Innovative Projects Realized

Biochar blended clay bricks: an innovative solution for landfill waste

BC’s CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 has introduced new actions to address climate change and achieve a net-zero
economy by 2050. Based on the current state of climate emergency, the development of effective and financially
viable carbon removal projects is paramount. Biochar has a promising negative emissions technology that
promotes atmospheric carbon capture and sequestration. The current project targets for transforming wood waste
from construction industry into value-added material i.e. biochar suitable for bricks production. Biochar will be
used to produce lightweight panels with lower shrinkage cracks and higher impact loading performance. Also,
stabilize subgrade performance will be tested for load bearing capacity/strength and long-term stiffness/durability
under extreme climatic conditions. thereby intensifying the potential utilization of industrial wastes and by-products
in the energy-efficient and eco-friendly construction practices.

Development of an optical sports monitoring sensor and method for non-invasive evaluation of muscle metabolic fitness and function in elite athletes – Part 2

Currently, elite athletes and their coaches rely on the subjective self-awareness and measurement of muscle force, heart rate, and the amount of blood lactic acid level to monitor body fitness and athletic performance. These methods, however, are not ideal and always reliable due to subjective errors, technological limitations and individual confounding factors that limit the validity and accuracy of the measures. Furthermore, current methods are not able to monitor muscle function and fitness during exercise and recovery periods. This study aims to approach this challenge by establishing a new method and developing a wearable sensor for non-invasive monitoring of muscle performance and fitness during exercise. The ultimate goal of this project is to help elite Canadian athletes to enhance their 2022 and 2024 Olympic and Paralympic podium performances by using this new sports monitoring technology

Personalized Extended Reality Experiences Displayed on Mobile Devices: Investigation of Real-Time In Situ User Behaviour

Immersive technologies create unique experiences by merging the real physical world to a virtual simulated reality. This technology has revolutionized the way in which organizations and many services are implemented. Recently, XR experiences have gained popularity because they can be universally displayed in any type of mobile device and do not require a headset. The proposed research aims to collect in situ user sensor data from mobile devices displaying XR experiences to probe the voluntary and involuntary actions of the user in real-time. Insights from this data will pave the way for personalized XR experiences and help establish guidelines and best practices for data collection in the immersive technologies field.

Outil de gestion pour la conservation du Marais de la Rivière-aux-Cerises

La mise en place d’outils de gestion permettra à notre organisation de prioriser et de guider nos actions de recherche et de conservation du territoire de gestion. Les processus décisionnels seront rendus plus efficaces et éclairés grâce aux outils produits dans le cadre du projet.

Quantifying the Economic Impact of Re-Branding

With over 30 years of experience, Ag-West Bio is a well established business and has developed a strong reputation with those we do business with. However, the wider agriculture industry is often not aware of Ag-West Bio and the work we do. In late 2022, the AWB management team began a re-branding exercise that will result in a new brand, new promotional videos and a reaffirmed understanding of the values that the staff and the organization hold close.

The purpose of this Mitacs project is to develop a branding integration strategy and metrics to quantify the economic impact of brand awareness through re-branding exercises. The implementation of this strategy will occur for several years following the completion of the re-branding. The core output of this project is a scorecard that the partner organization and other non-profits can use to understand our contribution to economic development in the province of Saskatchewan.

Application du programme d’efficacité énergétique du gouvernement canadien: Projet d’étude de faisabilité d’un programme innovateur local de financement des rénovations écoénergétiques des maisons unifamiliales de la région des Laurentides

Pour accélérer la transition énergétique et lutter contre les changements climatiques, le gouvernement du Québec dispose de plusieurs programmes d’incitatifs financiers et de conseils pratiques (Rénoclimat, Chauffez vert, Éconologis et Novoclimat) pour accompagner les ménages et entreprises dans les travaux résidentiels écoénergétiques. Cependant, les obstacles liés à la pluralité, aux critères d’admissibilité spécifiques et complexes, et aux financements en partie des coûts des travaux limitent l’adoption généralisée de ces programmes. Le Conseil des préfets et des élus de la région des Laurentides (CPÉRL) propose de réaliser une étude de faisabilité d’un programme de financement qui tient compte de ces obstacles afin de susciter un intérêt généralisé des propriétaires pour l’amélioration écoénergétique des maisons unifamiliales de la région des Laurentides. L’objectif est de contribuer à la réduction des émissions de GES provinciale et fédérale, d’accélérer les économies d’énergie et de stimuler l’économie locale, et d’améliorer la qualité de vie des résidents.

Optimization of Myelin Water Imaging

The purpose of this research project is to optimize a magnetic resonance technique designed to measure myelin in brain and spine. This technique holds great promise for diagnosis and management of neurodegenerative diseases as well as abnormal brain development. The finalgoal ofthe project is to have a magnetic resonance protocol which could be offered as a product on a Philips Healthcare magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Currently, no MRI manufacturer offers myelin water imaging as a product. If a suitable implementation of myelin water imaging can be found for the Philips MR scanner, it could be offered as an advanced imaging tool with a potential price in the range of 30-50,000$. If myelin water imaging is accepted as a valuable tool by the medical imaging community, there could be several hundred sales which would lead to a considerable return on investment for Philips Healthcare.

Development of an analytical framework for multiple cellular (omics) responses of Canadian aquatic species exposed to different environmental conditions to guide the management of biodiversity, fisheries and aquaculture.

Canadian ocean and freshwater systems currently undergo rapidly changing disturbances that threaten high-value aquatic species such as shrimps and fishes, even in Marine Protected Areas. Whilst biologists gathered a large amount of knowledge (and data) about the responses of aquatic animals in such disturbed environments, our current understanding is often limited to individual single-layer levels of biological organisation (e.g., focusing only on genes or only on lipids). This project aims to develop a framework to integrate, and link together, existing single-layer knowledge into multi-omics models that synthesise the response of aquatic organisms across several molecular compartments. The framework developed within this project will be a much-needed tool for academics, stakeholders, and industrials to quickly gain an overview on the general physiology and health of their species of interest. Such framework may significantly support species conservation and management efforts in Canadian aquatic systems.

Climate-smart circularity: Guiding decision-making through data-informed standard protocols

Organizations are trying to manage their waste streams using circular economy principles to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Without proper assessment, organizations that follow a standard waste hierarchy often lack proper awareness and understanding about the amount of GHG emissions individual options actually reduce. They can use sophisticated (and systems thinking) approaches such as life cycle assessment (LCA) to overcome that issue and choose the most GHG-efficient option(s). But using LCA is a complicated task due to complex supply chains, and the needs for lots of high-quality data, which may cause organizations to feel overwhelmed. This is the challenge this project aims to address. These generalized best practices are expected to make organizations’ circularity decision-making more efficient. The findings will help CSA Group in providing broad direction and guidance for organizations to reduce their environmental impacts.

Anisotropie des aluminiums extrudés

Dans le cadre d’un projet sur l’extrusion, un besoin de documentation des propriétés mécaniques de profilés est présenté par le LOPFA et pourrait intéresser un élève d’école d’ingénieur en stage. Dans le cadre de ce stage, l’étudiant devra caractériser l’anisotropie de profilés extrudés en alliages d’aluminium (AA6063 et 6082). Pour se faire, il faudra réaliser des essais de micro-traction dans différentes directions par rapport à la direction d’extrusion des profilés, mesurer l’évolution du coefficient de Lankford au cours de la déformation lors des essais de traction (un état de l’art peut être nécessaire), déterminer la texture des échantillons et faire le bilan de la fraction recristallisée pour chaque alliage. Ces deux dernières étapes devraient demander le polissage (manuel) et l’attaque chimique des échantillons, des observations et des mesures au microscope optique et au MEB. Il faudra documenter l’effet de la variation des paramètres d’extrusion lors de la réalisation du profilé sur la texture, la recristallisation, et la courbe de traction.

Proportion-Based Hypergraph Burning

Graph burning is a mathematical game or process that has applications in financial cyber security, as it can be used to model “dirty money” spreading throughout a network of accounts. Hypergraph burning is a similar process that is played on a more complex network-like structure called a hypergraph. We investigate an alternative rule set for hypergraph burning which is more applicable to financial cyber security.

Rebuilding Stronger Homes

As extreme weather events become more frequent, home insurance claims are rising. These losses undermine Canadians’ financial security and emotional well-being. Collaborating with Innovation North, Co-operators will reimagine the role of home insurance to catalyze a circular economy. This research will not only contribute to the very practical outcomes of catalyzing change within the insurance industry, it will also help to better understand how insurance companies can overcome the tension of the increased short-term costs of building homes differently for sustainability and resiliency with the long-term costs related to increased climate change-related weather events.