Innovative Projects Realized

Modelling Guidance for Seaton Lands Urbanizing Watershed

Stormwater from urban areas has continuously contributed to degradation of stream health in Ontario, despite a number of measures being put in place for new developments. More recently, a Low Impact Development (LID) approach, aimed at controlling the rain runoff at the source, has been promoted and implemented. This project will focus on developing a novel approach for computer modelling of LID and legacy stormwater management practices to better inform the decision making and approval of such practices in new developments. The methodology will be tested and applied on headwaters of Duffins Creek, where the watershed land is currently undergoing significant development and that is also being closely monitored.

Robust Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Short T2 Tissues

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging modality which can visualize the internal structure of the human body and is free of radiation. In this project, we would like to write a multi-functional and robust MRI software package using ultrashort echo time (UTE) technique to realize the imaging of the tissues, such as tendons, ligaments, and cortical bone, which are difficult to view through conventional MRI techniques. This project will contribute a reliable imaging tool to our partner, Siemens Healthcare Canada, to further transform this tool into a medical solution which is able to aid the diagnosis of the associated diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA).

Use of non-invasive wildlife detection data to identify habitat of importance to focal species in a conservation and forestry matrix

Understanding how many animals live in a given area, and how those animals move from one place to another, is centrally important for properly conserving and managing landscapes. This project aims to study grizzly bear populations in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia, BC. It will use DNA data collectively non-invasively from grizzly bears at sampling stations throughout the region. This work will identify which parts of the landscape support the greatest numbers of individuals, and which areas are particularly important for allowing grizzly bears to move from one place to another in search of food, mates, and other life requirements. These insights will help guide conservation efforts and land use decisions in the area, helping to ensure activities do not jeopardize core areas for this species of considerable conservation interest.

Mise en place d’un processus de mise à jour de la norme ISO13485 et application aux systèmes de gestion de la qualité du Lio et de Emovi Inc

ISO, Organisation internationale de normalisation en charge d’élaborer des normes d’application volontaire, a émis en 2016, une nouvelle version de la norme spécifique aux dispositifs médicaux ISO 13485 qui vient remplacer celle de 2003 et porte sur les systèmes de management de la qualité. Elle énonce les exigences réglementaires auxquelles doivent s’adapter les entreprises oeuvrant dans le secteur des dispositifs médicaux. Or, le passage d’une norme à l’autre est souvent problématique à différents niveaux pour les entreprises. Afin de les aider dans cette transition, ce projet de recherche vise à mettre en place une méthodologie appropriée. Ce travail se fondera sur une recherche bibliographique, une étude comparative des versions 2003 et 2016 de la norme ISO 13485 et une analyse des modifications à mettre en oeuvre dans un premier temps au LIO du CRCHUM, puis dans l’entreprise Emovi Inc à Montréal.

The Core Connectors Initiative

The proposed study evaluates The Core Connectors Initiative (CCI), a high school-based suicide prevention program designed to help youth gain peer support skills and mental health knowledge. CCI involves two phases, a 14-module training phase and an action phase. Facilitators who have backgrounds in counselling psychology or related disciplines will pilot the program in 5 high schools. CCI is based on a peer education suicide prevention program, Youth as Gatekeepers (Ohlmann, Kwee, & Lees, 2014). Through a partnership between AAF and the UBC’s Centre for Group Counselling and Trauma (CGCT), the goal is to develop an excellent and well-researched program available as a resource for high schools to systemically address mental health concerns among youth. This partnership aligns with the mandates of both organizations: CGCT is focused on advancing group counselling initiatives, while AAF aims to prevent and address mental health challenges faced by
youth by fostering healthy social connections.

Quantifying soil organic carbon sequestration performance of the City of Calgary Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation Demonstration Project: Assessing potential provincial carbon emissions offset credit opportunities

The emerging emissions trading market provides the province of Alberta an opportunity to diversify its economy and drive climate change mitigation innovation. By improving the efficiency of earning carbon credits, more economic opportunities and carbon sequestration industrial applications are feasible. The City of Calgary Dewatered Biosolids Land Application – Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation Demonstration Project represents part of the first wave of large-scale biologically driven greenhouse gas management innovation. In this case, SOC sequestration is a beneficial by-product of sustainable waste management practices. However in the future, when potential projects and opportunities are more deliberately assessed on the bases of their sustainable development merits, triple-bottom-line scores, carbon emissions trading value, and measurable soil fertility restoration improvements, their SOC sequestration potential may be just the added value needed to tip the balance towards approving biogenic projects and further developing climate change mitigation and sustainable development technologies.

La vitesse de propagation des ondes de cisaillement pour la caractérisation des enrobés recyclés à froid

Il devient commun de mesurer Vs, la vitesse de propagation des ondes de cisaillement, en vue de la caractérisation sismique d’un site, en ingénierie des sols (géotechnique). Le paramètre Vs peut être mesuré à la fois en laboratoire et sur le terrain. Le projet vise à développer la mesure de Vs en laboratoire sur des enrobé bitumineux retraités et recyclés à froid (ERF). L’utilisation de ces matériaux est avantageuse pour des raisons économiques et environnementales. Mais il est difficile d’établir leur résistance en jeune âge puisqu’ils sont trop mous pour que les méthodes usuelles de caractérisation soient utilisées. Il paraît opportun d’envisager l’utilisation de Vs comme paramètre de caractérisation des ERF. Pour ce faire, il est nécessaire d’établir des procédures en laboratoire et des valeurs types. TO BE CONT’D

Numerical investigations of Geophysical Data

Geophysic is concerned with the study of the earth’s properties, and it is of great importance to oil and mineral

exploration and in the environmental investigation. With the advanced in modern technology, enormous

geophysical data are now available from the ground measurements and airborne surveys. One of the crucial

tasks in geophysical investigation is to extract the important subsurface information and features of the earth

from the massive data, and numerical analysis and computational techniques play a vital role in the recent

progress and development in geophysics. The objective of the present MITACS Accelerate Internship is

twofold. First, numerical procedures will be developed to efficiently invert subsurface resistivity distribution.

Secondly, robust algorithms will be examined to solve an ill?posed inverse problem. The developed numerical

techniques will be tested using real ground data and magnetic data provided by the TerraNotes Ltd

Geophysics. The anticipated results of this project have potential applications in solving geophysical problems

of significance to Alberta industry.

Développement d’un outil d’interpolation entre les régimes de fonctionnement d’une turbine hydraulique

Ce projet a pour but le développement d’un outil pour améliorer nos capacités à prédire la nature et les amplitudes des sollicitations mécaniques sur une roue de turbine hydraulique type Francis pour les régimes stationnaire et transitoire. Plus spécifiquement, le projet a pour objectif le développement et la validation d’un modèle de calibration et d’interpolation des contraintes dynamiques de la roue entre les conditions d’opérations mesurées ou simulées. Les données utilisées sont issues des simulations numériques (EF) et des mesures in situ afin d’obtenir une estimation cohérente des niveaux de contraintes prenant en compte les deux types de données. Les résultats d’un tel modèle sont exploités dans un modèle probabiliste pour estimer la fiabilité résiduelle de la roue.

NMR analysis of the enzymatically produced propylene glycol mono- and di- esters of canola oil

Emulsifiers as multifunctional additives can develop low-caloric, high-quality foods. Beside the monoacylglycerols (MAGs), or mixtures with diacylglycerols (DAGs), propylene glycol (1,2-propanediol) esters (PGEs) are the commonly used emulsifiers in the food industry. Emulsifiers are currently produced using costly and environmentally unfriendly “enzyme in solvent” systems and also have some shortcomings in certain food applications. This research will determine the feasibility of a novel method of PGEs manufacture-enzymatic catalysis in supercritical carbon dioxide-using canola oil, which we propose will be a cost effective and “green” solution to current solvent systems and will allow for improved health and food product formulation attributes compared to current options in the marketplace. NMR analysis of the PGEs which are produced in supercritical CO2 (SCCO2) as a low temperature technology is the focus of this study. TO BE CONT’D

Investigating Learning Cultures and Practices that Foster Experiential, Collaborative and Self-Directed Learning

The fundamental purpose of this research is to identify and understand ways in which workplaces can become “schools”, and facilitate meaningful learning for their employees. The intern will describe the main characteristics of an organizational learning culture that fosters experiential, self-directed and collaborative learning, document organizational practices that support such a learning culture and collect stories from organizations who have successfully developed such a culture. e180 will benefit from this research by gaining a deeper understanding of how people learn at work, and how technology can support these efforts. They will also gain insight to inform the writing of their book, Meet Human Greatness.

Extended Technology Assessment of Advanced In-situ Recovery Methods for Oil Sands

In-situ recovery methods for oils sands are applied to reservoirs containing bitumen that are too deep for mining. To date there has been only one commercially viable in-situ recovery method, Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), involving high pressure steam injection and bitumen production using horizontal well pairs located near the base of oil sands formations. While SAGD has enabled conversion of significant resources to reserves (about 170 billion barrels), SAGD has many economic and environmental limitations. SAGD capital and operating costs are high making many projects uneconomic at current low oil prices. Water usage and carbon emissions are also high in SAGD making the process environmentally unsustainable. The Accelerate Cluster projects are aimed at finding new recovery methods that reduce costs of delivering energy to the formations and that also reduce water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. TO BE CONT’D