Innovative Projects Realized

An FPGA-based platform for the real-time simulation of high switching frequency power converters

Advances in semiconductor technology allow the increase of the efficiency and the power density of power
converters using high switching frequency converters (HSFC). The integration of such energy conversion systems
is continuously growing and in high demand for applications such as electric vehicle battery chargers, more electric
aircrafts, and distributed energy resources. However, the real-time simulation (RTS) of HSFC is challenging, since
very small time-steps — in the order of tens nanoseconds —are mandatory to achieve high fidelity. Moreover, a
real-time simulator is typically interfaced with a physical controller in a closed loop configuration, requiring from
the simulation platform very short round trip times. For the last decade, Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)
have been the hardware platform of choice for the RTS of power converters. But the accurate real-time simulation
of HSFCs remains an active research topic, given the critical timing constraints imposed by the high switching
frequencies, the response times of these converters, and the susceptibility of the real-time models to instability.
This project aims at prototyping and evaluating FPGA-based RTS for a variety of high switching frequency
converter topologies with the aim of achieving high fidelity and stability. The real-time simulation results will be
validated against offline simulation results as well as experimental measurements drawn from physical converter
prototypes.

Analyse financière et scientifique d’opportunités en gastro-entérologie, incluant GT-2108, pour Giiant Pharma Inc.

Le projet consiste à effectuer une analyse concurrentielle globale d’opportunités d’affaires proposées à Giiant Pharma Inc, afin de faire l’expansion de son portefeuille de produits en développement. D’une part, ces analyses seront tant scientifique que financière avec pour but de définir si une acquisition est pertinente ou non dans le modèle d’affaires de Giiant Pharma. Les prises de décision doivent s’aligner avec ce modèle qui consiste au développement de médicaments avec une bioactivation ciblée du microbiote intestinal. Cette bioactivation devrait permettre d’arriver à mes médicaments à la fois plus sécuritaires et plus efficaces.

Redefining shared living spaces: Active reflection of post-pandemic coliving through architectural journalism

This internship will help revitalize the concept of “coliving” in the post-COVID context of Montréal city, from the perspective of an architecture student. Given that the crisis of housing shortage is on the rise, coliving is an environment-friendly alternative for young entrepreneurs on the move. Using the power of digital journalism for community engagement, this internship will guide Nomad Coliving (NoCo) in adopting transparent media to raise collective awareness on how they approach and implement the concepts of coliving in downtown Montréal. By making sketches and building models of the spaces in NoCo, this contribution could potentially improve NoCo’s public outreach and help narrate existing “coliver” testimonials. The ongoing research will attempt to answer the question: How can we visually raise awareness of NoCo as a sustainable living space? The answer(s) will inform a viable design proposal for retrofits of physical spaces and operational systems of NoCo.

The Canadian Annual Report Extractor Project (CARE)

Annual reports are an important means of communication for publicly traded companies. They provide information about the firm’s activities and operations over the past year and forecasts about the future. Although digital versions are easy to obtain, there is a lack of technology available to prepare these reports for analysis. We propose to develop a tool, called the Canadian Annual Report Extractor (CARE) that will allow for efficient and accurate extraction by section of the reports to improve our processing, understanding, and interpretation of the information within them. The CARE will be widely accessible and easy to use, providing value to the investment community, accounting profession, academics, and others for the purpose of financial statement presentation, analysis, and assurance.

Define and Implement Digital Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy and Plan

We are looking to create and implement our primarily digital GTM strategy.
We will be incorporating an agile approach: plan-do-check-adjust.
Will be very dynamic environment – learning what works and what doesn’t, and quickly adjusting our tactical approaches as more information comes in.
There will be a planning component and a doing component to this project.
Data will be a key driver in our entire process – determining our next steps.
There is an opportunity that with the right candidate this engagement would continue into the future.

Business Process Development for Resson Rama’s Project

Resson, a Fredericton, NB-based precision agriculture company looking to develop a new business process that integrates the three major tasks involved in its product development cycle (client feedback solicitation, software development, and, quality assurance testing). In addition, through the development of this process, Resson will improve the features and functionality of an existing software product offered by Resson that better responds to customer feedback in a way that is sustainable and can be replicated across the company’s line of products as needed. The intern will review customer feedback on the software related to performance, needs, and desired functionality, using this to develop the improvement plan for the software. Throughout this process, the intern will work on quality assurance testing/product validation activities to ensure that the final product meets the needs of the users based on the feedback. In addition, the intern will document the revised business process used for this and proposed for future work. Ultimately, through this internship, Resson anticipates being more agile in responding to customer feedback and better able to develop robust product offerings with high performance and strong customer satisfaction in a timely manner.

The HDL & KGMS Squamish Language Project

Since 2010, Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School (KGMS), a private K-12 school on the North shore that serves children with learning differences, has worked in collaboration with design students from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU). Over the last three years graduate interns have engaged with this partnership, working with Anji Dawson, Counselor and Indigenous Specialist from the Squamish Nation, on integrating Squamish language and culture into day-to-day interactions at KGMS. To evolve this we aim to establish an Indigenous working group, of core and ancillary collaborators, to act as a community platform for Anji Dawson and other Indigenous instructors at ECU and KGMS to test and discuss ideas and approaches to integrating Indigenous life ways and learning styles into various curriculum at both sites.

I, Kathleen Edwards, the intern, will collaborate with makers and educators through a series of participatory workshops. We will story-tell, make together and share knowledges toward the production of materials, curriculum and pedagogy that support KGMS Learner’s needs. All knowledges produced will be documented, adapted, integrated and shared under Anji’s guidance.

Clarifying the biochemical basis of smoke-taint in grapes and wines

When grapevines are exposed to forest fire smoke they often trap the compounds responsible for the odour of smoke within the ripening berries. Through poorly understood processes, grapes may transform these compounds into forms that are not readily detected by smell or current testing procedures. The yeasts used for fermentation may break down these storage forms, regenerating the smoky aroma and tainting the resulting wines. Using a combination of grape tissue culture, greenhouse-grown grapes, and vineyard studies, the interns will deduce how smoky aroma compounds enter grapes and become chemically trapped. Improved methods for detecting these trapped odours in ripening grapes will be devised. The knowledge generated through this project will improve the accuracy of Supra’s smoke-taint testing methods and help them advise their clients (vineyards and wineries) regarding crop protection.

Hand Stimulator

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) exercise therapy (ET) is well established in the scientific community (Teasell et al, 2007 and http://www.ebrsr.com/ ) yet it is not accessible to the majority of the stroke population or those that could greatly benefit from it. In Canada alone millions of dollars has been spent in the last 20 years on proving its efficacy and trying to find cost effective means of administering this treatment. Yet to date there is little in terms of viable commercial products that allow for this type of treatment to be administered. We have become more proficient over the last couple decades at saving lives following cerebrovascular accidents and spinal cord injury and as a result there is an increasing number of survivors with severe disabilities. Every week over 1,000 Canadians have a cardiovascular accident (CVA, stroke) of whom 75% survive and require rehabilitation (Heart&Stroke_Foundation 2010). Today’s larger population of stroke survivors living with the aftermath of a stroke increases the demand for more cost effective and improved upper-extremity treatments

Culture-Actualization Index

At Maslow Centre for Executive Leadership, we work with leaders to build humanized, impactful & high-performing organizations through a critical process we call culture actualization. Culture actualization is when an organization is able to uncover and effectively use individual and organizational potential. We have the framework and solutions to help organizations realize and benefit from this. Over the last 18 months, we have been gathering qualitative findings exploring how leaders are addressing employee needs and how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs relate to employee experience and workplace culture. Our research intends to understand how human needs show up at the workplace in the (post) covid era. With this ongoing research, we now want to build a quantitative survey tool (Culture-Actualization Index) based on these research findings that will help the way organizations transform and lead their people. This survey tool will form part of our consultative approach to engaging organizations so that we can customize our unique solutions to the unique needs of the organization.

Digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia app

The project would be a scalable app designed to treat insomnia effectively. This will include educational videos and materials to enable patients to do self-treatment. This should be much more time and cost efficient than traditional treatment, much more easily accessible, and scalable.

TranqSleep hopes that the digital platform will be easy and intuitive to use and can be scaled up to reach a much larger number of patients for this disorder than conventional CBTI treatment does, at a much lower cost.

Développement d’une méthode de télédétection par drone pour les inventaires de nerprun

La propagation des espèces exotiques envahissantes représente l’une des plus grandes menaces pour la biodiversité et le maintien des écosystèmes. Au Canada, près de 500 espèces végétales introduites sont considérées comme envahissantes, elles engendrent chaque année des dépenses importantes ainsi que de nombreux effets indirects, mais néfastes causés par la perte de services écosystémiques. Les espaces boisés de Laval sont mis en danger par le nerprun, dont deux espèces exotiques envahissantes (cathartique et bourdaine) ont été observées. En raison de leur croissance rapide et leur reproduction importante, ils rentrent en compétition avec les espèces indigènes et engendrent une perte de diversité, rendant ainsi les milieux plus fragiles. Afin de réduire les coûts nécessaires aux inventaires du nerprun, nous souhaitons par ce projet développer une méthode de télédétection par drones.