Innovative Projects Realized

Assessing cumulative effects of development and climate change to inform land use planning in Yukon – Year two

The Yukon’s Northern Boreal Mountains region is under increasing pressure from human disturbance and climate change. Exploration of previously untapped natural resources is expanding in northern Canada, and northern ecosystems are thought to be more sensitive to climate stressors[1]. However, the cumulative effects of these co-occurring disturbances on wildlife populations, community structure, and habitat quality are not well understood and often only studied individually and at local scales. This project will investigate cumulative effects of human stressors (resource use, climate change) on (1) avian density, diversity, and community composition, and (2) on water quality in critical salmon spawning habitats at a regional scale. We define stressors as all human-induced activities and cumulative effects as the combined effects of multiple individual stressors on species or ecosystems over time and/or space. This work will identify how resource and climate stressors combine to influence ecosystem function. Results from this project will be used to inform conservation targets built around ecological thresholds for maintaining healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems. Recommendations resulting from this project will play a critical role in guiding sustainable development and habitat conservation, informing land use planning in the Yukon and other northern boreal ecosystems throughout Canada.

Assessing cumulative effects of development and climate change to inform land use planning in Yukon

The Yukon’s Northern Boreal Mountains region is under increasing pressure from human disturbance and climate change. Exploration of previously untapped natural resources is expanding in northern Canada, and northern ecosystems are thought to be more sensitive to climate stressors[1]. However, the cumulative effects of these co-occurring disturbances on wildlife populations, community structure, and habitat quality are not well understood and often only studied individually and at local scales. This project will investigate cumulative effects of human stressors (resource use, climate change) on (1) avian density, diversity, and community composition, and (2) on water quality in critical salmon spawning habitats at a regional scale. We define stressors as all human-induced activities and cumulative effects as the combined effects of multiple individual stressors on species or ecosystems over time and/or space. This work will identify how resource and climate stressors combine to influence ecosystem function. Results from this project will be used to inform conservation targets built around ecological thresholds for maintaining healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems. Recommendations resulting from this project will play a critical role in guiding sustainable development and habitat conservation, informing land use planning in the Yukon and other northern boreal ecosystems throughout Canada.

Evaluating Tile Drainage/Water Management Effects on Wheat, Canola and Soybeans productivity in Heavy Clay Soils

Tile drainage is becoming popular as a way to control excess moisture in the field to increase productivity. Yet, the economic return on investment (ROI) on installing tile drainage is not known for wheat, canola, and soybeans in Manitoba. This research will allow us to assess the impact of water management through controlled drainage on yield and quality of wheat, canola, and soybeans. Detailed soil moisture measurements along with water table depth at different times will help us model water flow within the rootzone and its impact on crop yield. Data collected in this study will be used to calibrate computer models (HYDRUS, DrainMOD) for this location so that weather data from different years could be modeled to assess the long-term impact of tile drainage. The field has drains placed at 15’, 30’, and 45’ allowing different degrees of drainage. Rotating the three crops through these different spacings will help assess the impact of different drainage intensities. Excess moisture is a big constraint in crop production in Manitoba.

Predicting players social behaviour in online multiplayer videogames – Year two

Online multiplayer videogames are popular because most of their content is generated by interactions among players and thus extremely dynamic. Predicting players’ behaviour in these games is necessary to better design and maintain the game environment and to keep the players engaged in the game. These predictions are difficult because a player’s behaviour varies as a function of the behaviour of other players and with past experience in the game environment. Current approaches used to predict player behaviour are based on machine learning, which can optimize a game environment already in place but does not allow for robust predictions of players’ actions in the future. This project will improve our ability to predict players’ behaviour and test hypotheses developed in the fields of ecology and evolution using a scientific and analytical approach. I will use the videogame ‘Dead by daylight’ produced by Behaviour Interactive to predict how a focal player’s in-game behaviour is shaped by behaviours of other players. Results of this project will help managers and designers to make informed decisions over the game’s life cycle and maintenance. Ultimately, this will increase players’ engagement and revenue for the company.

Secure Multiuser Distributed Storage allowing Collaboration

A true blind party is a service provider that does not have access to unencrypted data of its clients.
We note that, in such an environment, the client must securely maintain the many keys that may be
required for the files. In addition, if there are collaborating organizations, the client must securely
deliver the appropriate keys to the collaborators. This environment also makes it difficult to provide
tracking of changes and logging of access to the files.
TitanFile aims at providing a comparable level of security while still managing the encryption keys on
the service side.
A key element of the proposal is to leverage the extensive expertise of the intern and the supervisor
(Dr. Agnew) in Public Key cryptographic systems, Conventional cryptographic systems and secure
system development.

Predicting players social behaviour in online multiplayer videogames

Online multiplayer videogames are popular because most of their content is generated by interactions among players and thus extremely dynamic. Predicting players’ behaviour in these games is necessary to better design and maintain the game environment and to keep the players engaged in the game. These predictions are difficult because a player’s behaviour varies as a function of the behaviour of other players and with past experience in the game environment. Current approaches used to predict player behaviour are based on machine learning, which can optimize a game environment already in place but does not allow for robust predictions of players’ actions in the future. This project will improve our ability to predict players’ behaviour and test hypotheses developed in the fields of ecology and evolution using a scientific and analytical approach. I will use the videogame ‘Dead by daylight’ produced by Behaviour Interactive to predict how a focal player’s in-game behaviour is shaped by behaviours of other players. Results of this project will help managers and designers to make informed decisions over the game’s life cycle and maintenance. Ultimately, this will increase players’ engagement and revenue for the company.

Développement d’un procédé électrochimique pour le traitement à la source des eaux usées phytosanitaires – Year two

Les produits phytosanitaires utilisés en agriculture, pour lutter contre les espèces nuisibles et les adventices sont devenus essentiels pour une agriculture performante. Cependant, la présence de ces composés (herbicides, insecticides et fongicides) dans les eaux est à prendre en considération en raison de leur toxicité potentielle pour l’homme, pour la faune et la flore du milieu aquatique contaminées. Les technologies actuelles de dépollution et de décontamination des eaux polluées par ces composés phytosanitaires, notamment par les stations d’épuration ne sont pas adaptées pour traiter ce type d’effluents. Dans le cadre de cette étude, nous proposons une autre approche intégrée de traitement de ces polluants par oxydation électrochimique, laquelle peut être présentée comme un procédé «vert» par excellence car elle permet d’utiliser des sources d’énergie non polluantes et renouvelables à des fins de dépollution. Ce projet se situe dans un contexte réglementaire qui se durcit considérablement au niveau de la gestion des effluents phytosanitaires. La réalisation d’un procédé d’épuration des effluents phytosanitaires à l’aide de matériaux anodiques et cathodiques innovants et performants, permettrait de répondre indubitablement à la demande actuelle des utilisateurs de produits phytosanitaires et plus généralement du marché évalué par le nombre de pulvérisateurs

Développement d’un procédé électrochimique pour le traitement à la source des eaux usées phytosanitaires

Les produits phytosanitaires utilisés en agriculture, pour lutter contre les espèces nuisibles et les adventices sont devenus essentiels pour une agriculture performante. Cependant, la présence de ces composés (herbicides, insecticides et fongicides) dans les eaux est à prendre en considération en raison de leur toxicité potentielle pour l’homme, pour la faune et la flore du milieu aquatique contaminées. Les technologies actuelles de dépollution et de décontamination des eaux polluées par ces composés phytosanitaires, notamment par les stations d’épuration ne sont pas adaptées pour traiter ce type d’effluents. Dans le cadre de cette étude, nous proposons une autre approche intégrée de traitement de ces polluants par oxydation électrochimique, laquelle peut être présentée comme un procédé «vert» par excellence car elle permet d’utiliser des sources d’énergie non polluantes et renouvelables à des fins de dépollution. Ce projet se situe dans un contexte réglementaire qui se durcit considérablement au niveau de la gestion des effluents phytosanitaires. La réalisation d’un procédé d’épuration des effluents phytosanitaires à l’aide de matériaux anodiques et cathodiques innovants et performants, permettrait de répondre indubitablement à la demande actuelle des utilisateurs de produits phytosanitaires et plus généralement du marché évalué par le nombre de pulvérisateurs

In-Ear Audio and Speech Processing Algorithms: Evaluation, Optimization and Consolidation – Year two

Everyday more than one million Canadians working in noisy environments are using Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) to be protected against the risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Together with the NSERC-EERS Industrial Research Chair in In-Ear Technologies (CRITIAS), the EERS Global Technologies Inc. has recently brought to market an innovative line of HPDs, enabling workers to effectively communicate in noise while being protected.
More recently specialized in-ear algorithms have been developed by the researchers of CRITIAS chair: the first one is dedicated for capturing the speech, denoised and enhanced it; the second one associates with the classification of non-verbal audio events to enable health monitoring applications; the last one deals with the extraction of biosignals to enable activity tracking for workers. While the first algorithm has been already implemented successfully in EERS’s award-winning SonX product, further improvements will be made to it during this proposed Postdoctoral Fellowship. Besides, in-ear algorithms developed by CRITIAS will be implemented and optimized on a single DSP chip to ease their use by EERS. Furthermore, the development and qualification of a speech intelligibility framework dedicated for in-ear speech will be performed. This project will enable the continuous improvement of unique hearing protection technologies by EERS.

In-Ear Audio and Speech Processing Algorithms: Evaluation, Optimization and Consolidation

Everyday more than one million Canadians working in noisy environments are using Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) to be protected against the risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Together with the NSERC-EERS Industrial Research Chair in In-Ear Technologies (CRITIAS), the EERS Global Technologies Inc. has recently brought to market an innovative line of HPDs, enabling workers to effectively communicate in noise while being protected.
More recently specialized in-ear algorithms have been developed by the researchers of CRITIAS chair: the first one is dedicated for capturing the speech, denoised and enhanced it; the second one associates with the classification of non-verbal audio events to enable health monitoring applications; the last one deals with the extraction of biosignals to enable activity tracking for workers. While the first algorithm has been already implemented successfully in EERS’s award-winning SonX product, further improvements will be made to it during this proposed Postdoctoral Fellowship. Besides, in-ear algorithms developed by CRITIAS will be implemented and optimized on a single DSP chip to ease their use by EERS. Furthermore, the development and qualification of a speech intelligibility framework dedicated for in-ear speech will be performed. This project will enable the continuous improvement of unique hearing protection technologies by EERS.

Modélisation de l’évolution de la température au cours du mélange de pâtes de boulangerie – Year two

Lors de la réalisation de pâtes de boulangerie, les ingrédients de base sont mélangés dans de grandes cuves afin de créer un pâton qui sera ensuite mis en forme et cuit. Lors du mélange, les ingrédients se lient pour passer de poudres et liquides à une pâte épaisse et visqueuse. La température de la cuve doit être soigneusement contrôlée afin de maximiser l’action des levures. Les systèmes de refroidissement actuels ont été conçus à force d’essais/erreur, et dans les faits la température peut localement être trop élevée, rendant la pâte impropre à la cuisson. De grandes quantités de pâtes sont ainsi jetées par manque de compréhension fine de la répartition de la température au cours du mélange. Le présent projet propose de palier ce manque.

La nature très changeante de la pâte au cours du mélange ainsi que l’impossibilité par l’instrumentation de connaître la température à l’intérieur de la pâte ne permettent pas de considérer une étude uniquement expérimentale. Dans ce projet, il est proposé d’utiliser des calculs par ordinateur, couplés à des vérifications sur certains points de température précis en surface de la cuve, afin de répondre à cette problématique industrielle et ainsi éviter les pertes alimentaires.

The Heterogeneous Catalytic Wet Peroxide Oxidation of Lignin for Value addedChemicals and Renewable Energy

Bio-fuels derived from biomass can supply a proportion of energy consumption in Canada and can
reduce our dependence on the availability of fossil-fuels which is depleting. This research is proposed
10 convert wasle biomass into value-added products, such as fuels and chemicals species. This
research proposes to utilize Fenton-type reactions to convert lignin under ambient conditions into
valuable chemicals as the intennediates for generating renewable energy, and food ingredients. The
adopted method is an oxidation reaction triggered by hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous solution and
the reaction is assisted by various heterogeneous catalysts (Catalytic Wet Peroxide Oxidation,
CWPO). The product distribution of CWPO will be identified and quantified using chromatography
techniques to elucidate the details of reaction paths. The ultimate goal of this project is to generate a
reaction protocol that illustrates optimal reaction conditions of the desired products. The outcome
will greatly benefit Canadian renewable energy and food sectors.