Innovative Projects Realized

Wide Dynamic Range CMOS Image Sensor (part 2)

The project entails designing a new CMOS Image Sensor with wide dynamic range capabilities.
In the frame of this project David will learn and understand the design of previous versions of the wide dynamic range sensor and will help design a new and improved version of the sensor.
David will also acquire experience and tools in designing the system for image sensor chip and he will later on use that experience to design a new neural network based image sensor in collaboration with Prof. Orly Yadid-Pecht

Analysis of Soil Health following the Conversion of Boreal Forest to Agriculture in Northern Ontario

The purpose of this project is to assess the impact of forest land clearing practices for agricultural production on boreal soil health, using the soil health assessment developed at Cornell University. Using soil samples collected in Northern Ontario, a soil health assessment will be conducted to determine soil function under both relatively undisturbed soil forest conditions and agricultural fields, by comparing biological indicators (soil organic matter, active carbon, soil protein index, and soil respiration). The expected outcomes are to understand the relationships between farm management practices and soil health and how they may change due to land clearing. Also, this research will be the base for future long-term soil monitoring that can help forecast and develop models that mitigate and build soil resilience in light of changing climate conditions. Secondary project objectives are to build soil health assessment capacity and initiate further collaboration with the Soil Health Lab at Cornell.

Conservation humide de résidus agricoles

Le projet proposé porte essentiellement sur l’entreposage humide des résidus de culture du maïs (feuilles, tiges,

épis) en vue de leur utilisation pour produire de l’éthanol cellulosique et des coproduits sans recourir aux

procédés de séchage, d’ensilage ou encore d’ajout des produits chimiques. En effet, le séchage est énergivore

(consomme des carburants fossiles), l’ensilage favorise la fermentation lactique ou acétique (dégradation des

sucres et des celluloses) et l’ajout des produits chimiques est coûteux et parfois non compatibles avec

l’environnement. Dans le cas du bioraffinage cellulosique utilisant les résidus agricoles, il est préférable et

économique de les conserver humides avec une technique qui ne dégrade pas la cellulose et les sucres et qui

ne génère pas de composés potentiellement inhibiteurs pour les procédés en amont d’hydrolyse enzymatique et

de fermentation éthanolique. C’est dans ce contexte que ce projet est proposé. Le projet a pour but de

développer une technique de conservation des résidus agricoles à l’état humide (40-50% d’humidité) avec……………….TOBECONTINUED

Amélioration de la résistance en fatigue des joints par recouvrement soudés au laser par modification de la trajectoire du faisceau laser.

Le projet de recherche porte sur l’amélioration du procédé de soudage au laser pour la fabrication des caisses ferroviaires. La maximisation de la résistance en fatigue des joints par recouvrement réalisés sur des plaques fines en acier inoxydable est ici visée. Pour ce faire, le projet propose de modifier les patrons de soudage, c’est-à-dire les trajectoires du faisceau laser. Alors que celles-ci étaient jusqu’à présent généralement rectilignes, on souhaite désormais obtenir des trajectoires complexes. Le projet s’inscrit dans le cadre de l’amélioration de la qualité des assemblages mécano-soudés sur des lignes d’assemblage automatisées. Les patrons les plus prometteurs, sélectionnés par des analyses par la méthode des éléments finis, seront testés expérimentalement en statique et en fatigue.

An Examination and Case Study of Forest Management Activities in BC to Support Grizzly Bear Conservation

This project will involve identifying, comparing and contrasting how different forestry practices affect grizzly bear habitat in BC. The research will involve examination of peer-reviewed scientific literature as well as NGO and government reports in order to categorize and explain how grizzlies respond to different management techniques. Key comparisons and concepts will then be applied to create models that can estimate the chances of grizzly bear occurrence using remotely sensed data. This includes satellite imagery, airborne or UAV imagery as well as GPS collar data. The partner organization will benefit by gaining a better understanding of how forest management directly affects grizzly bears and how geospatial data can be used to assess and predict the impact of different management techniques.

Effet de la présence de contaminants sur la biodégradation de la biomasse au cours du compostage

L’objectif du projet est d’optimiser le compostage au sein d’Espace pour la Vie (EPLV). Le projet sera supporté par la Fondation Espace pour la Vie, une fondation publique et reconnue comme organisme de charité indépendant qui reçoit des fonds de donateurs privés. Une quantité importante de résidus organiques et alimentaires est produite au sein d’EPLV, tant par les employés, les restaurants que par les activités d’élevage du Biodôme et les activités horticoles du Jardin botanique. Dans une perspective de développement durable, les institutions ont entrepris de composter les grands volumes de déchets générés. Les travaux de doctorat de Mme Vanessa Grenier portent sur l’effet de différents types d’intrants sur les processus microbiologiques dont découle le phénomène de compostage (biodégradation). En partenariat avec la Fondation, nous avons convenu de tester l’impact de plusieurs facteurs externes sur les propriétés du compost de EPLV. Les variables mesurées seront les communautés microbiennes, le rendement et la qualité du produit final. À terme, nous souhaitons mieux comprendre les processus biologiques en place afin d’optimiser au mieux le traitement de la matière première résiduelle d’Espace pour la Vie

Evaluation of the mechanical properties of the bone-implant interface in lower limb amputees

Prosthetic limbs can provide a tremendous improvement in the quality of life and mobility of amputees. The conventional method of attaching a prosthetic limb is a socket that is custom designed to fit to the residual limb. Difficulties with socket fit attachments has led to the use of titanium implants as an alternative method for the attachment of prostheses. Using skin-penetrating implants, the prosthesis is attached directly to the bones of the residual limb. The use of these types of implants for attachment of lower limb prosthetics is now being performed in several centers world-wide. The success of these implants relies on a structural integration between the implant and the living bone. Evaluation of the integrity of the bone-implant interface is important to prescribe loading, to identify the risk of failure, and to monitor the long-term health of the implant. However, there are currently no methods available for clinical assessment of implant stability in lower limb amputees. The proposed research makes use of an experimental-numerical approach to provide a non-invasive measure of implant stability. The benefits to the partner organization will be the development of a clinically useful tool for monitoring implant stability that may potentially be commercialized and marketed

Workplace of the Future

Applying advances in ambient intelligence technologies, this research aims to design and develop a smart workplace to optimize not only physical comfort in employees but also participant happiness. Through ubiquitous monitoring of ambient factors and affective states a number of important research questions associated with designing and developing a smart workplace will be tackled. By developing robust intelligent solutions, notably using deep learning networks, capable of detecting, analyzing, and acting in real-time on the acquired data in a context-aware approach, the research results will provide designs optimizing environmental and organizational parameters according to feedback from a human-in-the-loop system.

Digital Youth Engagement Strategy Using a Critical Pedagogy of Place-based Perspective

The Atlantic Publisher’s Digital Youth Engagement Strategy (APDYES) is a partnership of Atlantic Canadian publishers, designed to digitally expand the reading experience of today’s “digital natives,” or youth. The strategy requires the research on a diverse Atlantic Canadian youth public to support the discoverability of Atlantic Canadian authors and other creative book content contributors in the digital realm and enhance this demographics’ experience of reading in general.
This research will be the foundation of an ongoing digital engagement strategy for Atlantic Canadian publishers with youth based in Atlantic Canada. The research project will mine information from a diverse youth public (aged 12 to 25) from across Atlantic Canada. It will involve researching best practices of digital engagement as these practices relate to encouraging the youth public to read – and particularly, from a “critical pedagogy of place”-based perspective. The results of the research project will be used to expand the digital influence and viability of Atlantic Canadian authors and publishers, while also supporting the grounding of Atlantic Canadian youth in a digital critical pedagogy of place.
To this end, the intern will use key components of Steve Blank’s Business Model Canvas — the development of a customer discovery process, and the testing

Transcranial Direct Current Simulation as an add-on treatment to Cognitive-Behavior Therapy in first episode Major Depressive drug-naive patients

Principal Investigator: Sandra Carvalho (PhD), School of Psychology, University of Minho, Gualtar Braga, Portugal

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a serious and debilitating illness that affects citizens worldwide. In Portugal, depression can be found within 7% of the population and has been linked to over a thousand deaths every year. In order to reduce the adverse effects often caused by pharmacological treatment, the student will collaborate with the Principal Investigator and host supervisor in a clinical trial of 72 drug-naïve and first-episode MDD subjects. The clinical trial will consist of two groups of 36 subjects each: one will be treated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a common non-pharmacological treatment for depression, and the other will be treated with either sham or active transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive neuromodulary technique that has been shown in past studies to treat MDD. The goals of the project are to study the clinical effects of both treatments separately, using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), as well as their effectiveness in combination, using primarily resting-state EEG and fMRI.

The Binary Fluid Ejector- a novel thermal-driven heat pump for low-energy distillation: Influence of binary fluid thermodynamic properties

There are two common technologies that use thermal energy directly to produce cooling – absorption chillers and steam ejectors. Both are old technologies that suffer from serious limitations. MRT is developing a novel Binary Fluid Ejector that can overcome the limitations of prior art to produce a heat pump that can economically harness renewable thermal energy, including waste heat, to do useful work such as air conditioning, process chilling, or distillation/desalination. MRT constructs & tests a demonstration distillation system of a type applicable for treatment of waste and process effected water currently generated by Oil Sands Mining and SAGD operations. The specific research to be performed by the Candidate is to conduct modeling work necessary to design and optimize the precursor ejector prototypes required for concept validation prior to comprehensive design and construction of the demonstration system.

Evaluation of Cultural Change Interventions in the Workplace

Habanero Consulting group is partnering with Postdoctoral Researcher Ryan Taylor and Professor Bryan Gick from the University of British Columbia, and Fernando Nieto Morales from the Colegio de Mexico. They will apply the most current research from the social sciences to strengthen Habanero’s cultural transformation techniques and create a tool to more quickly and accurately diagnose impediments to organizational improvement. The project aims to achieve this through the identification of beliefs that underlie common problematic behaviours in organizations and scientifically backed means to transform these problematic beliefs and behaviours.