Innovative Projects Realized

The Effective Knowledge Transfer of Novel Approaches to Understanding and Addressing the Risk Factors for Cognitive Fatigue in Wildland Firefighting Settings

Given the increased risk to fatigue in fire zone dispatchers working in wildland fire settings, and the lack of scientific literature about this topic, the purpose of this study is to create evidence-based knowledge translation tools to help address and reduce the risks for cognitive fatigue and poor decision making in wildland firefighting settings. These materials will be originated based on an onsite investigation to further understand the complex relationship and mechanisms of fatigue in coordinator staff during a typical fire season. As a final result, we will create effective knowledge translations tools to assist future strategies to successfully manage occupational cognitive impairment.

Securing IoT in Transportation Applications using Blockchain

The proposed solution will address IoT security challenges by using the blockchain technology to create feasible trust mechanisms. We will develop a solution by which exchanged information remains trusted and confidential to be handled efficiently at different places, and we will apply it to a smart transport use case.

COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATION ON THE POTENTIAL OF PYROLYSIS TECHNOLOGY FOR RESOURCE RECOVERY FROM WASTES

The research problem to be addressed is the diversion of organic waste from landfills which, currently, in addition of using the limited space available, generate polluting leachate and greenhouse gases. On the other hand, landfilling organics represent a wasted opportunity to recover valuable chemical and energy resources. The internship will focus on the investigation of the potential of pyrolysis technology to address such problems, by creating opportunities to convert the waste into value-added chemicals and fuels. This project will research, investigate and critically compare the opportunities of a novel technology, such as the Bio-Techfar mobile pyrolysis to other technologies, including composting, anaerobic digestion, gasification, production of refuse derived fuel and combustion for heat and power. TO BE CONT’D
ts.

Surfactant-Enhanced Soil Washing (SESW) of Bunker C contaminatedSoil.

Soil washing (SESW) is a remediation process which utilizes surfactants in treating soils and sludges

which are contaminated with one or more contaminants. This process, however, has not been

employed on soils that are contaminated with Bunker C; a fuel derivative which is a very common

contaminant in many industrial areas and seaports due to its wide range use as fuel for ships and as a

backup fuel in power plants and mining sites. Bunker C has been found in the soils of an old mining

site on Avalon Peninsula, NL, during the reconstruction of the mine. This research intends to

investigate the optimum conditions for a successful removal of Bunker C from the soil through the

SESW process, while testing the efficiency ofIvey-sol non-ionic surfactant during the treatment.

Ultra-low power connectivity platform for low power Internet of Things (IoT) sensor nodes

In this project we address the problem of power consumption for wireless sensor nodes. This is where among different components of a sensor, RF transceivers consume a significant amount of power e.g. approximately 80%. Hence the main objective is this project is to tackle the power consumption problem at the RF transmitter, where we aim to reduce the power consumption to micro-watts of power, with minimal sacrifice in achievable data rate and by keeping the connectivity range within an acceptable radius.

Accelerate development of new technologies and applications for advanced water treatment – Year two

Global population growth, urbanization and changing climate patterns have increased the demand for potable water, wastewater reuse and value recovery from wastewater, and treatment of industrial process water. Population growth also results in increased demand for the shipping of goods by ocean freight, with the associated risk of the transport of unwanted marine life from one location to another by the discharge of ballast water. Also, the increasing sophistication of food and drug production requires a corresponding development of fluid protection technologies to prevent contamination by undesirable microbes. Consequently, there is increased demand for improved technologies that can provide sustainable treatment of water and wastewaters, protection of the water supply, and development of new fluid treatment methods. This research project will develop knowledge and technologies to allow the development of new Trojan Technologies products in these three areas.TO BE CONT”D

Accelerate development of new technologies and applications for advanced water treatment

Global population growth, urbanization and changing climate patterns have increased the demand for potable water, wastewater reuse and value recovery from wastewater, and treatment of industrial process water. Population growth also results in increased demand for the shipping of goods by ocean freight, with the associated risk of the transport of unwanted marine life from one location to another by the discharge of ballast water. Also, the increasing sophistication of food and drug production requires a corresponding development of fluid protection technologies to prevent contamination by undesirable microbes. Consequently, there is increased demand for improved technologies that can provide sustainable treatment of water and wastewaters, protection of the water supply, and development of new fluid treatment methods. This research project will develop knowledge and technologies to allow the development of new Trojan Technologies products in these three areas. TO BE CONT’D

Development of Fungal-Specific Stress Response Inhibitors for the Treatment of Fungal Infections

Drug resistance of medically relevant microorganisms poses a grave threat to human health and has severe economic consequences. Fungal pathogens pose an additional complication as they are closely related to their human host. Current therapies to treat fungal infections are limited and drug resistance has already emerged in the clinic. We have conducted extensive research on fungal drug resistance mechanisms and propose to target these mechanisms in combination with existing antifungals. Specifically, our aim is to target a key regulator of fungal drug resistance, the molecular chaperone Hsp90. Through a structure-guided drug design approach, fungal-selective Hsp90 inhibitors will be designed followed by chemical synthesis. We will further characterize these compounds for fungal-selectivity, enhanced efficacy, and minimal impact on human Hsp90. This work addresses the urgent unmet need for effective new antifungal therapeutics that act by a previously unexploited mode of action.

Statistical Machine Learning Framework in Retention and Attrition Modelling

Customer or member retention refers to the ability of a company to retain its customers, and customer attrition, as the counterpart of customer retention, refers to the loss of customers. Developing a more accurate and comprehensible predictive model can help companies like Servus better understand member retention and attrition.
This project is aiming at using statistical machine learning methods to find the members with high-level leaving risk from the existing members of Servus, and then using even more advanced methods to analyze the influence of targeted offers on member retention and attrition. In the end, a final operationalized model on increasing member retention and reducing member attrition will be built up and can be used by business intelligence team for ongoing campaigns in Servus.

Evaluation of the accuracy of the in-situ individual particle sizing technology

The research objectives are to better understand the limitations of a new particle sizing system in terms of accuracy on particle size, of accuracy on size distribution, of accuracy on particle concentration and finally of size dynamic range. During the research project, the sources of the limitations will be identified and improvements to the technology will be proposed. State-of-the-art equipment for the generation of particles with known sizes and concentrations available at the University of Alberta will be used for the characterization of the technology. Improvements to the mathematical model and on the way to resolve the inverse problem to retrieve particle size will be done in collaboration with researchers at INO. The outcome of the project will be a well characterized particle sizing technology ready to be transferred to the industry for commercialization.

Small-scale Continuous Purification of Nanoparticles and Therapeutic Proteins

Our group developed a new generation of chip-based small-scale devices for continuous purification of chemicals and nanoparticles, based on the interactions of analyte with multiple types of driving forces in an electro-fluid-dynamic (EFD) system. One series of the purification devices has the electric field in parallel with the fluid flow direction (E?F), while the other series has two orthogonal driving force fields (E?F). Our two-dimensional (2D) EFD devices, in which both electric field and pressure-driven flow field are simultaneously utilized in 2D channel networks, provide better control on the analyte molecules or nanoparticles by having more adjustable variables. More importantly, continuous purification can be achieved with these devices. Our initial work based on simulations and polymer particles have shown the feasibility of the 2D EFD devices, and some results have been published. TO BE CONT’D

Tenants and Radon: Legal Rights, Remedies and Opportunities for Reform

Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas produced by the natural decay of uranium in rocks and soils. It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking) and the primary cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. 16 per cent of lung cancer deaths in Canada are attributable to radon exposure—approximating 3000 people a year. Radon can become trapped and accumulate in buildings, potentially reaching high levels in indoor air (Khan and Gomes, 2017). Canada’s Legal rights and remedies to respond to radon in Canada are largely inadequate and dispersed across multiple statutes, and where they do exist are focused largely on new construction (Dunn and Cooper, 2015). The Canadian Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists works in partnership with multiple organizations concerned about radon, including CAREX Canada, provincial lung associations, TO BE CONT’D