Innovative Projects Realized

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

Implementation, Demonstration, and Evaluation of a Cloud-Based Smart Dual Fuel Switching System (SDFSS) for the Hybrid Integrated HVAC System in a Net-Zero Energy House

Energy consumption of a net zero energy home (NZEH) equipped with high efficiency natural gas fired furnace and an electrical air source heat pump will be monitored for a period of 12 months. The mechanical system of the house is designed to switch between these two sources of energy based on outdoor temperature. Based on current settings, heat pump works during milder/warmer weather condition and when temperature reaches below a certain point, system switches to furnace which works more efficiently in cold weather. This control system does not consider other important factors to identify the optimal switching point while switching set point is better to be defined based on individual house and mechanical system characteristics. Ryerson has developed a smart dual fuel switching system (SDFSS) that takes all important decision making factors into consideration. TO BE CONT’D

Design of an EV Charging Infrastructure: DC Grid for High Density Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging and other DC Loads-Phase II

West 5 community in London, Ontario, will pursue high penetration of electric vehicles, and is exploring an innovative marketing program of including them with the sale of each new condominium unit. The primary objective of this project is to determine an economical approach to create an acceptable infrastructure for these electric vehicles that will be desired by the community. The study will evaluate how to improve the efficiency of using Solar Energy to charge vehicles’ battery and for other DC loads in the London West 5 community. One of the main purposes of the West 5 project is to create a showcase for sustainable design and products that will attract global attention, which will create civic pride and draw people to participate. On the other hand, the benefit to s2e Technology will be properly designing Net Zero and Smart communities with DC based infrastructure.

Detection of insulin using a novel capturing system

Insulin is a hormone released from the pancreas, which controls the level of glucose in blood. Diabetes is a disease characterized by a lack of insulin production or impaired insulin action. Here, we propose the development of a novel system based exclusively on the measurement of insulin using capturing molecules with high affinity to insulin. This method will provide an affordable and simplified method to be used not only in point of care but also by the patient at home.

An Integrated Lead Conversion Model for Inside Sales

Although inside sales is the fastest growing title in the sales industry with companies hiring inside salespeople at a much higher rate than outside salespeople, little is known about the types of activities that drive their success, particularly the conversion of leads to customers (i.e., customer acquisition). Accordingly, the current project aims to develop a data-driven lead conversion model that incorporates key factors of a selling situation. The outcome of this project will help demonstrate the value of data-driven analytics for inside sales by offering practitioners a model that can help optimize lead management practices and ultimately improve company success.

The Beaver Hills Biosphere Project: Conserving coarse and fine filter biodiversity within a network of protected areas

Conserving Canada’s biodiversity is important to help mitigate the impacts of future climate change. Protecting multiple areas within a landscape is one possible way to conserve biodiversity, however, we still are not sure what aspects of a landscape are best to protect and for which species. Here, we study mammals within the Beaver Hills Biosphere landscape of central Alberta – an area not too large to fully inventory for different species. We use multiple methods to collect data and model the size, orientation, and protected status that can best help Canada meet international targets for biodiversity conservation through implementing and maintaining protected areas. The results of this work will help Canada manage, plan, and maintain other protected areas to ensure the conservation of healthy ecosystems.

Investigation of Thermal Bowing in UHPC Precast Double Wythe Wall Panels

Precast/prestressed concrete sandwich panels (PCSP) are used widely as architectural or structural units. They consist of two concrete wythes, rigid insulation foam in between, and shear connectors. Although they exhibit excellent attributes and perform well in the field, some factors can deter the full utilization of PCSPs and cause safety concern. One of those factors is the thermal bowing, a deflection of the panel caused by difference in temperature between the outer and inner wythes. Current design standards are unable to precisely predict thermal bowing, while a scientific method is still to be seen. This research examines the thermal bowing phenomenon in PCSPs using finite element (FE) analysis, with an aim of accurately predicting thermal bowing for different types of PCSPs. TO BE CONT’D