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

Real Time Inverse Scattering for Optical Coherence Tomography

A critical challenge today in neuro-surgery is the determination of tumor boundaries intraoperatively. There are means of doing this using high-resolution MRI machines, however, these can be prohibitively costly. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) offers a promising, cheaper, label-free alternative. However, the basic models used for clinical, real-time OCT limit its usefulness and depth of focus. This work will develop a type of image reconstruction that includes digital focusing and anisotropic properties. This will extract more optical information than is currently possible, as well as improving focus using only computational techniques, all in real-time. This would significantly improve current OCT systems as well as their prospects for intraoperative tumor boundary detection.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Kieran Murphy

Student:

John MacNeil

Partner:

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

Medical devices

University:

University of Toronto

Program:

Elevate

Geological controls on strainburst risk in deep mining drifts

A strainburst is a sudden violent failure of rock triggered around a tunnel boundary. They are often unpredictable and pose an extreme risk to workers in deep underground mines and tunnels. The goal of this project is to investigate the fundamental mechanisms by which these failures can occur. This knowledge will be used to better identify high risk environments and to design risk mitigation strategies that target site specific failure mechanisms. These objectives will be completed through an analysis of a large strainburst database to classify events, field measurements of rockmass properties, site investigations of the geological environments associated with strainbursts, and numerical modeling to investigate potential failure mechanisms. The benefit of this project to Vale is a better understanding of the failure mechanisms specific to Vale mines in Sudbury, Ontario. This knowledge will help prevent future injuries to workers and help to prevent costly delays to production.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Steve McKinnon

Student:

Andrew McDonald

Partner:

Vale Ltd.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Automotive and transportation

University:

Queen's University

Program:

Accelerate

End-User Understanding of Web Certificates

“Much of life is online, so online security is critical. While many aspects of security are infrastructural, users must make key decisions. In particular, users must decide which websites to trust and which to avoid. How can users know if a website is truly what it claims to be? This is a pivotal issue. When attackers can convince users to trust their sites, though phishing or other strategies, user security and privacy are easily compromised, malware can be downloaded, and infrastructure undermined.Our plan is to conduct user studies to explore the understanding of browser-presented certificate information. We will conduct both qualitative studies, to explore understanding through observation and interviews, and larger quantitative studies, to statistically assess hypotheses. The partner would benefit from this work because they are concerned that users are currently not aware of the available certifications and need insight as to why this is.”

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Faculty Supervisor:

Robert Lewis Biddle

Student:

Milica Stojmenovic

Partner:

Symantec

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Carleton University

Program:

Elevate

Development of new generation of tool steels by modification in chemical composition, grain refinement, and cryogenic treatment

DK SPEC is a major producer of cutting tool steels for the Canadian wood industry. A combination of High strength, good toughness, and wear resistance determines the quality of a tool steel. In the framework of Engage, EngagePlus and MITACS acceleration projects, an advanced heat treatment cycle by cryogenic cooling at temperatures as low as -100 °C was developed. The application of the above cycle resulted in a 75% reduction in processing time and improvement in wear resistance (+20%). However, in-depth thermodynamic and microstructural studies in the last three years showed that the chemical composition and microstructure of conventional tool steels do not meet the entire requirements for the cryogenic treatment. Therefore, the main objective of the project is to study new alloys compositions as well as new microstructure modification methods (e.g. cold or warm deformations) prior to the cryogenic treatment to achieve the superior mechanical properties required by industry.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Mohammad Jahazi

Student:

Hadi Ghasemi Nanesa

Partner:

DK-SPEC

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Aerospace and defense

University:

Program:

Elevate

Informing the Conservation and Management of Pacific Herring on Canada’s West Coast

The complexity of movement and behaviour in Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) stocks targeted by commercial and indigenous fisheries in BC is poorly understood and often discounted in fisheries management policies, possibly contributing to recent stock declines. We propose to inform spatial management strategies for herring on the central coast of BC with (I) local knowledge from commercial and indigenous fishers, (II) a field survey that will compare coastal areas with differing management strategies and (III) a field experiment that will quantify affects from recently observed shifts in spawning behaviour. We expect our results will reveal recent changes in spawning behaviour and will inform improved management strategies that better reflect fish and fleet spatial dynamics. Understanding local spatial dynamics and their consequences will contribute to a scientifically and locally informed herring management plan for our partner organization, and will advance our understanding of the factors that affect the productivity and resilience of herring populations on Canada’s west coast.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Anne Salomon

Student:

Mark Thompson

Partner:

Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Video Cloaking

The goal of this project is to build a system which hides extra data within a video transmission. With only a minor or non-perceptible degradation in the quality of the transmitted video, another lower rate video or other data payload can be sent over the same channel as the primary video. The usefulness of the channel is thus increased. During this project, a video decoder for displaying the primary video and extracting the extra payload will be created. This decoder will operate on a standard consumer-grade video playback device. Pixelstream Communications, the partner organization, will obtain a prototype program for demonstrating their video cloaking technology to future investors. The interns will obtain experience with multimedia application and communications system development.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Michael Mcguire

Student:

Mi Tian

Partner:

Pixelstream Communications

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

Smart public toilets using Internet of things

The washrooms can be equipped with smart objects to be controlled and monitored to increase the customer satisfaction. This technology utilizes connected washroom equipment such as toilet paper, towels, soap dispensers, and water leakage sensors. In smart washrooms, the condition of the washroom is monitored and the management is informed when anything needs attention. This smart system can save time and reduce maintenance costs by replacing supplies only when needed. Furthermore, early detection of water leaks helps to utilize water efficiently, conserves water, prevents damage caused by leaks, and save money on repairs caused by water damage. This technology is very useful for public places such as hospitals, airports, shopping centers, restaurants, and hotels. The company, Visionstate, has developed washroom management with an innovative use for touchscreen technology. Therefore, this project will complete the company objectives.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Chintha Tellambura

Student:

Zeinab Zeinalkhani

Partner:

Visionstate Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Energy

University:

University of Alberta

Program:

Accelerate

Performance Metrics and Reporting Requirements for Sustainable Supply Chain Management

The Sustainability Toolkit has been developed to address the lack of step-by-step guidance to show organizations how develop and implement a comprehensive sustainability management plan. The Toolkit integrates globally-recognized approaches to sustainability management that can be used to manage an organization’s supplier/customer sustainability requirements. The proposed project will test the Toolkit approach and allow interns, working with various client organizations, to identify the common sustainability requirements suppliers must address through their sustainability programs and the type of reporting buying organizations require of their suppliers to demonstrate their sustainability progress.
Interns will gain hands-on work experience in the sustainability field, while Tavares Group Consulting benefits from invaluable feedback required to develop an online software version of the Toolkit. Participating client organizations will benefit from an efficient process to manage supplier sustainability requirements.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Stephan Vachon

Student:

Daniel Joseph

Partner:

Tavares Group Consulting Inc.

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Western University

Program:

Accelerate

Spatial Sentiment Visualization for Text Data

Large numbers of online comments about a public consultation from citizens makes it difficult for decision-makers on public projects. To clarify various cognitions of participants is important. But reading through all comments, especially long ones, is unrealistic due to the high cost. An example dataset is 974 comments about whether residents support a new 0.5% Metro Vancouver Congestion Improvement Tax from PlaceSpeak. This brings out the need for text analysis. The intern puts forward two main methods to transform free-formed dataset to structured information with the help of visualization. This helps PlaceSpeak to form a workflow to study their text datasets in the future, and provide customers useful guidance for their decision-making process.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Stan Matwin

Student:

Lulu Huang

Partner:

PlaceSpeak

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Dalhousie University

Program:

Accelerate

Multi-dimensional wellbeing: Examining how financial, social, health, and environmental factors interactively determine subjective wellbeing

Maintaining a high level of subjective wellbeing (SWB) is critical to a happy and productive life. To achieve happiness, it is important to know what factors determine SWB. So far, a number of factors have been identified, including income, social relationships, physical health, and the environment. However, it is currently unknown how these factors interact with each other to influence SWB. The goal of the project is to develop an online survey to launch in Vancouver and Kelowna, BC. The survey will collect self-reports on financial stress, social relationships, perceived health, perceptions of the environment, affect, and life satisfaction. In collaboration with Balance Well-Being Centre Inc., this project will provide new insights on how various factors interactively predict SWB, and also create a comprehensive assessment tool to measure SWB. The findings of the project will help inform current practices and design solutions to improve SWB.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Jiaying Zhao

Student:

Yu Luo

Partner:

Balance Well-Being Centre Inc

Discipline:

Psychology

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Improving the Performance of Java Virtual Machine (JVM) Garbage Collection using Transactional Memory

As the multi-processing power of computers continues to grow, traditional methods of memory management become more and more problematic. The purpose of this project is to quantitatively analyze existing memory management tactics to determine whether they can be improved using techniques that take advantage of modern hardware, or instead, whether brand new methods for managing memory need to be developed. As the act of memory management is one which is crucial to almost every application that runs on IBM’s J9 JVM, clearly identifying a path forward will be extremely beneficial.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Gerhard Dueck

Student:

Aaron Tabor

Partner:

IBM Canada

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

University of New Brunswick

Program:

Accelerate

Optimization and Control of Ozone Use within Recirculating Aquaculture Systems

Recirculating aquaculture systems are indoor, tank-based systems which allow aquaculturalists to raise fish in controlled environmental conditions through the use of several water treatment processes. Research related to the aquaculture industry is important, as it is currently one of the fastest growing food industries. This research aims to improve the operation of these systems by reducing the amount of organic waste in the recirculated water through the use of ozone. The focus of this project is to address problems related to the implementation of ozone treatment within recirculating aquaculture systems by developing a central method of ozone addition, validating ozone addition guidelines, determining the effectiveness of ozone for the removal of algal cultures suspended in the system flow, and evaluating automatic control of ozone addition through the use of a UV light transmittance probe. The anticipated result for Cooke Aquaculture Inc. is an ozone system which has improved performance, is inherently safer, and reduces cost through more effective ozone dosage control.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Michel Couturier

Student:

Matthew Trueman

Partner:

Cooke Aquaculture Corp.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Natural resources

University:

University of New Brunswick

Program:

Accelerate

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