Innovative Projects Realized

Green House Gas Data Metrics & Analysis

The purpose of this initiative is to analyze existing data to determine units of measurement and key performance indicators that will determine if a net reduction in GHG’s are truly being achieved. This will go deeper in also determining the benefits of utilized recycled materials such as asphalt, concrete, cement powder and aggregates. The benefits will provide a determination and quantification of the actual reductions being realized from the different initiatives that are currently underway to reduce GHG. It will also allow us to determine the value of recycle material utilization and promote an increased desire to utilize greater quantities in future construction projects by establishing newly accepted addition rates.

Impact du gel des sols d’infrastructure sur les chaussées rigides en béton de ciment

Malgré le peu de considération portée aux impacts du gel en conception de chaussées rigides, il est connu qu’elles sont sensibles aux variations de température. Les gradients de température entre le haut et le bas des dalles font en sorte qu’il peut y avoir apparition de fissures transversales et de fissures aux coins (Harvey, 2004). Cependant, à notre connaissance, aucune méthode de dimensionnement de chaussée rigide, ni aucune norme ne considèrent les impacts du soulèvement, par l’effet du gel, de la structure de chaussée autre que celle déjà utilisée pour les chaussées souples. Or, la rigidité même des matériaux constituants les chaussées souples et rigides est très différente d’un point de vue thermomécanique entraînant par le fait même une différence dans leur réaction aux forces dues au soulèvement par le gel. L’objectif principal de ce programme de recherche est d’évaluer le comportement des chaussées rigides au gel afin de mieux comprendre les forces en jeux dans ces conditions.

Equitable access to electric vehicle charging

Edmonton is on a path of transformational change to become a climate resilient and low carbon city. While there are many components to creating this vision, sustainable transportation and equity are front and center in shaping the future of Edmonton.

Transportation is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, representing 31% of Edmonton’s total emissions. To reduce these emissions and improve air quality for all, the City of Edmonton encourages residents to engage in active transportation and use public transit as much as possible, as well as choose electric vehicles (EVs) over internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. In Alberta, EVs emit on average 41% less GHG emissions than ICE vehicles.

Edmonton’s Energy Transition Strategy and Action Plan identifies the actions needed to align Edmonton with the international target of limiting global warming to 1.5C. Developing a zero emissions vehicle charging network by 2030 is one of those actions. Access to public charging infrastructure is essential to supporting wide adoption of electric vehicles.

To ensure that this network is planned and developed in a way that is equitable and benefits all Edmontonians, the City would like to work with a Sustainability Scholar to help inform this work through research.

Opportunities for solar, battery storage and electric vehicle charging integration

Edmonton is on a path of transformational change to become a climate resilient and low carbon city. Edmonton’s Energy Transition Strategy and Action Plan identifies the actions needed to align Edmonton with the international target of limiting global warming to 1.5C. Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation and generating local renewable energy are two of those actions.

Edmonton’s transportation is responsible for 31% of GHG emissions and 42% of energy use. To reduce these emissions and improve air quality for all, the City of Edmonton encourages residents to engage in active transportation and use public transit as much as possible, as well as choose electric vehicles (EVs) over internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. In Alberta, EVs emit on average 41% less GHG emissions than ICE vehicles. To support wide adoption of EVs, the City of Edmonton aims to develop a zero emissions vehicle charging network by 2030.

The City would like to work with a Sustainability Scholar to research and explore the possibilities of integrating the generation of local renewable energy (including battery storage for green power systems) and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with the purpose of supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles.

Jurisdictional scan and opportunities for the City of Edmonton around the potential of coaching ambassadors for residential deep energy retrofits

The City of Edmonton’s Community Energy Transition Strategy & Action Plan identifies the urgent need to renovate Edmonton’s existing home stock to reduce energy use and utility costs. There are over 350,000 residential buildings that need to improve their energy efficiency in order for the City of Edmonton to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. Deep energy home retrofits are complicated, and the availability of energy coaches to help homeowners plan their renovations would be invaluable.

One of the programs the City of Edmonton has to help reduce residential emissions is the Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP), a financing tool for residential (and commercial) property owners to help fund energy efficiency upgrades and/or renewable energy installations with a competitive interest rate and repayment terms of up to 20 years (depending on the type of upgrade). The City of Edmonton is in the process of piloting this program, and has already been asked by City Council to explore options for a permanent program.

With the help of a sustainability scholar we will:
– Review and build on an existing literature review on energy coaching services in Canada and internationally, with special focus on coaching net zero pathways

Taking a bite out of our City’s Natural Areas: Busy beavers and how to manage them.

The City of Edmonton supports research, educational and professional development experience for University of Alberta
graduate students. The program immerses students in a real world learning experience where they can apply their skills and contribute to building a thriving, sustainable and welcoming home for the Edmontonians of today and tomorrow. This will be a joint project between the City of Edmonton’s Natural Areas group and Pest Management group. The Natural Areas group is responsible for preserving ecological integrity while maintaining public safety in the River Valley and natural tree stands within City Limits. While the Pest Management group is responsible for advising, managing and controlling animal and insect populations that may be considered “pests” in an urban area. This may include structural pests, such as those found in buildings or environmental pests such as those whose populations may result in compromises to public assets or human health. Currently there is no integrated pest management plan for beavers. This project will aim to develop management and monitoring plans for beavers in an urban setting and influence City work in the coming years.

Predictive Timing in Speech and Music Production

The project tests musicians and non-musicians with auditory feedback perturbation paradigms in speech and music. In auditory feedback perturbation studies, speakers speak or sing a sequence into a microphone and hear their own productions via special in-ear headphones, while specific parameters in the feedback signal are altered in real-time. In the two speech conditions, parts of the spoken signal are temporally altered in the auditory feedback, hence stretched or compressed. The music conditions focally alter either pitch in a sung sequence or the rhythm in the same sequence. Responses to the speech and music conditions will be analyzed, and the comparison between the group of musicians and non-musicians will give insight into common underlying mechanisms in music and speech production and how musical training shapes the feedback-feedforward loop in music and speech production. Additionally, the participants will perform rhythmic finger-tapping tasks to assess their general motor stability, and their auditory acuity (perceptual ability) will be evaluated with adaptive staircase perception tasks. We expect musicians to be more sensitive to the shifts in general and to show faster responses; however, since we expect them to have a more stable representation of the predicted outcome.

Water Balance Guidelines for Sustaining Natural Areas within the Urban Environment

Edmonton’s natural features (forests/treestands and natural wetlands) provide core service functions such as water treatment, rainwater management, flood protection, recreation, habitat, and pollination. Maintaining the ecological and hydrological function of natural areas within the urban environment is a major challenge. Urbanization can alter the natural pattern of hydrology that can impact sustainability of natural features through vegetation shifts, altered habitat conditions, flooding, and erosion. Measures to protect the natural water balance are necessary when there is a likelihood that a proposed development will impact the hydrological functions of a natural area. Water Balance Guidelines are required to standardize the review and assessment of natural features with respect to hydrological functions, and ensure the pre-development hydrology of the natural feature will be maintained following the development.

Understanding the best available science with respect to the effects of urbanization on natural features, and the associated hydrological threshold in a local context, will be a first step in developing Water Balance Guidelines. This project will improve our understanding of natural area hydrological requirements and how urbanization could alter these patterns.

Route Optimization for Waste Collection vehicles at the City of Edmonton

Route Optimization for Waste Collection vehicles at the City of Edmonton

Étude de la planification des opérations d’ordonnancement de Tecnickrome Aéronautique Inc.

Pour TEC la problématique est que l’ordonnancement de ses opérations de production n’est pas optimisée pour assurer la productivité, l’efficacité, la rentabilité et ne répond pas non plus à la demande client, soit des délais fixes d’exécution et surtout des livraisons à temps. L’optimisation de l’ordonnancement (macro et micro) nécessite trop la connaissance technique détaillée sur les méthodes de fabrication, les temps d’exécution et la complexité de chacune des pièces à procéder (préparation et réalisation) afin d’obtenir une cédule de production maximisées (balancement de la charge par poste de travail). Le fait que les commandes rentrent au jour le jour et qu’elles sont de complexité et de durée différentes, rend la tâche de planification optimisée beaucoup trop ardue pour un humain.
Pour le projet, les objectifs sont de i) comprendre le processus de production et ordonnancement chez Tecnickrome, ii) analyser les données des temps d’opérations pour chaque type de poste et pour chaque type d’item, iii) proposer des opportunités d’optimisation du processus de planification de production et ordonnancement.

Stable isotope and lipid assessment of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolt across regional populations in North America

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are anadromous salmonids; they inhabit both marine and freshwater habitats during distinct stages in their life cycle. Anadromy allows Atlantic salmon to play a vital role in connecting freshwater and marine ecosystems by facilitating nutrient transport and trophic interactions. This project will examine the stable isotope and lipid composition of Atlantic salmon smolt from combined archived data and new tissue samples collected from smolt wheel mortalities in North America. This project uses non-invasive techniques to gain information on an economically important and culturally significant species at risk. The goal of this project is to examine the ecology and condition of Atlantic salmon smolt populations through stable isotope analysis across regional populations in North America. Assessing the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures of Atlantic salmon smolt tissues will give us insight into their trophic ecology, diets, habitat selection, and potentially the health and productivity of their freshwater habitats. The project will also examine the condition of the smolts through various condition measurements including lipid content analysis. This information will allow us to examine if smolt condition and isotopic ratios are related to the origin population or the productivity of the smolts freshwater rearing habitat.

Developmental Evaluation of the STAR Recovery Centre

This research project centres on a new recovery centre for vulnerable adults with complex mental health and addictions issues in Toronto. Recovery is an approach to mental health that values personcentred care and self-direction. Recovery centres are educational centres, based in the community, that provide programs that help people live normal, meaningful lives in their communities. This research project will be an evaluation of the early stages of a recovery centre. The evaluation asks: 1) what are the key components of a recovery centre and how do these lead to positive outcomes, and; 2) what is working well with the recovery centre? These questions will be answered through interviews and focus groups conducted by the intern in addition to substantive on-site observation. Findings will be communicated through monthly reports and a final report. This evaluation will provide real-time feedback on what is working well that will help with strategic planning and documenting innovation for decision makers at the recovery centre. Additionally, this research will add to the the emerging academic literature on recovery centres through the creation of a model that identifies key components of this approach and connects these components with outcomes.