Innovative Projects Realized

Cathode Design for All-Solid-State Lithium-Tellurium Batteries

Battery technologies are urgently needed for emerging high-tech applications, such as medical implants, wireless sensors, wireless devices. These new devices have very limited space and require high reliability, and therefore demand the batteries could provide high energy per volume and high safety. Current Li-ion batteries cannot meet this demand due to its relatively low energy per volume and safety risks (leakage, fire, and explosion). To address these challenges, Prof. Jian Liu’s group at The University of British Columbia and Fenix Advanced Materials, a clean technology company specializing in the manufacturing of ultra-high purity metals, team up to develop all-solid-state lithium-tellurium (Li-Te) batteries. This new-generation Li-Te battery is expected to possess volumetric energy density about 2-3 times folds of current Li-ion batteries, and intrinsic high safety, and will have a positive economic, environmental, and social impact in BC and Canada.

Investigating How to Secure Wireless Devices for Playing Games in Retail Environments

This research proposal is about investigating and evaluating different technologies in order to ensure

the security of a wireless device such as a tablet that is used to play games in retail and/or casino type

of environments. In this context security not only includes legitimate users to use the devices and play

the games but also includes the issue of ensuring that the device can only operate within a specifiable

zone/region.

Housing Integration of Mexican SAWP Workers in the Ontario Economy

The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) brings thousands of Mexican workers into Ontario every year, lodging them in rural communities which otherwise experience little immigration and have comparatively low rates of diversity. While most employers house SAWP workers in on-farm accommodations, some instead use off-site apartment buildings or provide lodgings with local families. My research will involve interviewing Mexican workers, grouped according to the type of housing they were provided, with the aim of understanding how this affects their economic and social interactions during their stay as well as their overall experience with the program. Workers will be interviewed about interactions with host communities, relationships with employers, access to services and commodities, transportation to and from work sites, and the likelihood of their returning to work another season.

Development of a facial rehabilitation system for people suffering from facial paralysis

The recovery of facial mimics for patients with facial paralysis allows to improve their living conditions and social identity. Functional rehabilitation of facial disorders is also an important clinical step to improve the quality of surgical interventions and drug therapies. However, the recovery and rehabilitation of facial mimics and expressiveness remains a major scientific and clinical challenge. The lack of objective clinical assessment tool and the loss of patient motivation during rehabilitation period are two important drawbacks.
The objective of this project is to use biomechanical modeling and game technology to develop, implement and evaluate a series of facial mimic rehabilitation exercises for facial transplantation patients. It is expected that this project will lead to innovative solution for functional rehabilitation of patients suffering from facial paralysis.

Optimization and evaluation of a portable electromagnetic microfluidic device for immunological detection

The detection of a biological agent has become paramount to anticipate a possible health threat (epidemic or pandemic), an environmental threat or to combat other contextual threats (bioterrorism, chemical and biological weapons). A cost effective, portable, reliable and safe solution is required to allow detection in location where biological equipment is not available (such as in airport, remote areas, etc). Lab-on-chip (L-o-C) devices are being to meet this need. A novel approach for L-o-C is to use magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) for the biological analysis.
In this research project, Suzanne Wong a 3rd year undergraduate student in Physics & Astronomy at the University of Waterloo will be working on microfabrication, simulation of the various fluidics, thermal and electromagnetic components of the lab-on-a-chip and experimental testing of the prototype.
This project will be done in collaboration with Maud Gorbet and Carolyn Ren at the University of Waterloo (UW). MG will be responsible for overseeing the project while CR will provide expertise on microfluidics and portable biotechnology. This research project build on a collaboration initiated as part of BIOMEDInnov, a french-canadian university consortium (UW, Sorbonne U and UTC) aimed to promote international TO BE CON’T

Visualization of complex high dimensional biomechanical data

Sarcopenia is a disease characterized by the decline of skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance. To gain a better understanding of this disease and to assess both functional and anatomical effects of sarcopenia, experimental and modeling data have been collected.
The neuromuscular models developed in our team and the studies built on them generate more and more high dimensional data (time series and parameters). We need new ways to visualize them to both analyze the data and better communicate the results. To design an effective and efficient visualization tool, Melissa will conduct a survey of the various ways to visualize complex data and how to implement these methods/tools based on the rich ecosystem of plotting libraries in Python. Based on our research team needs, Melissa will then select and implement the most suited tool. Melissa will also develop a user-friendly interface that allows the access to model parameter visualization and also experimental descriptor visualization (heat maps) from an available library after pre-processing (filtering and segmentation).

Pistes d’améliorations de la logistique du commerce électronique au Québec par l’implantation d’un réseau de casiers intelligents

Le commerce électronique est de plus en plus prisé par les consommateurs québécois, mais une majorité d’entreprises accusent un retard technologique pour répondre adéquatement à cette demande croissante. La multiplication de la livraison de colis à travers le Québec engendre des défis logistiques tant pour les entreprises, les consommateurs que les villes et les entreprises de livraison.
Une des pistes avancées par la littérature actuelle concerne l’implantation d’un réseau de casiers intelligents qui permettraient de réduire la congestion urbaine tout en assurant un système de livraison simple, rapide et efficace pour chacune des parties prenantes, de l’expédition du colis à la livraison.
Si les consommateurs semblent intéressés par cette alternative, il est important de valider si elle peut s’intégrer adéquatement dans la réalité des entreprises de services et comment en favoriser l’implantation.

Machine Learning Approach for Real-time Assessment of Voltage Stability Using Multiple Indicators Derived from Wide Area Synchrophasor Measurements

Voltage instability is one of the major causes of many blackouts such as Canada-United State blackout (2003), Sweden-Denmark blackout (2003), India blackout (2012), and Turkey blackout (2015). If reliable methods are available for online voltage stability assessment, operators can be warned and automated corrective actions can be initiated to prevent voltage collapse. Although, a large number of Voltage Stability Indices (VSIs) are reported in literature, they are not practically applicable for real-time monitoring or not sufficiently reliable under all operating conditions. This research proposal envisages the development of Composite Voltage Stability Indices (CVSIs) combining the strengths of previously proposed Voltage Stability Indices computable from wide area synchrophasor measurements. Advanced machine learning techniques will be applied to derive CVSIs. It is expected that such a CVSI would be more reliable and applicable under wide range of conditions. The machine learning based algorithms for calculating CVSIs would be trained using the data generated through offline simulation and then tested using synchrophasor data generated through real-time simulations performed on RTDS real-time simulator. The proposed research will provide training opportunities for one M.Sc. student, while demonstrating and testing the synchrophasor capabilities of the simulators developed by the partner organization.

Pathways for Deep Decarbonization in Cities: Mechanisms, tools and governance structures for transformative climate action

As the urgency for action against climate change increases, local governments around the world are committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through deep decarbonization targets. Cities are the largest place-based sources of GHG emissions and therefore have great potential to reduce emissions on a global scale. In order to reach meaningful reduction levels, transformative change is not only needed to create deep decarbonization pathways, but also to disrupt the current path dependency on carbon that most cities face today.

This qualitative study will examine pathways within climate action plans. It will also identify the actors, governance mechanisms, and tools that cities are using in order to achieve their decarbonization targets by mid-century. Through a partnership with ICLEI Canada, the student intern will gain access to relevant internal research data and resources needed for the study, while the partner organization expects that the academic research will be useful to their existing and ongoing projects. The purpose of this project is to inform the creation and implementation of deep decarbonization plans for cities.

Utilisation de Bois Raméal Fragmenté (BRF) pour faciliter le recrutement et la croissance d’essences de la forêt boréale sur des roches stériles minières non génératrices d’acides

Le rétablissement de la forêt boréale sur les sites miniers après leur fermeture est indispensable pour que les services associés à cet écosystème soient rétablis (puit de carbone, chasse, industrie sylvicole, etc.). Les essences forestières font face à des contraintes d’établissement et de développement sur un substrat rocheux (stériles miniers) sans dépôt de matière organique. Ce manque en matière organique change considérablement les propriétés physiques, chimiques et biologiques du sol et entrave ainsi la recolonisation du site par les essences forestières. L’utilisation d’un paillis organique comme le Bois Raméal Fragmenté pourrait être une solution naturelle pour rétablir ces propriétés et faciliter ainsi la régénération d’un écosystème forestier. L’objectif général du projet sera d’évaluer cette approche restauratoire de l’écosystème forestier avec le BRF. TO BE CONT’D

Sleep Disorders among a Population with Traumatic Brain Injury from aWorkplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Clinic

The proposed research will study the best way to evaluate sleep disorders among persons

who suffered a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the workplace. We will draw

upon the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board-insured workers being evaluated at Toronto

Rehabilitation Institute, approximately 300-400 annually, for mild to moderate TBI. This study

will provide a better understanding of the evaluation of sleep disturbance among workers with

this condition which serves to inform better assessment and treatment. This study is of

utmost importance to this institution and the population served. More successful and early

treatment of patients will improve daytime performance and wellbeing, early return to the

workforce, and an overall shorter duration of disability for patients with TBI. Identification of

the prevalence of sleep disorders in this population will raise awareness of the possible

underestimation of its influence on poor rehabilitation outcomes.

Evaluation and optimization of a mine water treatment system

Currently, mine water treatment systems within the Sydney Coalfield extract and treat mine water from depth with the aim to gradually ‘flush’ the mine pools of its acid-generating products and achieve good water quality over the long-term. However, since the deep, lower quality mine water is always being treated, significant annual operational costs (>$1 million) are being incurred. This project will evaluate the hydrodynamics and hydrogeochemistry of the mine pools and investigate treatment approaches that instead focus on the shallow, higher quality mine water. It is envisaged that this project may lead to a more efficient and cost-effective approach to treat mine water, both within the Sydney Coalfield, and throughout other mining regions throughout Canada.