Innovative Projects Realized

Smart Waste Management System

The proposed project will investigate the challenges and opportunities to implement Smart Waste Management in small and medium-sized communities. The scope of the project is planned for Nova Scotia. After reviewing and analyzing potential challenges, appropriate strategies to implement the project will be proposed. The next step of the project is to evaluate the technical aspects of implementing the project on small scale (prototyping). The proposed Smart Waste Management System comprises 3 units; the
Smart bins, the consumers’ software application, and the Cloud-based software for the Waste Management Company. The Smart bins will be designed to house 7 Internet-of-things(IoT) sensors–Ultrasonic, Temperature, Humidity, Load/Weight, Gas, Infrared, Camera and GPS sensors. All of the discussed units will be reviewed to apply appropriate strategies in the implementation phase.
One of the most important reasons this project is undertaken is because we have recognized the Province of Nova Scotia is growing at a faster pace and so does the population and the waste generated. Our aim with regards to this is to create an efficient waste management infrastructure capable of handling many tonnes of wastes simply by scaling through the use of technology.

Gandhi – Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

This project involves an opportunity to enhance on-line educational programming for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and also forge greater collaborations with other wildlife protection agencies and organizations in the province of Manitoba, in Canada, and/or internationally. Through this project a template will be designed for the Centre that will build connections between Manitoba educational curriculum and the wildlife protection activities of a diverse number of organizations to illustrate their achievements in wildlife conservation. The template will form a basis for on-going curriculum development by the Centre as it continues to develop these new partnerships. All of this will be designed for remote delivery given the restrictions of COVID. The Centre will build partnerships, will enrich programming, and will have additional tools to overcome the barriers currently restricting wildlife educational programs.

Mandy Penney_CSE Internship

I am in the MUN MBA SEE program. This project will delve into the supports available for university students with disabilities who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs. This research will be used to develop a social enterprise that focuses on peer and professional support for young entrepreneurs with disabilities. This project can form the basis for me to move forward with starting my own company to build on what I discover in this project. The outcomes of this project can potentially reduce unemployment and poverty rates among youth with disabilities, while increasing the number of young entrepreneurs with disabilities and the number of accessible businesses.

Meteorological Assistant

The position of a Meteorological assistant will be worked at Weatherlogics during the 2021 summer. The beginning of the internship will include being brought up to speed on Weatherlogics tools and procedures for creating their various products. Most notably including agriculture forecasts and reports, severe weather outlooks, and weather model enhancements. Next the specific project of creating a report comparing my severe weather outlooks with severe weather outlooks created by a basic computer model will be pursued. The benefit of the report to Weatherlogics will be to outline where a human meteorologist adds value to a severe weather outlook and where a meteorologist should spend most of their attention. For the entire duration of the internship the position will be worked from home.

Smart phone Enabled Visual Inspection with Acetic acid (SEVIA)

Project involves data gathering and collection, analysis and subsequently using the results to devise an appropriate business model to sustain and scale up a new digital technology-smart phone enabled visual inspection with acetic acid (SEVIA). This technology was developed for the purpose of preventive screening of cervical cancer in women in low resource settings.

Modélisation d’un classificateur hydraulique pour l’enrichissement d’un concentré d’oxyde de fer

Arcelor-Mittal opère un mine d’oxyde de fer dans la région de Fermont dans le nord du Québec. L’oxyde de fer est utilisé pour produire l’acier. Le minerai extrait de la mine est traité pour enrichir l’oxyde de fer (Fe2O3) en le débarrassant du quartz qui est le principal contaminant. Ce traitement permet de passer d’un minerai contenant 45% Fe2O3 à un concentré titrant plus de 90% Fe2O3. Le concentré est ensuite envoyé à l’usine de boulettage à Port-Cartier où il subit un nouvel enrichissement permettant de faire passer la teneur de 90 à 98% Fe2O3. Ce traitement est effectué par un classificateur hydraulique. L’objectif du projet est de développer un modèle mathématique du classificateur pour permettre d’étudier virtuellement différentes stratégies d’opération afin de réduire au maximum les pertes de fer associées à cette étape de concentration.

Music and Mental Imagery

In a seminal paper, Juslin and Västfjäll (2008) propose that visual imagery—i.e. experiencing images such as landscapes, people or abstract shapes in one’s mind’s eye—is one of several mechanisms by which music induces emotions in the listener. This claim is supported by evidence showing that 77% of a representative sample report having experienced visual imagery during music listening before (Küssner & Eerola, 2019). However, the exact nature of the link between visual imagery and emotional responses remains unclear. In a recent study (Hashim, Stewart & Küssner, 2020), it was demonstrated that suppressing visual mental imagery during music listening by means of an eye movement task attenuates emotional responses. This finding suggests that visual mental imagery is indeed a cause of music-induced emotions. The goal of the current project is to replicate and strengthen this finding by running further experiments with different imagery suppression protocols to rule out possible effects of general attentional processes on emotion reduction.

Analyzing Decentralized Identity Management Based on Distributed Ledger Technology

Identity is one of the most fundamental aspects of our daily lives. From depositing money into a bank account, to attending a friend’s party, almost all of our activities go through some kind of identity relation. Current systems for managing this vast volume of identity “transactions” are mostly central, causing them to be targets for several kinds of attacks: (1) The identity data can be stolen, (2) the central entity can be subject to coercion, and (3) the user data can be used against the will of the user. As an alternative, the control of identity can be pushed to the users and the real owners of identities, decentralizing the whole identity management along the way. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) provides a possible solution to achieve this goal, since it already has several properties that fit nicely with decentralized identity management. We plan to provide a comprehensive analysis of designing DLT-based identity management systems.

Development of biolubricants from vegetable oils for non-internal combustion engine applications

The aim of this study is to develop novel biolubricants based on complex esters for non-internal combustion engine
applications, and the main task of this project include synthesis and characterization of complex esters derived
biolubricants. vegetable oils cannot be used directly as lubricants due to some performance limitations such as
thermal and oxidative stability. In this project, drawbacks of vegetable oils (Lesquerella, sunflower, canola, palm,
and tung oils) will be overcome via chemical modifications by two methods, i.e., esterification/transesterification
with polyhydric alcohol to produce complex esters. The process parameters such as amount of catalyst, acid-toalcohol
ratio, reaction temperature and reaction time will be optimized in this project. Typical biolubricant
properties, e.g., kinetic viscosity, viscosity index, pour point, flash point, cloud point, dropping point, demulsibility
and thermal oxidation stability as well as wear scar properties and coefficient of friction will be investigated.

Strategic Growth Internship

This research project involves developing strategies and actionable recommendations to support the partner organization in transitioning its client base. As part of its long-term growth strategy, the company aims to work with medium and large enterprises and organizations.

Conversion du modèle d’affaires ContinuumRD en un parcours numérique d’encadrement de l’innovation : Portion gestion de l’innovation

Le stage a pour objectif d’appuyer la transformation du modèle d’affaires de ContinuumRD en une version numérique de cette dernière. Ce stage couvre la portion “Gestion de l’innovation” réalisée par la stagaire Nanette Sene et sera supervisé par M. Riad Hadou en appui l’administrateur de ContinuumRD (Stéphane Carpentier) et jumelé au professeur Fabiano Armellini de Polytechnique Montréal.

GV 360

Le contexte de la pandémie a forcé les gestionnaires à revoir leurs stratégies communicationnelles afin de mieux desservir la clientèle. Le Groupe SLRO s’appuyait anciennement sur des événements de réseautage fréquents afin d’attirer, retenir et maintenir un lien étroit avec sa clientèle. Puisque l’entreprise a dû mettre fin à ces événements, depuis maintenant presque un an, il y a un manque flagrant à combler quant à la relation client. Ensuite, vu les pressions gouvernementales importantes visant à réduire au minimum les contacts, GV360 doit drastiquement revoir leurs stratégies communicationnelles afin de maintenir leur taux de location actuel.

Dans le contexte de la pandémie actuelle, l’organisation cherche innover en matière de relation client de manière afin d’assurer un flux constant des communications afin de limiter les répercussions de l’absence d’évènement et d’échange en lieu physique. Le projet permettra de revoir l’expérience client grâce à l’innovation et la technologie. La mise en place d’une stratégie de marketing par courriel permettra à l’entreprise de poursuivre son expansion, réduire ces coûts, accroitre la satisfaction et son revenu.