Innovative Projects Realized

Investigation the effects of graphene nano-platelets on the electromagnetic properties of epoxy coatings

By growing of computer and electronic science and also wireless devices, which are used at home or at work, electromagnetic interference shielding is becoming increasingly evident. Electromagnetic waves emitted from electronic devices are noises that interfere with other electronic devices and impair their functioning. Due to the increasing spread of electronic and communication devices, these electromagnetic waves in our surroundings are more than ever. Due to the pollution caused by theses noises and their adverse effects on human health, designing and fabrication of an effective polymeric coating in order to reduce these contamination is essential. In this project we are going to use a novel type of carbon nano fillers, Graphene, to fabricate coatings which are conductive enough and have good dielectric properties to interact with the electromagnetic noises and shield them. Dispersion parameters will be changed and optimized to fabricate high efficient coatings.

TREATING INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES THROUGH BLOCKING P2Y6 RECEPTOR

Extracellular nucleotides can favour inflammatory diseases via the activation of P2 receptors. The proinflammatory P2Y6 is the dominant nucleotide receptor in human and murine intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) and its expression increases during inflammation. Interestingly, we found that the blockade of P2Y6 totally prevented inflammation in the murine DSS model.
This project will show whether and how the blockade of P2Y6 signaling in IEC can reduce, or even prevent, mucosal inflammation. This represents a new mechanism of regulation of intestinal inflammation that we anticipate can be targeted for the treatment of IBD patients.
At the end of this project, Inception will have the expertise of a method for identifying a candidate compound for treating, reducing or preventing chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.

Développement d’un béton modifié au latex adapté aux exigences de performance en milieu nordique

L’étude vise à comprendre et à optimiser la durabilité au gel-dégel des bétons modifiés au latex (BML). Elle comporte l’étude de la durabilité au gel-dégel (fissuration interne et écaillage) évaluée par des essais normalisés accélérés en laboratoire. Le projet permettra d’optimiser la formulation des BML en fonction des critères de performances mécaniques (résistance à la compression) et de durabilité (gel-dégel, écaillage, résistance à la pénétration des ions chlore, porosité) recherchés par les concepteurs et spécifiés par les documents normatifs. Le partenaire disposera d’un béton plus robuste et à haute valeur ajoutée découlant de ses caractéristiques de durabilité exceptionnelles. Cette très haute durabilité est actuellement très recherchée pour les travaux de reconstruction et de réparation des infrastructures de transport au Canada.

Improving sustainability and operations in residential development and its relationship to community resilience

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how productivity improvements in a local company could contribute to its municipality’s (community) sustainability goals, and, by extension, to local community resilience. I will be using an action research (AR) methodology to create positive change and productivity improvements in the case of a company as the basis for inductively understanding what mechanisms and impacts lead to sustainability and community resilience. The local company will benefit by implementing productivity improvements and sustainability. The community will benefit by having its local industry gain new skills, innovations, and capacity, which are critical to resilience.

Spatial analysis of changing climate and the climate rating of Saskatchewan’s arable agricultural land for property assessment purposes

This project uses a large amount of geographic information and advanced computing technology to re-evaluate the influence of climate on the productivity of Saskatchewan’s agricultural land, which represents about 40% of all the cropland Canada. The intern will combine digital maps of soil, land use, crop yield, elevation, and historical weather observations. By exploring the statistical relationships among these layers of data, the intern will discover the environmental factors that determine the yield of 10 types of crops, and then assign a climate rating to each of the 296 rural municipalities in southern Saskatchewan. This project increases the capacity of ISM Canada to apply their expertise in data management and analysis to the many environmental and economic issues that involve weather and climate.

Application of a new method for recovery of gold from electronic waste

Annually, around 50 million tonnes of electronic wastes is produced worldwide which contains valuable metals such as gold, copper, silver and palladium. Due to the lack of a suitable recycling technology, more than 80% of these wastes end up in landfills. The economic driving force for e-waste recycling has been recovery of precious metals, especially gold, in which more than 80% of the total value is attributed to gold alone. The current industrial processes for recovery of precious metals from electronic scraps are energy intensive, expensive, time consuming, and non-efficient. Finding a suitable recycling method to extract the maximum amount of valuable metals from e-wastes is a major challenge facing the electronic waste recycling industry today. Recently, we have developed a process using acetic acid that recovers gold selectively from gold plated electronic scraps like printed circuit boards (PCBs) with very high efficiencies. TO BE CONT’D

Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plan (SNAP) — Program Evaluation and Lessons Learned forAccelerating Environmental Improvement in Established Neighbourhoods

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) has launched a series of pilot Sustainable Neighbourhood

Retrofit Action Plan (SNAP) projects in the Greater Toronto Area. Dillon Consulting is a lead consultant in Phase

3 of one of the pilot projects, the County Court SNAP in Brampton, Ontario. The SNAPs bring together

residents, businesses, community groups and government agencies to develop a science-based action plan for

change that meets the needs of the community. The SNAPs have a broad scope based on a framework of

sustainability themes including: water and energy conservation, natural heritage, greening of buildings; and

other complementary socio-economic themes. The goal of the research is a SNAP Program Evaluation. The

intent is to learn from the three pilot SNAPs that are currently underway, and similar initiatives around the world,

to improve the design and delivery of the program in the future, and its transferability to other neighbourhoods

within and beyond the Greater Toronto Area.

Maintien de la productivité des pinèdes grises en forêt boréale

Les peuplements de pins gris sur sables sont des stations forestières peu résilientes en cas de perturbation ou de changement dans la dynamique de végétation. Dans certaines conditions, l’aménagement forestier peut favoriser le basculement d’une forêt productive vers un état de clairière ouverte. En identifiant les facteurs en cause dans le déficit de croissance du pin gris, cette étude vise à déterminer des indicateurs utiles pour prévenir la perte de productivité sur ces sites. Le maintien de la ressource forestière est un des fondements de l’aménagement forestier durable. Il est donc important de trouver le moyen de prévenir ces accidents de régénération et de restaurer la productivité des sites forestiers rendus improductifs suite à des interventions sylvicoles. Les résultats de ce projet contribueront à établir des stratégies d’aménagement adaptées en vue de garantir la récolte durable et la certification du bois d’oeuvre canadien.

Biofeedback in exercise video games to improve hand function of youth with cerebral palsy

We are making an active video game to give kids who have Cerebral Palsy a fun way to practice therapy movements. Cerebral Palsy (CP) affects 1 in 400 people from birth. It can make it difficult to use your hands to do things like buttoning up your shirt.
In partnership with Paris-Saclay University in France, we will build a computer program to recognize hand movements that kids with CP make. We are going to use this program to let the kids control a video game by moving their hands. The program will also give them feedback about their movements through the game. These hand movements will provide a fun way to practice therapeutic movements We will build and test the game with families, before going to the last step. TO BE CONT’D

Assessing bioremediation potential for arsenic released from mine waste rock

Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid that is widespread in the environment. Anthropogenic mining activities result in As being released from rock via mining activities in mine tailings, waste rock and process waters. AREVA has a proposed mine site expected to produce up to 6 million tonnes of waste rock containing As. This waste rock needs to be stored appropriately and the release of it’s As into groundwater must be limited to minimize environmental impacts. The goal of this research project is to assess a bioremediation method for As found in the water and waste rock at relevant mine temperatures.

Évaluation de la forêt urbaine de l’île de Hull : état actuel et possibilités face aux changements globaux

Sur l’île de Hull, un passé industriel a laissé plusieurs cicatrices dont une très faible couverture arborée. Le peu de présence d’arbres sur cette zone urbaine amène un lourd fardeau de conséquences porté par ses habitant îlots de chaleur, esthétique bétonnée, faible fréquentation touristique. Les changements globaux, incluant le réchauffement climatique, menacent aussi d’aggraver la situation. La plantation d’arbres en ville a le potentiel d’améliorer ces éléments en plus de générer d’importants impacts socio-économiques comme une amélioration de la santé des citoyens et une augmentation du tourisme. L’objectif de cette recherche est d’abord d’évaluer l’état actuel de cette forêt urbaine. Ensuite, l’analyse de certaines données (inventaires, photographies aériennes, etc.) et de la littérature scientifique permettra d’identifier des secteurs à prioriser pour des travaux de verdissement. TO BE CONT’D

Évaluation des forces et faiblesses dans une approche d’implantation d’un logiciel de gestion documentaire dans une organisation pour répondre aux exigences de l’environnement numérique

Le projet vise à élaborer un modèle d’évaluation pour l’implantation de solutions technologiques de la gestion documentaire. Établi à partir du courant en “évaluation basée sur la théorie”, le modèle permettra d’élaborer une théorie de programme afin d’évaluer la mesure dans laquelle les exigences organisationnelles – internes et externes – sont comprises et prises en compte dans les modèles d’implantation de solutions informatiques. Ceci rendra possible une meilleure compréhension de l’apport des solutions technologiques à la performance organisationnelle globale.