Innovative Projects Realized

Intégration du processus des estimations de coûts lors d’un projet deconstruction au moyen des outils de BIM 5D

La prédictibilité des coûts est la principale attente des clients quand ils se lancent dans des

projets de construction. La décision d’entreprendre un projet est basée sur sa faisabilité

financière. Or l’industrie de la construction, malgré un investissement important que d’autres

industries dans la gestion des coûts, présente une piètre performante à respecter cet objectif,

entraînant un gaspillage important en ressources pour des actions correctives. Ce projet vise

à implanter une approche unifiée de gestion des coûts basée sur les technologies BIM. Les

resultats preliminaire de projets-pilotes realises aux Etats-Unis semblent demontrer que ces

technologies reglent Ie probleme de predictibilite, mais ce a la condition que les processus

traditionnels d’estimation soient repenses. Ce projet est une opportunite unique

d’experimenter et de definir les processus inherents a une utilisation du BIM dans Ie contexte

d’une entreprise generale de construction, une premiere au Canada.

Haptic API/SDK for Distributed Full Body Haptics

The research seeks to develop an easy to use and program SDK in the Unity software framework for the design and integration of expressive haptic effects for a distributed series of worn haptic actuators. The project’s central objective is to develop a cross platform composition tool for designers that makes it easy to integrate haptic effects into new kinds of XR-based immersive experiences ranging from games and VR experiences to full body, immersive room-based environments.

Language Maintenance After Forty Years: Nahuatl in Mexico’s Huanchinango Towns

The aim of the thesis project is to explore the language behaviour and attitudes of Nahuatl communities in the face of language endangerment, and how they are contributing to the language maintenance and revitalization efforts. Nahuatl is one of 72 indigenous languages in Mexico with over one and half million speakers . The research project will focus on the Malinche Volcano region in Puebla-Tlaxcala, in central Mexico. It builds on Hill and Hill’s (1986) seminal work on the sociolinguistic situation of the Nahuatl-speaking population in the Malinche communities. It will investigate if such negative sentiments towards Nahuatl currently persist and have worsened especially after decades of globalization, urbanization, migration and modernization in Mexico. It proposes to contribute to the language maintenance, documentation and revitalization of endangered indigenous languages by providing insight into the language practices, beliefs and attitudes of Nahuatl communities and how these inform, maintain, and promote language use.

Mass spectrometry-based identification of post-translational modifications important for binding of bromodomain proteins

The objective of my research in the Fillingham Lab at Ryerson University is to understand how genes works since it is a fundamental process and its failure is implicated in many diseases. Understanding how genes works has shown to have promising outcomes in the treatment of many diseases since this research can reveal novel drug targets and scientists can produce molecules that can help with control over the genes causing disease to stop it. This project builds knowledge about gene function in a model system known for its abundant genetic material. The research is important for the pharmaceutical industry since the development of new drugs is of significant current interest to fight a variety of disease and infections. Finally, the proposed research benefits society by funding my training in the Taverna lab in Johns Hopkins University and in the Tackett lab in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to develop a skill currently under-represented in Canada. The Taverna and Tackett lab are internationally recognized experts in this research field. The Taverna, Tackett and Fillingham labs will continue to collaborate on elucidation how genes work.

Options spanning in sublattice spaces

Market completeness is a broad assumption used in economical finance. It is in which any portfolio payoff can be replicated by underlying assets, or “basic” assets. The completion of markets using options has been established by Ross (1976), using other methodologies, and the relationship of options and lattice spaces by Brown and Ross (1991). I will expand this idea to a model that has infinity many states, and to a multi-period model. I will show that we are able to complete markets with derivative assets, called options, using lattice theory.

Observations of Pedestrian Interactions with Driverless Cars

Automakers are investigating the autonomous vehicle as a replacement for traditional driving, not only to free up drivers from the task of driving, but in conjunction with a transition from owned to shared cars. In this scenario, people need no longer own cars or hire taxi/uber/lyft, but rather will be able to hire an autonomous car. This is seen to both reduce the number of cars on the road and to make taxi services affordable for patrons. However, it is unclear how the absence of a driver will impact feelings of safety and security, and how it may influence behaviors of passengers. Even if the self-driving technology were perfected, there may be profound social impacts presented by removing any driver from the loop. This research seeks to better understand those impacts to help avoid potentially negative experiences and to design more positive experiences for future passengers in driverless taxis.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the interaction between autonomous cars and vehicle occupants. It is unclear how vehicle occupants will regard, understand and interact with an autonomous car, and with each other (in cases of multiple occupants). TO BE CON’T

Improving the properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients by polymorph, salt and cocrystal screening

Solids exist as crystals, amorphous or subcooled liquids. The degree of crystallinity determines the long range order in a solid phase. Molecules when transferred from the solution to the solid phase may take many different crystal forms (polymorphs, solvates/hydrates, salts, co-crystals). Theoretically, there are 230 space groups describing the diversity of a crystalline material. About two thirds of pharmaceutical small molecules exist in more than one polymorphic solid form. Crystallization of polymorphs still has a touch of art. Various solid forms often display different mechanical, thermal, physical and chemical properties that can influence the bioavailability, hygroscopicity, stability and other performance characteristics of an API. The goal of this project is to unravel the inter- and intra-molecular forces that are responsible for the molecular packing, conformational polymorphism, and salt/cocrystal formation and therefore, predict and screen possible polymorphs, salts and cocrystals of a given API. This will be achieved by performing high-throughput experimentation to guarantee a product with desirable solubility, dissolution rate, and stability.

Effects of Nozzle Design and Tool Rotational Speed on MQLPerformance in Machining of Aerospace Materials.

Minimum Quantity lubrication (MQL) is a new technology used nowadays in machining

processes and is very promising for near dry machining. Compared to dry machining and

flood machining processes MQL has clear economical and ecological advantages. However,

MQL implementation is still applied using a trial and error approach.

Limited research work has been done on evaluating the effect of MQL on product quality,

especially, in aerospace materials (composites and difficult to cut materials like

Inconel).Therefore an extensive study is critically needed for understanding and optimization

of MQL application in machining of aerospace materials thereby increasing the applicability of

the technique.

In this project, an experimental investigation will be carried out to evaluate the performance of

two MOL systems in machining of aerospace materials for external supply. This will help in

understanding the parameters of MOL and thereby optimizing the effect of these parameters

on the cutting forces, temperature, tool wear, surface roughness, which affect the product

integrity and mechanical performance…………………………………

Weed Classification and Density Estimation for Variable Rate Herbicide Prescription

Precision agriculture is the technique to replace the traditional farming methods in order to sustainably improve the crop productivity without adversely impacting the environment. Precision agriculture is the solution to our growing food needs. CropPro consulting generates SWAT maps using soil, water, and topography information which divides the agriculture land into multiple zones. Each zone has its own requirement in terms of fertilizer, water, nutrients, etc. The objective of this project is to apply computer vision and machine learning techniques develop methods for weed detection and classification along with the weed density estimation. The weed information will be consolidated with the SWAT maps and variable rate site-specific herbicide maps will be generated. Variable rate herbicide usage will reduce the overall usage of chemicals which will result in better profitability for farmers and lower environmental impact.

Influence of spatial connectivity on food web stability

Natural communities are undergoing accelerated changes due to human pressures such as habitat fragmentation and species invasions. One way of anticipating community responses to these changes is through dynamical food web models whereby key species traits are altered and the community repercussions are assessed. These modeling approaches, however, overlook the spatial dynamics which are critical for community processes. Here, I propose to adapt techniques from infectious disease models and previous food web models to link smaller food webs in space, building up into these complex food webs. Predicting the response of communities to global changes is of critical importance. These communities, however, do not act in isolation. Thus, forecasting species’ response to perturbations across scales is an essential task. Yet, the inherent complexity of natural communities makes this a difficult undertaking. The approach described here should allow us to reconstruct communities in scalable patterns making global conclusions more tangible.

Numerical and experimental analysis of the capture efficiency of domestic range hoods

Cooking activities are the main source of indoor pollutant emissions. Domestic range hoods are the most efficient technology to ensure a good indoor air quality. However, a label guaranteeing a high capture efficiency does not exist yet in North America. Thus, running low efficient hoods at high air flowrates during and after cooking may ensure low concentrations of indoor pollutants in the kitchen, while being high energy demanding and noisy and leading to depressurize airtight. It is then of prime importance to develop numerical and experimental methodologies to first evaluate the capture efficiency of existing hoods and then to define new scenarios for future labelling purpose. A better insight into the flow dynamics and pollutant concentration is necessary to achieve those objectives.

Analyse des décisions des ménages pour les assurances contre les catastrophes naturelles au Canada

Deux constats majeurs constituent le point de départ de cette étude. D’une part la recrudescence des catastrophes naturelles au Canada dont particulièrement les inondations jumelées à d’énormes pertes financières ; d’autre part, une faible volonté des populations à entreprendre des mesures nécessaires pour se prémunir contre les conséquences liées à la survenance des catastrophes. Le but de ce travail de recherche est d’identifier et de comprendre les raisons pour lesquelles les agents économiques semblent accorder peu d’intérêt aux mesures préventives contre les pertes associées aux chocs naturels, notamment, les assurances contre les inondations et les tremblements de terre. Les résultats issus de cette étude permettront à l’organisme partenaire Desjardins de mieux prendre connaissance de tous les éléments qui déterminent le choix des agents à souscrire ou non pour ces produits d’assurance ; et par conséquent à les prendre en considération lors de l’élaboration des contrats.