Wang

Partner:

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Bitan in China and Japan: their preservation, compilation and publication

For many years, it has been a common practice adopted by educated people among East Asian countries to communicate with those who do not speak their language by writing Chinese characters. Many of these pen conversations, or bitan in Chinese, are preserved. Some of these are later compiled and published. These written documents are invaluable first hand resources in that they are the real time records of the conversation taken place in their original form and that the sheer fact that they are preserved itself indicates that these records may help us understand the stories behind these talks. Indeed, why are these dialogue records preserved? How are they preserved? For what purpose does publishing these records serve? I wish to studies these bitan under the guidance of Professor Wang Yong so that I can answer these questions and to re-construct the frame work by which pen conversations are archived.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Jinhua Chen

Student:

Wai Keung Steven Yeung

Partner:

Discipline:

Cultural studies

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Concentration and Exposure to Short-Lived Seasonal Air Pollutants in Londrina, Brazil

Cycling is a mode of transportation that is increasing in popularity in Brazil. Within a city, there are many different complexities due to geography and design that can lead to the accumulation of air pollution in certain areas. Cyclists, being so close to cars, are more susceptible to breathing in air with higher concentrations of air pollutants. This study aims to quantify air pollution concentrations and identify hot spots within the city of Londrina. Air quality instrumentation and GPS will be attached to bicycles for continuous air quality measurements. The results will be mapped and analyzed to determine air pollution within Londrina. In particular, measurements of black carbon, reactive trace gases, and airborne particulate matter will be made.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Mark Gibson

Student:

Ellen Patrick

Partner:

Discipline:

Engineering - civil

Sector:

University:

Dalhousie University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Examining the Mechanism of Interaction Between Solanum tuberosum Plant Specific Insert with Lipid Membranes Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The proposed research area of my master’s project is on the structure and function relationships of food-related proteins, at a fundamental and molecular level. My focus is on the plant specific insert (PSI), a saposin-like-protein in Solanum tuberosum, which has the potential to impact on both food safety and agricultural practices. Plants rely on their innate immunity as a first line of host defense against external pathogens. Like saposins and various other members in the saposin like protein family, PSI was discovered to have antimicrobial, antifungal, protein folding, vacuolar targeting/sorting, membrane disruption and vesicle leakage activities. These self-defense mechanisms are essential for the natural health of the plant. The proposed study will elucidate the interaction between the recombinantly expressed 15N and 13C labeled Solanum tuberosum plant specific insert with phospholipids through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Due to sequence homology of PSI and saposin C, a mature saposin; it is hypothesized that PSI will interact with phospholipid membranes in a similar fashion to saposin C and that the additional segment in PSI may play a role for interaction. 

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Faculty Supervisor:

Rickey Yada

Student:

Jingxin Tian

Partner:

Discipline:

Food science

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Automatic Resizing Framework for Time-Varying Non-Space Filling Visualizations

“We propose the development of an automatic resizing framework for time-varying visualizations. This framework would support easy deployment of visualizations on a multitude of devices with varying display sizes. The second objective of the project is to address issues of data  is interpretation that could arise as a result of visualization resizing through the use of visual cues as well as interaction techniques. The developed resizing algorithms will be instantiated in the form of prototype applications of visualizations such as, dynamic networks and scatter plots. These prototype applications will be evaluated based on not only the memory and time requirements of the resizing operation but also the efficiency of the retargeted visualizations at supporting the user in accomplishing analytical tasks. The resizing framework developed during the course of this project will be available as open source software to prompt further refinement by the research community.”

 

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Faculty Supervisor:

Christopher Collins

Student:

Hrim Mehta

Partner:

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

University:

Ontario Tech University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Co-liquefaction of lignin and lignite for aromatic fuels and chemicals

Due to the rapid increase in demand for petroleum and its declining reserves, the concern over energy security has intensified the interest in liquefying coal and biomass to liquid fuels and chemicals, especially for those countries which have abundant coal reserves, such as the United States, Canada, China, etc. Co-liquefaction of coal with biomass has gained particular research interest due to the synergistic effects between biomass and coal during liquefaction. Co-liquefaction of coal with biomass could moderate the reaction conditions of coal liquefaction due to the synergistic effects between coal and biomass, and improve the quality and yields of liquid products. It would be a novel contribution to the literature and industrial practice to realize co-liquefaction of coal with biomass in a low boiling point solvent and a raw iron ore as catalyst in N2 atmosphere (without using high-pressure hydrogen). This project aims to produce aromatic chemicals by co-liquefaction of lignite coal with lignin in a co-solvent, e.g., 50 wt% methanol-water or ethanol-water using some inexpensive catalysts such as iron ores as catalysts without using high-pressure hydrogen.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Charles Xu

Student:

Hooman Paysepar

Partner:

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

University:

Western University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Shanghai Teachers’ Experiences of Reciprocal Learning on a Shifting Shanghai-Toronto Interschool Landscape

While the term “reciprocal learning” intuitively suggests two or more parties learning from each other with a sense of mutuality, understanding and respect; the concept, when promoted in a multi-year, multi-stakeholders collaborative studies of Chinese and Canadian school education, became less straightforward, leading to various research puzzles, intricacies and consequences. My research aims to understand how selected elementary teachers in Toronto and Shanghai experience reciprocal learning in the midst of their partnership and collaboration on a complex, shifting Shanghai-Toronto sister-school landscape. For this particular research project supported by Mitacs, I will focus on inquiring into the Shanghai teachers’ experiences of reciprocal learning by interacting with them during school-based fieldwork, classroom observations and interviews. The field notes, interview transcripts and artifacts gathered from my interactions with the Shanghai teachers will be used to shed lights on the reciprocal learning experiences of the Toronto teachers with whom the Shanghai teacher interact with. They will also help inform local negotiation of the idea of reciprocal learning and the curriculum actions generated in the process.,

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Faculty Supervisor:

Michael Connelly

Student:

Yishin Khoo

Partner:

Discipline:

Education

Sector:

University:

University of Toronto

Program:

Globalink Research Award

The social, political and material constitution of low-carbonenergy transitions in urban areas: a socio-technical and socio-spatial comparisonof Alberta (Canada) and Ile-de-France (France)

Cities emit approximately 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change. It is therefore important to study how urban energy infrastructures can be transformed to lower carbon emissions. But this transformation is not simple for two reasons: (1) it involved variousactors with conflicting interests and visions on what the energy transition should be, and (2) cities are limited in their capacity of actions because of financial constraints and limited institutional powers. My research will compare how energy transitions are happening in the urban areas of Alberta (Canada) and Ile-de-France (France). Specifically, I will look at the following: how energy= transitions are negotiated and implemented in these two contrasting urban contexts (who are the actors involved and what policies are implemented); what factors enable and constrain municipal and individual actors to carry out low-carbon projects; and how the transformation of energy infrastructure by these projects impact the resilience and the social cohesion of energy supply across the city. With this comparison, I aim to identify best practices and policies and to assist urban decisionmakers in lowering carbon emissions.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Byron Miller

Student:

Aïda Nciri

Partner:

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

University:

University of Calgary

Program:

Globalink Research Award

The logic of violence in the Mexican Drug War

Most studies on violence employed by criminal groups are based upon the idea that illegal business, much like legal companies, benefit from the stability, certainty, and freedom that can be found in peaceful locations. Because violence generates mistrust, makes trade more costly, and draws the attention of the police, it is usually assumed that criminals will attempt to minimize their use of violence. Thus, while many studies seek to explain violence in the underworld, such studies almost always assume that for criminals, violence remains a last resort, and therefore should not occur frequently. Existing studies, however, do not tell us much about how criminal organizations and the individuals who work for them determine when and how to employ violence, or how they adapt their use of violence to different situations. Indeed, since violence by organized crime is expected to be uncommon and covert, little research explores cases where such violence becomes both commonplace and overt. In Mexico, for example, the drug cartels have essentially become armies engaged in a full-scale war against one another, and often against the state itself. Thus, the case of Mexico is unusual and requires investigation.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Matthew Light

Student:

Luis Valentin Pereda Aguado

Partner:

Discipline:

Criminology

Sector:

University:

University of Toronto

Program:

Globalink Research Award

Analysis of Big Data Implementation to Enhance Soccer in Brazil

This research will explore factors contributing to the adoption rate of big data sports analytics in Brazils’ soccer industry. The participating student will conduct interviews with major Brazilian soccer clubs and sport statistic companies to assess the root problems, perform secondary research to support analysis, and explore potential alternatives to enable Brazilian soccer clubs to implement big data analytic. The goal of this research is to identify a feasible strategy to accelerate the adoption of data analytic and solve several major challenges of soccer clubs such as player management, fans engagement, and performance insight.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Daniela Blettner

Student:

Christopher Maringka

Partner:

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Globalink Research Award

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