Innovative Projects Realized

Using advanced technology, public engagement, and citizen-science to understand responses of wildlife to urban development

The incorporation of natural habitats into urban planning is becoming commonplace and these habitats are important for biodiversity conservation, improving human well?being, and inspiring urban residents to participate in science and connect with nature. Our project aims to document the changes in bird and mammal communities along an urban to rural gradient within and just outside the boundaries of the City of Regina. The project will be accomplished using two concurrent studies: (1) using trail cameras and microphones to monitor wildlife and (2) using biodiversity surveys done by citizen scientists. We are partnering with the Saskatchewan Science Centre to conduct this research program. The Saskatchewan Science Centre will form the “hub” of this program, allowing for broad engagement and training of citizen scientists and providing outreach and dissemination of our results for the general public, while meeting the Science Centre’s broad mandate of igniting scientific curiosity in Saskatchewan communities.

GNP Ventures Seaweed Market Assessment

GNP Ventures Inc. is a Newfoundland-based company that is looking to potentially harvest nutrient-rich
seaweed and kelp in coastal communities along the Great Northern Peninsula and other coastal areas
within the province. Our goal is to implement and promote regenerative ocean farming as a strategy to
create equitable and sustainable economic opportunities and also to expand existing expertise and
infrastructure within Newfoundland’s rural areas. The company is in its early planning stage and needs a
student to compile information about potential markets, kelp uses and challenges in the industry and
other information about set-up requirements and regulations for seaweed farming in Newfoundland
and Labrador. Global growth projections for farmed seaweed are strong. A recent study estimates the
industry will grow to $92 billion by 2025 across a diverse range of markets. Newfoundland and
Labrador’s coastal waters support rich seaweed growth with approximately 300 species, that largely
remain untapped. This project will underpin a market entry approach for us and enable us to move
forward based on market information that we need to inform our decisions.

Business Analyst Intern – First Canadian Financial

First Canadian Financial Group (FCFG) provides services and products to automotive and recreational vehicle dealers across Canada. First Canadian Insurance Corporation is a life company providing creditor group products on vehicle loans. Millennium Insurance Corporation is a property and casualty company offering after-market warranties, protection products and agreements, and total loss assistance on financed vehicles.

Our strategic objective to leverage technology has resulted in more changes that require testing and complex specifications. We continually enhance or introduce products and programs to meet the changing demands of the dealer while improving the sales experience. Our role also includes a need for reporting and statistics. As such, FCFG is continually making changes which require development and testing for the dealer portal and our administration teams to manage. We are building a team of Business Analysts for documenting processes, developing specifications including use cases and quality assurance.

Development of lead-free solder alloys for electronic assembly Year Two

Recent environmental concerns and legislations over the use of lead are driving the microelectronics industry towards intensive search for lead free solder alloys in electronic packaging. Among many lead free solders, Sn-Cu-Ag system has been regarded as the most promising and attractive candidate alloy system for the conventional Sn-Pb solder alloys, owing to its wettability and mechanical properties. However, problems such as the formation of large brittle phases, high melting temperature, low reliability and high cost of silver prevent its wide practical application in microelectronic industry. Moreover, in order to comply with demands for finer pitch and minatory microelectronics, novel lead-free solders with better thermo-mechanical and metallurgical performances are required. The alloys that are developed in this project should address and resolve those issues.

Not Far From The Tree: Building Capacity Through Data Management, Research, and Networking

This project will support Not Far From The Tree, a nonprofit organization which coordinates volunteer picks of fruit trees on private property in Toronto’s downtown core. The intern will work on database management and spatial visualization of tree health, type, age, and other details across Not Far From The Tree’s working area. The intern will also conduct a literature review and informal interviews to better understand food security and sovereignty in Toronto, as well as the city’s policy and plans for the future regarding urban fruit trees. Through this work, Not Far From The Tree will be equipped to expand the area in which it organizes picks, deepen its understanding of the health and composition of Toronto’s urban orchard, and have a voice in plans for the future of the city’s fruit trees.

NFFTT: Cross-Cultural Urban Fruit Tree Management

This research project will examine fruit tree health in the City of Toronto. This will be done by conducting a health assessment of Not Far From The Tree’s fruit trees and will examine if there is any variance between species or neighbourhoods. Additionally, since NFFTT’s trees are located on privately-owned land, this project will examine how landowners of different immigrant backgrounds have positively influenced fruit tree health. This will be done by mapping the geographical movement of Toronto’s major immigrant groups in and around the city’s neighbourhoods through time and merging this with a map of the fruit tree inventory. Any variations in species composition, health, or the overall abundance of fruit trees in a specific neighbourhood will be examined. Studying NFFTT’s fruit trees in a cultural context is important for the organization because it will help them improve fruit tree health for particular species by drawing upon a relevant knowledge base. Additionally, this project will help NFFTT educate new homeowners on intercultural fruit tree management, knowledge that is often lost when someone sells their house.

Quantifying the Potential of Project Return Amplifiers: Nexite High Performance Envelope (Nexii) Panels

The construction industry is plagued by a multitude of rising costs that threaten to curb achievable profit margins. This rise in costs is ultimately transferred to the end-user, as the construction industry seeks to maintain the viability of their business model. Nexite High Performance Envelope (Nexii) panels are composite polymer-concrete cladding panels with a finished interior surface that have the potential to save cost and schedule, with the potential to amplify project returns. The objective of this assignment is to quantify the potential amplification in new-construction and retrofit high-rise applications. The Nexiite panel design promises to solve many of the present day persistent challenges faced by the construction industry, however quantifying the revenue amplification potential is a critical step in validating the value proposition.

Sustainable Finance – Protect Our Winters

Please refer to attached PDFs

Études spectroscopiques de plasmas en présence de nanoparticules destinées à la synthèse de couches minces nanocomposites

De nos jours, le concept de matériaux multifonctionnels combinant diverses propriétés pour réaliser des objectifs de performance multiples en un seul et unique système est devenu une prérogative dans le développement de surfaces innovantes. Cependant, un des principaux verrous est l’obtention de revêtements formés de nanoparticules isolées (non-agrégées) dispersées de manière contrôlée dans une matrice. Dans ce contexte, l’équipe du professeur Stafford et de ses collaborateurs du LAPLACE en France ont démarré des travaux sur le développement d’une nouvelle méthode souple, verte, sécuritaire et industrialisable pour la synthèse de couches minces nanocomposites multifonctionnelles. Celle-ci repose sur un réacteur-injecteur de nanoparticules et permet de synthétiser des nanoparticules à partir de précurseurs organométalliques liquides juste avant de les injecter dans un réacteur de dépôt par plasma en limitant les phénomènes d’agglomération associés à la vaporisation de gouttelettes et en évitant les problèmes de toxicité éventuelle en lien avec la manipulation de nanoparticules avant le dépôt. Contrairement aux procédés de dépôt par plasma habituels qui s’effectuent à pression constante, la conception du réacteur-injecteur de nanoparticules implique inévitablement une dynamique temporelle complexe associée à des variations assez brutales de la pression dans le réacteur à plasma.

Redberry Lake Biosphere Region Management Plan Project

This proposed project will be to formulate a comprehensive management plan for the Redberry Lake Biosphere Region (RLBR). The management plan needs to address all issues of relevance for the RLBR. The following issues will likely form part of management plans: biodiversity and ecosystem services and their conservation and use, sustainable land and resource use, improving livelihoods and generating benefits for communities, promoting green economies, infrastructure development, ecosystem restoration, disaster reduction and risk management, tourism, climate change, and research and education.

Avianor – Optimisation des processus opérationnels & outils de suivi de performance

Avianor est une compagnie québécoise, de renommée internationale, qui se spécialise dans la maintenance lourde et la modification d’intérieurs d’avions commerciaux.
L’unité d’affaire Intégration Cabine fournit des solutions de modifications de cabines d’avions commerciaux, clefs en main, incluant définition technique & industrialisation pour livrer un package d’ingénierie complet et certifié (selon les règles des autorités de l’aviation civile), accompagné de son kit de modification et/ou d’installation. Cela requiert un amalgame intelligent d’ingénierie, de production, d’achats & de logistique.
Après 25 ans d’existence & de croissance, Avianor souhaite revisiter, réconcilier & perfectionner sa chaine de valeur ainsi que les outils associés afin d’optimiser son processus d’industrialisation et ainsi améliorer son efficacité opérationnelle.
L’objet du mandat consiste à auditer les processus & outils en place, définir un diagnostic, développer et déployer le plan correctif.

The development and testing of a comprehensive app associated multi-input database

Digital apps represent an important avenue to promote health across individuals with chronic disease. There can be multiple data inputs about a user that come into a health app. During the course of this Mitacs project, the student will develop and evaluate a comprehensive database that is able to organize data from various health data inputs (e.g. from wearable devices, other apps or surveys) for a health research app. This data will be organized into a usable format so that it can inform the tailored delivery of interventions for patients who use the app.