Innovative Projects Realized

Agrégation et enlèvement des nano-microplastiques par l’entremise de sels métalliques préhydrolysés et de polymères organiques : impact d’une préoxydation par l’ozone et d’une préexposition aux rayons UV sur l’efficacité d’agrégation

La production mondiale annuelle de plastiques est estimée à plus de 335 millions de tonnes et risque de doubler d’ici 20 ans. De cette production, moins de 26 % est actuellement recyclé; plus de 74 % de ces plastiques sont donc redirigés à l’enfouissement ou relargués dans l’environnement. Il est clair que l’accumulation des plastiques dans les eaux de surface pose un enjeu important sur la santé publique et menace les écosystèmes aquatiques. L’une des méthodes actuelles pour limiter leur relargage dans l’environnement consiste en l’agrégation/coagulation suivie d’une décantation lors du traitement des eaux usées.
L’objectif du projet consiste à comprendre les interactions entre certains coagulants prometteurs et divers microplastiques afin de maximiser l’abattement de ces microplastiques lors de la décantation. Ce projet permettra notamment à notre partenaire (Kemira) de se positionner quant aux coagulants devant être recommandés lorsque les contaminants cibles sont les microplastiques.

Quantifying the Volume and Biomass of Logging Residue Piles using Drones

This project aims to use drones and machine learning to measure the net volume of wood residue left in piles after harvesting. The dry content of these piles, known as BIOMASS, can be utilized and reduce the use of non-renewable energies and materials. Since this residue is usually burned, the utilization can also decrease the risk of wildfires, that are increasing in severity and frequency. The consultancy Terra Sense has shown, through operational testing over more than one hundred cutblocks in the southern interior of British Columbia, that the combination of drones and machine learning tools can accurately measure the gross volumes of the piles. The next step is to develop net down factors for these piles and apply machine learning algorithms, which are at the experimental development stage, to calculate the present biomass. This project aims to bring efficiency and sustainability to the forestry and other related sectors.

Studies on Decision Support System for Space Medicine

The current project concerns the research and development of solutions intended for identifying and mitigating potentially mission-critical states of astronauts during long-term missions. Interns will research classification rules required for assessing such states based on sensors that could be deployed in a space environment. Part of the work will be to implement these rules into a functional prototype to test key architectural assumptions of the solution, and reliability across a wide variety of scenarios. Two key benefits of this research are respectively the acquisition of additional knowledge with regards to critical states of operators, and the testing of hypotheses in the implementation of solutions dealing with these states.

Software Architecture for Eco-friendly containers with Near Field Communications (NFC)

EcoPliance is a Cleantech startup company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that aims to produce reusable and technology-enhanced food and beverage containers that reward consumers for using environmentally friendly products. Each container is collapsible for easy carrying and has a near field communication (NFC) tag with a unique identifier. This will allow users to scan their containers at partnered vendors when purchasing food or beverages and earn loyalty points that can be tracked through a mobile app.
The objective of this research project is to design, prototype, test and validate an end-to-end software architecture that will allow the company to create a minimal viable product (MVP). The architecture will integrate the NFC reader at the vendor, the backend system with the user database maintained by EcoPliance, and the mobile app of the individual user. TO BE CONT’D

Methodology and Techniques for building Scalable Service Oriented Semantic Matching Engine

Atwood Technology Inc. is in the early stages of developing an exciting new online dating and

relationship service under the proposed brand of “eMatchology”. This service will have three

major information technology features that will be key in differentiating it from other players in

the market. These features are: i) DateGuard ii) AcuMatch and iii) MatchMaster

DateGuard is the verification of user identity and self-provided information as well as

registration of off-line interactions (dates). Many of the online dating portals that are available

are filled with user profiles that are not a true representation of the user. Many individuals will

exaggerate factual information to portray a more favorable image. More serious fallacies exist

such as identity theft, sexual predatory users, and inappropriate behavior. DateGuard is

intended to address this by verifying information that user’s provide in their profile. AcuMatch is the use of leading edge semantic technologies to provide better matches of

people for dating. By soliciting a user’s likes/dislikes………………………..

Facilitators and barriers to cycling uptake in London, Ontario

Cities need an evidence-based understanding of cycling barriers and facilitators to support policy and programming aimed at promoting cycling. In London, this evidence is currently limited. The London Cycling Survey aims to address this gap. The purpose of this Survey is to examine the barriers and facilitators to cycling in the context of London and to identify key issues and opportunities to improve cycling for transportation in our community. First, focus groups (interviews) will be conducted to capture the perspectives of cyclists in London. Second, the London Cycling Survey will be developed. Adult Londoners will be encouraged to complete the Survey so that we can better understand how to get more people bicycling in London.

Mise en correspondance d’une source de données relationnelle à un schéma relationnel ontologique

L’extraction et le partage de données sont au cœur de nombreux défis liés aux systèmes d’information, en particulier dans le domaine médical. C’est pourquoi nous avons développé une méthode de mise en correspondance entre de multiples sources de données médicales et un modèle de connaissance (ontologie). Cette méthode permet, suite à l’intégration d’une source, l’extraction des informations et l’expression des requêtes en faisant abstraction de la complexité liée à l’hétérogénéité. Notre projet est de mettre en application cette méthode novatrice par l’intégration d’un entrepôt de données vers notre modèle de connaissances afin de modéliser les prescriptions de médicaments de l’hôpital Georges-Pompidou. En plus de mettre en pratique les différents concepts théoriques, il nous permettra de faire l’essai d’un logiciel émergeant d’une autre collaboration internationale pour la génération d’une telle correspondance à l’aide d’une interface graphique. Le projet nous permettra d’adapter cette interface et de valider qu’il répond efficacement aux besoins.

Who Merits Assistance? Allied Classification of Victims in Bamberg’s Refugee Camps

Examining the refugee camps in Bamberg, Upper Franconia as study cases, this master thesis will aim to identify different victim groups or divisions within the camps’ population and how the authorities and charities dealt with them. Those include women, children, ethnic or religious groups and disabled persons. Using gender as a category of historical analysis, as well as social history to include groups traditionally excluded from the main historical narratives, I will seek to understand how and why some groups got access to food, accommodation, employment and medical services before others. In the context of the rise of victimization within the west-German state and identity, was there some kind of hierarchy between the victims? Had vulnerable people in the camps any control of their own faith? This study thus explores on which basis the organizations involved in the camps managed the disorganized masses and prioritized groups over others.

Fabrication de pales d’éolienne en composites pour les milieux nordiques

L’énergie éolienne connaît une croissance importante dans le monde et le Québec suit cette tendance mondiale. En effet, le gouvernement québécois a mis de l’avant des mesures concrètes afin d’encadrer le développement de l’énergie éolienne. Ceci se justifie par le fait que la province possède un potentiel considérable compte tenu de l’immensité de son territoire, et les coûts de production pourraient diminuer de 40 % d’ici 2030. Pour atteindre cette réduction, il faut augmenter la taille des rotors et améliorer de la fiabilité et de la durée de vie des composantes. Cependant, la taille des pales constitue un obstacle majeur à l’amélioration de leur fiabilité, car les procédés de fabrication à haute pression comme l’autoclave ne sont pas économiquement viables pour de telles structures. Les pales sont donc fabriquées par infusion de résine à travers un renfort fibreux disposé dans un moule sous une bâche à vide. TO BE CONT’D

CARLA Based Autonomous Driver Assessment

With the introduction of numerous automated vehicle development programs, the scientific community has developed several Open Source simulation software packages. The most notable is CARLA: http://carla.org/

With support from the driving simulator team at the Institute for Transport Studies https://uolds.leeds.ac.uk/ the summer intern will use the CARLA environment including both simulation and the Autonomous Driving baseline to develop an imitation learning based autonomous driving module. Driving in the CARLA world will be collected as training data and used to train the AD which will be based on a convolutional neural network to follow a similar path. The AD’s interactions with other vehicles will be studied and compared with game theory approaches.

Prédiction par éléments finis du craquage de cartons ondulés lors du pliage

Les technologies de simulation numérique permettent de prédire le comportement de matériaux et de pièces dans des cadres de plus en plus vastes et ces simulations permettent sont maintenant utilisées dans de nombreux secteurs industriels afin d’éviter ou de minimiser le recours au prototypage et à des tests sur bancs d’essais physiques. C’est particulièrement le cas dans l’industrie papetière où les essais physiques représentent des couts très importants. Dans ce contexte, la mise en oeuvre de tests numériques (de manière virtuelle) permettant de reproduire le plus fidèlement possible les tests réels est susceptible d’entrainer des gains considérables en temps et en cout. L’objectif principal de ce projet est de concevoir un test numérique (ou banc d’essais virtuel) permettant de prédire le craquage de cartons ondulés réalisés avec différentes recettes de papier lors du pliage.

Fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease: Regulation of Fibrosis and inflammation with Cannabigerol and other cannabinoids

The goal of the project is to determine if the cannabis-derived, non-psychoactive compound, cannabigerol (CBG) (a key component of Cannabis), which is known to reduce inflammation in a mouse model of colon inflammation, can also prevent intestinal strictures (fibrosis) and narrowing of the intestine in the setting of intestinal inflammation. We will use cell culture and animal models that develop key features of fibrosis, to determine if CBG can prevent fibrosis and stricture formation. The data will be directly relevant to preventing fibrosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, which has a high incidence in Alberta and Canada.