Innovative Projects Realized

TRLUP – Real-Time Electromagnetic Sensing for Water Cut Monitoring

This project aims to develop a sensor that uses electromagnetic waves to monitor the water content (water cut) in oil production systems in real time. The sensor has already been tested in a lab environment and shows promising results in detecting changes in water levels in oil–water mixtures. Through this project, I will work with experts to improve the sensor design and explore how to bring it to market. The expected benefit to the partner organization is access to a new technology that can support better decision-making in oil production by improving real-time monitoring and reducing water handling costs.

TRLUP Ergonomic Shovel

The proposed project is an ergonomic manual shovel that aims to decrease stress and injury. The project aims to improve manual transfer of materials for farmers, construction workers, landscapers, and homeowners. The goal of this project is to improve the technological readiness of an initial prototype to bring it closer to commercialization.

TRLUP – Construction Tracker (Dylan Haussecker)

This project focuses on developing a durable, low-power tracking device for small construction equipment, enabling contractors to automatically monitor machine usage, idle time, and location. This technology reduces theft, cuts down on fuel waste, and eliminates manual tracking, helping improve productivity across underserved construction SMEs across Canada. Over four months, the intern will enhance the device’s durability, power efficiency, and manufacturability for job-site environments. Supported by Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s DICE center and delivered in partnership with North Forge, this project aligns directly with North Forge’s mission to foster innovation and support startups by providing a collaborative environment where entrepreneurs can access the tools, mentorship, and resources needed to scale their technologies and drive economic growth in Canada.

L2M Launch / Qc Fall 2025 / Halpie Technologies Inc.

Ce projet permettra à Halpie Technologies d’accélérer la mise en marché d’un dispositif médical novateur, soit un patch thoracique intelligent qui surveille en temps réel les signes vitaux de patients atteints de maladies chroniques comme l’insuffisance cardiaque ou la MPOC. Grâce à cette technologie non invasive, les patients peuvent retourner plus rapidement à domicile après une hospitalisation, tout en continuant d’être suivis à distance. Le stagiaire participera à l’élaboration d’une stratégie pour intégrer ce produit dans les hôpitaux, en analysant les modes d’achat et de remboursement dans le réseau de la santé, en validant l’intérêt du produit auprès des médecins et gestionnaires hospitaliers, et en identifiant des partenaires pour réaliser des projets pilotes. Ce travail aidera Halpie à franchir une étape cruciale : passer d’un prototype fonctionnel à une solution adoptée par les établissements de santé. Pour l’entreprise, cela signifie un positionnement clair sur le marché, une meilleure préparation réglementaire, et des bases solides pour les premières ventes. Ce projet contribuera aussi à long terme à désengorger le système de santé en réduisant les réadmissions évitables, tout en améliorant la qualité de vie des patients.

Prevention of hepatitis C virus (HCV) re-infection afterliver transplantation

Over 170 million persons worldwide are chronically infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV), leading to endstage liver disease and cancer. HCV is the single most common indication for liver transplantation in Canada and the rest of the Western world. After transplant, HCV re-infection is universal and is the chief cause of graft loss. Treatment of post-transplant recurrent HCV is more difficult than pretransplant, with lower response rates that partly reflect the effects of immunosuppression.We propose that the ideal management of post-transplant HCV is its prevention. This project aims to re-program liver grafts to resist acute HCV infection using a novel inhibitor that is targeted to hepatocytes. This novel strategy will have broad applicability around the world, particularly in areas where the majority of the population has limited access to the newer antiviral treatments.

Automating Post-Review Content Corrections: Building Scalable Feedback Parsing, Reprocessing Infrastructure, and QA Interfaces for Global Media Localization

This project will help Aview International build an automated system that improves the quality and efficiency of translated and dubbed content. Right now, human reviewers leave feedback on content errors like bad subtitles or misaligned audio, but these changes must be fixed manually. The intern will design tools to turn that feedback into structured data, automate the correction process, and build a dashboard to track progress. This will make it faster and easier for Aview to deliver high-quality global content, reduce manual work, and support their rapid growth.

Investigating the organohalide dehalogenation respiratory chain of Dehalococcoides mccartyi CBDB1

Organohalide-respiring bacteria (OHRB) are important agents of bioremediation, helping to clean up groundwater contaminated with toxic compounds such as chloroform, perchloroethene (PCE), and chlorobenzene. This metabolic pathway relies on enzymes known as reductive dehalogenase homologs (RdhAs). The mechanisms by which RdhAs reduce organohalides remains elusive, particularly in the case of the Chloroflexi OHRB Dehalococcoides and Dehalogenimonas. These microbes are critical to bioremediation efforts, as they are the only OHRB known to reduce PCE to ethene without accumulation of the toxic intermediate vinyl chloride (VC). Previous work in Dehalococcoides mccartyi CBDB1 has identified seven proteins thought to form a respiratory complex. The goal of this work is to explore the complex further by 1) attempting heterologous expression in E. coli, 2) testing the identity of the proton pump, and 3) determining the number of complexes expressed per cell. Understanding the biochemistry of organohalide respiration will inform OHRB application to contaminated sites, as well as advancing our knowledge of enzyme function and extreme metabolisms.

Aménager la diversité ethnoculturelle à Bruxelles et Montréal : Représentations de la communauté politique de référence dans l’action publique

Ce projet de recherche porte sur les politiques d’intégration des personnes immigrantes dans deux grandes métropoles multiculturelles : Bruxelles et Montréal. Il vise à comprendre comment les administrations locales s’adaptent aux défis de la diversité ethnoculturelle et comment leurs actions s’articulent avec celles des gouvernements supérieurs (fédéral, provincial ou régional). En analysant les discours des acteurs publics et les outils concrets mis en place, le projet évaluera dans quelle mesure les administrations locales peuvent développer des approches propres ou doivent suivre des orientations nationales. Les résultats attendus permettront d’éclairer les politiques d’intégration et de mieux coordonner l’action des différents niveaux de gouvernement. Cela aidera à bâtir des sociétés plus inclusives et à relever les défis liés à la diversité dans un contexte de changements sociaux importants.

Virtual reality as a strategy for intra-operatory anxiolysis and pharmacological sparing in patients undergoing breast surgeries: the V-RAPS randomized controlled trial

This project will explore the use of virtual reality (VR) to reduce the need for sedative medication during breast surgeries performed under regional anesthesia. Currently, patients undergoing these procedures often receive intravenous sedative medication to ease anxiety, which can lead to complications like breathing problems or longer recovery times. VR immersion, which has already been shown to help reduce pain and anxiety in other medical settings, might offer a safer alternative by helping patients stay calm without as much medication. In this study, 100 adult patients will be randomly assigned to either a VR group or a control group. Both groups can use sedative medication as needed, but the VR group will also wear headsets offering immersive scenarios to help them relax during surgery; researchers will be able to measure how much sedative each patient uses, along with their comfort, satisfaction, and recovery times. If successful, this approach could benefit healthcare providers by reducing medication-related risks, improving patient experiences, and potentially lowering recovery times. For the partner organization, this study could provide valuable insight into the optimization of VR technology for intra-operative use, based both on clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction data.

Predicting moisture and bark content of woody biomass using visible light spectroscopy

Two of the most important characteristics of woody biomass to consider when evaluating their suitability for use in bio-energy applications are moisture content and ash content. The industry has long been seeking a technology capable of rapidly and economically characterizing feedstock, however such a solution is currently not available. This project will lay the groundwork for a potential solution that predicts these important characteristics based on the color of the feedstock. Using spectrophotometry, the study of how an object absorbs the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, this project will attempt to uncover any relationships between the color of woody feedstock and its moisture and bark content. Industry sponsor Cogent Industrial Technologies is a consulting service provider and will gain valuable insight to the ways various feedstock characteristics affect each step of the energy pathway and to the development of this new technology.

TRLUP – Quinan Labs, Agentic AI Technology

This project is focused to democratize enterprise-level information technology solutions for Atlantic Canadian small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) through a revolutionary one-person or small team, agile, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered consultancy model. This project will provide key innovation using cutting-edge AI tools (Claude, agentic AI), which can deliver digital transformations at 1/10th the traditional cost while maintaining significant profit margins – making sophisticated technology finally accessible to small and medium businesses.

This project will assist with productizing existing developments to streamline service delivery and determining how to best serve the SMB/Non-profit markets. It will allow time to develop workflows and automation processes and research market penetration and marketing strategies. The problem facing commercialization is how to best modify existing enterprise level technologies to serve small and medium sized businesses and non-profits to achieve the stated goal of democratizing access and evening the access to markets, capturing revenue streams and attempting to keep them more local. The project plan is to meet with these market participants, find their actual problem areas, address their concerns, and test the viability of the strategy.

Pétrogenèse des pegmatites lithinifères du projet Shaakichiuwaanaan, Eeyou Istchee Baie-James, Québec

Récemment le modèle de pluton source pour la génération de pegmatites lithinifères a été questionné et ainsi d’autres modèles de formation ont été proposés. Les pegmatites lithinifères du projet Shaakichiuwaanaan dans la région d’Eeyou Istchee Baie-James (Québec) se concentrent le long d’un couloir (CV Lithium Trend) de plus de 20 km de longueur sur moins de 2 km de largeur et ne montrent pas de relation évidente avec un pluton source. Ce stage Mitacs vise à documenter la variation chimique de minéraux ciblés et d’acquérir des âges géochronologiques des pegmatites lithinifères définis jusqu’à présent dans ce couloir. Ces données apporteront des contraintes sur la génération du magma des pegmatites, leur mise en place et le nombre d’événements minéralisateurs, en plus de favoriser une exploration plus ciblée pour la compagnie partenaire. Elles permettront, entre autres, de déterminer si une zonation chimique des pegmatites existe à l’intérieur des deux gisements définis jusqu’à présent (CV5 et CV13) ainsi que sur l’ensemble du CV Lithium Trend en plus de cerner les âges de mise en place de ces pegmatites lithinifères.