Innovative Projects Realized

Development of Strategy and Implementation Plan to Introduce AI based RainGrid’s Disruptive Digital Stormwater Smartgrid Technology in North American Markets in an era of Global Climate Change

The goal of this project is to develop a detailed strategic analysis and market/finance/commercialization strategy identifying gaps/barriers, opportunities/resources and benefits of developing the Ai/IoT digital “Stormwater Smartgrid” technology and its concomitant implementation business model for North American market.
This research project in collaboration with McMaster University will help RainGrid to facilitate the commercialization of the existing prototypes and to establish RainGrid as a global player in the rapidly emerging market for smart city, digital water technologies and associated business models in an era of global Climate Change.

Quantification and Improvement of Juvenile American Eel Passage Through Fishways and Wetland Water Control Infrastructure.

The American Eel is a species of significant ecological, social and commercial value and a species of conservation concern in part due to reduced habitat connectivity to both freshwater habitat as juveniles, commonly known as glass eels or elvers. During the proposed research period the intern will work to quantify passage of elvers through existing infrastructure that is representative of the majority of infrastructure within Ducks Unlimited projects within Atlantic Canada. This knowledge will permit DUC to quantify the ability of elvers to access freshwater habitat inside its projects and work to develop widely applicable solutions to increase elver passage. This will enhance the populations of eels within DUC projects and enhance the productivity long term viability of DUC wetland projects.

Vers une redéfinition de l’agenda de négociation à l’OMC ?

Alors que les attentes étaient grandes, la Conférence ministérielle de Buenos Aires de l’OMC s’est conclue sans même que soit adoptée une Déclaration ministérielle commune, entraînant ainsi de vifs débats sur la fonction de négociation de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce. La précédente conférence ministérielle tenue en 2015 s’était conclue sur une absence de consensus quant à l’avenir des négociations, reconnaissant même une divergence entre les membres quant au cycle de Doha. À Buenos Aires, les États ont constitué des groupes de travail ouverts sur de nouvelles questions qui pourraient amener l’émergence de nouvelles questions de négociation. Ce projet portera sur l’évaluation de ces tendances.

Characterization of Natural Organic Matter from Various Sources

BioLiNE Corporation is a technology innovator, focused on providing advanced, science-based solutions for sustainable crop production. BioLiNE® products have consistently demonstrated superior results helping farmers grow healthier crops with higher yield and exceptional quality. One of the active ingredients in some of our products is fulvic acid, an extremely complex organic acid produced in nature through the process of humification. The humification process is quite complex and involves both biotic and abiotic processes, and as such researchers to- date are not able to synthesize fulvic acid in the lab. In this project we are attempting to study the chemical structure and composition of fulvic acid derived from different natural sources with the goal of advancing the understanding of fulvic acids.

Indigenous and Northern Centre for Innovation

The goal of this project is to support Indigenous economic development corporations in the establishment of technology-focused companies designed to introduce, test and market new and emerging technologies of potential application for Indigenous communities. At present, northern, remote and Indigenous communities are being left behind in the technological revolution. Companies do not reach out to First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities. The” innovation gap” is growing larger. This initiative will connect development corporations with start-up companies, corporations and researchers working on technologies of potential application in these communities. The tech development unit will evaluate and test the suitability of these technologies for northern and remote communities and peoples, examine the market potential locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, and market and support selected technologies. The over-riding purpose is to ensure that Indigenous and northern communities gather the benefits from fast-moving technological innovations.

Fatigue characterization of cane and synthetic reeds for alto saxophone

Reeds for woodwind instruments are known to be extremely variable and change significantly with time. This makes it difficult for musicians to find and maintain a reed that performs at a level suitable for their personal preference. In this project, the magnitude of these changing properties will be characterized in both natural cane reeds and synthetic alternatives, thus examining the cost-benefit of supposedly more durable synthetic reeds. The impact that these changing properties have on the resulting sound quality (important to the musician) will also be compared between cane and synthetic reeds. The results will aid the partner organization in the design of future synthetic reed products, testing methods and provide baseline data on current products to help musicians select equivalent synthetic reeds exhibiting the desired performance of more variable cane reeds.

Gardyn Home Optimization and Testing for Home-Based Plant Growth Production

Vertical farming is an agricultural approach that involves indoor, large-scale plant cultivation, at multiple levels, with controlled environmental conditions, a hydroponic nutrient solution and artificial light. This space-saving approach to growing fruit and vegetables has the potential to meet increasing fresh produce demand in dense urban areas. In recent years, several commercial entities have marketed smaller scale, vertical plant growth systems to consumers who want fresh and locally grown food. These at-home systems vary in design and claim user-friendliness, yet they still hold many limitations. The goal of this research is to test and optimize the at-home plant growth system “Gardyn Home”, designed by Groupe FXR Jardyn S.A. We have a four step plan to improve the Gardyn prototype. We will expand the types of plants grown with this at-home system by selecting different varieties and cultivars that are nutritious, have short growing cycles and stature, as well as known drought- or disease-resistant properties. In addition, we will test and compare different light emitting diode (LED) settings with respect to plant growth and yield. Third, we will develop a nutrient tracking system for the hydroponic system.

Integrated Media for Urban Design Engagement

Forms of urban design engagement (i.e. public workshops, town hall meetings, neighbourhood association meetings) are often ineffective at providing residents with the opportunity to contribute to urban design decisions. The average resident does not have sufficient experience, technical expertise or vocabulary necessary to visualize the spatial implications of different design proposals. This research project seeks to discover how digital media tools such as three-dimensional modeling programs (i.e. Google SketchUp) or social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook) can be used by local governments to increase community involvement in urban design decisions. Partnering with the City of Revelstoke Planning Department provides the opportunity to test and apply research on the ground. The

municipality also benefits from research findings that have the potential to be adopted and implemented in future engagement processes

Preparatory research to enable the implementation of a multi-site research project: Getting it right – Pharmacist-led pharmacogenetic testing in community pharmacies

Making sure patients have well controlled post-operative pain is imperative for patient well-being, optimal recovery, and to prevent chronic pain from developing. Opioid medications are often used to treat post-surgical pain, but some people respond in unpredictable ways and this may be related to their genetics. Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing is a way of finding out how people’s genes affect the way they respond to medications. Community pharmacists as medication experts are ideally positioned to provide PGx testing for patients awaiting surgery, educate and consult with patients about PGx and communicate results to appropriate health professionals.
The aim of this project is do the preparation work for future research which will involve community pharmacists providing a PGx testing service to identify patients at risk for poor pain control after surgery. Information will be collected about patients identified through PGx, changes pharmacists recommend to patients’ medications and feedback from patients and health professionals involved about their experience. It is important to get pain control right. But first we need to do the preparatory work, collaborate with health professionals and other decision makers to develop the study processes and provide education about PGx.

Improved Lateral Supports for Fresh Masonry Structures at Construction Site

Despite significant development of various construction materials, masonry is still considered as one of the most cost-effective materials. However, they are often vulnerable to wind-induced lateral loads caused during construction stage (within 1 to 2 days of construction) when the masonry is yet to achieve full strength. Temporary bracing systems are often used to support these structures at construction site to avoid loss of materials and injury to workers. However, design of these temporary bracings is relatively subjective and tend to be very conservative to maintain safety at workplace. The industry partner, Canada Masonry Design Centre, has an immediate urgency for improved efficiency of bracing of walls under construction which require a better understanding of early-age properties of masonry. This proposal aims at accurate characterization of early-age masonry and development of stringent design guidelines for bracings of newly constructed wall systems to eliminate the current conservative and uneco

Distributed Machine Learning for Large-Scale IoT Systems with MEC

Machine learning in large-scale Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems can bring overwhelming demand on the limited resource of IoT devices, e.g., simple cameras and ambient sensors. However, it can substantially benefit from the additional computation and communication resources provided by a new wireless computing framework called Mobile/multiaccess Edge Computing (MEC). In this project, we study machine learning within the multi-level hierarchy of IoT devices and MEC servers, with an aim to develop new methods and techniques for data collection, task scheduling, and system optimization. This project is expected to generate theoretical insights and engineering guidelines to serve as foundation for innovative design in wide ranging products and services by our industry partner. It will also create significant market impact in a strategic sector of the Canadian economy.

Pangnirtung Climate Change and Health Monitoring Program

The Canadian Arctic is warming at an alarming rate. The coastal community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut has long witnessed and experienced the reality of climate change. Country food is the main resource for Panniqtuumiut all year round and practices related to hunting and fishing are key to family and community well-being. Local organizations and community members contribute to numerous academic studies and endeavours devoted to climate change. However, there is a disconnect between what is currently known, and what the younger generation know as youth don’t always have many opportunities to hear from these knowledgeable people about the scale and implications of these changes. Through an on-the-land program for youth bringing together elders, knowledgeable hunters, scientists, and filmmakers, this project aims to learn from Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit holistic system of knowledge & beliefs) and scientific monitoring to better understand changes to the environment and wildlife related to climate change, and share the knowledge through short films.