Innovative Projects Realized

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

Drive Continuous Innovation Growth in Canada

Many reports have indicated that with the current state of Canada’s science and technology, Canada is not globally competitive in business innovation, and the current state of growth is not sustainable. How to drive continuous innovation growth in Canada?
This proposal centers on three areas: (1) continuous innovation growth in large incumbents, (2) viable business growth from start-ups, and (3) inter-government collaboration on technology and innovation. Our research of the studies on technology and innovation in Canada has identified them as key weaknesses that need to be addressed. By examining the three areas, the proposal intends to generate insightful findings that will have the potential to make significant contributions to boost continuous innovation performance in Canada.

Développement d’une tour de refroidissement en aluminium anodisé antibactérien

L’objectif du projet est de développer un nouveau concept de tour de refroidissement de manière à minimiser le risque de développement de bactéries dangereuses dans celle-ci tout en maximisant l’efficacité opérationnelle. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, la tour de refroidissement sera construite en intégrant un aluminium possédant un traitement antibactérien, ce qui permettra une diminution drastique de la prolifération de bactéries dans la tour.

Interactive Mesh-based Volumetric Visualization

Our industrial partner, LlamaZOO Interactive Inc, publishes the first-of-its-kind digital anatomy study and reference app, EasyAnatomy. For this app, dissecting an animal model and see its internals are important facets of the learning experience. Through our research, we will enhance this experience by designing an interactive 3D visualization of an arbitrarily dissected model, and accelerate the graphics rendering for mobile devices; enabling personal, interactive learning experience anytime, anywhere. The outcome to our research is applicable for a wide spectrum of scenarios beyond anatomy, including geographic and architectural visualizations. With the result from our research, our Canadian industrial partner will be able to significantly improve its competitiveness in the emerging global market of mobile-based visualization apps.

Optimization tools for short-term hydropower generation management

Short-term hydropower optimization models are used on a daily basis to dispatch the available water for production between the turbines of the power plants that compose an hydropower system. Rio Tinto owns and operates power plants in the Saguenay Lac-St-Jean region of the province of Quebec and is currently lacking efficient tools to help the engineers in the daily decision making for the management of their hydropower system. The objective of this project is to develop tools to solve the short-term optimization model and therefore improve the water productivity of the hydropower system. The three main objectives are the following: 1) Propose a mathematical modeling of the short-term problem 2) Propose efficient numerical techniques to solve the model developed 3) Develop an optimization method to schedule the maintenance of the turbines.

Solving the Integrated Forest Harvest Scheduling and Road Network Design Problem using Metaheuristic Algorithms

In forestry, the two major costs of delivering wood to the mill are the costs of forest road construction and transportation of harvested wood. Given the magnitude of the costs involved, and the complexity of the planning problem, computer optimization models are used. In this research project, we have outlined a research plan by which current, state-of-the-art algorithms can be used to improve how we model and solve this important problem. The most significant innovations of this work will be i) a more accurate and meaningful measure of transportation costs used in the model; and ii) a model that can be solved efficiently on large, industrial-scale forests. The expected benefit to the partner organization is that, by sharing our model and computer-code with them, the partner will have an improved planning model with which to generate forest management plans that have reduced transportation and road construction costs.

A Cloud-based eHealth System for Integrated Healthcare Data Management and Analysis

Healthcare organizations in British Columbia currently lack an eHealth system as a network of multiple data sources to manage EHRs in meaningful ways. To support clinician decision in operational needs, this project will investigate a cloud-based eHealth system to improve the scalability and interoperability of health information system. A data integration system and an online analytic processing system will be designed and incorporated in the cloud. Finally, a decision support application and a patient portal will be available in the eHealth system to facilitate the partner’s healthcare business by supporting clinical decision making and improving the patient experience of care.

Seamless Video-wall Display

Vivadis is a small Ontario company seeking to commercialize an architectural video-wall

display having a large and continuous viewing area. Vivadis has display experience and has

performed market research and has concluded that the ideal markets for Vivadis to serve are

the indoor and outdoor architectural, entertainment and military markets. Requirements of a

suitable display include brightness, contrast and resolution similar to existing LCD displays,

but in a much larger size range of 100 to 300 inches diagonal. The display should be

modular to allow easy set-up and disassembly. Brightness of the display should be in the

range of twice as bright as a standard television. This project will deliver a prototype display

of this type.

Étude expérimentale et modélisation numérique par les éléments finis de l’interaction entre le pneu / chenille hors-route et les sols

Le développement des véhicules hors-routes passe par une bonne compréhension des interactions entre ceux-ci et le sol. La compagnie Camso développe des composantes de véhicules hors-routes récréatifs, agricoles et de construction, elle cherche à améliorer sa méthode de développement de produits. La modélisation informatique du contact et de l’interaction entre le véhicule et le sol est très efficace pour ce type de développement. Des données précises sur le comportement du sol sont nécessaires afin d’alimenter les modèles informatiques. Ce projet cherche à définir et obtenir en laboratoire les propriétés pertinentes des sols, et de développer un modèle informatique permettant de prédire le comportement du véhicule hors-route et du sol en s’appuyant sur les résultats de laboratoire.