Innovative Projects Realized

Explore thousands of successful projects resulting from collaboration between organizations and post-secondary talent.

29670 Completed Projects

2811
AB
4990
BC
801
MB
663
NL
825
SK
8841
ON
9197
QC
95
PE
568
NB
1088
NS

Projects by Category

Exploratory study: modification of sludge based sorbents for nutrient removal from stormwater runoff

Nutrients (P, N) in stormwater runoff are a major cause for eutrophication and algae blooms. Kerr Wood Leidal (KWL) is a leader in proving progressive solutions for stormwater management in BC, is seeking to improve the rain garden system to effectively capture the nutrients in the runoff. The proposed project will investigate various chemical activation to produce effective biomass-/sludge-based sorbent. This sorbent developed from sludge will be modified through metal doping and pyrolysis (i.e., chemical activation) to introduced functional groups to the sorbents to effectively capture the nutrients. Activation conditions will be optimized including pyrolysis temperature and during, heating rate, and chemical content. Batch and column adsorption tests will be used to evaluate the efficacy of the produced sorbents. The results will assist the company in improving rain garden design and provide a new solution for KWL to control the nutrients in stormwater runoff.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Loretta Li

Student:

Partner:

Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Kinetics of dispersion of fine phosphate particles associated with organic matter

This research project seeks to improve the process which is used to recover fine phosphorous particles from mine tailings. Phosphorus based fertilizers are important for plant growth and essential to large-scale, high-efficiency farming methods. However, the processing method used to obtain phosphate from phosphate-bearing ore is not very efficient. Upward of 13 % of the available phosphate is lost to the waste stream during processing, which represents a major inefficiency and creates a large environmental problem. This research will consider the reaction conditions, such as mixing time and temperature that contribute to the improved recovery of phosphate during the reprocessing of mine tailings. As a result of this project, the industrial partner, a firm specialized in environmental consulting, will have an improved understanding of the behaviour of fine phosphate particles during reprocessing. This knowledge will contribute to the development environmental remediation strategies for phosphorous-bearing mine tailings.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Marek Pawlik

Student:

Partner:

Albatross Environmental and Process Consulting Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Fisheries stock assessment and management models for British Columbia’s multispecies integrated groundfish fishery

Large-scale commercial fisheries are an important part of Canada’s resource economy; however, resource managers are increasingly challenged to improve conservation and biodiversity outcomes by eliminating over-fishing, reducing bycatch and wastage, and protecting sensitive habitats from the impacts of fishing gear. Integrated management of multispecies fisheries attempts to improve on these outcomes by mandating and enforcing strict accountability for all retained and discarded catch of every species encountered. However, integrated management creates unrealistic scientific information requirements because it requires detailed biomass estimates for all quota species. Furthermore, strict quota accountability for multispecies quotas creates economic pinch-points where low quota availability severely constrains harvester access to more productive species. In this proposal, we address these challenges by investigating (1) the effectiveness of new stock assessment and management models designed to overcome data limitations for spatially structured flatfish and rockfish species, and (2) the ability of machine learning algorithms to predict the presence and catch rates of pinch-point species, which would allow harvesters to redirect effort and reduce profitability constraints. Stock assessment research in this proposal is urgently needed to help fisheries meet government policies for sustainable fishing, as well as consumer-oriented fishery sustainability certification.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Sean Cox

Student:

Partner:

Wild Canadian Sablefish Ltd;Canadian Groundfish Research and Conservation Society;Pacific Halibut Management Association of British Columbia

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Development and application of a pollution biomonitoring tool for coastal British Columbia: A caged mussel health index

Healthy and productive coastal regions are highly important to Canada, both socio-economically and for the ecosystem services they provide. In 2015, the Vancouver Aquarium launched a new coast-wide initiative in British Columbia (PollutionTracker) to assess coastal health by generating high quality contaminant data for mussels and nearshore sediments. In the proposed study, Dr. Gabriela Aguirre-Martinez will design and deploy a caged mussel study to complement PollutionTracker and provide strong insight into the accumulation of different pollutants and the effects of these on mussel health Results of this initiative will add depth to PollutionTracker, and will inform the implementation of best practices by stakeholders operating in coastal BC. A net reduction in the release of harmful pollutants into coastal environments will contribute to seafood safety for commercial, recreational and aboriginal fishers, and contribute directly to the Vancouver Aquarium’s operations as the pre-eminent non-partisan ocean conservation organization in Canada.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Leah Bendell

Student:

Partner:

Ocean Wise

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Arts, entertainment and recreation; Education; Other services (except public administration); Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

The role of humpback whale predation on commercial fish population dynamics in British Columbia

Humpback whales show remarkable recovery after the impacts of commercial whaling, and their consumption of essential food resources could affect local herring and salmon populations. Little is known about the feeding ecology of humpback whales in BC waters, despite their increasing importance to fisheries and tourism. Both humpback whales and fish are vulnerable to prey depletion, and the public have a vested interest in the future of humpbacks and fisheries in BC. In this thesis, I will examine the distribution of prey consumption by humpback whales to assess how their continued recovery may influence the productivity of herring and salmon. Effective management of marine populations requires knowledge of their biological needs and public support of federal recovery strategies. Benefits to the Pacific Whale Watch Association and Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea include strong industry collaboration and leading scientific knowledge for translating clear answers to the public.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Francis Juanes;Laura Cowen

Student:

Partner:

New Marine Centre Society;Pacific Whale Watch Association

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

Development of Advanced In-Situ Recovery Technologies for Oil Sands

In-situ recovery methods for oils sands are applied to reservoirs containing bitumen that are too deep for mining. To date there has been only one commercially viable in-situ recovery method, Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), involving high pressure steam injection and bitumen production using horizontal well pairs located near the base of oil sands formations. While SAGD has enabled conversion of significant resources to reserves (about 170 billion barrels), SAGD has many economic and environmental limitations. SAGD capital and operating costs are high making many projects uneconomic at current low oil prices. Water usage and carbon emissions are also high in SAGD making the process environmentally unsustainable. The Accelerate Cluster projects are aimed at finding new recovery methods that reduce costs of delivering energy to the formations and that also reduce water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

ZhangXing Chen;Sudarshan Mehta;Jalal Abedi;Ron Wong;Brij Maini

Student:

Partner:

CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Mining

University:

University of Calgary

Program:

Accelerate

Projet d’optimisation de la taille des contenants chez Air Liquide Canada

Le projet vise à optimiser l’utilisation des différentes tailles de contenants distribués par la compagnie de produits industriels. Les travaux porterons sur trois axes principaux, soit : la prévision de la demande, la gestion des stock et la distribution. Nous modéliserons ces données à l’aide d’un algorithme mathématique basé sur un modèle de Inventory Routing Problem. Ces modèles sont une combinaisons des problèmes de gestion des stock (inventory management) et de tournées de véhicules (vehicule routing problem).
L’entreprise est au prise avec une très faible taux de roulement de ses stocks de contenant. Cette situation a comme conséquence que beaucoup d’argent est immobilisé en bouteille dans le réseau. Ainsi, nous collecterons les données de l’entreprise afin de lui proposer des avenues qui pourraient être économiquement bénéfiques.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Jean-Francois Cordeau

Student:

Partner:

Air Liquide Canada Inc

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Manufacturing; Mining

University:

HEC Montréal

Program:

Accelerate

Développement d’un modèle cinématique et dynamique pour mesurer l’effet du port d’une orthèse de genou

Médicus développe et fabrique des orthèses dont une orthèse de genou pour réduire les douleurs associées à l’ostéo-arthrite. Les techniques et modèles couramment utilisés en biomécanique ne permettent pas d’évaluer l’effet de cette nouvelle orthèse comme le genou est caché par l’orthèse. L’objectif est de développer un modèle cinématique personnalisé au patient portant l’orthèse qui ne soit pas influencer par l’absence de marqueurs sur le genou. L’approche utilisée se base sur l’optimisation de systèmes multicorps. Par la suite, nous évalueront l’effet de l’orthèse sur la cinématique et dynamique du genou de 15 patients. Il est attendu que l’orthèse réduise le moment abducteur du genou.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Mickael Begon

Student:

Partner:

Laboratoire Orthopédique Médicus

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Manufacturing

University:

Université de Montréal

Program:

Accelerate

Développement de thérapies géniques pour l’Ataxie de Friedreich

Le but du projet de recherche est de développer une thérapie pour une maladie héréditaire sévère appelée l’Ataxie de Friedreich. Cette maladie est due à une mutation dans le gène de la frataxine qui réduit la production de cette protéine mitochondriale. Des expériences seront faites sur des souris modèles de cette maladie. Comme les patients, ces souris ont des problèmes de coordination et des problèmes cardiaques et une mort précoce. Nous livrerons à ces souris un gène normal de la frataxine avec un virus associé à l’Adénovirus dans lequel les gènes viraux ont été remplacés par celui de la frataxine humaine. Nous vérifierons si ce traitement peut prévenir ou même inverser les symptômes de la maladie chez les souris. Des résultats positifs permettraient de demander à Santé Canada la permission de faire un essai clinique.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Jacques Tremblay

Student:

Partner:

Ataxie Canada

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Other services (except public administration)

University:

Université Laval

Program:

Accelerate

Decomposition methods for the maintenance scheduling problem in hydropower systems

Preventive maintenance is essential for the reliable operation of hydroelectric systems. However, maintenance planning is a complex activity since outages of hydro-turbines for maintenance can impact hydropower operation costs. In addition, operation costs are also determined by physical laws governing water and electricity, uncertain water precipitations and interdependencies between short-term decisions and long-term operations. In this project, we propose to develop and implement mathematical optimization techniques for solving the maintenance-scheduling problem of the hydroelectric generators in Rio Tinto, a large aluminium producer in Québec. The solution of this problem could yield significant savings for the company as well as more efficient usage of hydroelectricity in Quebec.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Miguel Anjos;Guy Desaulniers

Student:

Partner:

Rio Tinto Alcan (Jonquière, QC)

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

École Polytechnique de Montréal

Program:

Accelerate

Modelling wood quality and its implications for lumber recovery in variable retention stands

For many reasons, forest management in Canada will be constrained by ecological and social forest management objectives. Along with meeting the diverse needs of society, forest managers will need to consider increased demands for renewable resources, such as wood. Wood, as opposed to concrete and steel, has a positive impact on the global carbon cycle but is also strong enough to build large buildings. Therefore, there will be an increased demand for stronger wood in the future. Many factors influence the strength of wood, such as the species, the speed at which the tree grows and the environment where the tree is growing. We are attempting to understand how the properties that affect the strength of wood change when forest managers must also meet social and ecological goals. We propose to develop computer models that simulate wood strength properties in response to forest management. We will also work to incorporate a virtual sawmill into these computer models. This will allow us to virtually understand the implications of sustainable forest management on the end-use products that are made from trees.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Bruce Larson

Student:

Partner:

Azura Formetrics Ltd

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Understanding the Relationship between Angel Investing Activity and Early-Stage Investing Ecosystem in Canada

Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies are integral contributors toward the growth and competitiveness of the Canadian economy. So often these early-stage firms are lacking in financial support, which is arguably their main hindrance for success. Angel Investors are defined as high-net-worth individuals; often experienced and well-educated professionals, who invest their own funds in the businesses of unrelated individuals. These Angels play a fundamental role in sustaining entrepreneurial companies, but are often untraceable. The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) serves as a bridge between Angels and entrepreneurs to support the development of the Canadian entrepreneurial community. Its efforts include constructing an annual report on Angel Investment in Canada. As a partner organization, NACO benefits since the report supports its mission to professionalize Angel Investment in Canada as well as educate the Canadian society regarding the country’s entrepreneurial development, while the intern will benefit from experiencing Canada’s early-stage financing landscape, and working with the data collected.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Sarah Lubik;Kenneth Grant

Student:

Partner:

National Angel Capital Organization

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Other services (except public administration); Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Simon Fraser University; Toronto Metropolitan University

Program:

Accelerate

Previous
1…122123124125126127128…2,473
Next

Join a thriving innovation ecosystem.

Subscribe to our newsletter now!

Subscribe