Innovative Projects Realized

Evaluation of Alternative Battery Technologies for Adoption in Manitoba Hydro Substations

This project will investigate the applicability and merits of battery chemistries for use in a utility substation, where longevity, reliability, and security are prime considerations. The project aims to characterize the process of battery aging when batteries are used under representative utility substation loading profiles in order to determine how fast the batteries will age and what signatures may be used to determine how close the batteries are to the end of their life so that pro-active maintenance work may be initiated. The findings of the project will be instrumental in enabling Manitoba Hydro and other utilities to gain an in-depth understanding of alternative battery technologies and to save cost and resources when such substation batteries are installed.

Establishing the Validity and Reliability of a Novel Wearable Physical Activity Monitoring System for Older Adults

Wearable physical activity monitors have become increasingly commonplace as commercial fitness products. However, current devices can be expensive and cannot accurately measure activity for older adults. Xerus, Inc. has recently built an affordable activity tracking system able to measure physical activity levels in older adults. However, the accuracy of Xerus activity tracking monitor has not been tested. Thus, the objective of this study is to determine the accuracy of the Xerus activity monitor to measure physical activity in older adults while performing mobility tasks. These tasks include walking on a treadmill at different speeds, a six-minute walking test and walking up and down stairs. The results will determine the accuracy of Xerus activity monitor and its readiness for clinical use.

Understanding the cellular mechanisms sustaining functional capacity improvement with prehabilitation in colorectal cancer patients

Cancer is associated with weight loss, decreased muscle strength and inflammation. This has a tremendous impact on daily activity, autonomy and quality of life, involving both patients and care-givers. I previously worked on a preoperative intervention called ‘pre-habilitation’, a personalized exercise and nutritional supplementation delivered before surgery. The main idea is to prevent postoperative complications utilizing the time before surgery to put the patient in a better physical, nutritional and emotional state. In previous studies, I have shown that, with pre-habilitation, patients can undergo surgery in a better condition and recover faster. My future directions point towards the understanding of the cellular mechanism sustaining pre-habilitation. I plan to study mitochondria, the small organelles that play a key role in muscle deconditioning and inflammation, in muscle biopsies before and after intervention. Understanding the molecular mechanisms to favor faster recovery from surgery for cancer is a must needed in oncologic care.

Étude du comportement hydrodynamique et diphasique d’un classificateur à lit fluidisé

Le projet a pour but d’analyser le comportement d’un fluide diphasique, mélange de bauxite et d’eau, dans un classificateur à fond plat soumis à l’effet de plusieurs paramètres. Une étude expérimentale utilisant un classificateur à échelle réduite permet d’effectuer les mesures de fraction solide (pourcentage de solide dans l’échantillon) aux sorties du classificateur, des vitesses à l’intérieur du classificateur prise par méthode optique, ainsi que d’observer le comportement du fluide diphasique et particulièrement du lit fluidisé présent dans le bas du classificateur. Une étude numérique consiste à développer un modèle CFD (computer fluid dynamics) qui représente l’écoulement d’un fluide diphasique (solide-liquide) composé d’une plage granulométrique (répartition des particules selon leur taille) variée afin d’en observer le comportement et de calculer les paramètres de sortie. TO BE CONT’D

Étude d’utilisabilité d’un outil de détection de bugs d’affichage dans les sites web

Les sites et les applications web contiennent souvent des bugs d’affichage : boutons mal placés ou non fonctionnels, éléments partiellement cachés par d’autres, etc. Ces bugs peut relever d’un simple problème esthétique, ou, de manière plus sévère, compromettre la fonctionnalité de l’application. Le logiciel Cornipickle, développé par une équipe de chercheurs de l’UQAC, permet de s’assurer que les pages d’une application respectent toutes sortes de contraintes quant au positionnement de leurs éléments, de leur séquence possible, etc. Cornipickle peut également pointer dans l’application les éléments qui sont fautifs, ce qui pourrait potentiellement permettre à un développeur de gagner beaucoup de temps lors de la recherche des problèmes. L’objectif du projet consiste à déterminer l’applicabilité de Cornipickle au processus de développement d’une application web réelle en enterprise.

Improving Outcome by Optimizing Illumination (IOOI) Study

Insufficient and mistimed artificial lighting within the hospital environment can disrupt circadian rhythms, adversely affecting patients’ sleep, mood, and recovery. In collaboration with BC Hydro, we will run a study at the Burnaby Center for Mental Health and Addictions to test whether controlled 24-hour lighting with enhanced daytime brightness and restricted nocturnal light exposure can help regulate the circadian cycle and improve the sleep and psychological well-being of patients with concurrent disorder (co-occurring substance abuse disorder and mental health disorder). Throughout the study period (consisting of four weeks standard lighting and four weeks cycled lighting), participants will wear a Fitbit and light sensor and maintain a daily sleep log to track the timing, duration and quality of sleep. Also, participants will fill out a questionnaire assessing their mood, stress, impulsiveness and pain in both, the standard and cycled lighting phases. TO BE CONT’D

Ransomware Detection through Device and Network Behavior Monitoring

Ransomware consists of malicious software that after infecting a target device prevents the device owner from using effectively the corresponding resources until the demands of the ransomware operator are met usually by paying a ransom, typically using cryptocurrencies.
Despite the growing number of ransomware infections, their increasing sophistication, and their significant financial and operational impact, available defensive mechanisms are still embryonic. Most of the existing approaches are signature-based, and as such struggle with the evolving nature of ransomware, of which currently over 160 different strains have identified.
Furthermore, existing approaches are overwhelmingly host-based. This is because it is very challenging to identify distinctive characteristics of ransomware activity from network traffic. However, such characteristics do exist and can be valuable in early detection of ransomware, or of ongoing ransomware activities. TO BE CONT’D

Scientific Computing with Applications in Geophysics

and mineral exploration and in the environmental investigation. With the advanced in modern

technology, enormous progress has been made in applying scientific computing to investigate

large scale and complex geophysical problems. TerraNotes Ltd GEOPHYSICS is a company

developing advanced technologies which are capable of solving practical and real geophysical problems.

The present MITACS Accelerate Internship is a continuation of the MITACS-TerraNotes Internship

project which was completed recently in June 2011. In this project, we focus on development of

efficient and robust numerical algorithms for inverse resistivity model, in which the object is to

extract important geophysical parameters such as the depth level from the field test resistivity data. The

developed program will be integrated into the existing in-house application software developed at

TerraNotes

A survey of Pinot Noir Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast populations and grape quality in three Okanagan Valley vineyard sub-regions

Wine is produced by fermenting sugars in grape juice to ethanol by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae). The major BC viticulture area is located in the Okanagan valley, a 200km region that runs from north to south, which aims to produce high quality wines that can be distinguished based on terroir. Terroir is a term that describes all the environmental factors that influence the wine including climate, terrain, soil, grape varietal and microbial populations. To fully express the terroir, winemakers carry out spontaneous fermentations that rely on microbial populations associated with the grape berry and winery to carry out the fermentation. Pinot Noir grapes are successfully cultivated along the Okanagan valley and represent an ideal varietal to study microbial populations associated with terroir. Our proposed research is to identify the yeast populations associated with Pinot Noir grapes from 3 regions of the Okanagan valley. TO BE CONT’D

Internalizing risks: Value Creation from Internalizing Non-Technical Risks – Mining Sector Case

This work seeks to contribute to developing the “business case” through valuation of environmental and social impacts related to potential risks in the extractive sector taking into consideration both academic and practitioner settings. A solid review of methodologies will lead to important considerations to improve the current assessment and valuation tools. The latter aims to help practitioners better estimate environmental and social impacts, and thus implement more informed strategies that reduce both business and societal risks.

Étude des paramètres qui influencent la séparation des composés de fer compris dans les résidus de bauxite calcinés

Le but de cette étude est de réaliser une séparation magnétique de la magnétite (oxyde de fer) contenue dans le résidu de bauxite calciné, dans le but de le valoriser. L’étude se déroule en plusieurs volets : la caractérisation du résidu de bauxite, l’investigation et l’évaluation de méthode de séparation et le développement d’un modèle mathématique. La caractérisation permet de connaitre entre autres la distribution granulométrique et les espèces chimiques. L’évaluation des méthodes de séparation permet d’identifier le ou les processus les plus prometteurs ainsi que les paramètres d’influence de la séparation. Le modèle mathématique permettra de réaliser des simulations. Le montage expérimental est un séparateur à échelle réduite avec lequel se feront les mesures de trajectoires, de vitesses, de concentration à la sortie. Les mesures de trajectoires et de vitesse se font par imagerie, et les concentrations à la sortie par gravimétrie. TO BE CONT’D

Reconnaissance et affichage en réalité augmentée des attributs d’un paquet de bois d’oeuvre dans une cours à bois

On veut créer un logiciel en Réalité Augmentée capable de fournir à un opérateur travaillant dans une cour à bois toutes les informations dont il a besoin pour effectuer un travail de manutention dans cette cour. Pour cela, le système doit être capable de connaître en temps réel les positions des tous les paquets ainsi que de l’opérateur lui-même. Il faut aussi concevoir une interface adaptée à une utilisation en parallèle avec d’autres taches. Ce projet utilisera comme support le casque de Réalité Augmentée HoloLens de Microsoft. Pour FPInnovations, ce projet s’intègre dans un cadre plus large de développement des nouvelles technologies dans le domaine de la foresterie et est une preuve de concept d’un système facilitant la prise de décision pour les conducteurs de machinerie forestière.