Innovative Projects Realized

Evaluating the possibilities for a new generation light source for infrared spectroscopy and spectromicroscopy

Infrared spectroscopy is a fundamental technique to study novel materials ranging from medicine to semiconductor industry. Regular infrared sources can provide very limited spatial resolution for infrared microscopy experiments. Currently, this limitation can be overcome with the use of synchrotron sources. A recently discovered and now commercially available alternative light source is the Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs). Their limitation is that QCLs have a small range of tunability. Bruker Optics has recently acquired a QCL product that may provide comparable characteristics (brightness, small spot size and widely tunable) as a synchrotron. A key advantage of this system is its relative ease of use, compact size and the price. Nonetheless, the real-world performance of this device must be tested against the outstanding performance provided by a synchrotron source. This project aims to test and evaluate the possibilities of implementing QCL sources for infrared spectromicroscopy, thus benefiting the partner organization by…

Conversion of low alcohols to high alcohols through continuous process with highly active multifunctional catalysts

In this project, a series of highly efficient and highly selective multifunctional Guerbet catalysts are developed and will be investigated for the condensation of low alcohols to high alcohols in a continuous-flow reactor. Low energy density bioethanol and methanol will be upgraded to n-butanol and iso-butanol with high energy content comparable to gasoline with high octane number and good miscibility with gasoline. Long chain linear alcohols C6-C10 will also be converted to branched primary alcohols C12-20 with high value application as additives, lubricants and surfactants. Successful development of the present process will not only establish new processes to produce a couple of value added products with low cost, it also strengthens the partner organization’s (Western Maple Bio Resources Inc, or WMB for short) goal of developing green chemical technologies and products to benefit human health. The project will also promote the utilization of renewable resources to build a sustainable economy.

Calculation of the induced voltage between overhead transmission lines and adjacent gas pipelines via electromagnetic transients simulation

The candidate will utilize his knowledge and experience in transmission line modelling to implement test cases required by BC Hydro to validate the results of measured induced voltages between the transmission lines and gas pipelines. The simulations will be performed using well-known computer packages available at power laboratories of the University of British Columbia as well as computer programs written by the candidate to implement the recently developed line model in his PhD work. Simulation results will be compared with the measurements. In case of agreement between these results, BC Hydro will be able to use the confirmed data and standards for strengthening the shielding of gas pipelines for a better protection against corrosion.

Fédération de données par le biais de technologies du Web sémantique

Bassetti offre à ses clients la solution Teexma®, un outil collaboratif permettant de faire la gestion des données techniques des entreprises industrielles. Cet outil permet de structurer, capitaliser et diffuser les données techniques, mais il n’offre pas de fonctions pour faciliter le recoupement de données provenant de sources différentes. Or il s’agit d’un facteur crucial pour permettre des analyses approfondies, ainsi que la prise de décision. Bassetti aimerait donc proposer une solution pour réaliser cette intégration. Puisque les données reposent sur des formats, des structures et des contextes différents, il faut une approche sémantique pour les fédérer. Dans ce projet, nous explorerons les technologies du Web sémantique, afin de créer un cadre dans lequel les données seront exportées et, en quelque sorte, traduites en une base de connaissances. Nous tenterons de montrer l’intérêt de ces technologies dans le domaine des matériaux, en démontrant comment elles peuvent être utilisées par un groupe industriel dans ce domaine.

Assessing options for the regulation of non-medical drug use in Canada: a systematic literature review

Canada is in the midst of an unprecedented overdose crisis, with 922 people dying of overdose in the province of British Columbia in 2016. Pivot Legal Society has a mandate to represent drug users and advance their hu-man rights. It is embarking on a project to bring together drug policy experts across Canada and around the globe to propose regulatory models for all currently illicit substances. As preparation, Noah Quastel will collect and review academic literature, government reports, and community-based publications regarding alternatives to criminal law as a mechanism for regulating the non-medical use of drugs. He will create a report that summa-rizes and synthesizes literature in this area, as well as map the positions, and points of contention between Ca-nadian stakeholder groups.

Low-damage deposition of transparent conductive oxides as top contacts for transparent organic light emitting diodes

Organic light emitting diodes, or ‘OLEDs’ have become a common technology in everyday displays such as mobile phones, laptops, and televisions. These types of devices rely on an OLED structure that uses ‘bottom-emission’, meaning that the top of the device consists of a non-transparent backplane, and the light and colours generated in the device are emitted through the transparent, bottom side of the device. In order to incorporate OLED technology into new and exciting applications such as heads up displays, smart windows, or augmented reality, the device must be fabricated so that it is completely transparent and capable of both ‘bottom emission’ and ‘top emission’. A significant challenge with a transparent OLED (TOLED) is that the transparent electrode which must be deposited directly on top of the light-generating organic layers can cause damage to the device and limit performance. TO BE CONT’D

Control Forecasting Feature

Control is a leader in mobile payment analytics and alerts for SaaS, subscription, and eCommerce businesses, enabling instant intelligence anywhere via its Android, iOS, and web-based products. We collect our customers’ payment data and provide them with their key business metrics that helps them monitor their performance. In order to improve our service to customers we are moving towards providing customers with predictive analytics, that is we want to enable our users to forecast the future of their business based on the models that will learn from their historic payment data and yield forecasts for short-term future. This will help business owners to make informed business decisions and set their strategies on insights that are driven from their data. This requires studying the data and testing forecasting techniques to measure the performance of each method in predicting the future data, which is the main objective of this project.

Effectiveness of EarlyDetect, a psychiatric assessment program, using a mobile APP interface

Mental health illness cost over $50 billion in the Canadian economy annually, and is prevalent at workplace. The cost and prevalence of menial health illness can be greatly mitigated with early detection and intervention. EarlyDetect is a program developed by Chokka Center for Integrative Health for convenient, accurate and reliable self-assessment of mental illness, and has been validated in a pen-and-paper form. The current project is to develop a fully functional mobile APP version of the EarlyDetect, and to study whether testing through a mobile APP will generate the same high quality diagnosis from the pen-and-paper version of the program.

Application de l’apprentissage automatique pour l’analyse de données dans le contexte Industrie 4.0

Le Centre de recherche industriel du Québec (CRIQ) a pour mission de contribuer à la compétitivité des secteurs industriels québécois et à la croissance des organismes en soutenant l’innovation, la productivité et les exportations. Dans le cadre de ces deux sous-projets MITACS, nous allons explorer comment construire et exploiter des modèles obtenus par apprentissage automatique afin d’aider le CRIQ dans son mandat. Une partie des activités de ce projet porteront sur la recherche et l’extraction d’information à des fins de veille technologique. Le CRIQ mène fréquemment des recherches pour trouver les normes qui s’appliquent à la commercialisation d’un nouveau produit. Le premier sous-projet, qui fera l’objet de six stages de maîtrise, aura pour but d’évaluer l’apport de techniques d’apprentissage automatique et du traitement automatique de la langue naturelle (TALN) pour accomplir certaines étapes du processus de recherche d’information. TO BE CONT’D

Potentiel de l’Hyper-Cam Méthane aéroportée pour la détection des émissions surfaciques de méthane sur les lieux d’enfouissement sanitaires

Telops, une entreprise canadienne spécialisée dans la conception et la fabrication d’imageurs hyperspectraux et de caméras infrarouge, a développé l’Hyper-Cam Méthane, un outil permettant de réaliser des mesures précises des émissions surfaciques de méthane. Cet outil est particulièrement adapté à la détection et à la quantification des émissions de méthane sur les sites d’enfouissement, qui peuvent être une source importante de gaz à effet de serre. Cependant, il n’a pour le moment été utilisé que sur des supports terrestres, ce qui permet d’obtenir une quantification des émissions de méthane sur des superficies restreintes uniquement. L’objectif de cette étude est ainsi de tester les capacités de l’Hyper-Cam Méthane aéroportée pour la détection et la quantification des émissions de méthane. TO BE CONT’D

Assessing the Impact of an Electronic Patient Tracking Board onOrganizational Performance

The benefit of electronic patient management systems within hospitals has been

previously demonstrated through enhanced communication and collaboration

between departments. However many hospitals within the Canadian healthcare system

do not currently use electronic tracking systems. Furthermore, the implementation of

these systems has been challenging leading to poor adoption of these technologies

resulting in limited benefit. In order to identify the drivers and barriers to technology

adoption we intend to study the implementation of an electronic patient management

system in a large hospital setting. By interviewing and surveying those responsible for

the acquisition of the system as well as those who interact with it, the effect of this

technology on the hospital operations can be evaluated. Identification of the factors

leading to adoption will allow McKesson to design better user interfaces and

deployment strategies to increase end-user interaction and satisfaction.

Using structure-from-motion and 3D analysis to visualize habitat complexity and dynamics of glass sponge reefs in British Columbia

Glass sponges build their skeletons out of silicon dioxide (i.e. glass). While these animals are found all over the world in very deep water, they only exist shallower than 50 m in a few places in the world. In very rare cases, new sponges grow on top of existing, dead sponges and form reefs in a similar manner to coral reefs. As with coral reefs, the structure formed by the reefs is ecologically important because it provides complex habitat and shelter for other animals. However, the structure of the reef can be challenging to measure using the two-dimensional methods that ecologists traditionally use. We propose to measure the glass sponge reefs using technology that captures 3-D shapes using photos or videos. This same technology is used to make 3-D animations and virtual reality, and can allow researchers to visualize information in ways never before possible. TO BE CONT”D