Innovative Projects Realized

Development of a Quantitative Reliability-based Analysis (QRA) Framework for Pipelines Exposed to Geotechnical Threats

Pipelines are a common means to transport oil, gas, and other petroleum products used by citizens in everyday life. These pipelines sometimes traverse slopes, where soil movement caused by erosion or excessive precipitation can lead to pipeline damage which may result in release of product to the environment. The results of this study will allow pipeline operators to better assess the potential for this damage to occur to ensure that the pipe can be repaired or the soil movement prevented before any safety concern arises. This will help to maintain pipeline integrity to ensure the protection of the environment and community while continuing to provide effective and reliable transportation of critical resources.

Conductive nanocomposite Leak Detection System (LDS) for oil pipeline applications

Transportation of the oil and gas through pipelines network remains a crucial infrastructure for sustaining the economic growth of Canada. A major concern has been the frequent incidents of oil spills which can cause catastrophic failures if remained undetected. Despite a plethora of Leak Detection Systems being used with state-of-the-art technologies, these monitoring systems can only detect a small fraction of oil spills. The main objective of this project is therefore to manufacture an electrically conductive polymer based leak detection system that can overcome the shortcomings of the existing ones by possessing high reliability and sensitivity to crude oil while being cost effective and manufacturable. This project will benefit the company as adding leakage sensing technology integrated with current oil-pipeline technologies can allow the elimination of expensive oil Leak Detection Systems. The cost-savings can also be realized with the quick detection, high sensitivity, and fast response in potential oil-leakage failures.

Development and validation of a machine learning predictor for the early detection of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the third leading cause of death from cancer in men in Canada. However, prostate cancer is highly treatable if diagnosed early. Unfortunately, due to lack of cost-effective and meaning test detecting the early presence of the cancer. Most prostate cancer (92%) are found when the career is spreading to nearby organs. This project aims to address the gap by using machine learning methods to build a classifier for the early detection of prostate cancer which has higher accuracy and higher sensitivity than PSA testing (the current standard).Our partner organization, Metabolomics Technologies Inc. (MTI), has conducted a clinical trial and generated metabolomics data on Prostate cancer and health-control serum samples. If this test is more meaningful to currently used PSA test, it will increase the survival rate for prostate cancer.

Reversing the ‘brain drain’: Where is Canadian STEM talent going and why?

Human capital migration, or “brain drain” as it is more commonly known, is a long-debated subject in Canadian public policy. This process involves large-scale emigration of talented individuals, educated in one country, but who choose to work in other countries to seek out higher salaries, prestige or greater occupational mobility. While this phenomenon has been long debated and discussed – mostly in relation to doctors and other medical professionals – policymakers in Canada are still often left wondering why highly skilled Canadians opt to work abroad. This issue is becoming of increasing importance for Canada’s growing technology and innovation sector as businesses are looking to grow and find talent to support this expansion. Foreign destinations, such as Silicon Valley, are attracting a growing number of Canadian graduates hoping to work at one of the region’s large technology firms, such as Google. What is driving this decision-making? TO BE CONT’D

Development of a Real Time Bioelectric BOD Sensor for Wastewater Effluent Compliance Monitoring

The necessity of cost-efficient and reliable wastewater treatment processes has increased in order to meet more stringent levels of environmental regulations, increased system reliability requirements and tightening operational budgets. To aid in meeting these operational goals, a strong market for low-cost, high-fidelity sensor technology that can relay real-time information to system operators on all aspects of wastewater treatment system performance has developed. This project looks to advance an existing prototype biosensor to the point of marketable as an end-of-pipe regulatory Biochemical Oxygen Demand monitoring device. The success of this project will produce a technology with the capability of reducing the duration/incidence of environmental contamination events, and future development of the biosensor and platform would allow for improved management of wastewater infrastructure and treatment processes. This sensor technology will well support the aforementioned goals and reduce the impact on ecosystem and human health from incompletely treated wastewater.

Communication multi-FPGA émetteur-récepteur incluant les modèles des composantes de puissances

La simulation en temps réel de système d’électronique de puissance et de réseau électrique exige de faibles pas de calcul afin d’obtenir une précision sur les phénomènes transitoires. Pour répondre au besoin de sa clientèle, OPAL-RT technologies offre des produits de pointe qui sont contraints par un problème non trivial, les délais de communication. La problématique porte sur les communications entre plateformes Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) dédié à la simulation temps-réel. Ce projet permettra de proposer des méthodes permettant de diminuer la latence de communication inter-FPGA ainsi que des techniques d’implémentation d’algorithmes de résolution de systèmes d’électronique de puissance et des réseaux électriques.

Expansion and commercialization of in vitro screening assays for thedetection and assessment of endocrine disrupting potentials of chemicals, waste- anddrinking-water

The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD), and numerous other regulatory bodies in North America, Europe and Asia are

collaborating on the development of programmes to test commercial chemicals, effluents, and (drinking)

water resources for their potential to affect human and environmental health by interacting with the

endocrine system. Since 2009, conformance with some of these programmes (e.g. EPA’s Endocrine

Disruptor Screening Programme) is legally binding for companies that offer their chemical on the US

market, and similar developments are expected in the near future for Canada, Europe and Asia. The

overall goal of this project is to improve and/or develop cellular in vitro systems in support of these

programmes, some of which were already developed by our group. These in vitro systems will be based

on commercially available cell lines that will then be modified such that they express specific

characteristics required for their utilization as screening tools to identify specific endocrine…

Modélisation du potentiel d’atténuation des émissions de gaz à effet de serre du secteur forestier québécois

Le Québec assume un leadership national et international en matière de lutte aux changements climatiques. Considérant le faible niveau d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre per capita du Québec et sa performance enviable dans le domaine de l’énergie grâce à la production d’hydroélectricité, le Québec a un défi de taille dans la poursuite de ses cibles ambitieuses de réduction de ses émissions nettes. Le secteur forestier québécois a le potentiel de contribuer de façon importante aux stratégies de lutte aux changements climatiques du Québec. Il visera à évaluer le potentiel d’atténuation lié, d’une part, à l’augmentation des superficies forestières productives par le boisement et l’aménagement de territoires présentement improductifs, et d’autre part, à l’intensification de l’aménagement forestier en forêt aménagée existante.TO BE CONT’D

Effectiveness of a community based therapeutic writing intervention to improve community sense of self

The Toronto Writers Collective (TWC), a not for profit corporation, aims to empower vulnerable populations by giving them a voice through providing them the opportunity to engage in creative writing. The TWC has received numerous impact statements from attendees and facilitators regarding their involvement in the program. This research project will investigate the effectiveness of the program offered by the TWC. Attendees and facilitators will be queried regarding their participation in TWC workshops. They will also complete several questionnaires. The information collected during this project will allow the TWC to advocate for their program as being effective in aiding their attendees and facilitators to experience improvements in social engagement, financial literacy, and community leadership. Ultimately increasing the likelihood of the TWC securing greater funding in the future, and being able to reach a larger segment of the community.

Nutritional value of Mysis diluviana for the growth, development and reproduction of hatchery-reared salmonids

Mysis diluviana, a shrimp-like crustacean, is an invasive species in Okanagan Lake. As part of a strategy by the BC government to reduce the impact of this species on the natural lake ecosystem, Piscine Energetics Inc. has been harvesting Mysis from Okanagan Lake since 2000 and retails the harvested Mysis as fish food to the ornamental aquarium industry. There are indications that Mysis could also be an effective source of nutrition for rearing trout and salmon in hatcheries. If so, this could provide three important benefits: it could provide increased economic opportunities for the Mysis harvesting industry, help BC hatcheries transition away from fish foods containing unsustainable marine fish meal, and decrease the population of this invasive species in Okanagan Lake. TO BE CONT’D

Design, manufacture and mechanical evaluation of a click interlock system for wall panels

The proposed research project falls within the framework of construction techniques and materials. In general, North American family homes are built with a wooden frame. Traditionally, the exterior wall can be made of aluminum, brick or stone. However, modern solutions offer prefabricated walls ready to install with designs that mimic other building materials like brick, stone etc. Mounting the exterior decorative wall requires screw fasteners. In the proposed project, Canada Inc. proposes a solution that goes beyond the available solutions. The Canada Inc. solution is based on the click concept used for wood flooring. These are male and female parts that fit together as in the case of a Velcro. In partnership with Polytechnique Montréal, Canada Inc. would like to optimize its wall assembly concept using the click method.

Testing and applying machine learning techniques in monitoring and detecting operating modes and faults of a membrane cell electrolyzer online and in real time at R2

The production of Chlor-Alkli by using electrolysis of aqueous solutions of sodium chloride (or brine) is one of the largest industrial scale electro-synthesis worldwide. Plants with more than 1000 individual reactors, in which 0.2 mm thin membranes separate chlorine and hydrogen, are common. This process is quite sensitive and any wrong operating conditions can cause irreversible damages. The most common accident associated with this industry are fire, explosion and toxic gas releases that can cause fatalities and long term health impact on the exposed population. The objective of this research is to control the operating conditions by the automatic monitoring and analysis of the relevant data. With the advancement in the sensors’ technology and data analytics, data that is related to the process performance is acquired on-line and in real time. This data is a source of valuable information that indicates the process’ states. TO BE CONT’D