Innovative Projects Realized

Caractérisation et modélisation du canal UWB/Wi-Fi en environnements contraints

Ce projet de recherche porte sur l’étude du comportement des signaux sans fil, en particulier le Wi-Fi et l’Ultra-Wideband (UWB), dans des environnements où la propagation radio est difficile, comme les bâtiments complexes et les infrastructures souterraines. Les stagiaires travailleront sur l’analyse de mesures radio réelles, le développement de modèles numériques du canal et l’étude de méthodes de localisation basées sur l’angle d’arrivée, l’angle de départ et les caractéristiques du canal. La collaboration internationale prévue dans le cadre du programme Mitacs Globalink permettra de comparer plusieurs environnements expérimentaux et de mettre en commun des expertises complémentaires en mesure, modélisation et analyse. Les travaux réalisés contribueront à améliorer la fiabilité des communications sans fil et la précision des systèmes de positionnement dans des contextes où les solutions actuelles présentent des limites.

Factors Influencing Doctoral Students’ Degree Completion: The Impact of Institutional Type and Discipline

Sometimes, there is a belief that doctoral degrees are quite challenging to attain. The majority of previous studies have an emphasis on subjective reasons for doctoral degree incompletion. Therefore, many past studies applied qualitative inquiries (Wollast et al., 2018). Thus, there is a lack of mixed-method studies in the areas of how particular factors influence doctoral student retention and competition in U.S. universities. Similarly, there is a gap in knowledge in terms of factors impacting the doctoral students’ competition and temporary employment after their graduation in Canadian universities (Sverdlik et al., 2018; Kot & Hendel, 2012; Walters et al., 2021). This study focuses on the factors that might impact student competition and retention rates, including the discipline and institutional type influences. The literature gap is also in the comparative analysis of the experiences of doctoral student competition and early career prospects between the U.S. and Canadian universities. However, there are studies that focus on the factors and issues of degree completion and career opportunities within each country’s universities (Etmanski et al., 2017). Therefore, the study attempts to fill in this gap.

On Symmetry Restrictions and Ansatz Expressibility in Variational Quantum Eigensolvers for Quantum Chemistry

This project aims to make quantum computers more effective at simulating the behavior of molecules, a process vital for developing new medicines and sustainable materials. Currently, quantum hardware is sensitive to “noise” and errors, which makes complex chemical calculations difficult to perform accurately. To address this, the research team is refining a method called Q-SENSE, which uses mathematical shortcuts known as “quasi-symmetries” to simplify these calculations into more manageable parts. By testing new ways to organize and group electronic data within a molecule, the project seeks to significantly reduce the computational power and time required for simulations. The University of Toronto (host) will benefit by upgrading its existing software tools with advanced mathematical insights brought from Germany, ensuring its leadership in quantum chemistry. Meanwhile, the University of Munich (home) will benefit by applying its abstract theoretical research on quantum particles to real-world industrial challenges. Ultimately, this international collaboration strengthens the research link between Canada and Europe, building the technical skills and innovative techniques necessary to lead the global transition toward practical and accessible quantum computing technology.

AI Adoption Project for the NB Contact Centre Industry

The McKenna Institute and ContactNB are collaborating on an initiative to promote AI adoption and responsible use
within New Brunswick’s contact centre industry, aiming to enhance productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability by
supporting SMEs with AI integration, workforce training, academic collaboration, and attracting investment in the
business services sector.

The Community Mobile Media Lab

This application to MITACS supports interns working with community in an innovative mobile media arts research lab.
The Community Mobile Media Lab (CMML) is a purpose-designed mobile media production hub, which will house film production equipment that can be situated temporarily in communities we are collaborating with to explore innovative models of co-creation, training and mentorship. This infrastructure will allow us to engage with Nova Scotians to document the oral histories of community elders, and with whom we have initiated programs that empower youth by teaching them filmmaking skills. Through these unique education and production models, the CMML will facilitate acts of reconciliation by facilitating creative opportunities for communication among community members.

Hacksmith Robotics in Collaboration with Waterloo RoboHub

This project’s aim is to develop the Piper robot arm as an effective ‘cobot’, developing point tracking, manual control, and teach & repeat capabilities with a variety of different end effectors.
This will take the form of tracking ZeroKey position sensors with a camera or lamp, control with a game controller / keyboard / other 6 dof position control device and will utilize grippers, cameras, probes, and lamps as end effectors.
Further, we will investigate the possibility of enhancing the capabilities of the arm using the Gemini AI for robotics.

The arm should exhibit the desired behavior, i.e. tracking.
This will be done by commanding the end effector position of the arm depending on the position of the target of tracking. For manual control modes some combination of moving individual joints vs. changing the end effector position directly will be explored for whatever is the most intuitive control
The arm should be able to track and move smoothly between states when commanded.
This will be done in the form of motion planning and a control loop on the arm commands in order to achieve the desired behavior (such as maintaining a flat roll angle when in camera tracking mode).
The arm should be reliably operational remotely.
A device on the arm will launch some form of local network webpage that an operator can connect to from another device and then command and control the arm through that interface to allow the arm to function as a standalone device.

Les ateliers Sportez-vous bien!

L’Alliance Sport-Études souhaite renforcer et actualiser son programme Sportez-vous bien?!, une initiative qui vise à soutenir le bien-être psychologique, la santé globale et la persévérance scolaire des étudiantes et étudiants-athlètes. Le projet Mitacs proposé consiste à élargir et à actualiser l’offre d’ateliers du programme afin de mieux répondre aux défis contemporains vécus par les athlètes.

Le projet prévoit d’abord la création de trois nouveaux ateliers et de fiches résumées et de réinvestissement associées, sur ces enjeux particulièrement présents dans le milieu sportif :
– La prévention des troubles du comportement alimentaire (TCA) : adressé aux athlètes
– L’anxiété de performance et les stratégies pour y faire face : adressé aux athlètes
– La santé mentale des athlètes et le rôle des entraîneurs à cet effet : adressé aux entraîneurs.

Ces ateliers seront conçus à partir d’une synthèse des connaissances scientifiques et professionnelles actuelles, permettant d’intégrer des approches reconnues et adaptées à la réalité des athlètes. En plus de ces nouveaux contenus, le projet vise la révision des cinq ateliers existants du programme Sportez-vous bien?!, afin d’assurer la cohérence entre ceux-ci.

Le projet inclut également une amélioration du processus d’appréciation des ateliers. Une version bonifiée du sondage de rétroactions destiné aux athlètes et aux entraîneurs permettra de mieux évaluer l’impact des ateliers et d’orienter les ajustements futurs du programme. Enfin, le projet contribuera à la diffusion des connaissances en produisant trois courts articles vulgarisés portant sur les thèmes des ateliers. Ces textes seront publiés dans LaBase, une ressource de référence destinée aux étudiantes et étudiants-athlètes et aux personnes qui les accompagnent.

À terme, ce projet permettra d’offrir une boîte à outils psychosociale plus complète, actualisée et accessible, renforçant la capacité de l’Alliance Sport-Études à soutenir la santé mentale et la réussite des athlètes engagés dans un double parcours sport-études.

L2M- Prescription Tenders Online Pharmacy App

Prescription Tenders is an end-to-end medication access platform that connects licensed pharmacies, patients, and last-mile couriers through a secure marketplace. Patients upload prescriptions: Pharmacies list available stock (including expiring inventory), licensed pharmacists verify and authorize fills, drivers deliver to patients’ homes.

Summer student internships at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum: developing practical skills and deepening partnerships with the University of Regina as part of a massive collections reorganization

The Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum would like to offer a series of summer student internships that bring university students and recent graduates into a museum setting, to gain hands-on experience alongside research scientists and curatorial staff at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. This experience will focus on preparing collections for a massive move that will see approximately 3.6 million artifacts relocated to a new building over the next two summers. Students will be involved in developing collections and logistics across multiple units at the museum, including Archaeology, Indigenous Cultural Heritage, Palaeontology, Invertebrate Zoology, and Vertebrate Zoology. The internships will cover a wide range of topics that connect the museum to multiple departments at the University of Regina. Each unit will conduct an internship project that focuses on collections at the museum, and getting students to help reorganize these collections through activities such as identification, cataloguing, rehousing, preparing, and collecting in the field. Beyond incorporating student training, these activities will differ from the day-to-day activities of the museum in that the collections involved are those that are in need or serious work or analysis before they can be moved to the new building, and the data associated with these collections provide research targets for future collaborations between the museum curators and their academic partners or co-supervised graduate students. The involvement of students in the project will allow the museum to tackle a much larger section of the collections over the summer, with logistics and organization that will impact how all future users access the material. These internships will provide training opportunities that are not available in a university setting, and prepare students for a wider range of careers.

AI-Driven Large Scale Structure Inference from Next-Generation astrophysical datasets in the Multi-messenger Era

This project uses artificial intelligence to better understand the large-scale structure of the Universe. Cosmologists study the Universe using different observational probes, including galaxy surveys and catalogs of gravitational-wave events. Gravitational waves are tiny vibrations of spacetime sourced by powerful events such as two stellar black holes colliding. These objects act as important tracers of the underlying cosmic web of dark matter—the invisible structure that shapes how galaxies, black holes, and other cosmic objects are distributed. To obtain a reliable picture of the Universe and understand the physics governing it, accurate astrophysical models of dark-matter evolution and the distribution of its tracers are required. In this project, machine learning will be used to create realistic simulated catalogs of cosmic tracers, including gravitational-wave events, and to model how observational limitations affect what can be detected. By comparing simulated and realistic observation-like data, the project will help identify how observed patterns connect to the Universe’s underlying structure and the physics behind it. The work combines expertise from the University of Waterloo and the University of Cambridge and develops transferable AI tools for data-intensive science.

L2M – BeSociable

Sociable is an online platform designed to facilitate connections in post-secondary institutions. Sociable brings a comprehensive list of upcoming events on campus, tailored to each student’s interests. To reduce social anxiety barriers, the app helps users find friends who will attend events with them.

Financial Literacy & Professional Mentorship for Indigenous Youth- IndigenousTech.ai – May 4 – Aug 28

IndigenousTech.ai supports Indigenous communities in Canada through skill-building programs for Indigenous youth (cybersecurity, financial literacy, technology for remote areas, and mentorship). This program will consist of hiring an Indigenous student from the University of Regina to facilitate an 8-week online program for 40 youths across Canada. This program will support the development of career pathways for the facilitator and Indigenous youth toward better-paying professions in STEM fields. This year, we will focus on capstone projects with our partners on the deployment of telehealth devices for remote communities, water quality data analysis, and climate change impacts on Indigenous communities.