Innovative Projects Realized

Improving glycerol utilization in E.coli for heme biosynthesis

Heme is a naturally occurring molecule found in our blood and as well as in animals, responsible for carrying oxygen throughout our body. Interestingly, heme has been commercially used in various products such as in cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and food. The traditional production of heme however often involves animal slaughter and harsh chemical processing, which is costly and ultimately limits other potential applications. The proposed project will investigate a different method of producing heme by fermenting microorganisms; much in the same way that beer, wine, and insulin are made. Specifically, the proposal will explore the use of cheaper starting material to be converted/fermented into heme using common industry-grade microbes.

Saccade Concussion Diagnosis System

The underlying technology will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze oculomotor (eye movement) data to learn and extract human translatable features/symptoms of concussion. The software is computationally light-weight that is capable of running on portable hardware with minimal computational power. The intern will examine the system’s commercialization by conducting interviews with potential customers and identifying the additional critical features needed by end-users. The intern will also research a potential decision-making framework that will help end-users determine if additional medical attention is required. The research project will provide a complete working beta prototype that the partner organization can demo to potential customers. A business plan will also be provided to the partner organization to outline the communization of the saccadic concussion diagnosis system.

Silicone-mounted fiber-Bragg grating sensor for cardiac pulse-waveform monitoring

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality internationally. Current CVD diagnostics are limited to basic tools that provide a generalized number without quantitative indication of overall health, such as blood pressure, or lifestyle risk scores. More invasive diagnostic imaging can be done, but at great cost to the healthcare system. We have developed a basic optical device capable of non-invasively studying the cardiac pulse-waveform, thus potentially allowing for direct measures of cardiovascular risk and health. In this project, we will expand on the functionality of this system by optimizing design for anatomical application, and extending functionality through the integration of multiple sensors in a single system. This improved functionality should allow for a system ready to potentially be used in general observational clinical trials to study potential clinical utility.

Assessment of the Seismic Vulnerability of GFRP Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls

The applicability of reinforcing shear walls with FRP bars in resisting wind loads and small to medium magnitude earthquakes has was validated through several investigations. The most significant advantage of the FRP-RC is the considerable elastic deformation capacity and the self-centering ability of up to near failure. However, Current limitations of FRP design codes concerning the seismic resistance may lead to a highly conservative and uneconomical design due to the lack of sufficient studies.
Therefore, this project consists of developing analytical models for FRP-reinforced shear walls (validated with experimental data) which will be used to conduct seismic performance assessment to investigate the safety and accuracy of current design methods. The main objective is set to support North America’s codes with essential experimental and analytical data towards developing a clause for FRP-RC shear walls and to provide engineers with reliable design guidelines and confident in adopting such element in construction. This in return will benefit the industrial partner (Pultrall inc.) as a leading producer and supplier of FRP bars worldwide.

« Produire » la judéité en contexte francophone, entre transmission, reproduction et innovation

Mon séjour israélien s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un projet doctoral portant sur la légitimité dans le judaïsme francophone. Il vise à élargir l’état des connaissances sociologiques sur les judéités contemporaines transnationales mais aussi dans des domaines tels que le rapport du politique au pluralisme ethnoreligieux. Il sera question de mener une série d’entrevues avec des acteurs franco-israéliens (intellectuels, rabbins etc.) et de réaliser un travail d’observation au sein d’une institution religieuse. Les données collectées viseront à répondre à plusieurs questions permettant d’établir des comparaisons entre les judaïsmes français, québécois et francophone israélien :

Le judaïsme est un facteur de minorisation en France et au Québec, il est au contraire celui d’un rattachement à la population majoritaire et à l’État en Israël. Ce rapport étant inversé pour la langue, quels effets ces différences produisent-elles sur la “production” de judéité ? Quel effets les interactions avec la société israélienne (séjours, liens familiaux etc.) produisent-elles sur l’autorité dans les judaïsmes français et québécois ? Ce séjour sera aussi l’occasion d’être conseillé et de me familiariser avec les sciences sociales israéliennes.

Intraocular Pressure Monitoring Microfluidic Contact Lens

The proposed research project is to design a microfluidic contact lens that will be used to track the fluctuations in intraocular pressure. Intraocular pressure is the primary factor to monitor the progression of glaucoma, which is a chronic disease that leads to permanent vision loss and currently has no cure, making early and frequent testing essential. By utilizing microfluidic channels embedded into a soft contact lens, the changes in corneal curvature can be captured and the intraocular pressure can be determined, as it is directly proportional. This device will track the pressure more frequently, non-invasively and inexpensively. As the contact lens mimics the increasing change in shape to the eye, the embedded microfluidic channel will increase in volume and an indicator fluid will shift in position. Thus, tracking the shift in position of the indicator fluid within the microfluidic contact lens can directly determine the fluctuations in intraocular pressure.

Post-breeding movement and survival of adult and first-year Bank Swallows in the Great Lakes ecoregion

The bank swallow is a species of insectivorous songbird considered to be threatened in Canada and has been prioritized for conservation action. All swallow species in Canada are migratory, and in their annual cycle, the post-breeding to first migration period is considered to be a difficult and dangerous time for juvenile birds. We propose to conduct an ecological study of bank swallow post-breeding movements and survival in southern Ontario. To do so, we will use an advanced automated radiotelemetry system (the Motus Wildlife Telemetry System) to track the locations of birds we radiotag across southern Ontario, up until they depart for migration. We will then analyze this data to compare survival rates, timing behaviour, and space use between adults and juveniles. We will use a broad range of statistical methods to extraction information at the population and individual levels. The goal is to learn more about the behavioural mechanisms which may underlie high mortality of juvenile bank swallows during their transition to independence.

Accelerated Maturation of Rye Spirits

Whisky is made by a process of fermentation, distillation, and maturation. The last step is by far the most time-consuming part of this process. In order for maturation to occur, the distilled spirit must sit in a wooden barrel for years, during which the spirit takes on the familiar colour and taste of whisky. This inefficient process is an antiquated approach to creating this beloved class of beverage. By using simple chemical principles, we aim to develop a new method to make matured spirits – one that will take only a fraction of the time to create a similarly complex and delicious liquor. This project will allow us to systematically evaluate some of the variables in spirit maturation and inform future innovation in this area, eventually leading to new and exciting Canadian spirits for consumption domestically and abroad.

Novel Adhesive For Use In Sternal Fixation and Application

Median sternotomy is the standard approach in heart surgery. Over 1.5M operations are performed worldwide annually; 45K in Canada. Wires are used post-operatively to close the sterna, leading to instability, micro-motion and pain. Alternative techniques lack effectiveness or are cost prohibitive. Glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs) are used in restorative dentistry, orthodontics and ear, nose and throat surgeries. Our group has re-engineered a dental GPC specifically for use as an adhesive for sternal fixation based around a novel, patented bioactive glass phase which contains strontium and zinc, which can be applied during sternal wiring to minimize complications. This approach, supported by the scientific literature, will reduce post-operative complications by inhibiting micro-motion between the dissected sternal halves and restricting bacterial ingress into the wound.

Collecte de données sur les portraits des reines antigonides

Le but de ce projet de recherche est de collecter des données sur les portraits royaux féminins en sculpture des reines en grèece antique, principalement dans le nord de la Grèce. . Le but est de rassembler toutes les informations éparpillées dans différentes recherches en seul document pour ainsi permettre aux futurs chercheurs de trouver l’information plus rapidement. Cet été, je collecte les données en accédant aux collections des musées et en visitant des bibliothèques contenant des document non accessible au Canada. Le but final est de créer un document qui fera partie de mon projet de maitrise qui concerne toutes les reines de la période hellénistique. Ces femmes sont des caractères importants de cette période et il est temps qu’elles possèdent une œuvre les représentant pleinement. J’espère récupérer ainsi une partie des documents qui ne sont pas accessibles au Canada: De plus, je veux pouvoir visionner environnement d’exposition des statues dans les sites archéologiques où elles ont été retrouvées.

Nonlinear Section Model Tests in the Wind Tunnel for Cable-Supported Bridges

Due to the length and intrinsic flexibility of cable-supported bridges, wind causes serious challenges to designers of such structures. To ensure the safety of these bridges, it is common practice to test scale models of bridges in the wind tunnel. As bridges are getting longer, simplifications used for typical wind tunnel test become questionable. Therefore, this project aims at developing a new type of wind tunnel tests for bridges in order to check whether these simplifications are safe for very long bridges. With their expertise in the field of long-span bridge engineering, COWI North America will benefit from this research project by making use of the research conclusions in their future designs of long-span bridges.

Extension of fast hybrid VLM-VPM schemes for helicopter flow simulations

Aircraft flight simulators are important to airworthiness standards and thus safety. The simulators are used in pilot training, as well assisting in the design of flight vehicles. Flight simulators need physical models that reproduce, in the computer, the real devices such as engines, pilot human response, cockpit, etc. In particular, it also needs an aerodynamic model which constitutes one, if not the one, most expensive simulation component. Whereas in airplanes, quasi-steady models are often enough for simulations, helicopter requires unsteady models making them even more expensive. Designing faster aerodynamic models often requires reducing the fidelity of the simulation. This project aims at incorporating a mixed low/high-fidelity model for the simulation of helicopter blade aerodynamic performance in complex helicopter scenarios such as flight over terrain or ships.