Innovative Projects Realized

Manufacturing and stabilization of nanocellulose in a scale up process using functional maleates as a colloidal dispersion

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), a form of cellulose, shows a lot of promise in the development of sustainable materials thanks to its unique properties such as high performance, large surface area, is readily available, renewable, and biodegradable. Early methods to synthesize CNC have not been very successful. In order to isolate CNC, to make them ready for fast production of industry needs, these challenges need to be resolved by chemical modifications. Therefore, the goal of this project is to develop fast and easy methods to manufacture cellulose nanocrystals and for the homogeneous dispersion. An eco-friendly one-pot method will be used to achieve the objective of synthesizing large batches CNC treated with the use of environmentally friendly chemicals. The resulting CNC will be examined in detail for its properties.

the Essence of Human Design from the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence

The objective of this research is to relate the language game proposed by Wittgenstein to design theory in the context of philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. Wittgenstein put forward the theory of language game in his later philosophy, believing that language is a kind of game. Since the process of language game between human beings is a process of showing intelligence, the language of game can be used to test machine intelligence. One of the goals of design theory is to understand and model the mechanism of creative design, which can be naturally applied to the implementation of an intelligent design machine. So it is possible to study machine intelligence, which is also the basis for discussing whether machine design is possible. Environment-Based Design theory proposed by Dr. Zeng is such a theory for creative design, which is based the logic of design and the ontology underlying design activities. The proposed research will bring these two works together to shed some light on the philosophical foundation of design intelligence.

Non-contact heart rate detection for evaluating mental stress and enhancing designer’s creativity

The recent research of producing heart rate signal from a webcam has opened the opportunity for numerous new applications. This technique uses video of the face and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to detect core physiological signals such as heart rate and respiration. We improve the correlation algorithm to make the measurement algorithm has higher fault tolerance and the heart rate signal’s detection more accurate. In addition, we observe the time domain component and frequency domain component of the original heart rate signal with wavelet transform at the same time, and it is very effective to observe the trend of heart rate signal change over time. Concordia University have a valuable experience in the field of stress science and creative design. We hope to cooperate with Concordia University and apply this new technology to evaluate mental stress and enhance designer’s creativity.

Faculty Supervisor: Xiaoyuan Li
Student: Peng Wu
Discipline: Engineering
Sector: Control science and engineering
University: Zhengzhou University

Détermination des caractéristiques géométriques d’une soudure à partir de données ultrasonores en trois dimensions à l’aide de l’intelligence artificielle

La reconnaissance d’objets est une technologie permettant de traduire des données visuelles en informations utiles visant à reconnaitre des objets, les classifier et les localiser. L’utilisation de la reconnaissance d’objets dans l’industrie des essais non-destructifs est en pleine croissance. Cela permet d’améliorer les délais d’inspection, tout en améliorant la détection et la classification des défauts de soudure.
Le but de cette recherche est de développer un modèle de reconnaissance d’objet capable de détecter, classifier et de localiser les caractéristiques géométriques d’une soudure et ce à partir de données ultrasonores en trois dimensions. Le système produira également une représentation géométrique de la soudure et des défauts sous forme de nuage de points en trois dimensions fournissant ainsi de l’information précieuse pour leur correction. La méthode développée sera également utilisée comme un outil d’audit pour s’assurer que les données n’ont pas été mal manipulées ou falsifiées.

Violent futures? Contestations along the frontier

This research project investigates the effects of large-scale land use change on organized violence in rural Africa. Through an analysis of contested land in Northern Kenya, this project analyses how the Kenyan Government’s ‘Vision 2030’ project impacts conflicts in the region through large-scale infrastructure and conservation projects. The student is expected to join one of the four working groups to combine quantitative data analysis and qualitative case studies to better understand the dynamics and changes in conflict in this region. This is in an effort to form a typology of violence along the Kenyan frontier of development. The student is expected to conduct trend analysis of violence over time in Kenya relying on data collected by the host institution, while also preparing and cleaning the data for the final database. This experience will not only further the student’s analytical skills, but also provide firsthand experience conducting research relating to development.

Development of a multifunctional in situ-forming scaffold with antimicrobial activity for treatment of complex wounds

Pressure ulcer is one of the top five leading causes for re-hospitalization of spinal cord injured patients. In general, there are three main difficulties associated with treating these ulcers: 1) Presence of cavities and tunnels which makes it difficult to treat with conventional regimens, 2) A high chance of infection and, 3) Susceptibility to weight-bearing pressure on bony areas of the body. To address these unmet challenges, we propose to manufacture a novel wound care product consisting a fibrous scaffold loaded with antibacterial silver nanoparticles embedded within a liquid matrix.
This composite is ideally a flowable scaffold that can improve the healing outcome of wounds by filling up deep wounds of varying depths and shapes from the bottom up, preventing the growth of bacteria, and increasing physical strength of the healed wound. TO BE CONT’D

The Cellular Role of Double-Stranded Break Repair Protein, Endo-exonuclease (Trmt2a,b), in Cancer Therapy and in Inflammatory Response

This project aims at understanding the role at a cellular level, of a protein called Trmt2a,b in the repair of DNA in the context of cancer and inflammation. We will study a particular set of blood samples obtained from a cohort of patients affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a form of blood cancer, where some of these patients will also develop a complication in the form of bone death, called osteonecrosis (inflammation). We are interested to see if this protein could reduce inflammation in the context of this particular cancer and its current therapy (chemotherapy and high dose GC) using a ALL cell line and replicating the inflammatory response in vitro using high dose glucocorticoids. We hypothesize that the protein (Trmt2a,b) will be synergistic in reducing the inflammatory response in this cohort therefore reducing the risk of osteonecrosis development in this particular population of patients. TO BE CONT’D

Problem detection and aerial mapping for construction site management

On time discovery of problems and constant monitoring of construction sites have great economical benefit. It requires the capability of highly efficient and accurate object detection and segmentation algorithms that can work with coarsely labelled training samples. The project is aimed to develop new learning-based object detection and segmentation algorithms for problem detection and mapping of construction sites with high accuracy and efficiency. This project will improve operation efficiency for construction related projects. This project is also able to advance the application and research of advanced AI technologies in industries, which can increase the competitive advantage of Canadian companies in international market.

Polypyrrole decorated MOFs as supercapacitors

The idea behind our collaboration would be the novel synthesis of new electrode materials created from a hybrid of three key components. This being a system of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), decorated with conductive polymer polypyrrole (PPy) and then layered onto a flexible carbon scaffold. The MOFs will provide a template for the PPy to affix themselves to, thus boosting the conductivity of the MOF, which provides excellent surface area for reactivity to the hybrid. The resulting electrode will borrow the porosity and mechanical stability of the MOFs, and high electrical conductivity and capacitance from the carbon/CP. The first stage of my stay would involve me learning as much as I can about the field of MOFs. Once I have synthesized my own MOFs, I would apply my own research to functionalize them with carbon/CP materials. Dr. Xiao’s lab is very well equipped for material characterization, including electron microscopy and various spectroscopic methods. This would allow me to note each unique feature of the various samples I hope to make. The third stage would find me back at UNB, where our own lab is well equipped for electrochemical testing. TO BE CON’T

Projet Lab-Aventure : Observation des habiletés motrices fondamentales en situation de jeu en fonction de l’environnement extérieur et des matériaux de jeu chez des enfants de 8 – 9 ans

Les habiletés motrices fondamentales (HMF), par exemple : lancer, attraper, courir, sauter, sont le fondement d’un mode de vie actif. Elles se développement au cours de l’enfance via la pratique d’activité physique donc principalement à travers les périodes de jeu. Cependant, seulement un mince pourcentage des enfants répondre aux recommandations nationales du temps accordé à l’activité physique entrainant, entre autres, un niveau d’habileté motrice fondamentale faible. Cela est d’une importance capitale étant donné que les préférences en lien avec l’activité physique ainsi que les problèmes de surpoids en bas âge tendent à se poursuivre à l’âge adulte. Il est donc important de mieux comprendre dans quels environnements et avec quels matériaux de jeu les enfants mettent en oeuvre et pratique leur HMF. TO BE CONT’D

Quête d’identité juive par les archives : quand il ne reste que la généalogie. Un cas concret de recherche matérielle et virtuelle

La généalogie procède d’une recherche de parenté, de filiation qui nous rattache à un contexte de société. Les archives, autrefois secrètes et dévolues aux experts (historiens et chercheurs), connaissent un regain d’intérêt informationnel mais aussi émotionnel tant au niveau concret qu’un niveau virtuel. La généalogie juive est en marge du mouvement car elle témoigne souvent d’un autre besoin psychologique et parfois physiologique, celui de combler un trou béant que plusieurs pogroms et un « récent » génocide ont creusé. Au travers d’une expérience concrète, nous nous proposons de visiter un parcours de recherche généalogique sous deux angles : virtuel avec l’association Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal, et tangible avec l’organisme Cercle de Généalogie Juive à Paris. Les résultats de cette recherche démontreront que les archives matérielles ne peuvent être dissociées des archives numériques dans la généalogie (et vice-versa) et qu’il est encore indispensable de les « toucher ».
Résultats visés : valider que l’approche archivistique et généalogique est différente d’un pays à l’autre mais que le but et les conséquences sont les mêmes : il est encore nécessaire d’accéder à « l’archive » malgré les nombreuses sources numériques.

When do we support harming another group?

The purpose of this project is to extend my investigation of destructive intergroup behaviour (DIB), defined as collective action taken with the primary intent of harming an outgroup. Specifically, I am interested in identifying the psychological processes through which individual group members come to see DIB as justified, as it is the widespread acceptance and endorsement of DIB that empowers such forms of collective action. Over the last couple years, my collaborators and I have been developing a model that identifies two pathways – one cognitive, the other emotional – that independently predict endorsement of DIB. However, to date all evidence for our model has been correlational. Thus, this project intends to obtain experimental evidence in order to strengthen our current theorizing. Moreover, if the results of this study support our hypothesized model, I expect to publish in a refereed social psychology journal and to present these findings at future scholarly meetings.