Innovative Projects Realized

Coastal pan-Canadian biodiversity mapping using eDNA

Canada’s marine ecosystems are biologically rich and provide essential goods and services to about seven million people living along the longest coastline in the world. Facing significant challenges to conciliate economic development, human well-being, social equity and ecological stability, Canada developed an ambitious “Blue Economy” framework, in which this project falls. In the face of biodiversity loss worldwide, monitoring marine biodiversity has been identified as a priority by the government of Canada to meet its objectives to protect 25% of its oceans by 2050. Compared to traditional biomonitoring approaches, environmental DNA is non-intrusive, have a high rate of species detection and is accessible to non-specialists. Taking advantage of this new technology, our project aims to provide a framework for a pan-Canadian database of coastal marine biodiversity, ranging from microbes to marine mammals. By analyzing the dataset collected during the Canada C3 expedition, we will identify shifts in biodiversity along Canada’s coastline across multiple taxonomic categories. We hypothesize that latitudinal trends of biodiversity along the Canada’s coastline will be different across taxonomic groups and does not always follow the global scale paradigm of a poleward decrease of biodiversity.

Stratégie d’implantation de la personnalisation de masse dans une PME manufacturière québécoise

Avec la mondialisation des marchés, la rareté de la main-d’oeuvre et l’expansion du réseau de vente des
entreprises, certains phénomènes économiques, sociaux et environnementaux en place dans des pays
contraignent les entreprises à revoir leurs modèles d’affaires et leurs plans de croissance. Afin d’augmenter la
compétitivité, d’accroître l’agilité et la réactivité d’une entreprise face à une demande de masse personnalisée, il
faut revoir l’ensemble des processus industriels de l’entreprise en question. Ce déplacement vers une
personnalisation de masse passe par une révision de la conception du produit, une optimisation complète des
processus de fabrication, la création d’un nouveau réseau de vente ainsi que l’intégration d’une nouvelle suite
logicielle permettant d’arrimer le produit, le procédé et les fournisseurs. La recherche proposée étudiera donc
l’interaction, la synchronicité et la séquence d’implantation des objectifs à mettre en place afin de se déplacer
vers une demande de masse personnalisée.

Environmental assessment of MgO innovative cinder block product with sustainable additives

The proposed research will involve studying the carbon footprint (i.e. the carbon emissions) involved in the preparation of magnesium oxychloride (MOC) cement materials. MOC cement has been proposed as a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditionally used Portland cement (PC), however many discrepancies arise as there is no work directly comparing their carbon footprints. In addition, the work will determine the lifecycle assessment of MOC cement and PC. The research will provide a comparison between MOC cement and PC which will provide a better understanding of the applications in which MOC can replace PC, allowing for a lower environmental impact material to be more widely used. This will directly benefit the partner organization, MgO Systems, as their current research department is developing sustainable and environmentally friendly made in Canada MOC cement formulations for use in the Canadian market and abroad.

Développement d’un coussin de siège pour fauteuil roulant sur modèle anthropométrique

Le projet de stage consiste en la conception et la validation d’un outil pour la génération de coussins thérapeutiques destinés aux personnes en fauteuil roulant. Cet outil s’inspirera d’un modèle géométrique personnalisable représentant le fessier d’une personne en position assise. Il sera adapté pour prendre en compte les besoins cliniques relatives à la morphologie des patients et patientes, à leurs postures et aux risques élevés de plaies de pression.
Grâce à ce projet, l’organisme bénéficiera d’un outil novateur pour fabriquer des coussins thérapeutiques destinés à des usagers en fauteuil roulant. Cet outil lui permettra de réduire les coûts de production des coussins sur mesure. Elle aura bénéficié aussi d’un transfert de connaissances du modèle anthropométrique développé par l’Université de Sherbrooke.

Rate-Distortion-Perception Theory

Unlike in lossless compression, the decoder in a lossy compression system has flexibility in how to reconstruct the source. Conventionally, some measure of distortion such as mean squared error is used as a quality measure. Accordingly, lossy compression algorithms are analyzed through rate-distortion theory, wherein the objective is to minimize the amount of distortion for a given rate. However, it has been observed that low distortion is not necessarily synonymous with high perceptual quality; indeed, deep learning based image compression has inspired works in which authors have noted that increased perceptual quality may come at the cost of increased distortion. The main idea was to introduce a third perception axis which more closely mimics what humans would deem to be visually pleasing. Naturally, this induces a tradeoff between optimizing for perceptual quality and optimizing for distortion. But in designing a lossy compression system, one may wonder where exactly this tradeoff lies: is the objective tightly coupled with optimizing the representations generated by the encoder, or can most of this tradeoff be achieved by simply changing the decoding scheme? So we will try to work on these aspects.

Recycling process for Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) and polymer (PA6, HDPE, and PLA) characterization for injection molding

Ocean plastics are a growing problem that affects our oceans health and livelihood. A large portion of this ocean plastic is abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). The project aims to develop new ways to recycle this source of ocean waste and determine product applications for the recycled waste. By evaluating different types of fishing gear made from a variety of materials, this project will enable the fishing industry to avoid bringing nets to landfill and create multiple recycling solutions that have potential to scale. This can save costs to fishers, while avoiding additional emissions in our atmosphere from landfill, and help companies meet sustainability objectives. There is currently very limited public knowledge on processes for recycling ALDFG, therefore this study aims to develop these processes to give a new life to one of Canada’s largest plastic problems and address current challenges in waste management.

To optimize and validate the analytical protocol for recovery of pesticides from water and food samples for further monitoring using dip-and-fold device

Pollution of water and food is a severe concern as a result of the increasing use of pesticides in agricultural areas. Timely testing of these contaminants is critical to ensure the quality and safety of water and food, particularly for people of the local community. Insecticides (carbamates and organophosphates) may be identified fast in water samples utilising low-cost and simple-to-use paper-based testing equipment. The analysis can be done utilising the “dip-and-fold” structural design without the need of reagents or samples. Various high-quality papers are employed in the device to support acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the precise chemical formulation for colorimetric detection.
Hence, the target contaminants of my research are the organophosphates- Malathion and Chlorpyriphos. To conduct this research, we will be preparing standard samples using analytical grade reagents, co-solvents (organic solvents) at different concentrations to dissolve the organophosphates (pesticides) in water.
Then, we will verify the interfering effect of the co-solvents on the detection of pesticides by paper-based devices. We will eventually develop methods to recovery the pesticides from fresh food.
To summarize, the objective of our research is to optimize and validate the analytical protocol for recovery of pesticides from water and food samples for further monitoring using dip-and-fold device.

Oceanographic changes in the Indian and Pacific Sectors of the Southern Ocean during the last 250,000 years

The project consists in counting species abundances data of microplankton fossils in approximately 100 samples of a sediment core that was recovered in the near the Del Cano Rise located in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Complex statistical methods, transfer functions, will be applied to this data in order to estimate water temperatures at the core site over the last 250,000 years. Results will be compared to similar data obtained in a sediment core of similar time coverage from the Southern Pacific Ocean. Comparing these results will bring new insights on the timing of climate state transitions in two understudied sectors of the ocean.

With results in two different sectors of the Southern Ocean, it will be possible to identify the impact of climatic variations on oceanography such as the intensity of currents, the water column structure, CO2 exchanges between the ocean surface and the atmosphere, and sea ice interactions.

Moose Hide Campaign Innovative Outreach Expansion

The Moose Hide Campaign is seeking an MBA intern to support the research and development of an innovative outreach expansion. Moose Hide Campaign is a small grassroots organization with an extensive national reach and the organization is in need of the skills, experience and insight of an intern to help them understand opportunities and effective execution to reach into new and impactful sectors.

Motion and Attenuation Correction for PET/MRI

During a medical imaging exam, patient motion such as breathing, cardiac motion, and random adjustments of the head or body can affect the accuracy of the acquired images. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful medical imaging technology that can detect minute amounts of an injected probe targeting specific tissue processes and diseases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can acquire anatomical and functional images of the body, including information about patient motion. Using a hybrid positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) system, we are developing better ways to account for motion and attenuation during PET imaging using MRI images collected at the same time as the PET images are collected. This work will establish the value of our partner organization’s existing motion correction methods for PET/MRI in various diseases and develop new PET/MRI methods that correct for cardiac and respiratory motion.

Reconstructing oceanographic changes in the Southern Indian and Southwest Pacific Oceans during the last 250,000 years

The Southern Ocean plays a key role in global climate over the glacial-interglacial cycle. Carbon is transported to the deep ocean via phytoplankton which sinks to the oceans depths. Here it is trapped until upwelled in the Southern Ocean and released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. But we do not fully understand the oceanographic processes that are involved. This project aims to investigate the sea ice and water mass history of the Indian and Southwest Pacific Sectors of the Southern Ocean using microfossils (diatoms and radiolarians) and other available data (isotope and elemental) over the last 250,000 years. We will reconstruct sea-surface and sub-surface temperatures, and apply the Southern Ocean Water Mass Index to assess and compare the progression and timing of important mechanisms that influenced the accumulation or outgassing of carbon dioxide in the two SO Sectors.

Transfert des pratiques de médiation scientifique dans le domaine de l’intelligence artificielle vers le contexte scolaire

L’intelligence artificielle (IA) est de plus en plus présente dans la vie quotidienne. Dans ce contexte, l’éducation à l’intelligence artificielle (IA) devient un enjeu important, autant pour développer des compétences utiles à plusieurs emplois que pour l’exercice de la citoyenneté. Peu de pays intègrent l’apprentissage de l’IA dans l’éducation des jeunes. Ce faisant, une fracture numérique se crée entre les personnes qui connaissent l’IA, et celles qui la subissent parfois sans en être conscients. Le projet de recherche vise à étudier les pratiques d’un organisme réalisant des activités de médiation scientifique auprès du grand public, soit la Maison de l’intelligence artificielle (MIA). Par ses activités, cet organisme augmente le niveau de littératie numérique du grand public, éveille à des carrières scientifiques, et donne des repères culturels pour mieux comprendre l’impact de l’IA. Plus spécifiquement, nous souhaitons analyser ces pratiques pour evoir de quelle façon elles pourraient se transférer dans le milieu scolaire.