Innovative Projects Realized

Quantum error correction compiler for novel quantum computing platform

Realistic quantum computers unavoidably suffer from physical imperfections, such as environmental influence and imprecise control. An imperfect quantum computer will introduce computational error, so quantum error correction (QEC) is necessary to improve information accuracy. Standard QEC assumes an implementing circuit that involves a typical set of logic gates. However, not all the standard gates can be implemented naturally in a physical platform.

In this project, we will develop a software compiler for QEC in hybrid qubit-bosonic platform. This platform has the advantage that the generation of entanglement (the resource of quantum computing advantage) can be extremely efficient. However, the practical limitations of bosonic system, e.g. energy constraint, will introduce error. This GRA project is a part of the intern’s thesis, which characterizes the logical error during quantum computation. A compiler is a tool for the automated generation of optimal combinations of platform-specific gates that increase computational accuracy. With the compiler, we can explore the accuracy threshold, which will benchmark and guide the development of the platform.

WaSave – Canadian Market for Water Leakage Detection Systems

Nearly a fifth (18%) of treated water entering Canadian water networks never reaches the end user. Many cities in Canada experience leakage rates of over 30%. Thus, there is a clear opportunity to implement new leak detection technologies, such as those offered by WaSave, to reduce water wastage. This project will analyse the Canadian water utility market and identify key barriers and opportunities for greater adoption of leakage detection solutions. The intern will first develop a total addressable market (TAM), serviceable available market (SAM), and serviceable obtainable market (SOM) analysis. Then the intern will conduct an objective survey with Canadian water utilities regarding current practices and opportunities for leakage detection and mitigation. Findings will support future marketing strategies for WaSave and more broadly highlight potential technology, management and regulatory solutions for leakage detection in Canada.

Dynamical decoupling for engineered dissipative process

Engineered dissipation is an important technique to prepare quantum resources, such as spin-squeezed states, for quantum sensing and computing. Compared with traditional coherent approach, engineered dissipation is generally less demanding in control precision and more robust against noise. However, the efficiency dissipative spin squeezing can be affected by unwanted interaction. It would be highly desirable to remove the effects of unwanted interaction to boost the performance of dissipative spin squeezing. Dynamical decoupling (DD) provides a solution to address this problem. DD is a powerful quantum control technique to suppress the effect of unwanted coupling and has been used to increase the coherence times of qubits. In this research project, we will investigate how to apply DD to boost the performance of dissipative spin squeezing. The intern will conduct numerical simulations and theoretical investigation. The results would provide new dissipative spin squeezing schemes where the obstacle of unwanted interaction is removed by DD.

Non-Viral delivery of insulin and IL-10 to the intestine for immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes Year Two

There is increasing evidence suggesting a link exists between the gut immune system and several autoimmune diseases, including diabetes. The industrial partner of this project, enGene, has developed an effective non-viral based technology for the delivery of genes to the intestine. enGene has demonstrated the feasibility of delivering IL-10, which is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, to the intestine and showed therapeutic efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease. In a collaborative project between enGene and the Kieffer laboratory, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate whether gut IL-10 production might have a protective effect on the development of diabetes. Remarkably, localized delivery of IL-10 to intestinal cells significantly reduced the incidence of diabetes. In this proposal we plan to expand these studies to evaluate the benefit of co-delivery of IL-10 with insulin in preventing diabetes at different stagesn of disease progression and to uncover the mechanisms involved.

Creating Connectivity and Facilitating Innovation in the Canadian Life Science Ecosystem

Biohubx supports the life sciences ecosystem in significant ways, but they need a way to visualize that ecosystem and its connections so that they can perform informal traffic control. This project will create a visualization of the life sciences ecosystem in Canada and around the world, and this resource will be used by Biohubx to connect clinical challenges in the ecosystem with innovative companies that have the capability to solve the challenge. Biohubx will support these startups through business development and by leveraging opportunities. Through events and programming, Biohubx will amplify innovative technology and the ecosystem itself.

Nuclear structure of 116Sn studied through 115Sn(n, ?)

A nucleus of tin composed of 50 protons and 66 neutrons, called 116Sn, is the subject of our investigation. Only certain energies are available to nuclei at any one time, and when a nucleus reaches one of these energy states, it acquires features unique to that state. To create the examined nucleus, a beam of neutrons collided with a target of 115Sn, causing the addition of one neutron to the target nucleus. The added neutron gave the nucleus more energy, but since nuclei naturally seek to be in the lowest state of energy, high-energy photons get released by the nucleus as it loses energy. Thus, as the nucleus goes from an energy state to a lower energy state, photons are released and it has different properties. The goal of this study is to draw a scheme describing how the nucleus moved from one state to another and what its properties were in each state.

Estimating the potential of mini-hydropower generation in an ungauged catchment using hydrological modelling

Hydroponic greenhouse agriculture is an excellent method of producing crops throughout the year in agro-climatologically challenging remote provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador. However, energy requirements for heating, ventilation and light may reduce profitability of greenhouses even with high local demand for products. This pre-feasibility study investigates the potential of using mini-hydroelectric power to generate the power needed for Growing for Life’s hydroponic greenhouses HVAC systems located in Western Newfoundland.

Deep Neural Networks for Local Editing of Facial Polygon Meshes

Artists in the industry are eager for tools to simplify the modeling of faces for 3D characters. For a while, researchers, including ourselves, used blend shape style models for reconstructing and modeling faces. More recently, researchers investigated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, again mostly for face reconstruction from images. AI is more able to properly model faces than blend shape models, yet using AI for modeling is an area that has not yet received much attention. We will design and tune our AI model using two face data sets (one public and the other from our industrial partner). We will compare our new AI model to our previous model, by reproducing functionalities already found in our previous model. We will also compare our new results to those of our previous model to validate the performance of the new AI model.

Intervenir sur la marchabilité des milieux suburbains : l’ambiance urbaine comme levier d’intervention

Le projet s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une thèse menée en cotutelle entre les universités de Montréal et de Grenoble-Alpes. Le laboratoire CRESSON, affilié à l’École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Grenoble constitue le laboratoire d’accueil dans le cadre du projet. Ce laboratoire a développé une expertise unique en matière d’ambiance urbaine. La thèse porte sur le développement d’une démarche d’intervention urbaine qui permette d’améliorer l’expérience de marche des milieux suburbains. Il s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une réflexion sur nos modes d’habiter nos milieux de vie et leur adaptation dans le contexte mouvant actuel, caractérisé notamment par les changements climatiques, le vieillissement de la population et la pandémie du COVID-19. Le projet utilise l’ambiance comme levier de cette intervention. Les retombées générales attendues au terme de la thèse sont : (1) le développement d’une typologie de critères expérientiels pour guider l’intervention urbaine visant l’amélioration de l’expérience de marche au sein de ces milieux; (2) le développement d’une démarche participative qui favorise l’engagement habitant dans le projet urbain.

30-year Retrospective Taphonomic Study on Aquatic Body Decomposition (1990 – 2019)

The study of human body decomposition serves an important role in helping death investigators estimate the time since death, the context of the death, and postmortem movement of deceased individuals. Experimental submergence studies have helped distinguish decomposition effects of marine, freshwater, and laboratory-induced taphonomy from terrestrial contexts, but few actual cases of recovered human remains have been used to verify such findings. Moreover, there are few longitudinal studies that compare taphonomic changes in both soft tissue and bone material based on seasonal effects, climatic changes, and environmental and ecological niches within aquatic landscapes. With such limited research on this topic, aquatic death investigations are fraught with difficulty. The goal of this 30-uear retrospective analysis is to develop a better understanding of decomposition processes to improve existing postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) estimations, as well as our understanding of the postmortem journey of remains in water.

Levage de charge vertical efficace à l’aide d’aéronefs à voilure fixe attachés par câbles et d’actionneurs magnétorhéologiques

Une approche alternative aux hélicoptères pour lever des charges est d’utiliser des aéronefs à voilure fixe autopilotés qui effectuent un vol circulaire au-dessus de la charge. Celle-ci peut donc être levée par les câbles liant la charge aux deux avions avec une efficacité dépassant cette des hélicoptères par un facteur 5. Le présent projet vise à développer les contrôleurs et adapter des aéronefs commerciaux pour créer un démonstrateur expérimental pouvant lever une charge de 20 kg en vol stationnaire. Ce projet ambitieux se base sur les derniers succès de l’équipe de recherche qui ont réussi à contrôler de façon autopilotée un avion attaché par un câble en vol circulaire, et démontré expérimentalement la capacité de levage du système. Cette démonstration démontrera l’avantage de l’utilisation des actuateurs magnétorhéologiques développés par Exonetik dans cette nouvelle architecture d’aéronef.

3D printing of thixotropic hybrid siloxanes for transparent applications

Hard and transparent 3D printing materials are in demand in applications such as durable device passivation and transparent architectures. To replace 3d printable glass or ceramic, which has the disadvantage of undergoing high-temperature post-treatment after printing, the study of hard, transparent, and thermally resistant 3D printing materials will be conducted in this project. To achieve this goal, sol-gel-derived hybrid siloxane materials, which have been previously studied in a home institution (KAIST), will be studied to enable 3D printing by imparting thixotropic properties. This thixotropic hybrid siloxane will be taken to the host institution (SFU) and applied to a transparent device application to evaluate the potential of the developed hybrid siloxane in the field of 3d printing. Ultimately, developing novel 3D printing materials with high transparency, hardness, and thermal stability will lead to advances in the fields of transparent architectural structures, encapsulation for optoelectronics, and efficient device passivation.