Innovative Projects Realized

Climate change innovation in the aftermath of the Paris Agreement: Exploring finance, technology, and capacity-building responses

The 2015 Paris Agreement is clear: significant climate change action will require innovation and a number of different responses, touching on finance, technology, and capacity-building. This will likely include the deployment of new tools, ranging from new models in education and the support of knowledge transfer to novel financing and policy frameworks. As we approach nearly a decade since this landmark agreement was signed, the proposed research aims to examine a models linked to each of these three broad themes (finance, technology, and capacity-building) that may be useful to dealing with the climate problem, including using augmented reality, open knowledge bases, and emerging finance ecosystems. Research products, ideally published in peer-reviewed journals and/or white papers, will examine each of these topics. Empirical analysis of the mission of a major project of the host – developing the world’s first open engineering encyclopedia for clean energy innovation – will be provided.

Understanding the dynamic of harmful algal blooms in boreal lakes of Abitibi-Temiscamingue

Cyanobacteria are the Earth’s oldest photoautotrophs and responsible for today’s oxygen level. However, when they overgrow and form a bloom, they cause ecological degradation and sometimes become life threatening because of the cyanotoxins they produce. This phenomenon is linked to high concentrations of nutrients, elevated water temperature and low water movement. Recent observations showed some unusual occurrence of harmful cyanobacterial blooms under the ice cover. This study aims to better understand the seasonal dynamic of harmful algal blooms in boreal lakes by identifying the specific driving factors responsible for their development in two lakes of Abitibi-Témiscamingue (Quebec, Canada). The outcomes of the project will contribute to develop comprehensive knowledge and new tools for improving water quality for Lake Beauchamp near the city of Amos and Lake Fortune, for which the watershed organisation of Temiscamingue is building a new management plan and for all Canadian lakes.

In Vitro study of the anti migration and anti metastasis proprieties of Carnosol on oral cancer

Oral cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, and the incidence of new cases and mortality is rising worldwide. Currently, oral cancer is treated with chemotherapy agents alone or in combination with radiotherapy or surgery. Chemotherapeutic approaches made the patients suffer from severe side effects and drug resistance. Henceforward, the current focus is leaning towards using plant-derived compounds (also called phytochemicals) as they have lower cost, exhibit less toxicity, are more effective, and with reduced adverse effects. Several phytochemicals displayed anticancer activity, because they target several molecular pathways including apoptosis, proliferation, cancer stem cells, inflammation, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. Carnosol, a naturally occurring phytopolyphenol found in sage, oregano and rosemary, has been shown to inhibit cellular viability, colony growth, induced cell cycle arrest, autophagy, and apoptosis in various types of cancer. Nonetheless, exploring its mechanisms of action, alone or in combination with a chemotherapeutic agent, can serve as a potential tool to decimate oral cancer.

Holistic Promotion of Youth Wellness from a Métis Perspective: The Gift of Knowledge Sharing with Métis Elders

Le stress objectif et subjectif de la femme enceinte suivant une catastrophe naturelle peut affecter son accouchement et augmenter le risque que son enfant développe des traits autistiques : urgence d’agir face aux changements climatiques

Une hausse de la fréquence des inondations dû aux réchauffements climatiques est anticipée au Québec et des impacts psychologiques sont à prévoir, notamment chez les femmes enceintes. Subir une catastrophe naturelle durant la grossesse est un stress qui laisse ses traces jusque dans le développement de l’enfant à naître, notamment en augmentant le risque de développer des traits autistiques. Parallèlement, le stress nuit au développement physiologique de l’accouchement. Or, l’accumulation de complications obstétricales durant la naissance, incluant la prise de médication (ocytocine synthétique et péridurale), a été reliée au risque d’augmentation des traits autistiques chez l’enfant. Ainsi, le stress prénatal maternel vécu lors de catastrophes naturelles pourrait augmenter le risque de complications obstétricales, la prise de médication et les traits autistiques de l’enfant. Les présentes hypothèses présument des impacts psychologiques, cognitifs et développementaux concrets sur les population qui seront victimes d’inondations ou de tempête de verglas sévères.

Caractérisation et modélisation des performances de l’enveloppe du bâtiment : Relation entre la localisation dans le bâtiment et le type d’isolation

Le projet se concentre sur la conception d’une structure d’enveloppe de bâtiment adaptée aux conditions climatiques du Québec et sur l’isolation des bâtiments avec l’aide de matériaux d’isolation écologiques et biosourcés. Le transfert de chaleur et d’humidité à travers l’enveloppe du bâtiment biosourcé sera comparé à l’enveloppe du bâtiment conventionnel utilisé dans la région de Québec. Des modélisations et des expériences sur site seront effectuées pour simuler le transfert de chaleur et d’humidité à travers l’enveloppe, et une simulation énergétique (par exemple, E+, TRNSYS, etc.) sera utilisée pour estimer la consommation d’énergie dans un bâtiment résidentiel de faible hauteur à ossature de bois. Une fois validés, ces systèmes d’enveloppe améliorés permettront l’itération et le raffinement des matériaux d’isolation biosourcés et des systèmes d’enveloppe de bâtiment, tout en contribuant à la connaissance de la performance hydrothermique des matériaux d’isolation biosourcés utilisés dans le contexte québécois.

Design of novel flexible cluster-based rare-earth metal-organic frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a relatively new class of materials, which gained significant attention from the scientific
community in the past 10-15 years. The interest in MOFs is mainly due to their unique properties, which include tunable structure,
large surface area, extensive porosity, and a high degree of crystallinity. Because of these characteristics, MOFs have been used
in several areas, such as gas storage, ion-exchange, drug delivery, chemical sensing, adsorption, and catalysis. In this project,
new flexible cluster-based rare-earth MOFs will be synthesized, characterized, and used for simultaneous detection and removal
of organic pollutants from water. The outcome of this research could positively contribute to the materials chemistry field through
the obtention of new porous materials with flexible properties that could be used for multiple applications. At least one paper is
expected as a result of this project, with the creation of a strong collaboration between prof. Howarth’s and prof. Kaskel’s
laboratories.

Bringing Biogas to Mexico: From Responsible Waste Disposal to Circular Economy

Serious environmental problems exist in Mexico, but changes can still be made, especially where renewable energy initiatives can help individual companies derive economic benefits from responsible disposal of the waste they produce. This project will conduct market research for Mexico to understand food processing businesses and explore other potential target markets. By quantifying the advantages of biogas production and the advantage of using a Fitec AD system to clearly show the advantages over the status quo (landfilling or composting), we can engage local clients and increase the number of commercial-scale biogas facilities we can build in Mexico.

SAS Canada – Development of the online analytics simulation game, Cortex

The intern will assist with the development of the online analytics simulation game, Cortex. The first objective is to add a new scenario to the game. In partnership with SAS associates and HEC Montreal’s students and teachers, a new scenario will be incorporated into Cortex. The two analytics trending areas of climate change and sports analytics are of interest for both the developer team and the future intern. The process would follow a classic end-to-end data-project structure, from understanding the data to cleaning it, plugging it into the game, and then proceeding with robustness tests. The intern will be responsible for translating the new scenario of the game and corresponding datasets into the platform. He will also produce teaching materials used for games both in the academic and commercial classrooms. The second objective of the internship is a cloud migration strategy. Part of this project is meant to initiate the cloning of the Cortex platform to the Cloud using Azure technologies and Open-Source resources. The intern will work with the co-founders of Cortex at the ERPSim lab from HEC Montréal to assist with the migration.

Nanogram Pharmaceutical Compounding Ltd. Validate Online Platform

Overall project objectives are:

1. Determine what level minimum level of training required for non-accredited personnel to accurately and competently compound prescription medications. This objective will be accomplished through intern participation in formal and informal training, followed by assessment of their skills in real scenarios. Documentation of training methods and possible deficiencies will help in creating a standardized training manual. This documentation can also be used in future applications as an interest representation to professional regulatory bodies that there needs to be a minimum level of training to be involved in compounding, and a suggestion as to what that minimum is and how we determined the minimum.

2. Test, authenticate, validate, assist in developing a manual, and identify deficiencies in the online platform software. Interns will require knowledge in compounding (which will be acquired through training requirements) in order to complete objectives and produce deliverables.

Deliverables include validating and testing a method to train staff who have no prior pharmacy experience (non-accredited) to become compounding specialists. Determining the minimum threshold of training is necessary in order to employ non-accredited personnel in the future and to prove (through documentation of interns’ training, experience and competence) how we determined the minimum threshold.

Common a-synuclein-inflammatory routes to Parkinson’s disease and co-morbid depression

This project aims to uncover how viruses and environmental toxins can enter through the gut and nasal cavity and cause changes in the microbiome (microbes that inhabit the body) that contributes to the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). We hypothesize that these viral and toxin insults disrupt the microbiome and cause a pro-inflammatory environment that will spread through the brain, first damaging neurons that are important for mood and then moving on to kill motor regulatory dopamine neurons, as occurs in PD. Our work will produce a novel highly environmentally relevant model of PD and provide evidence as to what destructive processes should be targeted and when during the disease state.

Economic evaluation of small-scale CO2 capture and storage project

The goal of this MITACS proposed project is to evaluate the preliminary performance and economics of the carbon dioxide capture technology using recovered waste heat from engine exhaust and utilizing the recovered heat to regenerate solvents in a small-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) capture project.
This is because the regeneration of the solvents requires high energy. The combination of waste heat recovery and carbon dioxide on a single system, which overcomes this problem and provides an energy efficient solution, will be studied for use at new facilities and retrofit to existing facilities. The capital costs, as well as operation and maintenance cost using different blended amines of a carbon dioxide capture plant in Western Canada, specifically Alberta and Saskatchewan, will be investigated since they are the first step in the strategic deployment of CO2 capture activities.