Innovative Projects Realized

Hyphenated and Whole: Forms, Aesthetics, and Sociology in Korean-Canadian and Global Korean Literatures

My doctoral project aims to fill a common and critical gap between Asian-Canadian literature and global Korean-diaspora studies by undertaking the necessary examination, translation, and preservation of Korean-Canadian literature. As part of this larger project, I propose to develop my understanding of modern Korean literature, including its development, forms, and socio-cultural politics, to shape a comparative analysis of Korean diasporic literature in Canada in tandem with growingly trans-nationalizing Korean literature at “home.” Under the supervision of Dr. Capener, an expert in Korean literature, I will take part in Yonsei International Summer School’s course on “Modern Korean Literature” as well as other related courses— “Introduction to Korean Studies” and “Topics in Korean Culture: Globalization and Multiculturalism.” The outcome of this project will be an article, intended for journal publication, comparing aesthetic and political forms of Korean and Korean-Canadian literatures and a significant contribution to my dissertation chapter on the same topic.

Functional long non-coding RNAs in the 3D structure of the genome

Previous research has shown that most of the mammalian genome is transcribed, while most mammalian transcripts do not code for proteins and may instead be functional themselves. Non-coding RNAs play critical roles in some of the most fundamental processes in molecular biology. The vast majority of mammalian non-coding transcripts are constituted by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) while we know little about their biological function. The FANTOM (Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome) projects have played a key role in the discovery of long non-coding RNAs and their biological importance. FANTOM is a large consortium effort led by RIKEN in Yokohama, generating large transcriptomic and genomic data sets which are then shared for analysis with the FANTOM consortium, consisting of ~100 laboratories worldwide. TO BE CONT’D

Complexe de cuivre pour le couplage Chem-Evans-Lam

L’objectif de ce stage serait de coordonner des ligands multidentates bis(NHC) bis(ylides) à des métaux légers de première rangée pour des applications en catalyse. Idéalement, puisque le cuivre, le cobalt, le fer et le nickel sont tous stables à un état d’oxydation de 2, le même ligand pourrait être utilisé pour chacun d’eux. Ces catalyseurs pourraient potentiellement avoir une application dans le couplage Chan-Evans-Lam. Ainsi, il faudrait synthétiser des ligands bis(NHC) bis(ylides) analogues à ceux précédemment faits par Dr Canac et ses collaborateurs, mais spécifiques pour les métaux légers. En effet, certains des complexes de cuivre ont démontré une plus grande difficulté avec les acides boroniques arylés à défaut de stabilité sous forme de Cu(III). Il serait alors possible de tenter de développer des complexes analogues à ceux de Pd de la recherche de Dr Canac précédemment mentionnée, avec le cuivre comme centre métallique. TO BE CONT’D

Development of functionalized iodine(III) species as organocatalysts

The iodine atom normally forms one bond with another atom. However, it can be forced to form multiple bonds, making it hypervalent. This draws away electron from the iodine, making it partially positively charged. It will thus attract and interact with negatively charged molecules or parts of molecules. This concept is Lewis acidity and can be exploited to trigger reactions that would not normally occur (catalysis). The goal of the project is to screen a large amount of potential Lewis acids based on hypervalent iodine and use the best candidates as catalysts. They could replace Lewis acids based on expensive and toxic metals as well as possess a unique reactivity that has not yet been explored.

Spectroscopie d’absorption transitoire dans la fenêtre de l’eau

La technologie laser permet aujourd’hui de générer des flashs de lumière (impulsions laser) ultra-brefs offrant une résolution temporelle attoseconde (1 attoseconde = 0.000 000 000 000 000 001 s). De telles impulsions offrent l’opportunité de suivre les mouvements ultra-rapides des noyaux atomique et des électrons dans les molécules, en temps réel. C’est ce que promet l’excitant et récent domaine de la science attoseconde.

La plupart des impulsions attosecondes sont générées dans la région du spectre électromagnétique correspondant à l’ultraviolet extrême. Dans le cadre d’une collaboration internationale entre l’Institut national de la recherche scientifique et l’Université de Hambourg, nous développerons des impulsions attosecondes dans une région particulière où l’eau n’absorbe que faiblement la lumière, appelée fenêtre de l’eau. Celle-ci permet de sonder spécifiquement les atomes constituant la plupart des molécules de notre système biologique, notamment le carbone, l’azote et l’oxygène. L’objectif du projet est de suivre l’évolution temporelle de processus chimiques ultra-rapides se produisant dans ces molécules d’intérêt biologique afin de mieux comprendre leurs mécanismes. La dégradation des bases azotées, les constituants fondamentaux de notre ADN, par les rayons infrarouges et UV nous est d’un intérêt particulier. TBC

Cryptic plant-colonizing fungi alter secondary metabolites in the chemically diverse, tropical plant Piper

The tropical plant genus, Piper, is well-known from the common table spice, black pepper (Piper nigrum). However, this plant genus is host to over 2000 species worldwide, with the chemistry of different plant species varying widely. This dissimilarity in plant chemistry has important consequences for the organisms that interact with it. Insects that feed on its tissue have to cope with the toxic chemicals, which can affect their ability to mount an immune response against an enemy. One feature that has not been investigated is how fungi that colonize plant tissue mediate the interactions between host plant and insects. In other plant systems, fungi contribute to the chemistry found in plants. The purpose of this research is to assess how this group of fungi alter plant chemistry and whether the compounds are produced directly by the fungi or indirectly by the plant as colonizing it may trigger an immune response.

Developpement d’un systeme portable de realite augmentee permettantd’orienter I’utilisateur dans un espace interieur par I’analyse d’images de reference

Creation d’un prototype de localisateur interieur. Ce systeme, a I’instar du GPS en exterieur, donneralt

aux utilisateurs la possibilite de se reperer facilement dans de grands lieux interieurs tels que les grands

magasins au les centres commerciaux, permettant de trower rapidement et efficacement Ie magasin au

I’article recherche. Ce projet vise it experimenter differentes methodes de reperage visuel afin de

determiner si ce demier peut etre suffisant dans Ie cadre d’un reperage en interieur.

Novel Strategies to Enhance the Protective Ability of Tpr-based Syphilis Vaccines

Over the last two decades, our efforts to develop a syphilis vaccine have allowed identification of two antigens that confer high but not complete protection to syphilis in immunization/challenge experiments in the rabbit model. These two vaccine candidates were derived from conserved regions of selected members of the Treponema pallidum repeat (Tpr) antigens TprC/D2 and TprK. Immunity to these antigens has been shown to enhance pathogen clearance by opsonophagocytosis and provide substantial protection from chancre development at challenge sites compared to controls. In these early vaccine designs, however, several predicted surface epitopes of the TprC and TprD2 proteins were omitted because they showed a limited degree of antigenic variation, even though we demonstrated that they could provide additional targets for pathogen opsonization and phagocytosis by activated macrophages if used in combination with adjuvants inducing a Th1-type response. TBC

ADAJ- Modèles de pratique

Une des principales difficultés rencontrées aujourd’hui en matière d’accès au droit et à la justice réside dans l’incapacité des particuliers de bénéficier des services d’un professionnel alors qu’ils en auraient besoin. Alors que les compagnies et les institutions publiques occupent l’essentiel du temps des tribunaux, les citoyens sont de plus en plus nombreux à se présenter seuls à la cour. Pourtant les études réalisées sur la question démontrent que 90 % des citoyens préfèreraient y être représentés par un praticien. La question des coûts du service professionnel constitue la principale raison évoquée par les citoyens pour expliquer leur conviction que le service juridique est inaccessible. Toutes ces données rendent compte de ce que les modalités d’accès au service professionnel sont en porte-à-faux avec la demande sociale. TO BE CONT’D

Pion Experiments at Jefferson Lab and Feasibility Studies for EIC

My research project will involve completing vital preparation work for two upcoming high impact experiments at a world leading research facility. I will take a lead role in preparing analysis software and equipment for these upcoming experiments at Jefferson Lab which will run towards the end of my project. I will ensure these experiments run successfully and begin preliminary analysis of the measurements. Additionally, I will carry out studies of how these experiments could be extended at the upcoming Electron Ion Collider (EIC) facility. The EIC will be a key facility in my research field, nuclear physics, in the coming decade. Establishing experimental partnerships and collaborations now may yield decades of future interactions at this upcoming facility.

Modeling and Simulation of BALLET

BALLET (Ballon Locomotion for Extreme Terrain) is a novel concept for traversing rugged terrain on Titan and Mars. The concept is being evaluated under NASA Advanced Concepts funding to investigate feasibility and work on further details of the design. The goal is to develop a physics-based dynamics model of BALLET and perform simulations of BALLET traversing realistic terrain.

Dynamic Service Caching for Edge Computing in Intelligent Driving

To meet the network latency requirements in intelligent driving (e.g., city-wide smart parking, vehicle infotainment, and collision avoidance), more and more computing functionalities are moved from the centralized clouds to the network edges (e.g., mobile base stations, or roadside infrastructure). By doing this, the response time to drivers or in-vehicle passengers could be improved. Nevertheless, due to the limited resources of edge servers, only a small number of services could be cached at the edge. Besides, different types of services may require different types of resources (e.g., CPU, storage, network bandwidth, etc.), and the traffic demands of the end users are quite diverse. In this context, the problem of dynamically caching the services over the edge servers so as to optimize the quality of services of end users requires non-trivial system design and engineering. TO BE CONT’D