Innovative Projects Realized

Assessing Motivators and Barriers to Accessing Community-Based Health Programs

The overall aim of the proposed project is to assist a community non-profit organization in their key strategic goal of ‘being the place for people to create positive health outcomes’. Specifically, the main goal is to assess the motivators and barriers that influence the use of community-based health programs offered by the organization. Exploring these factors and how they contribute to program participation can help improvement of current programs as well designing future programs. Beyond actionable recommendations based on the findings, a secondary goal is helping the organization reconsider and upgrade their program monitoring strategies to support ongoing evaluation of their programs for continual improvement.

«Validating semi-automated 3D slit-lamp examination for anterior segment assessment»

Up until now, technology advancement facilitates tele eye care services, especially in the remote areas. However, some challenges still remain, one of which is the detailed assessment of ocular surface. The Ocular surface has a three-dimensional structure, making the stereoscopic clues important in disease detection. Therefore, this project, in partnership with LightX Innovations Inc., aims to invent a proper and feasible instrument based on 3D slit-lamp photography assisted with smartphones into telehealth service. The objectives of the current project are to assess the reliability of this method in disease detection and to assess its agreement with the convetional slit-lamp examination in analysing the clinical signs of ocular surface. Thus, this study, may help tele-health practitioners analyses more ocular surface diseases, especially those with the stereoscopic clues.

Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) population status and habitat provisioning in restored stream reaches of Peel Region.

The objective of this project is to investigate the relationship between habitat restoration activities and the biological outcomes of fish communities in the Humber River, Ontario, with a specific focus on outcomes for the endangered Redside Dace. We will evaluate landscape and instream habitat parameters among restored and not-restored sites to determine the effectiveness of restoration and specific restoration activities. Specifically, we will evaluate changes in habitat parameters based on data collected prior to and after restoration and relate this information to the status of the fish community during the same time periods. We will also evaluate the status of Redside Dace in restored and not-restored sites and develop a habitat suitability model for the species based on habitat parameters that are most strongly associated with presence and abundance of the species. Our work will inform restoration prioritization actives, species at risk recovery planning, and watershed planning.

Are human land uses impacting streams ecosystems in central Alberta?

Stream ecosystems and organisms that live within them can be impacted by human activities on the surrounding land. Detailed knowledge of which human activities influence stream ecosystems and their biological communities and how they impact them is important to watershed planners for developing effective management strategies. Aquatic ecosystems in the North Saskatchewan River basin are threatened by a number of human activities including urban expansion, agriculture and industrial activities, including coal mining and oil and gas extraction. Our project will use statistical methods to identify relationships between these human activities in the watershed, natural landscape features, water quality and physical habitat condition of streams and condition of benthic algal communities. We will identify human activities that most strongly impact stream-dwelling algae , which will help the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance make recommendations on watershed management activities for stakeholders.

Analyse Multi-vectorielle : Assurance Voyage

Le projet vise à analyser les données historiques de l’entreprise afin d’optimiser la tarification proposée à la clientèle.

Unlocking the potential of an aqueous and sustainable synthesis method to produce and combine MOFs from combinations of ferrous/ferric iron and five benzene carboxylates and deliver superior desiccants with tailor made water vapor isotherm shapes.

Air-conditioning (AC) accounts for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. One way to improve the energy efficiency of AC equipment is to dry the air prior to its cooling. For this, sponge-like materials are used that can soak up the small water droplets that are in the wet air. A new class of nanomaterials called MOFs (metal-organic frameworks) possess an extraordinary capability to this. However, before they can be used in commercial AC equipment, significant efforts must be made to reduce their material/production cost and shape them into sturdy and durable forms. This project will focus on developing several new and affordable MOFs through a simple and sustainable method. The method is also very tunable, meaning that it allows to customize the properties of the MOFs and guide them towards the desired state. Lastly and to evaluate their performance in a realistic environment, the new MOFs will be structured into flexible and resistant laminates and then built into a component that can be inserted easily into an existing AC equipment.

Acceptabilité des innovations en santé: le cas de l’exosquelette de réadaptation

Les organisations de santé doivent innover et se maintenir à jour avec les nouvelles technologies basées sur les données probantes. Les exosquelettes de réadaptation sont une nouvelle technologie pouvant améliorer la mobilité des personnes ayant une lésion médullaire, mais la recherche sur acceptabilité par les acteurs de la réadaptation est limitée. L’étude de cas de l’acceptabilité des exosquelettes de réadaptation par les cliniciens de réadaptation au Centre de réadaptation et de réhabilitation mutualiste de Kerpape en France vise à explorer les éléments influençant l’acceptabilité de l’exosquelette. Les conclusions de cette étude seront importantes pour améliorer les soins de santé en réduisant les obstacles à l’utilisation de ces technologies.

Semiconducting and mechanical nanoscale 3D printing

Two-photon polymerization (2PP) additive manufacturing, also referred as two-photon lithography, has enabled complex three-dimensional (3D) structures with emergent mechanical properties to be printed at high speed and lateral resolutions below 200 nm. Recently, the Gu Group at Stanford University reported a 2PP photoresist containing quantum-confined nanoclusters which act as highly sensitive two-photon activators to enable arbitrary 3D structures with impressive mechanical properties such as high specific strength, energy absorption, deformability, and recoverability. The objective of this project is to develop a 2PP resist which would enable printing semiconducting and mechanically robust 3D nanostructures with high resolution by introducing semiconducting 2D materials into the nanocluster-based resist developed by the Gu Group. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are a class of semiconducting 2D crystals with favourable mechanical properties and have the general form of MX2, in which M symbolizes transition metal from groups IV–X and X represents chalcogen. TMD nanoplatelets are well suited for dispersion in the nanocluster-based resist to achieve semiconducting electronic behaviour. A secondary objective of this research is to demonstrate an application of the developed resist by developing an ultra-small, highly sensitive, and low-cost nanoelectromechanical accelerometer that is orders of magnitude smaller than commercially available options.

Indigenous relations and energy businesses: Building foundations for authentic and sustainable community partnerships

In Canada, there is a lack of trust in energy businesses to develop energy projects in environmentally and socially responsible ways. From blockades to protests, we see that many groups are taking extreme action against energy projects. This is especially true for Indigenous groups, who have experienced many negative impacts from energy businesses.

One of the main methods in building trust is through community consultation to better understand the impacts and how they can be mitigated. In my project, I will be researching ways to not only improve the consultation process but also how consultation can be shifted towards more meaningful partnerships between Indigenous groups and energy businesses. This research will be conducted in partnership with Touchwood Agency Tribal Council Economic Development Company Ltd. (hereafter, TATC) which is a for-profit organization representing four First Nations. The organization’s purpose is to represent their people through economic development projects. One such project is a joint venture with Rainforest Energy Corporation (RFEC) to pilot a technology that converts waste biomass into renewable gasoline as well as propane equivalent.

Proxemics-Aware Agents for Everyday Activities

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more ubiquitous with each passing day. Our goal in this project is to enhance human-AI interaction by exploring ways in which proxemics can help drive and support the interaction. We want to create more intuitive and user friendly agents that are aware of one’s context and proxemics in relation to one’s environment. More specifically, we’re focusing on how an agent can infer information based on the user’s head orientation and distance to other entities and objects in their environment. To achieve our goal, we will explore ideas from previous designs and articulate them as a tookit for our research. Based on our toolkit, we will develop a scenario in Virtual Reality (VR) to showcase how this AI agent can help people in their everyday activities.

A Feasibility Study on the Punnichy, Saskatchewan Biomass-Methane Clean Fuel Project

The purpose of this project is to perform a feasibility study on the Punnichy, Saskatchewan biomass-methane clean fuel project covering the three anchors of energy, environment, and economics. While the primary focus of this investigation is to analyze the economic feasibility of the clean fuel project, the energy and environmental implications will also be addressed on a high-level basis. Investigation methods would mainly include review and assessment of applicable economics and tax policies for the industry, together with performing financial and sensitivity analysis with data collected from both primary and secondary sources. Investigation findings will be important for management, potential investors, and other stakeholders to assess the economic sustainability and potential for future project expansion. Furthermore, the financial indicators would facilitate industry practitioners and governmental bodies to assess performance benchmarks, understand potential limitations and make adjustment for future policies.

Modeling, design, analysis, and control of a parallel hybrid electric vehicle drivetrain including optimal drive mode operation

Prototyping of HEV powertrains is cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming. Thus, design optimization is the most feasible alternative process for accomplishing a good design. This project will identify key system components and develop a high-fidelity model of the hybrid drive train capturing key dynamics. Modes such as engine mode, motor mode, hybrid-parallel mode, regenerative braking mode, and driving modes, such as crawling, take-off, cruise, traffic mode, heavy and frequent braking mode, will be investigated. Finally, a multi-body dynamic model will be developed for a small vehicle and iterative testing will be conducted at different standard drive cycles to analyze the acceleration performance e.g., maximum speed, acceleration time, maximum grade, and travel range, and fuel economy, including power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in addition to the robustness of the adaptive control algorithms.