Innovative Projects Realized

How does Canada succeed in the ultra-short triathlon events: examining the physiological characteristics and recovery strategies to enhance performance in the mixed relay event for 2020 and beyond

Triathlon races are usually longer than 2 hours, but a new short distance team event has been added to the Olympics. This new event, the mixed relay, requires 2 men and 2 women to complete a short course which takes about 20 minutes each to complete. We want to know how the triathletes perform because no research has looked at this new event. We will use both simulated races and other laboratory measures to determine the triathlete’s physiology in this event and what factors are important to success (for example being the fastest swimmer or having the best aerobic fitness). This will give us useful information to help Canadian triathlon coach’s work with those triathletes who might compete at the Olympics. TO BE CONT’D

Integrating Digital Design + Prefabrication Processes into Calgary-based Architecture and Design Firms (continued)

Many architecture and design firms in Calgary have a strong desire to incorporate parametric software (BIM) and digital manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technologies into their design processes in order to meet evolving client demands, regulatory requirements, and sustainability performance targets. These are necessary criteria that constitute high-quality built environments capable of meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders including clients as well as the general public. This proposal asks how architectural projects can be used as a platform for digital design and fabrication research that bolsters in-house digital prefabrication expertise while identifying alternatives to conventional trade-based construction practices. The general objective of the research project is to catalyze the adoption of digital design and prefabrication in Calgary-based architecture and design practices.

Identifying species and planting conditions to revegetate mixed mine tailings at the Whabouchi site operated by Nemaska Lithium in Northern Québec

The long term objective of this project is to develop methods of revegetating mine tailings sites (in this case, a very large tailing mound in northern Quebec) using natural vegetation, and without transporting soil long distances. The specific objective of this project over the next year is to (i) conduct field trials to determine the causes of mortality of transplanted tree saplings using our method and (ii) to identify easily-measured traits of naturally growing plant species that increase the likelihood of such species surviving in these harsh environment. When successful, this will allow our partner organization (Nemaska Lithium) to fulfil its legal obligation to revegetate the site using a cost-effective method.

Assessing the effects of emerging contaminants to fishes native to North America using proteomic profiling

Current environmental risk assessment approaches rely on animal tests which are tedious, expensive, and of ethical concerns. This is constituting a significant problem for governments and industries as they are mandated to test the tens-of-thousands of chemicals currently used by society globally. This serves as impetus to develop novel alternative approaches that enable high-throughput testing of chemicals while being predictive and not relying on live animals, all of which are characteristics of ‘omics technologies. My thesis project is conducted under a Genome Canada Large Scale Research Project termed EcoToxChip (http://www.ecotoxchip.ca/) that aims to develop an advanced tool for the characterization and prioritization of environmental chemicals in support of chemical risk assessment. Specifically, my thesis research utilizes whole transcriptome and proteome analyses to characterize the molecular toxicity pathways of 8 model contaminants of concern, and which informs the development of the EcoToxChips. TO BE CONT’D

Integrating prefabricated structural design + engineering solutions toward more energy-efficient buildings

The candidate will study multiple configurations of buildings made with steel modular units and analyse their structural performance under seismic loads. This will allow the company Entuitive Corporation to expand their area of operation as well as their client base.

Fabrication of Heterojunction Silicon Solar Cells

Fabrication of heterojunction solar cells has shown great promise in the past few years, with such solar cells reaching record efficiencies of up to ~26.7%. Hence, research in this field is much necessary to make the dream of accessible solar energy for all, a reality. The research that we propose here, would focus on specifically analyzing the process of passivation in solar cells. To increase the efficiency of solar cells, we need to make sure that most of the light that enters the cell is trapped inside and is utilized to it’s fullest. The idea of this research is to perfectly tune all the parameters involved in the process using state-of-the-art fabrication and characterisation facilities. TO BE CONT’D

A Phenomenological analysis of consumer-product relationships

The research project that I wish to pursue is in the nexus of phenomenology, existentialism and consumer ethics. Specifically, I would like to give a phenomenological account for the extensive culture of bracketing factors of production. Why do we tend to bracket the factors of production from our consideration of buying the good? Essentially, bracketing is a deferment of judgment. By bracketing an object, we suspend our judgment of that object and relegate such judgment to another time or even indefinitely. As such, we render ourselves unable to think, let alone act, consciously with respect to the bracketed object. Moreover, if we act despite our conscious bracketing, the authenticity of our action is under threat. Sartre thought this behavior to be immoral and labeled this action as acting in ‘bad faith’. TO BE CONT’D

Development and Implementation of An Omic-Level Distributed Ledger Data Management Architecture

This Phase I proposal is intended to undertake a requirements-gathering and an initial system design for a system that exploits the integrity guarantees of blockchain technology and the high throughput capability of commercial/open source transactional database management systems (DBMS). Although current approaches will be a part of the solution, innovation is required to allow for increased user control over the information stored about them, including the ability to verify its veracity, revoke access as required/desired, delete data when desired, and ensure availability of verifiable access histories to ensure that systems are in regulatory compliance. Blockchain technologies (sometime referred to as distributed ledgers) will provide an important piece of the overall infrastructure necessary to meet the data protection demands mentioned above. Blockchains provide an immutable means of recording information relating to patient preferences about how, by whom, and when their data might be legitimately accessed for a given purpose. Once patient preferences are stored on the blockchain, access rights can be verified against those presets, thereby guaranteeing compliance and transparency. TBC

Addressing Weight Stigma in Prenatal Healthcare: Developing Patient- Informed Recommendations

Pregnant women with a body mass index >=35 kg/m2 are at risk for pregnancy complications that can impact both the mom and growing baby. Previous research suggests that women with a high BMI may experience weight stigma during their prenatal care appointments and this may lead to low compliance with healthcare provider recommendations and reduce the overall quality of care. This research will aim to understand sources of weight stigma and gather recommendations from pregnant women on how we can improve their prenatal care. This research will lead to the development of patient-informed recommendations for reducing weight stigma in prenatal care. Recommendations will be used by the partner organization, The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, to share with and educate healthcare providers on reducing weight stigma. By learning directly from pregnant women, we can increase patient-centred care during pregnancy and improve the overall quality of prenatal healthcare.

Modèle d’occupation individualisé pour le secteur résidentiel

Le marché énergétique est en transition. La demande et la consommation d’énergie dans le secteur résidentiel seront impactées par l’adoption de nouvelles technologies et l’évolution des comportements. Le projet de recherche vise le développement d’un modèle statistique générant des profils temporels individualisés de présence des individus à leur résidence en fonction des attributs des individus. Le modèle retenu sera construit à partir des données de l’Enquête sociale générale de Statistique Canada de 2010 et de 2015. À terme, les résultats du modèle d’occupation développé pourront alimenter des modèles de consommation énergétiques de résidences pour quantifier l’impact de scénarios d’évolution technologiques et comportementales sur la demande et la consommation d’énergie.

TrackSafe

description should also indicate the expected benefit to the partner organization. (Approx 150 words)

Since the advent of rail transportation, the integrity of the rail and track conditions play a significant

role in ensuring that trains are able to move people safely. As track infrastructure is impacted by

ambient temperature and normal wear and tear, inspections of the rail and track must be conducted on

a regular basis. Due to the frequency of required inspections, the job presents hazards as it is often

done while trains are in revenue service. Thus track worker protection is of critical importance in the

rail industry. The aim of the project is to develop a safety system that will exploit emerging

technologies to enhance the safety of track workers as well as provide operational enhancements for

certain business processes for transit operators. Bombardier hopes to use the system as a platform to

enhance safety of their track workers and to provide new services…………………….

Système d’amortissement des impacts lors de la réception de sauts en patinage artistique

Selon Skate canada, près de 180 000 Canadiens pratiquent le patinage artistique de façon structurée, dont 10% représentent l’élite. La réception de sauts en patinage artistique implique de grandes forces d’impact, représentant environ 3 à 9 fois le poids corporel de l’athlète. La répétition de cette mise en charge excessive au niveau articulaire mène éventuellement à des blessures d’usure chez les athlètes. Au cours des dernières années, très peu d’améliorations technologiques ont été apportées aux équipements de patinage artistique et ce, malgré l’évolution des exigences dans la performance chez les patineurs. Dans le cadre du projet, nous développerons un porte-lame de patin artistique en composites visant l’amortissement des impacts encaissés lors de la réception de sauts. L’expertise acquise dans le développement de ce produit innovant permettra à l’entreprise Patins STEP de se démarquer à l’international dans le domaine des patins de patinage artistique.