Innovative Projects Realized

Modélisation d’un scénario de descente énergétique juste pour le Québec

Face à la nécessité de décarboner et réduire l’impact environnemental de l’économie québécoise, le Front commun pour la transition énergétique (FCTÉ) développe un scénario de transition dont la ligne directrice est une réduction de moitié de la consommation en énergie. Une telle réduction de la consommation d’énergie, combinée à un mix adéquat de politiques publiques, pourrait faciliter l’atteinte des cibles climatiques que s’est donné le gouvernement du Québec. Ce projet vise à développer un outil de modélisation qui permettra de déterminer les politiques publiques à mettre en place qui assureraient que cette descente énergétique proposée par le FCTÉ soit aussi porteuse de justice sociale.

Investigating the brain-behavior associations between pediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and developmental coordination disorder

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) impact millions of children, unfold early in life, and encompass a wide range of symptoms across different domains of functioning. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are among the most common NDDs, and they co-occur in approximately 50% of children. However, despite high comorbidity rates, most research studies focus on the primary symptoms underlying specific diagnoses. My doctoral research investigates the association between auditory processing and motor coordination abilities in children with DCD. However, focusing on motor difficulties only, without taking into account ADHD symptoms, greatly limits our understanding of DCD as a whole and, thus, restricts the development of effective therapeutic interventions. The purpose of this study visit is to examine the highly prevalent link between ADHD and DCD in Dr. Arnett’s Lab that specializes in ADHD research. By assisting with data collection and analysis (behavioural and electrophysiological) and by systematically reviewing the literature, it is expected that this project will provide a novel insight into the existing overlaps between attentional and motor difficulties in children by integrating knowledge from neuroscientific, behavioral, and clinical perspectives.

An Integrated Remote Sensing-Numerical Modeling Approach for Monitoring Tailings Dam

Tailings dams are used to store water and waste that come as by-products from the mining process. They can be huge in size, as big as lakes, and reach 300 meters high.
Tailings storage facilities can pose a threat to local wildlife and ecosystem, especially in the case of failure. In Canada, the Mount Polley copper-gold mine dam collapsed in 2014 and released 25 million cubic meters of wastewater and tailings, including huge amounts of toxic elements like arsenic, lead and mercury, into adjacent water systems and lakes (Pyle et al. 2022). This is why regular maintenance and monitoring is vital to ensure that the dam is strong enough to contain the mining waste.
An automated method is introduced in this project for remote monitoring of the tailings dams, which can prevent the potential failure or leakage using an early warning system. The numerical stability model is also employed to predict the behavior of tailing dams during their different life stages.

« Faire toujours plus avec moins ». Comprendre la (sur)charge et ses effets sur la santé psychologique en contexte de mutations accélérées du travail

Pénurie de main-d’œuvre, transformation numérique, concurrence étrangère; le rythme de travail s’accélère, s’intensifie et la charge des travailleurs augmente, plus particulièrement depuis la pandémie de la COVID-19. L’autonomisation du travail a permis d’éliminer certaines tâches routinières et de gagner en efficacité, mais elle contribue également à complexifier la tâche et à augmenter les ressources cognitives nécessaires pour la réaliser. Devant des demandes qui sont de plus en plus nombreuses et complexes et des ressources qui sont de plus en plus réduites, les travailleurs doivent « faire toujours plus avec moins », mettant ainsi à risque leur santé psychologique.

Ce projet vise une meilleure compréhension « des impacts sur la santé psychologique occasionnées par les plus récentes transformations du monde du travail » chez les travailleurs du savoir. Pour y parvenir, nous définirons la charge de travail à la suite des mutations du travail en plus d’identifier les facteurs organisationnels et personnels qui influencent la charge de travail. Cela nous permettra d’outiller les parties prenantes pour qu’elles puissent agir sur la (sur)charge de travail.

Tri et migration des données actuelles vers un CRM permettant l’amélioration du processus, et analyse et traitement des données en vue de l’implémentation d’une nouvelle recommandation d’achat.

Tri et migration des données actuelles vers un CRM permettant l’amélioration du processus, et analyse et traitement des données en vue de l’implémentation d’une nouvelle recommandation d’achat.

Construction Renovation and Demolition Waste Review

The Town of Canmore is looking for a Sustainability Scholar to conduct research into the best practices from across Alberta, Canada and Internationally for the management of Construction Renovation and Demolition (CRD) waste. The intent for this project is that the Scholar provide a series of recommendations to the Town and draft up language that can be incorporated into the Land Use Bylaw and Waste Bylaw. The anticipated next steps for this project would be to engage with the development community, therefore, the Scholar is expected to provide a series of recommendation, based on approach from other communities, on how best to engage on this topic.

Risk-Aware Decision Support Systems for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Territorial Security

Robotic sensor networks (RSN) are increasingly applied to Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). In such an application, a RSN is deployed to safe-guard some critical infrastructure (e.g., building, pipeline, etc.) in a secure and reliable fashion. By actively considering risk as a major driving force, this project aims at deciding on the optimal configuration of an ensemble of robotic nodes, their data processing and information extraction mechanisms and the ways in which they can reconfigure themselves in order to respond to emerging threats and risks in the environment.

Selective bio-adsorbent for recovering heavy metals from mine tailings

Mining has been a major, invaluable source of wealth and employment for Canada. However, mining activities involve the release of heavy metals into the environment through its process tailings. These metals are highly toxic to the environment, but they are also recoverable and have high market value for other applications. There are various treatments to address this, but biosorption is among the most appealing due to its economic feasibility and wide availability. Therefore, the overall objective of the research project is to identify the optimal biomass-based adsorbent that can be used for treating and recovering heavy metals from mine tailings. The adsorbent of interest needs to be abundantly available and easy to fabricate while having high binding capacity and selectivity. The interns contribute to the projects by developing and validating different analytical methods for determining heavy metal concentrations within the mine tailings or characterizing adsorbent thermal properties.

Astrocyte to iOligodendrocyte reprogramming for CNS repair

In multiple sclerosis, the protective coating around nerve cells called myelin and the brain cells that make myelin, called oligodendrocytes, are lost. In addition, research has shown that astrocytes, another type of brain cell, may have a negative impact on recovery in MS. Our project takes on a two-birds-with-one-stone approach to combat MS by delivering genes to the astrocytes to force them to convert into oligodendrocytes. We have shown that in cells we can make different types of oligodendrocytes by using different genes to force conversion. This project performs the conversion in an animal model of MS. This will let us determine whether our newly created oligodendrocytes work properly and if they can help an animal recover. Our knowledge from these experiments will help give us an idea of whether this conversion strategy could be a new type of therapy and which genes are best to use.

Investigating the Thermal Biology of Norwegian Mussels Using Novel Technologies

Mussels are ectothermic organisms, and consequently, their performance, growth, and survival are strongly linked to their thermal
environment. As mussels are commercially important species in Norway, understanding how they will respond physiologically and
behaviourally to elevated temperatures is ecologically and economically important. This project was therefore designed to address
two main objectives: (1) Investigate the thermal performance of mussels in Norway over a range of existing and projected
temperatures, and (2) collect high resolution temporal data using novel technologies to analyse multiple traits simultaneously
under natural seawater conditions. These objectives will be examined by exploring three research questions concurrently: how
does the (1) feeding rate, (2) metabolic rate, and (3) valve movements (opening and closing behaviours) of mussels change over
a range of ecologically relevant temperatures? The project will expand our knowledge of mussel thermal biology on a global scale
and provide training on the newest technological approaches used in mussel research, placing our working group at the forefront
of the field.

Mise au point d’une technologie électrolytique ultra oxydantepour le traitement tertiaire des eaux usées d’abattoir

L’objectif général de ce projet est de développer une méthode de traitement électrolytique d’oxydation avancée (EOA) et
d’optimiser son mode de fonctionnement pour le traitement des eaux usées résiduaires d’abattoir, en utilisant l’EOA en aval
comme traitement de polissage (ou traitement tertiaire) au procédé secondaire de coagulation électrochimique développé
par la compagnie PLT Environnement Inc. Ces travaux devraient permettre de répondre aux objectifs environnementaux de
rejets pour ce type d’effluent. La génération in situ d’espèces oxygénées réactives (EORs : OH°, H2O2, O3, etc.) et
l’utilisation d’électrodes catalytiques offrant la plus grande surface effective possible constituent les deux éléments clés
pour oxyder plus efficacement ces polluants résiduels des effluents d’abattoir, soit directement sur la surface des électrodes
ou indirectement en solution par les EORs.

Development of field-ready AI model for estimation of compressive strength of concrete using non-destructive testing methods

The proposed project aims to apply artificial intelligence methods to augment in-place non-destructive testing technologies in order to reduce or eliminate the need for intrusive methods (i.e. concrete core extraction) for concrete strength estimation. The proposed approach is based on the SonReb method, which combines two non-destructive testing technologies, namely ultrasonic pulse velocity and rebound hammer, for assessing subsurface and near-surface concrete properties. The project will focus on improvements to a previous model developed by the project team to make it suitable for field applications. It is expected that the project will ultimately result in the development of a new software tool that will result in new revenue streams and expanded market share for the project partner.