Innovative Projects Realized

Design of Thermal System for Electric Wheels

A new cooling system will be designed for electric wheel system which is being developed on partner site to commercial vehicle. The electric wheel system can increase the dynamic performance, flexibility of operation and efficient of electric vehicle.

Improving Signal Prediction of a Real-time Radiotherapy Beam Monitor using Artificial Neural Network

The science and technology of Radiotherapy for treating cancerous tumor more accurately and precisely is improving constantly with the availability of cutting-edge imaging systems in Radiation Treatment room, and advancements in computer technologies. However, these improvements are associated with complexities and potential risks. To mitigate the risks, a new class of Quality Assurance (QA) systems are emerging. In this research project, the student will investigate further enhancements in the performance of a recently commercialized QA system (IQM system) by incorporating a Machine Learning method. It is expected that an Improved IQM system can be an enabler for clinical deployment of advanced Radiotherapy techniques, and consequently our industry partner will benefit from the improvements in the customer demands of the IQM system.

Dynamic Binary Instrumentation of Embedded Systems

The proposed research project focuses on the dynamic analysis of embedded systems. The project has a duration of six months and aims to achieve two objectives: (1) to evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of a newly proposed QoS-aware dynamic instrumentation framework on real-word time-sensitive applications, and (2) compare the outcome to that of an existing state-of-the-art framework. For this purpose, the intern will get access to real-world applications provided by the partner, Labforge, Inc. As an expected benefit, the outcome of the project will help Labforge reduce its overall development cost and time-to-market, by cutting down the testing and debugging time.

Defining and measuring responsible gambling behaviour: National validation of the Positive Play Scale

The recently developed Positive Play Scale (PPS; Wood, Wohl, Tabri, & Philander, 2017) is the first ever questionnaire that can evaluate responsible gambling (RG) beliefs (e.g., knowing the odds of games) and behaviours (e.g., monitoring time and money spent gambling) amongst players. Importantly, however, the PPS was initially developed using exploratory statistical methods and with samples of players residing in British Columbia. That said, the first objective of the proposed research is to examine whether the PPS is a valid measure using confirmatory statistical methods with samples of players from all Canadian jurisdictions (i.e., provinces/territories). The second objective is to establish high/medium/low cut-off scores for the PPS based on the Canadian national sample. The findings will be instrumental in helping gambling operators to more effectively develop and evaluate the outcomes of their RG programming (e.g., educating players about the odds of success) for their player base.

Modelling wood quality and lumber recovery in variable retention stands part II

For many reasons, forest management in Canada will be constrained by ecological and social forest management objectives. Along with meeting the diverse needs of society, forest managers will need to consider increased demands for renewable resources, such as wood. Wood, as opposed to concrete and steel, has a positive impact on the global carbon cycle but is also strong enough to build large buildings. Therefore, there will be an increased demand for stronger wood in the future. Many factors influence the strength of wood, such as the species, the speed at which the tree grows and the environment where the tree is growing. We are attempting to understand how the properties that affect the strength of wood change when forest managers must also meet social and ecological goals. We propose to develop computer models that simulate wood strength properties in response to forest management. TO BE CONT’D

Novel OER catalysts and rapid screening methodology for reversal tolerant PEM fuel cell anodes

Hydrogen fuel cells are a promising alternative to meeting today’s transportation demands. Longer lasting and more robust fuel cells are essential for commercial applications. A common issue with the longevity of a fuel cell stack is the tolerance to repeated start-up shutdown cycles. During these cycles, the fuel cell can become starved of fuel due to blockages in the channels. Without fuel to react, the fuel cell will begin to break down the carbon supports causing catastrophic cell failure. To prevent this type of failure, new catalyst materials must be benchmarked quickly and efficiently to determine their properties and durability. We will investigate the interactions of the catalysts and support materials and compare the results to real world tests to find new and exciting fuel cell catalysts.

Maximizing the performance of AltaSteel grinding rods through structural optimization

AltaSteel Ltd. is an innovative manufacturer of steel products for a variety of industries. Grinding rods are one

of main products of AltaSteel, which are made of high carbon steel and used to grind ores to the desired size. It

has been noticed that the grinding rods perform not consistently, which is believed to be caused by unknown

variations in microstructure during manufacturing. The objectives of this project are to 1) determine crucial

microstructural factors that govern the performance and consistency in performance of the grinding rods, and 2)

improve the grinding steel rods through optimizing both microstructure and macro-structure. This project would

directly benefit AltaSteel for improved products, optimized manufacturing process, and new knowledge for further

development. This project would also bring long-term benefits to Canada through training young technical

personnel and advancing materials technology for the steel industry, which supports many other industrial sectors,

such as mining, oil sands, oil and gas, manufacturing, transportation, and construction industries…

Employee Reactions to Talent Management

About 65 percent of organizations worldwide have talent management (TM) practices in place, with 5 to 10 percent of their employees being identified as a talent annually. Seemingly unhindered by a lack of empirical evidence, in recent years organizations have decided to include more and more employees in their talent pools, with the goal of making them more ‘inclusive’. Social comparison theory, however, states that being outperformed by a less exclusive élite group likely intensifies negative reactions of those being outperformed while diminishing positive reactions of the outperformers. TO BE CONT’D

The Institution of Esoteric Buddhism and the Economy of Religious Enterprise in Mid-Tang P

This research project tries to explore how the Esoteric School of Buddhism established, maintained, and reformed its sectarian institution in China from the mid-eighth to the early ninth century. The project will answer the question by showing how monastic business of the school was developed and adapted for the purpose of attracting patronage in drastically changing political and economic circumstances and how it was realized by the leaders’ creative interpretation of the school’s theology and soteriology. The project aims to showcase the vitality of economic concern in influencing the development of religious institution and ideology and the effectiveness of economic approach in the enquiry of the field of religious history. The outcome of the study is expected to help one partner organization to build a refined and elevated corporate culture and devise an advertising strategy that is informed by the evangelizing spirit of religions. TO BE CONT’D

The additive effects of foam rolling and Biofreeze on range of motion, pain threshold and submaximal force production task to failure

Research has shown that rolling muscles can increase flexibility without hindering performance as well as to heighten pressure pain threshold. It was also shown that topically applied gels, which contain menthol, result in a cooling sensation and reduce the sensation of pain. While both modalities are suggested to influence pain perception through different pathways, their interactive effects have never been examined. As such, with this study we aim to investigate the additive effects of foam rolling the muscles in addition to applying a topical gel containing menthol (Biofreeze) on pressure pain threshold, range of motion, and a submaximal effort task completed to exhaustion. Over four sessions participants will visit the laboratory and complete one of the four conditions: 1) foam roll, 2) apply biofreeze 3) foam roll + Biofreeze, 4) apply a placebo like cream to their dominant leg prior to being testing on the three outcome measures.

Development of an Industrial Design Workflow to Incorporate 3D Scanning for Manufacturing Tooling Processes – Phase II

Today’s modern industries aim at supplying premium quality products that can offer added performance value, lower weight, less environmental impact, decreased manufacturing and maintenance costs, increased durability and safety, and eventually higher customer satisfaction and market competitiveness. To achieve these goals, new-engineered materials such as glass fiber reinforced polymers (GFRPs) are rapidly replacing traditional single materials such as steel and aluminum. The proposed MITACS research will develop best-practice engineering and management workflows to improve the efficiency, controllability and profitability of the polyester gelcoat and acrylic-coat glass-fibre reinforced polymer composite spray-up process, used in the manufacture of tub shower units at a leading composite manufacturer in B.C., Canada. Namely, research will focus on an emerging application of 3D scanning technology to accurately model and document GFRP moulds used in the tub shower manufacturing process, which have traditionally been ‘hand-made’ by senior technicians, and not based on a sustainable engineering approach.

Quality Assessment and Enhancement of Retinal Images

Babies who are born prematurely are at risk of developing a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP), which if left untreated, can lead to permanent blindness. RoP causes characteristic changes in the retinal vasculature,
which can be seen when looking into the eye. Because the infants need to be monitored regularly for this condition, and certain traits need to be carefully identified, a special camera is used to take a picture of the retina. These pictures can then be studied for signs of RoP by an ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, a number of factors cause the quality of the images to suffer, including incomplete development of the eye structure, uneven illumination, varying pigmentation of the retina, and simply, difficulty in taking the pictures. We propose to develop methods to measure the quality of these images and identify any degradation issues. TO BE CONT’D