Innovative Projects Realized

Capacity Management and Burnout Prevention Assessment

The primary objective of this project is to create an improved Capacity Management Assessment that will detect and prevent burnout for different industries and customer segments (i.e., Corporate, Entrepreneurs, Post-Secondary and Medical field) by September 2022.

While current literature focuses on pinpointing sources of burnout, environments in which this occurs, and even assessment tools to measure it, there are no assessments that measure an individual’s capacity for taking on new initiatives and projects while linking individuals to resources that support improvement in self-awareness and, by extension, self-management.

The assessment will be and immersive and comprehensive experience to provide guidance on how to optimize capacity within each of the 4 existing states while guiding them towards the appropriate next steps, tools and resources.

Bangerooo BSI

Bangerooo is currently focusing on building a Play to Earn (P2E) video game, 3mon, and a gaming metaverse, 3land on the Solana Blockchain. During his time involved with the project, Cameron will focus on creating a competitor analysis of other P2E games in the ecosystem, developing our tokenomics and in game economy, outreach and partnerships and writing our game’s whitepaper.

The partner organization is very strong on the development and art side, while we lack team members with skills to develop the business side of our game. Cameron has a Masters in Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MMIE) and has technical training to help us in these areas.

Development of Replacement Heat Exchanger using Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Application

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is seeing continued industrial uptake, with the aerospace sector representing one of the early adopters and largest growth areas. The design freedom offered by AM is being leveraged to develop advanced heat exchangers with highly complex internal features. This project will focus on laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of AlSi10Mg, with emphasis on developing a one-for-one replacement heat exchanger for an aeroengine, exploiting the design capability of the technology. Initial printing will be completed on a research platform, establishing material performance and select geometric features, which will be transitioned to an industrial system where a functional prototype will be produced. Bench testing of the traditional component and AM optimized part will be completed to show direct comparison and performance gains achieved.

Développement d’une stratégie marketing Business to Business

3DSémantix est une entreprise spécialisée dans le domaine de la valorisation des données industrielles. Elle développe des solutions logicielles combinant son moteur de recherche 3D et des technologies d’Intelligence Artificielle. Nos solutions permettent de retrouver, réutiliser et valoriser les vastes quantités de données générées lors de la production manufacturière. Les solutions proposées par 3DSémantix contribue à la transformation numérique des entreprises en fabrication industrielle et en conception de produits.

Le projet vise essentiellement à définir et implanter les stratégies Marketing (public, produits) pour les nouveaux produits de l’entreprise à travers des outils disponibles sur internet et ciblant la clientèle visée.

Evaluation of the impact of dairy food consumption on the incidence of CVD and osteoporosis and patterns of dairy food consumption among Canadians with CVD and/or osteoporosis

The new Canada’s Food Guide has created controversies about milk and alternatives consumption by removing it as a stand-alone food group. Recent evidence shows an inverse relationship between consumption of dairy products and risk of osteoporosis. However, evidence on the association between milk and dairy consumption and the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have provided inconsistent and even conflicting results. To address this knowledge gap, we aim to review the existing evidence in the literature to provide more strong evidence on the association between dairy food consumption and CVD and osteoporosis. We will then provide information on the consumption of various kinds of dairy products by age and sex groups using data from Canadian surveys. The interns will work closely with Dairy Farmers of Canada both throughout the project and at the knowledge translation stage, in which the scientific findings will be converted into infographics and information useful to the partner organization.

Usability analysis and guideline development for user interface design in a public health information system

The design of usable public health information systems is critical in areas such as healthcare. In this project an analysis of the usability of a pan-Canadian public health information system will be conducted. The approach will involve application of usability engineering methods to identify issues and areas where the system’s user interface could be modified and optimized. This work will lead to the development of a set of guidelines and recommendations for the development of a next generation user interface for Panorama. In addition, currently there are a number of generic user interface guidelines and standards that have been published internationally. The project will also involve a systematic review and documentation analysis of existing guidelines which will be collected. This information will be also considered in light of optimizing the Panorama user interface. The results from both the usability analysis and the literature review will be combed to develop a user interface style guide that will help in creating a usable, useful and consistent next generation user interface for the Panorama public health system

Design of an Impact Management System for Aerospace Innovation

The primary objective of this internship is to design an impact management system for aerospace innovation teams (four different sizes of solar-powered airships) to track their objectives against results measured in terms of impact. Each aerospace innovation team defines its mission in terms of performance results measured in engineering terms. The intern’s job will be to work with teams to measure the innovation in terms impact. Each team describes their mission with a one-page brief describing what, why, who, and cost. The intern’s job is to track the “why” and design an impact management system to measure the impact of the project in terms of being in the public’s interest. When a team is driven by the “why” and follows this as the compass to guide each decision, its path to innovation gains more momentum and develops more intellectual property and results than if they are concentrating on “what.” The benefit to the partner organization is an improved flow of innovation from the research and design phase to the testing and evaluation phase through better alignment with goals and improved articulation of alignment with public interest in order to achieve regulatory approval.

Initiation of an Economic Development Program for Black Youth & Entrepreneurs in STEM

Founded in 2020, Nobellum is a female-led ecosystem of leaders from the BIPOC community with a mandate of supporting the start-up of at least 100 Black-owned businesses in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) by 2025. This year, Nobellum is launching the Nobellum Innovator Program, U of T Chapter in collaboration with the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus and its campus linked accelerators – The BRIDGE and The Hub. Our project will be focused on developing a 12 month incubation program for Black startups in STEM. Through this initiative we aim to breakdown barriers for Black entrepreneurs and deliver an incubation program that provides access to resources, training and development for equity deserving groups.

Synthesis of glycopolymers by in vacuo glycation

Sugars play many important roles in our bodies. For example, they provide a supporting environment around cells and are also involved numerous processes, including viral and bacterial infection. In addition to their natural existence, there is also interest in preparing sugar-based polymers, called “glycopolymers”, in the lab both to better understand biological processes and also to develop potential therapeutics. However, most methods to prepare these molecules are costly and time consuming. Working with PnuVax, we aim to develop a new simple, and efficient method to attach sugars to existing polymers. The method should be applicable to multiple different sugars and polymers, thereby providing a new technology for biological studies and potential therapies.

Improving online shopping by intelligently selecting product photos

Using machine learning, this project will seek to enhance customers’ online shopping experience by intelligently selecting product photos based on the user’s information and knowledge about the product. Computer vision will be used to label images and gain information automatically.

Développement d’un imprimante 3D pour l’aluminium

Les procédés de fabrication additive telle la fusion laser sur lit de poudre connait un intérêt croissant dans la communauté industrielle et universitaire, car ils permettent de réduire les temps de production, de produire moins de déchets et permettent la fabrication de pièces plus complexes sans augmenter les couts. Toutefois, ce procédé est moins bien adapté à l’impression de l’aluminium pour différentes raisons comme le cout élevé de la fabrication de la poudre nécessaire pour assurer la qualité du produit fini. L’objectif de ce projet est donc de développer une tête d’impression pour l’aluminium qui est plus adapté à ce matériau et capable de réaliser un produit de qualité en utilisant une matière première bon marché, afin de réduire au maximum les couts d’impression tout en valorisant les résidus provenant de l’usinage conventionnel de pièces d’aluminium.

Effective concrete mixes for Saskatchewan side walks using locally available pop-out prone aggregates

A disturbing number of aggregate pop-out cases have recently been observed in newly poured concrete throughout the City of Saskatoon. A “pop-out” is a small, often cone-shaped void in a horizontal concrete surface left after a near-surface aggregate particle has fractured. Aggregate pop-outs can accelerate the deterioration of concrete sidewalks and can result in safety hazards to pedestrians and increased maintenance costs. Every year, the City of Saskatoon removes and replaces deteriorated sidewalk panels throughout the city. Many of these locations contain transit stops, mobility ramps and access to businesses and/or residences. Aggregate pop-outs affect a large amount of concrete poured every year within the City of Saskatoon. Development of cost-effective remedial techniques for reducing, and possibly eliminating, pop out damage to concrete surfaces will help The City greatly reduce the need to sidewalk replacement or repair while improving their aesthetics and safety.