Innovative Projects Realized

Secure and Efficient ML-KEM Implementation on ARM Cortex-M7

This project aims to make future internet-connected devices secure against quantum computer attacks by developing faster and safer cryptographic software for small embedded systems. We will optimize a newly standardized post-quantum algorithm so that it runs efficiently on widely used ARM Cortex-M7 processors without sacrificing security. The results will help protect critical infrastructure, healthcare systems, and smart devices from emerging cyber threats, supporting Canada’s leadership in cybersecurity innovation.

Negotiating Heritage and Identity Through Restaurant Entrepreneurship in London’s Soho Chinatown

This project examines how Chinese restaurant owners and operators in London’s Soho Chinatown navigate rapid change. Restaurants are central to Chinatown’s economy and to how “Chinatown” is publicly represented through food, space, and everyday hospitality practices. As tourism markets shift and new culinary trends emerge, operators make practical decisions about menus, branding, service, and target customers—often while responding to expectations around authenticity, heritage, and cultural identity.

The intern will conduct approximately 15 in-depth interviews with restaurant owners and managers and conduct field observations in Soho Chinatown. The study will include intergenerational perspectives within the same restaurants to understand succession and continuity. The sample will reflect diverse restaurant types, including long-established Cantonese/Hong Kong–linked businesses and newer ventures such as hot pot, bubble tea, and other contemporary regional cuisines. Visual documentation and archival materials will describe the challenges faced by business owners in navigating authenticity, identity, and succession.

Findings will be translated into accessible knowledge products, including a concise insights report for local stakeholders and curated visual and archival documentation, supporting more inclusive and sustainable Chinatown tourism and heritage initiatives. They will contribute to knowledge exchange through the International Conference on Chinatowns, to be held at the University of Alberta in September 2026.

Investigating SMYD3 Oncogenic Activity by Machine Learning: Discovering Novel-substrate and Peptide-Based Inhibitors

This project focuses on validating a new potential cancer treatment that was designed using artificial intelligence at Carleton University. The student (Ruofan Wang) will travel to a partner laboratory in France to test this treatment on specific cancer cells that rely on a tumor-promoting protein called SMYD3. This physical visit is critical because the partner lab possesses unique cancer cell lines that are essential for proving the treatment works but are too fragile to be shipped to Canada. The project benefits both institutions by allowing the Canadian team to prove their AI-designed drug is effective in real biological systems, while providing the French team with a new tool to study cancer progression, strengthening a long-term international research partnership

Reactive Carbon Dioxide Capture Using Novel Silicon-Carborane Catalysts

Rising carbon dioxide emissions necessitate innovative approaches for its capture and effective conversion into valuable chemical products. This project will develop Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs) tethered to redox-active ortho-carboranes, providing a tunable platform for carbon dioxide capture and catalytic hydrosilylation. By combining electrochemical activation with main-group catalysis, the project aims to synthesize a new class of electrocatalytically active FLP systems capable of reducing carbon dioxide under mild conditions, thereby minimizing energy input and improving selectivity. The collaboration between Prof. Shigeyoshi Inoue (TUM) and Prof. Gabriel Ménard (University of Calgary) brings together leading expertise in catalytic hydrosilylation, main-group chemistry, and advanced carborane electrochemistry to design redox-switchable FLP electrocatalysts. This research will support scientific and technological innovation at TUM while strengthening its position in molecular electrochemistry, sustainable catalysis, and carbon dioxide utilization. The experience gained at TUM in catalytic hydrosilylation and main-group catalysis will be integrated into ongoing carbon dioxide utilization research at the University of Calgary. Overall, this project serves as a bridge between TUM and the University of Calgary to help pave the way for scalable carbon dioxide valorization technologies, aligning with global efforts to develop sustainable carbon management solutions.

Proposition pour Bourse de recherche Globalink : stage au Royaume-Uni

Ce projet vise à mieux comprendre comment certaines protéines du système immunitaire réagissent lorsqu’une cellule subit une infection bactérienne. L’une d’elles, la caspase-4 peut déclencher la mort contrôlée d’une cellule lorsqu’un lipide bactérien se retrouve à l’intérieur de celle-ci. En s’activant, la caspase-4 coupe plusieurs protéines, dont TAP1 et TAP2, essentielles pour permettre aux cellules la présentation d’antigène via le CMH-I au système immunitaire.

En utilisant des cellules épithéliales infectées par la Salmonella, le projet permettra de confirmer la séquence de clivage de TAP1 et TAP2, d’identifier la conséquence de ce clivage sur leur localisation cellulaire et finalement, d’identifier l’impact du clivage sur la présentation de peptides à la surface de la cellule par CMH-I.

Pour atteindre ces objectifs, plusieurs approches biochimiques, cellulaires et de biologie synthétique seront utilisées : protéines recombinantes, immunobuvardage, cytométrie en flux, ELISA et modèles d’infection. Ce travail contribuera à approfondir les connaissances sur les mécanismes par lesquels le système immunitaire détecte les bactéries et coordonne la défense. À long terme, ces connaissances pourraient aider à mieux comprendre certaines maladies inflammatoires ou infectieuses. Le stage se déroulera au laboratoire du Dr Boucher, spécialiste des inflammasomes et des caspases, à l’Université de York au Royaume-Uni.

Developing a Community Needs Assessment Tool using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework in Hamilton-Halton

This project will develop a comprehensive community assessment tool to enhance United Way Halton & Hamilton’s strategic funding approach and strengthen their capacity to respond to evolving community needs. Building upon their established success in mobilizing $12.5 million annually across 117 programs that serve over 200,000 residents, UWHH seeks to advance their evidence-based decision-making through systematic community engagement. The tool will employ the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to assess community assets and needs across six critical domains, evaluate satisfaction with current service provision, and identify preferred approaches to service delivery. Through representative sampling that includes traditionally underrepresented populations, the assessment will generate actionable data to inform strategic funding priorities. This enhanced community feedback mechanism will enable UWHH to optimize their substantial philanthropic investments, strengthen the alignment between their proven program portfolio and emerging community preferences, and advance their demonstrated commitment to measurable impact across the Halton and Hamilton regions.

Optimisation de procédé de gravure plasma à haut rapport d’aspect pour des applications optoélectroniques

Ce projet de stage porte sur l’optimisation d’un procédé de gravure plasma à haut rapport d’aspect appliqué à la fabrication de nouveaux lasers à semi-conducteurs multi-jonctions. Ces dispositifs, basés sur des matériaux III-V tels que GaAs et AlGaAs, nécessitent des structures profondément gravées et parfaitement contrôlées afin d’assurer un confinement optique efficace, une gestion thermique optimale et des performances élevées en régime pulsé. La gravure plasma, en particulier via des procédés ICP-RIE, représente une étape critique car elle doit produire des parois verticales, lisses et exemptes de résidus, tout en préservant les couches sensibles sous-jacentes. Or, atteindre de tels profils dans des matériaux III-V demeure un défi technologique en raison des interactions complexes entre chimie du plasma, passivation des parois, énergie ionique et conditions opératoires. Ce projet de stage vise à identifier et optimiser les fenêtres de procédé permettant d’obtenir des structures anisotropes et reproductibles adaptées aux lasers multi-jonctions. L’enjeu scientifique est de mieux comprendre les mécanismes physico-chimiques gouvernant la gravure, tandis que l’enjeu industriel est d’améliorer la fiabilité et les performances de lasers avancés pour les télécommunications, la photonique et d’autres applications stratégiques.

Navigation autonome de drones en environnements GPS-denied

Ce projet vise à accomplir une revue de l’état de l’art des solutions de système de navigation autonome pour drones capable de fonctionner sans GPS. Le résultat de ce projet offrira à NGC une analyse des solutions potentielles de contingence lors de missions en environnements GPS-denied, soit dans des environnements où le signal GPS est faible ou inexistant. Les solutions potentielles envisagées rassemblent plusieurs expertises, soit celles de la robotique et de la navigation autonome, de la vision par ordinateur, du traitement de signaux, du contrôle et de la dynamique des véhicules aériens, ainsi que des systèmes embarqués.

SAGA: Translanguaging and Urban Green Transitions

“Finding the right words in place for the green transition” in Helsinki and Copenhagen is a component of the larger, SSHRC Insight grant SAGA: Translanguaging and Sustainability (2024-29). Building upon a foundation of policy discourse analysis specific to the terminology of green transition in these two cities in Finnish and Danish, respectively, interns will pursue an ecocritical analysis of justifications and the strategies for ecological transition in policy documents completed in the English language, intended for external, international communication, and compare the results with the previously completed analysis in native language policy discourse. This analysis will serve the objective of identifying key arguments, strategies, and processes related to urban ecological transition that may be distinctively available in a place-based language, compared with items that may be equally easily expressed in English language. As a study of ecocritical discourse analysis, it will also document the evolution of language of the ecological transition in each of these cities. An engaged component of the research will entail constructive discussion of the products of the discourse analysis with bilingual researchers and experts on urban change and the ecological transition and participant observation of the implementation of a number of case sites of ecological transition.

Advancing nonstationarity hydroclimate frequency analysis through regional information and multi-covariate models

This project aims to improve the prediction of extreme precipitation by enhancing a widely used open-source tool for frequency analysis. Predicting these extremes remains challenging, particularly when incorporating physical covariates and complex models, which often lead to instability in estimation methods. The updated framework will include advanced models that account for a changing climate using one or more physical covariates and leveraging regional hydroclimate information across Canada to improve predictions. The project will provide practical solutions for water management agencies, researchers, and policymakers. Through collaboration between USask and UNAM, this initiative will strengthen expertise in climate-resilient water management and deliver tools to help protect communities and infrastructure from the growing flood risks. The partnership will also result in joint publications and future research proposals to pursue additional funding opportunities.

Évaluation, comparaison et optimisation de solutions de câblage cryogénique pour les communications numériques

L’émergence de l’informatique quantique marque une ère de transformation dans la science informatique, promettant une puissance de traitement sans précédent pour les problèmes complexes. Cependant, l’évolutivité de l’électronique de contrôle classique, à température ambiante, reste limitée pour les applications quantiques cryogéniques.

L’équipe de Sherbrooke, en collaboration avec celle de Paris-Saclay, développe une plateforme électronique cryogénique modulaire flexible. La plateforme requiert diverses connexions électriques avec une bande passante suffisante pour communiquer efficacement avec un ordinateur de contrôle. Bien que les connexions haute performances des cryostats répondent aux exigences de ces protocoles, leur nombre est insuffisants pour pourvoir à la fois aux besoins de la plateforme de contrôle et à ceux des composants quantiques. Les connexions de basse ou moyenne performance existantes, quant à elles, sont fragiles, en densité insuffisante et n’ont pas la bande passante requise par les protocoles électriques modernes.

Pour répondre à ce problème, le projet de ce stage prévoit l’exploration de technologies de connectivité haute densité, robustes, compatibles avec les environnements cryogéniques et répondants aux exigences des protocoles électriques modernes. Le travail consistera en tests en laboratoire de différentes solutions initiales de connectivité, leur analyse, la sélection de la solution en termes de performance, robustesse et rapport qualité/prix.

Development of low-defect-density materials for the fabrication of quantum devices

Quantum computing can revolutionize secure communications and advanced computing, but current devices suffer from noise and instability caused by fabrication defects. This project aims to improve silicon and germanium spin qubits by developing advanced surface passivation, optimizing dielectric stacks, and engineering high-quality Ge/SiGe heterostructures.
Research will involve thin-film deposition, interface characterization, and electrical testing using cutting-edge facilities at Université de Sherbrooke. By reducing defect density and enhancing qubit fidelity, the project will enable scalable quantum processors.
The work strengthens Canada’s leadership in quantum technologies and fosters collaboration with Université Gustave Eiffel. These advancements have transformative potential for cybersecurity, information technology, and energy-efficient electronics.