Innovative Projects Realized

Identification of a constitutive material model for an aircraft engine abradable rub strip material

This research project between the University of Windsor and Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is focused on a porous composite material used by aircraft engine manufacturers in the design of fancases of turbofan engines. The objective of the project is two-fold and includes 1) experimentally investigating the behavior of the composite material at different loading conditions; and 2) identifying a model that can be used to represent this material in fan blade-off simulations. A major benefit to P&WC from having this material model will be increased accuracy of their full-engine numerical models in predicting the outcomes of fan blade-off events. Potentially, this will enable minimizing the number of physical tests required for new engines certification, thus providing multimillion-dollar cost avoidance and decreasing engine development costs and lead-time, allowing P&WC to be more competitive in the global market and deploy new products much faster.

Parallelization of an Industrial Optimization Application

Acculogic develops state-of-the-art testers for short-batch electronic circuit boards (ECBs). The order

in which the required tests are performed affects the amount of shuttle and probe movements required

between the tests, and this affects the overall efficiency of the test procedure. Unique characteristics of

the problem (e.g. the ability to move one set of probes to the next test location while another set of

probes is performing a test) make the problem too large and too complex to be solved with most

traditional combinatorial optimization and heuristic search techniques (e.g. integer programming and

genetic algorithms). Supporting the integration of both artificial intelligence-based and mathematicalbased

optimization techniques, a unique optimization architecture derived from “Asynchronous

Teams” has been developed. A parallel implementation of the new optimization process promises

significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, and these advances will be quickly

implemented into Acculogic’s product offerings.

Development and optimization of a food based delivery system for cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol

In early 2020, cannabis edibles will be introduced into the Canadian markets. Although these products will offer a safer alternative to smoking or vaping cannabis, they can still pose certain health risks to consumers and must be controlled for dosage and stability over the product’s entire shelf life. This research project centers on developing a method to introduce cannabis into food or beverages in a safe and stable manner. Many methods for suspending cannabis will be rigorously tested before the best technique, or combination of best techniques is chosen. The partner company will benefit from this research by receiving a tailor made formula to use in their cannabis containing food products and will have an opportunity to widen their research and development expertise. Likewise, the Canadian economy will benefit by solidifying Canada’s position as an expert in the field of cannabis research due to early adoption of cannabis legalization.

Internal Communication for Business Organizations

This project will explore the ways that businesses communicate internally, with their employees and other stakeholders. In order to determine what the current best practices are in terms of how to communication to employees, through which platforms or media, or using specific strategies, the intern will conduct a thorough review of academic and ‘grey’ literature (not quite academic and not quite popular, for example, business magazines). The intern will compile a report for the partner organization in order to help with their own internal communication best practices and product development. With the proliferation of communication technologies, and the amount of information available to employers and employees, understanding the best way to communication company goals, strategy, training, and more, to employees sets organizations apart from their competition, both for retaining skilled employees, and to best allow their employees to fulfill company goals in providing their products and services to customers and clients.

A Machine Learning based approach for Portfolio Allocation

The goal of this project is to create new algorithms and state-of-the-art methods for resource allocation in a financial context. This model can be applied to other domains, such as fleet and personnel management, scheduling of computer programs, manufacturing production control or controlling a mobile telecommunication network. Alpine Macro provides market insights, investment strategy and asset allocation recommendations supported by proprietary models, charts and data. This project will enhance Alpine’s repertoire of tools and techniques for supporting investment decisions.

Investigating commercial impact of applied research funding in NB (CONTINUED)

In an atmosphere of dwindling research funding availability, making sure that the limited money is wisely invested is of critical importance. In our study, we propose to investigate how applied research has been funded in NB over the last decade, and how this funding has impacted economic growths. This study will attempt to make a link between applied research and creation of start-ups and spinouts, with the objective to determine what kind of research funding, at what stage in the research continuum, has the greatest economic impact. This will directly benefit the NBIF and other funding agencies by allowing them to target their funding programs and thus maximising the benefit for New Brunswick.

BoneTape: A Novel Craniomaxillofacial Fixation Technology

Cohesys is developing a surgical tape indicated for stabilizing fractures to the face and cranium. In order for a tape to function inside the body, the adhesive must be non-toxic and be able to adhere and maintain strength overtime, in an environment which is wet, filled with proteins and other molecules and be able to withstand physiological temperature (~37C). As such, the Santerre lab at the University of Toronto has developed an adhesive platform designed to function in vivo. The adhesive is designed to mimic the way marine mussels adhere to substrates in nature (underwater). The proposed project is designed to take the adhesive technology, designed at the University of Toronto, and translate it into a medical device. We will assess mechanical performance overtime and optimize formulations of the adhesive in order to resist water or biological fluids, while maintaining strength. We will also assess the cell toxicity and biocompatibility in cell and small animal models, designed to show safety for use in humans. This work lays the ground work for the required experiments and documentation for an application for FDA clearance, which is the main objective of the supporting partner organization, Cohesys.

Public Perceptions on Shared Micromobility

As shared micromobility services (e.g., e-bikes, public bike shares, e-scooters) expand, there are uncertainties in how these will integrate with our current transportation systems. This project aims to examine public perceptions of micromobility in Metro Vancouver to understand the potential for shared micromobility in the region. Using surveys, focus groups, and case studies we ask: Who are the potential users of shared micromobility? What are the barriers and facilitators for use of micromobility? What is the potential for integration with transit services? This project will provide locally-relevant insights to support a smoother transition toward shared micromobility.

Géologie et genèse du gisement aurifère rhyacien de Dorlin dans le contexte du Bouclier Guianais, Guyane Française

Ce projet a pour objectif d’améliorer notre connaissance des processus qui ont mené à la formation d’un important gîte aurifère en Guyane Française. Ce site d’étude fait partie d’une région au socle géologique particulier et qui est exploré par diverses compagnies canadiennes, notamment Reunion Gold, le principal partenaire de ce projet de recherche. La géologie immédiate du site d’étude est représentée par des roches volcaniques et plutoniques (magmatiques) précambriennes peu connues et de composition semblable à celles qui constituent le socle rocheux de certaines régions nordiques du Québec et du Canada. Les connaissances acquises permettront à l’industrie minière canadienne d’améliorer ses stratégies d’exploration dans ce type d’environnement à l’international mais aussi dans des régions présentant une géologie semblable au Canada.

Meltwater Retention In the Greenland Percolation zone

I am a member of ArcTrain project, which is an international collaborative research and training experience program between Canadian and German scientists funded by NSERC CREATE. I am offered the opportunity to study for four to twelve months at a partner institution in Germany, to develop a better model for my research on Greenland Ice Sheet hydrology. My research aims to parameterize the vertical transport of meltwater in glacier snow and firn (a transitional material between snow to ice), in order to better understand glacier and ice sheet hydrology and mass balance. Specifically, I am studying the extent and depth of meltwater percolation and refreezing and the associated thermodynamics in the upper 20 m of the snow/firn layer on the Greenland Ice Sheet. This research will enhance our understanding and of firn hydrologic processes and feed into numerical models of Greenland Ice Sheet response to climate change. The models that we are developing for coupled firn thermal and hydrological processes complement observational studies of firn compaction and hydrology being done by U.S., German, and Danish colleagues in the FirnCover project.

Integrating data processing chains and performance evaluation of power line classification algorithms

This project aims to conduct a comprehensive review of existing power line (PL) data processing procedure used in practice and to design and develop the new automatic workflow by integrating start-of-the-art algorithms with current data processing chain. This leads to the establishment of an innovative framework on automatic PL feature detection and reconstruction from LiDAR data. It will also result in a functional software module that can be demonstrated in a GUI and can be pluggable to other existing software packages. The expected benefit to the partner can be summarized as: (a) Efficiency- time and cost effective maintenance of PLs are possible by introducing automatic methods in a PL scene classification and modeling, (b) Accuracy- the proposed technique ensures that more accurate clearance quantity which threaten PL systems is determined, (c) Productivity- the new technique is expected to enhance the updating process of a geospatial database related to maiin….TOBECONTINUED

POLITICAL ADVOCACY BY FOR-PROFIT ENTERPRISES: ACTIONS AND GOVERNANCE IMPLICATIONS

For profit companies can exercise influence over public politics: Advertisers withdraw funds from media programs and media outlets, companies move service centres and offices, companies stop providing services to certain clients. This research will perform a series of comparative case studies, using publicly available commercial communication and interviews with industry professionals to understand how for-profit enterprise involve themselves in public politics. Using a theoretical perspective drawn from the political economy of communication and a methodological approach drawn from organisational and strategic communication research, this project hopes to examine the practical elements of how companies involve themselves in politics, as well as the impact of their involvement on normative concepts of representation and democracy. This project attempts to answer four research questions: 1) What are the representational strategies taken by companies severing economic relationships on political grounds? 2) What is the flow of information in these situations and to whom is communication directed? 3) Which issues are compatible with corporations’ public intervention and why? And 4) What potential do these behaviours have as a tool for governance?