Innovative Projects Realized

Translating identities in institutional settings

The purpose of this project is to understand how the global support observed in Canada’s foreign policy relates to LGBT* policies and non-governmental initiatives in Canada. Additionally, Kwaku Adomako would learn from Professor Lee’s expertise concerning the global impact of Canadian asylum policies aimed at LGBT* persons fleeing persecution. This is as his interlocutors in Ghana seek international assistance in ‘raising capacity’ to generate local expertise on asylum advising as well as on social service delivery for sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). Furthermore, in light of his participant observation of community-based organizing of SGMs, Kwaku Adomako would like to draw from Professor Lee’s (and colleagues) use of auto-ethnography as well as critical and participatory methodologies to glean reflexive insights from studying LGBT* NGOs and communities (see Caron, Lee & Pullen Sansfaçon, 2020).

This project will help Kwaku Adomako re-establish and reinforce relationships with key researchers who work on similar topics in Canada to strengthen and expand professional networks.

Modélisation de la production embarqué sur un véhicule

Le secteur des transports est l’un des contributeurs majoritaires à l’émission des gaz à effet de serre au Canada. La compagnie CapSolar propose d’intégrer des modules photovoltaïques aux véhicules roulant pour favoriser l’utilisation d’énergies renouvelables dans ce secteur.
Dans ce stage de recherche, nous proposons de développer un modèle permettant de prédire la production d’énergie électrique d’origine photovoltaïque pendant le trajet d’un véhicule.
Cette modélisation permettra à CapSolar d’affiner sa stratégie de développement et lui fournira un outil nécessaire à la démonstration de la pertinence de sa technologie pour ses clients.

Growing high-yield, healthy plants using root-zone dissolved CO2 enrichment system: impact of varying degrees of dissolved CO2 addition on plant growth in controlled growth conditions.

Many industrial hydroponic growers supplement their greenhouses with additional CO2 to improve crop yields. Elevated levels of CO2 can increase rates of photosynthesis and dry-matter accumulation. Greenhouse operators, therefore, often inject extra CO2 (up to 700-1500 ppm) into the aerial environment to improve their crop yields. However, enhancing CO2 levels in commercial greenhouses can incur both high energy costs and material waste due to the frequent ventilation of greenhouses needed to control humidity andtemperature, and prevent certain plant diseases. The aerial deployment of CO2 thus wastes some materials and unnecessarily contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. This project is pursuing a novel root-zone supplementation technique that helps limit atmospheric diffusion and keeps supplemented CO2 near the plant. The technology represents both a potential advantage for producers and a means to reduce CO2 emissions in greenhouse operations. The project focuses on demonstrating improved crop yields and optimizing the delivery mechanisms.

Utilisation des données satellitaires et géospatiales, des enquêtes socio-économiques et de l’intelligence artificielle pour l’amélioration des prédictions de vulnérabilité des populations en lien avec la COVID-19

Le but de ce projet est d’utiliser l’imagerie satellite pour obtenir un portrait instantané et exhaustif d’une région ou d’un pays, et utiliser des données socio-économiques et en santé collectées par l’équipe de recherche pour combler le manque d’information sur un territoire. Les données enrichies seront intégrées à un SAD optimisé pour la fouille des mégadonnées avec des outils d’intelligence artificielle. Les analyses et les indicateurs extraits seront présentés à travers des tableaux de bord analytiques sur une plateforme web. Cet outil doit permettre de mieux cibler les zones de vulnérabilité, et facilitera les prises de décisions par les pouvoirs publics.

Solar interfacial evaporation for fast drying of water with a high concentration of solid

Speeding up evaporation of water is essential for reducing the volume of tailings from mining industry, shortening the time required for land reclamation, and eliminating greenhouse gas emission from degradation of organic materials in wet deposits. Solar interfacial evaporation is an emerging technology that harvests solar energy and converts it to latent heat for water evaporation. The energy conversion is localized at the interface between water and air from the top of a layer of photothermal materials. The evaporative surface is spatially separated from the water source to avoid heat loss from convection or conduction. The challenges for fast drying of tailings by solar interfacial evaporation are the effects from solid contents and organic compounds on the stability and durability of the evaporator. In this project, we aim to understand and control solar interfacial evaporation from water source containing high solid contents. Solid particles and organic residues in water will be excluded from the evaporator by tailoring the structural and wetting properties of the support surface and the top layer of the evaporator. The salt crystals will be limited in certain areas while the evaporative surface area can be maintained.

BERA: Radar Interferometry and Edge Effects

The influence of seismic lines and other linear features can extend well into the surrounding forest, but the magnitude of this effect and the factors controlling it are poorly understood. The disruption of hydrological process by linear features is one such ‘edge effect’ of particular interest to BERA. Previous research by Caitlin Wilier (2017) in BERA showed that road-influenced flooding changed the composition and structure of peatland vegetation throughout the Lower Athabasca, but more work on this subject is required. The aim is to use radar interferometry as a technique for mapping surface deformation around peatland linear disturbances. It is expected that this technique will work very well in some situations (large mineral-filled roads with large signals and persistent scatterers) and poorly in others. Since there is a connection between peatland water dynamics and the release of carbon emissions it is of great interest to assess this dimension of land use change induced carbon releases. In addition, it provides further insight in physical and biological processes determining species composition and therefore increasing or limiting ecosystem recovery.

Development of High Efficiency Compact Recuperators

Distributed Power Generation (DPG) offers a novel approach to reduce power losses. Micro-turbines (MT) are instrumental in the development of a high efficiency DPG system. The major drawback is the associated wasted heat. Increasing the viability of DPG is directly linked with the development of higher efficiency MTs. MTs equipped with a recuperator preheating the inlet gas using the heat recovered from the hot exhaust gases have the potential to reach over 50% thermal efficiency. To this end, a new method for producing recuperators has recently been developed by Brayton Energy Canada. The overall program objective is to further develop economical and practical solution for the commercial implementation of recuperators using the Cold Spray process to produce high performance external fins and different materials for the recuperator core in order to be used commercially by Brayton Energy Canada. The program specifically targets issues that have been identified by Brayton as leading edge/disruptive applications. It is envisioned that the technologies developed through the program will quickly be implemented by Brayton Energy Canada and its partners.

Interaction Techniques for Authoring Constructive Visualization in VR

Data visualization is an important approach to help people understand data by graphic representation of data. Along with the development of various electronic devices and sensors, big data era is coming to us. Data visualization plays an increasingly important role in this era. However, research indicated that it’s hard for non visualization experts to author their own visualizations. To address this challenge, a few studies explored how to create visualizations by using familiar elements in daily life, e.g. : tokens, since humans are used to building physical blocks to visually represent information. Our project will extend the design space to virtual reality (VR) due to the versatility of VR that goes beyond the physical world. We will combine the affordances of VR and tangible properties of tokens to create more accessible visualization authoring tools. The work will also compare virtual tokens with physical tokens and the results will provide insights for both virtual and physical constructive visualization.

Investigation of synaptic plasticity in therapeutic sleep deprivation for major depression

Staying awake for a night improves the mood for a lot of patients with depression very quickly. A recent model of depression proposes that the connection between neurons (synapse) is strengthened during sleep deprivation which restores a deficit in the depressive brain. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A) allows to monitor the amount of synapses in the living brain of humans and animals which suffer from depression. Rats with and without depression undergo total sleep deprivation and are scanned before and after it. During the internship, immhunohistochemical staining and autoradiography of brain slices of the experimental animals should be performed to verify PET results. We expect a lower synaptic density in Flinder sensitive rats (FSR; depression model) compared to control rats before sleep deprivation. We expect an increase in synaptic density after sleep deprivations in depression rats, but no difference in control rats.

Design of an Advanced Shade Control for Energy Efficiency and Occupant Comfort

In major metropolitan areas, multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) are becoming the main housing form. Newer MURBs also come with large exterior windows and doors, resulting in discomfort such as overheating and higher energy expenditure. An effective solution is to leverage the use of window shadings by automating their controls, but more commonly, they are operated entirely manually according to users’ commands. This research will also explore other innovative control design, including peak load shaving, collaborative control with thermostats, and an exploration of alternative control algorithms. Proof-of-concept testing of the control design will be conducted in both simulations and three households in MURBs. These innovations will help Roll-A-Shade expand their product offerings and offer them the opportunity to become a leader in the market.

Collaboration internationale en recherche-design et littératie médiatique multimodale

Le projet consiste à développer la recherche-design dans le contexte de l’éducation aux médias. La recherche-design est une méthodologie issue des sciences de l’éducation mobilisée depuis peu dans le champ de l’information et de la communication. Elle vise à rapprocher le monde de la recherche et le monde de l’éducation en construisant un pont entre la théorie et la pratique par la production de nouvelles connaissances pouvant être directement appliquées à la pratique éducative. En outre, le projet consiste à développer des outils d’analyse et d’évaluation des compétences médiatiques et numériques des élèves dont le questionnement critique au coeur de la recherche doctorale de l’étudiante. Alors que le questionnement critique (vis-à-vis des médias numériques et des nouvelles technologies) semble être une compétence essentielle pour améliorer l’esprit critique des élèves, la littérature scientifique souffre d’un manque de procédures structurées pour évaluer l’esprit critique. Par le déploiement de recherche-designs, ce projet de collaboration internationale offre ainsi de nouvelles perspectives dans le champ de l’éducation aux médias pour le développement de nouvelles compétences chez l’apprenant.

Développement de la compétence numérique de formateurs en vue d’optimiser l’interactivité des formations en présence et à distance

Fondé en 1983, le Centre patronal SST est un organisme à but non lucratif au service des associations d’employeurs et de leurs membres. Issu de la volonté de nombreuses associations d’employeurs de se doter d’un organisme spécialisé en santé et sécurité du travail, le Centre patronal SST regroupe aujourd’hui plus d’une centaine d’associations. Il aide les organisations membres de ces associations ainsi que leurs gestionnaires à assumer leur leadership en santé et sécurité du travail, en leur offrant des services de formation et d’information.
En collaboration avec l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, l’entreprise désire mettre en place un projet de recherche qui vise à améliorer le dynamisme des formations offertes en modernisant leurs méthodes pédagogiques et en définissant les meilleurs outils technologiques adaptés aux contenus enseignés. La réalité virtuelle et la vidéo 360 sont des technologies immersives qui plongeront les apprenants dans un environnement ou les utilisateurs peuvent interagir avec les éléments de leurs formations sans risque.