Innovative Projects Realized

Hydraulic evolution of fractured porous media during hydraulic stimulation

Hydraulic stimulation is a technique that is being used to increase the productivity and efficiency of natural resources under the ground. Hydraulic fracturing is a hydraulic stimulation method, in which the water is being injected into a borehole and that creates additional fractures within the hard rock formations. This may extend the flow network within the formation and increase the productions such as oil or gas. The formation with enhanced permeability is more efficient for hydrocarbon exploitations. The mechanics of the new propagated fractures due to the hydraulic fracturing have been the important subject for many numerical and experimental studies. This project is to develop a numerical approach to model the fully coupled fluid-rock interactions during fracture growth and investigate fracture sustainability during hydraulic stimulation.

Input-output Equation for Spherical Four-bar Linkages

Four-bar linkages, consisting of four rigid links coupled by revolute joints forming a closed chain, can be found in a variety of applications, such as windshield wipers, pumps, window cranks, suspension systems, robots, and extraterrestrial rovers just to name a few. Designers of such mechanical systems are commonly confronted with the task of determining the appropriate link lengths that allow the system to function as optimally as possible.

The objective of my work in Austria is to develop the required theoretical knowledge by working with internationally reputed experts to derive a universal algebraic Input-output equation for spherical four-bar linkages. It is expected that the proposed work will lead to a new parametric method for not only identifying the optimal link lengths for four-bar linkages, but also identifying the optimal joint types. Hence, it will become a better computational tool for designing mechanisms that need to be extremely accurate. This is especially important if the four-bar linkage is being used for manufacturing, assembly, medical, or even extraterrestrial applications.

Facteurs de contrôle sur la minéralisation aurifère du gisement Philibert, corridor de déformation de Guercheville, district minier de Chibougamau-Chapais

Le Québec est un important producteur d’or. Cette situation enviable provient en grande partie de la fertilité des roches. Néanmoins l’expertise, tant au niveau de l’exploration aurifère que de la mise en valeur, est un facteur déterminant pour cette production. Un élément fondamental, qui guide l’exploration vers des découvertes et une production éventuelle, réside dans les études de caractérisation des gisements aurifères. En fait, plusieurs types génétiques de minéralisation sont possibles. Établir l’origine de la minéralisation est donc essentiel pour l’exploration, car cette connaissance permet de mieux définir les facteurs de contrôle sur la distribution spatiale des minéralisations. Le projet proposé vise à étudier les caractéristiques des minéralisations aurifères associées à un complexe intrusif sous la forme de filons-couches dans un secteur en émergence comme camp aurifère. Le gisement Philibert est au stade d’exploration-développement et bénéficie de nombreux forages carottés qui constitueront notre matériel d’étude. TO BE CONT’D

Cryosphere Reduction Impacts on Arctic Seabird Ecology

Arctic temperatures are increasing twice as fast than the global average. In fjordic ecosystems of Svalbard, the Atlantification, the process leading to warmer conditions in the area impose new challenges to Arctic living community. Those changes alter cryosphere regime (i.e., ice component covering the surface) and associated species habitats. The black-legged kittiwake is a predator that has been associated to ice-related feeding habitat in the Arctic, promoting its use as indicator of marine ecosystem changes in Svalbard.

This study aims to investigate whether the lost of ice would impact significantly seabird populations. Data is already collected and cover the regime shift process for a decade. Specifically, the objectives to complete under this proposed 3 months internship is first, to complete the writing of my 1st chapter of my PhD thesis and 2) to perform the statistical analyses of my 2nd chapter. Analyses, as the cryosphere and population dynamic modelling, will be prioritised under my stay. Those objectives would necessitate extensive collaborations with local experts. Two papers are expected to be produced from this international internship.

Evaluation of Phytosanitary Measure Efficacy Using Genomics

In recent years, globalization and increasing international traffic have allowed tree infecting micro-organisms and pests to colonize new forests and plantations. These invasions are a threat to global trade and the delicate ecological balance of our forests. Good examples are the Sudden Oak Death (SOD) outbreak caused by Phytophthora ramorum in California and the emerald ash borer in eastern Canada. Such epidemics can wreak havoc and halt international trade resulting in loss of millions of dollars. A set of practices including monitoring, heat or chemical treatments of wood products enforced by Government regulatory agencies is referred to as Phytosanitary measures by the industry. We believe that rigorous surveillance involving monitoring for pathogenic microbes before and after phytosanitary measures is essential to keep these organisms under control. Although great progress has been made in wood treatment for insects and nematodes, the assessment of treatment efficacy remains challenging for pathogens that are impossible to detect. We propose a genomic solution to this challenge.

Bounties in Open Source Software on GitHub

Due to the voluntary nature of the open source software, it can be hard to find a developer to work on a particular task. For example, some issue reports may be too cumbersome and unexciting for someone to volunteer to do them, yet these issue reports may be of high priority to the success of software. To provide an incentive for implementing such issue reports, one can offer a monetary reward, i.e., a bounty, to the developer who completes that particular task.
In this project, we study bounties in open source software on GitHub to better understand how bounties can be leveraged to evolve such softwares in terms of addressing issue reports.

Christianity and Social Mobility in Late Qing and the Republic China, 1880-1950

The fact that Christian Chinese missions promoted some Chinese individuals’ upward social mobility has not been studied in a focused manner by either Western nor Chinese scholars.

The missionaries went to China at the time of Western imperialism expansion, and determined to “save China”. Some of these Christian missionaries made efforts to emphasize education and the idea of women’s freedom. These efforts helped some Chinese individuals, both men and women, to access education, became professionals, and gained upward social mobility, although that was not the missionaries’ original intention.

Mainly based on an extensive Canadian-Chinese family archive this study aims to shed light on how missionary-based education helped some individual Chinese Christians gain social mobility between the 1880s and 1950.

Applying scholarly studies in the fields of feminism, the social history of religion, and transnationalism, from a cross-cultural perspective, this study explores the drastically changed social status of some Chinese individuals as a result of their close ties with Christian missionaries and their educational efforts.

Improving Agricultural Initiatives in Northern and Remote Settings through Region-Specific Agricultural Best Management Practices

The project seeks to compile data from previous and current agricultural initiatives in northern and remote regions of Canada to determine which agricultural practices are most effective in these regions and to identify the knowledge gaps that hinder the efficacy of such initiatives. These practices and knowledge gaps will be elaborated upon using local knowledge as well as relevant research from other northern regions (ie. Greenland, Scandinavia, Siberia). The information will then be compiled into a set of agricultural best management practices which will be made available via an online platform comprised of various modules, a discussion forum, case studies and links to relevant webinars and resources.

Shape deviation quantification and tolerancing for Metal AM

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a fast growing technology with application areas in automobile, biomedical, and aerospace etc. The technology is moving rapidly from polymers to metal AM due to advantages in terms of shape complexity, and minimum material and energy wastage. The major challenge in Metal AM is the shape deviation modeling, and quantification. Shape deviation modeling and quantification is usually done experimentally by printing test artifacts using designed experiments and then quantifying the parts to reach meta-models and regression models. These test artifacts can then be later used for other AM systems and will help in quick and easy quantification of geometric quality parameters for an AM system. The project will focus on the research gaps in the design methodology for the geometric test artifacts and will come up with a systematic design methodology for the same to facilitate constraint based design and to avoid over-designing of the artifacts.

A New Microfluidic-nanoelectronic Platform for Alzheimer’s Disease

The main objective of this project is developing a novel technology to understand Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The main cause of AD has not been clearly discovered, and therefore the effective treatment to stop the disease has not yet been established. This technology which is an integration of microfluidic, nano-electronics, and optical imaging techniques would provide a systematic platform to study AD. Fabrication and integration of nano-structures for electrical recording and optical imaging is the main goal of this project during my Visit at Harvard University. This new technology addresses unanswered questions related to AD and sets the stage for the identification of novel pathways and therapeutic avenues in AD.

Counselling During Probe Microphone Measures: The Clients’ Perspective

Probe microphone measurement (PMM), which uses a small tube inside the ear canal to measure sound from hearing aids, is the most reliable way to ensure hearing aids are fitted to a client’s hearing loss (Katz et al., 2015). Providing counselling within PMMs procedures would allow clients to increase their knowledge about amplification and increase their participation within the relationship between the client and clinician. This project will present a demonstration of counselling during PMMs to experienced hearing aid users and then gather their perspectives through a group discussion. Through the discussion, thoughts on how to optimize counselling will be discovered. The thoughts and perspectives of the participants will be grouped into categories and presented to the audiology field. These findings will be used to develop client-centred guidelines for teaching clients about this important process.

Marine Technology Research

In this project I will be working with Aalto university’s Marine Technology research group at the Aalto ice tank. The purpose of such an ice tank is to explore the function of arctic marine structures in pack ice conditions. For example, this could include structural testing of oil and gas facilities or model testing of ice-breaking vessels.

My work will be in the field of data measurement processes and equipment design. It will therefore involve research regarding ice tank functionality, experimental design, and ice tank equipment. In other words, the project that I will undertake will include literature review, hands-on use of experimental equipment, research into state-of-the-art ice tank techniques, and possible data analysis and CAD design.