Innovative Projects Realized

Economic impact and feasibility analysis of public investments in broadband connectivity, and in other sectors

Interns will perform research leading to the design or the implementation of new economic strategies that can be utilized in the design, financing, monitoring and evaluation of projects at different stages. Specifically, interns will work on an analysis of equitable access to broadband connectivity in Kingston, ON, as part of the City’s plan to expand broadband access. By analyzing the benefits of broadband access and where gaps currently exist, the research will result in policy recommendations. A second area of research involves looking at innovative financing mechanisms for projects in the international development and domestic social sectors. Interns will research how to use these tools to maximize project impact, and determine how lessons learned from similar financing arrangements in infrastructure projects might apply to the social sector.

A personalized approach to the treatment of malignant melanoma: An economic evaluation of ipilimumab

Malignant melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer that is generally fatal if untreated. Approximately 10-20% of patients treated with ipilimumab may experience significant long term survival benefits. However, a UK agency recently recommended against public funding for ipilimumab on the grounds that no biomarkers have been discovered to identify the small group of people most likely to benefit from this treatment. The goals of this project are to 1. Create a decision analytic model to assess the health impact, costs and cost effectiveness of treatment with ipilimumab; and 2. Determine the conditions required for a biomarker test to be considered cost effective. This work will be done in partnership with ARCC, The Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control. The project will benefit ARCC by contributing to their research activities in the area of Health Technology Assessmen

Archival Research and Accessioning for the CSCE National History Committee

The proposed research project will determine the significance of and catalog historic papers and documents held by the National History Committee (NHC: established 1983) of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE: established as the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers in 1887). These records have been rather haphazardly stored by various Chairs of the NHC since its inception and, if properly organized, will provide a valuable archive for historical researchers that will be housed at the University Ontario Institute of Technology Library. The research will also augment available information to develop succinct, accurate and consistent descriptions of the 78 existing CSCE National and International Historic Sites for dissemination through the CSCE Website and other media. The research will develop guidelines to allow oral histories of prominent Canadian civil engineers to be obtained by interviews that include procedures to obtain necessary ethical approvals, interviewee agreement forms, and guidance for the interviewer.

Impact of Open Banking on Canadian Financial Transaction Platforms

Open banking systems have slowly migrated throughout the world, they are already implemented in Australia and Great Britain. An open banking system allows financial institutions to communicate directly with one another without the need of a central payment processing or clearance platform. As Canada turns to open banking in the future, payment processing platforms’ product mix will change. Working with a large payment processing platform in Canada, we determine the impact of open banking on the platform and determine what product fees may be charged, given regulatory and market conditions, such that the platform remains viable, as defined by the platform’s key performance indicators. We use optimization and simulation methods as defined in the literature to find a range of fees.

Learning Partnership for Community Development and MinoBimaadiziwin in Brokenhead Ojibway Nation

Post-secondary education, if community-led and projects-based, has the potential to transform education, food and housing policy, as well as build capacity locally in Brokenhead First Nation compared to two First Nations lacking road access. This partnership will explore optimal solutions to resolve development challenges through applied adult education, particularly applied to housing, food and community development. By conducting participatory action research we will collaborate to leapfrog Indigenous development and post-secondary education from colonially imposed to self-determined and community-led educational development. Students evaluation of programming and surveys of workplace integration.

Évaluation des pratiques de communication du Festival de musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Le Festival de musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue est en reconfiguration de ses communications. Il est entendu ici que tous les outils de communication, que ce soit la stratégie sur les réseaux sociaux, le site Web, l’application mobile ou encore les communiqués de presse et les infolettres, sont en évaluation afin de déterminer quelles sont les pratiques sur lesquelles miser, et lesquelles doivent être optimisées. Pour ce faire, des recherches documentaires seront réalisées afin de déterminer les pratiques d’excellence d’autres festivals à travers le monde. Ensuite, il faudra déterminer quelles pratiques d’excellence sont applicables aux communications du festival afin de les optimiser et rejoindre un grand nombre de personnes.

La numérisation du contrat d’édition et la technologie de la chaîne de blocs

Le présent projet de recherche s’intéresse à la numérisation des contrats d’édition entre les éditeurs et les auteurs. En effet, les éditeurs rencontrent principalement trois problèmes dans leurs relations avec les auteurs. Le premier concerne le contenu du contrat d’édition ; le deuxième est relié à la rétribution financière des auteurs ; et enfin le troisième a trait à la numérisation des conventions. L’objectif de cette demande de financement est de proposer des solutions à ces problèmes. Pour ce faire, il s’avère important pour l’éditeur de numériser les contrats afin d’en garder la trace et d’en assurer la pérennité, d’où la question de la nature de la solution technologique qui pourrait être développée afin d’assurer cette numérisation algorithmique.

La recherche aura comme objectif de développer un contrat d’édition type et d’analyser l’utilisation de la technologie de la chaîne de blocs dans le contexte de l’industrie du livre. Cette recherche se doit d’être transférable et l’entreprise doit tirer profit des résultats obtenus.

Forecasting Profitability of Real Estate Assets using Machine Learning

This research project aims at applying machine learning over the existing financial forecasting methods currently employed in the commercial real estate industry. Businesses are actively collecting more data than what can be analyzed effectively using the standard spreadsheet models which have become industry standard over the past few decades. Machine learning algorithms are known to be able to extract complex relationship between many variables in data which make them perfect for an application geared towards forecasting the financial performance of commercial real estate assets. This task involves aggregating large amounts of data specific to the asset in question such as revenue, expense and leasing information as well as relevant economic data including rent growth and employment figures. This project will evaluate the performance of some of the most common machine learning algorithms and their relevance to predicting the performance of commercial real estate. Much of the research that currently exists at the intersection of finance and machine learning revolves around the public financial markets or the mass appraisal of residential real estate.

Improvement of Geotechnical Resistance Factors (GRF) derived from PDA testing results for use in pile design

Piles are implemented as foundation to support the structure by aim of transferring load to the surrounding soil and/or to a firmer stratum. Pile foundation supports majority of structural elements of oil and gas and infrastructure projects in Alberta. In most of these projects, driven steel pipes or H-piles are used.
This research is aim to reduce pile foundation cost r reduction in the numbers, length, and the size of the piles through using lower Geotechnical Resistance Factor (GRF). In order to optimize the GRF value, the field data from several historical cases and mathematical models will be used.

Antibacterial activity of silicone porphyrins

Porphyrins and phthalocyanines are important biological molecules that, for example, control respiration of plants (chlorophyll helps convert C02 to oxygen) and heme controls the 02/C02 balance in human blood. Such compounds possess many other regulatory roles. In the presence of light some of these compounds convert oxygen into ‘reactive oxygen species’ (ROS). ROS aggressively attack biological molecules. In some cases, the ROS can destroy pathogens, including fungi and bacteria. Silicones are widely used in applications ranging from bathtub sealants to contact lenses; they are very resistant to oxidation. In this project, we will combine porphyrins and silicones with the objective to create antibacterial rubber interfaces. Porphyrins will be tethered to silicone elastomers at or near the air interface. Bacteria (models – E. coli) will be exposed to the surface and the ability to kill the microorganisms in light and dark will be optimized.

Development of Advanced Process Control for the Production of Specialty Nickel Powder Products

With the global movement towards electric vehicles (EVs) to combat pollution and climate change, one of the potential limiting factors for public embracement of the technology is the limited vehicle range and high cost largely due to the current state of battery technology. Battery makers require high-purity nickel in an appropriate physical form (e.g. powder), but the availability of such nickel is limited to a small number of producers in the world. This project investigates increasing the yield of nickel powder from a production process through the use of in-plant experimentation, modelling, and advanced process control and optimization techniques.

Feasibility analysis of printing a drug-eluting flexible antibacterial mesh for treatment of post-surgical infections

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are caused by germs after surgery. Germs such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Pseudomonas can infect a surgical wound through various forms of contact, such as from the touch of a contaminated caregiver or surgical instrument, through germs in the air, or through germs that are already on or in your body and then spread into the wound. The development of an SSI leads to a substantial increase in the clinical and economic burden of surgery due to the direct costs incurred by prolonged hospitalization of the patient, diagnostic tests, and treatment. Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has developed a proprietary controlled?release system that reduces the side effects of intravenous injection of antibiotics. In this work, will perform a feasibility study on the use of 3D printing to manufacture patient-specific meshes using Eupraxia’s formulation. To achieve this goal, we will perform a series of studies on the characterization of different formulations of Eupraxia’s polymer to determine the best formulation that is printable using extrusion-based printers. We will also fabricate a costume-made 3D printer with components that are compatible with the used materials.