Innovative Projects Realized

Studying Effect of Structured Electrospun GDL on Performance Of PEMFCS

Proton Membrane Exchange Fuel cells (PEMFC’s) are a promising and advantageous because of its simple structure, low maintenance, high efficiency, low operating temperature and rapid startup. It has variety of application in real world like, transportation, clean energy and use as an aviation fuel and many other possible uses. Regardless of that, there are certain engineering challenges to this technology dealing with issue like water management. water management is really crucial for performance of PEMFC’s. Our research involves study of Structured Electrospun gas diffusion layer(GDL) on an active PEM fuel cell at Montana State University (MSU), effect of temperature and pressure on GDL will also be studied. Optimum operating condition for a PEMFC’s is 60 to 80 degree Celsius but in colder regions having an ambient surrounding condition at below subzero, water freezes and blocks the pores, which hampers the proton transfer in the PEMFC. TO BE CONT’D

Sernova’s Cell Pouch SystemTM: next-generation preclinical development and assessment of engraftment efficiency in clinical islet transplantation

Next generation preclinical development (caspase inhibitors, stem cell evaluation) and islet metabolic engraftment efficiency in a Phase I/II clinical study of the Cell Pouch™ for islet transplantation in Type 1 diabetes. (The Cell Pouch System™ is a proprietary non-biodegradable polymer device designed by biologists, scientists and engineers which unobtrusively fits under the skin, rapidly incorporating with tissue and microvessels to form a natural environment for engraftment of islets to provide a tight feedback system allowing insulin release for glucose control in diabetics. The scalable Cell Pouch™ has undergone successful initial preclinical proof of concept testing and has been contract manufactured for small and large animal and human clinical evaluation (sentinel and full size pouches).

Investigation into the potential of convenient EEG platforms in performing auditory attention detection

n noisy environments, normal hearing individuals demonstrate an ability to tune into a desired speaker while attenuating irrelevant background noise. Previous studies have shown that by analyzing brain wave data in the form of electroencephalography (EEG), and applying a technique called stimulus reconstruction technique, we can determine and even roughly reconstruct the attended speech. These results present an opportunity for applying the concept of deciphering auditory attention in neuroprosthetics, assistive technologies that utilize brain waves to complement the human ability. However, before such neuroprosthetics can be used in real life, there is a need to simplify the hardware of the system, such as minimizing the number of electrodes in collected neural data from a full cap configuration to a few electrodes. Changes in hardware will have implications on the system’s performance in detecting attention, and will require adjustments in programming. TO BE CONT’D

The REACH Project: Digital Fabrication Lab (part 5)

The Diocesan Food Bank of Guadalajara (BDA) is a Civil Society organization which has operated in the Jalisco state of Mexico since 1991. Its main function is the management and distribution of food donated by companies and individuals, which are destined to the poor families of the State of Jalisco. Jalisco is home to 8.3 million people with over 1.24 million individuals experiencing food poverty. Approximately one third of all food produced in Mexico is wasted; the equivalent of enough food to feed over 7 million individuals. The BDA is able to procure, process and redistribute over 40 tons of food to affiliated communities and civil society organizations but, owing to operational capacity, over 90% of the population continues to live in hunger. TO BE CONT’D

The REACH Project: Digital Fabrication Lab (part 4)

The Digital Fabrication Lab (Fab Lab) is situated in a high-risk zone where many youths become get involved in local gangs or else have to leave the area in order to study or obtain formal employment. The FabLab’s mission is to design a solution that is compatible to the local practices and context on order to provide youth with other alternatives through reconstructing the social fabric of the community. U of T Reach researchers will work with the FabLab and ITESO’s Center for High Impact Social Innovation (CISAI) to: (i) research the state of social networks and activity hubs in fostering community engagement in the FabLab; (ii) research mechanisms for social network optimization to better reach those most vulnerable in the surrounding community; (iii) develop a social network optimization campaign; and (iv) develop metrics to calculate the costs of reach.

The REACH Project: Digital Fabrication Lab (part 3)

The Digital Fabrication Lab (Fab Lab) is situated in a high-risk zone where many youths become get involved in local gangs or else have to leave the area in order to study or obtain formal employment. The FabLab’s mission is to design a solution that is compatible to the local practices and context on order to provide youth with other alternatives through reconstructing the social fabric of the community. U of T Reach researchers will work with the FabLab and ITESO’s Center for High Impact Social Innovation (CISAI) to: (i) research the state of social networks and activity hubs in fostering community engagement in the FabLab; (ii) research mechanisms for social network optimization to better reach those most vulnerable in the surrounding community; (iii) develop a social network optimization campaign; and (iv) develop metrics to calculate the costs of reach.

The REACH Project: Digital Fabrication Lab (part 2)

The Digital Fabrication Lab (Fab Lab) is situated in a high-risk zone where many youths become get involved in local gangs or else have to leave the area in order to study or obtain formal employment. The FabLab’s mission is to design a solution that is compatible to the local practices and context on order to provide youth with other alternatives through reconstructing the social fabric of the community. U of T Reach researchers will work with the FabLab and ITESO’s Center for High Impact Social Innovation (CISAI) to: (i) research the state of social networks and activity hubs in fostering community engagement in the FabLab; (ii) research mechanisms for social network optimization to better reach those most vulnerable in the surrounding community; (iii) develop a social network optimization campaign; and (iv) develop metrics to calculate the costs of reach.

TRUST – Sustainable, fair and environmentally sound drinking water supply for prosperous regions with water shortages

TRUST is a joint research project among the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), University of Stuttgart and other research institutions and technology providers. The objective of the project is to develop innovative solutions and planning tools for drinking water supply in water scarce regions. The methodological approach includes satellite-based remote sensing and water balance modeling to develop an integrated water supply and wastewater disposal system. The project intendeds to create a sustainable model for improving access to safe drinking water, with local conditions and climate change considerations included. The project’s resulting models and technology is to be tested in the Lima/Peru region in the future. Preliminary tests are to be carried out in Germany to regionally verify the correlation between remote-sensing data and water quality issues, and ensure that the method can be transferred. TO BE CONT’D

Valorisation de particules fines provenant de sols contaminés traités : Reconstitution de la texture et amélioration des propriétés-physicochimiques de sols agricoles appauvris

Le projet de recherche a pour objectif la valorisation dans le domaine agricole de particules fines traitées (sables fins, silts et argiles) provenant de sols contaminés. L’objectif du projet consiste à fabriquer des produits pouvant servir dans le domaine agricole à partir de sols contaminés qui ont été préalablement traités. Le projet consistera plus spécifiquement à utiliser des sols décontaminés, préalablement traités afin de reconstituer une texture appropriée et améliorer les propriétés-physicochimiques de sols agricoles appauvris. Les particules fines traitées qui seront ajoutées aux sols agricoles devront jouer deux rôles : (1) apporter des oligo-éléments (métaux traces) et de la matière organique aux sols agricoles lessivés et appauvris et (2) favoriser la rétention des nutriments et oligo-éléments lors d’ajouts de fertilisants par les agriculteurs.

Avec ce projet de recherche, Northex tente de trouver une solution au problème de structure des sols et d’appauvrissement de ceux-ci en nutriments à cause de l’érosion…………………tbc

Le(s) rôle(s) de la communication stratégique dans le développement de startups : les priorités à mettre en place dans un contexte de démarrage

De nos jours, bon nombre d’entrepreneurs se lancent en affaires. Pourtant, la majorité des entreprises en démarrage créées ne se concrétise pas en succès. Dans la plupart des guides mis sur pied pour aider les entrepreneurs à percer dans le marché, très peu de place est accordée à l’importance des communications stratégiques (on entend par communication stratégique, toute communication réalisée dans le but d’atteindre les objectifs d’affaires de l’entreprise). C’est ici que mon mémoire prend toute son importance. Je vais chercher à déterminer l’apport des communications stratégiques sur le développement des entreprises en démarrage. Je me concentrerai sur le secteur d’activités des innovations technologiques. Cela se traduira en une meilleure connaissance du ou des rôle(s) des communications stratégiques dans le développement des startups, menant ainsi à une potentielle, voire éventuelle optimisation de son utilisation en contexte de démarrage d’entreprise.

Generating macrophages from cultured embryonic stem cells

Macrophages are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs and digests cellular debris, foreign substances, microbes and cancer cells in a process called phagocytosis. They are often involved in development of inflammation, but in some settings can have the opposite effect. Much research is dedicated to investigating how macrophages develop and behave to generate better, more effective treatments for various diseases. This often involves growing macrophages in culture from precursor cells from mouse bone marrow. However, this method is crude, yielding cells that differ substantially from “real” macrophages, and requires the repeated use of animals. To eliminate this, as well as to develop more biologically relevant methods, we are investigating an alternative – the treatment of embryonic stem cells in culture with various development factors to produce macrophages that mirror the biology of “real” macrophages more closely. TO BE CONT’D

Breeding Waterfowl Use of Restored Wetlands in the Cariboo Region of British Columbia

The intern will be conducting surveys of breeding waterfowl at nine wetlands previously restored by Ducks Unlimited Canada. Wetlands provide abundant ecosystem services and are threatened by modification from environmentally damaging human activities that have reduced their quantity and function. Waterfowl are highly dependent on wetlands for many stages of their lifecycle and Ducks Unlimited Canada helps waterfowl by restoring wetlands. This study provides direction for future wetland restoration decisions by helping clarify what wetland size and vegetation cover types are most beneficial to breeding waterfowl in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. By identifying the most effective wetland sizes and vegetation cover ranges, this study will help guide wetland restorationists and managers at Ducks Unlimited Canada in site selection and planning of future wetland restoration proje