Innovative Projects Realized

ZAP-100 – A natural, effective appetite suppressant

This project is focused on developing a novel, plant-based appetite suppressant called ZAP-100. Originally synthesized for agricultural use, ZAP-100 is a phytohormone that we have shown to reduce food intake and promote sustained weight loss in rodent models. Over 60% of Canadian adults are classified as overweight or obese and current treatment options, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, are expensive, inaccessible, and often associated with significant side effects. As such, there is an urgent need for safer, more affordable, and sustainable solutions, especially considering there are no scientifically validated natural supplements for appetite control. Our goal is to translate strong preclinical findings into a viable product for human use. In partnership with Eurofins Scientific and KGK Science, we will identify a regulatory-compliant source of ZAP-100, determine optimal human dosing, and prepare for a Health Canada–approved first-in-human clinical trial. We are also developing a commercialization pathway to ensure this innovation is positioned for long-term impact. This project directly supports our partner organization by advancing product development, de-risking early-stage innovation, and aligning preclinical science with regulatory and market-readiness milestones. ZAP-100 has the potential to disrupt the 88-billion-dollar global weight loss supplement market by offering a low-cost, accessible alternative for individuals seeking non-pharmaceutical options for weight management. Beyond the commercial potential, the broader public health impact is
substantial. If a safe and affordable appetite suppressant becomes widely adopted, it could reduce the national burden of metabolic disease and lead to significant healthcare savings while improving the quality of life for Canadians. Through this innovative partnership, we will refine our go-to-market strategy, deepen our understanding of regulatory and consumer landscapes, and work with experienced advisors to build a scalable solution with meaningful
impact. This project represents a compelling opportunity to deliver a scientifically validated solution to a widespread and urgent health challenge.

LMES Vulnerability Analysis

Linamar’s transition from specialized industrial hardware (LMMS) to a standard-computing, software-driven manufacturing environment (LMES) increases flexibility and capability — and expands the attack surface. This project establishes a continuous Security Checkup Program for LMES that finds, fixes, and prevents exploitable vulnerabilities before they cause production downtime or data loss. Using automated scanning, scheduled penetration testing, secure configuration baselines, and an integrated remediation workflow, the program will reduce cyber-risk to production and intellectual property while enabling regulatory and supplier assurance.

Staffworks Submission 2

Project Overview: Recruitment Workflow Innovation at Staffworks

About Staffworks: Staffworks is a Toronto-based staffing firm with 25 years of experience helping businesses stay agile and competitive through strategic recruitment services.

The Challenge: Recruiters face increasing administrative workloads—posting jobs across multiple platforms, managing large applicant volumes, screening candidates, coordinating interviews, and updating databases. These repetitive tasks consume significant time and limit the team’s ability to focus on high-value activities like engaging top talent and strengthening client relationships.

The Innovation Priority: Staffworks aims to redesign and streamline recruitment workflows using technology. This initiative is not about doing the same tasks faster; it’s about creating new, technology-enabled processes, testing automation tools, and implementing evidence-based improvements that transform how recruitment operates. These innovations require dedicated research, prototyping, and evaluation beyond normal business operations.

The Project: To achieve this, Staffworks is launching a Recruitment Assistant Internship focused on process analysis, automation techniques, and digital tools for routine recruiting functions. The goal is to reduce manual effort, accelerate service delivery, and improve candidate and client experiences. By minimizing administrative burden, Staffworks will enhance productivity, speed up response times, and strengthen its competitive edge—supporting long-term growth.

Developing a National Quality and Export Readiness Framework for Canadian Cider

This project focuses on supporting the growth and competitiveness of Canada’s emerging cider industry through the development of a national framework for cider classification, quality standards, and export readiness. The Canadian cider sector has expanded significantly in recent years but continues to face challenges related to inconsistent product definitions, fragmented standards, and limited coordination for accessing international markets.

In collaboration with Cider Canada, this project will use applied research methods, including literature review, comparative analysis of international cider frameworks (such as those in the United Kingdom, European Union, and United States), and engagement with industry stakeholders. The goal is to identify best practices and assess current Canadian approaches, including existing quality assurance initiatives.

The project will result in the development of a draft national framework and practical tools to support producers, improve product consistency, and strengthen the sector’s positioning in both domestic and global markets. By contributing to greater coordination and standardization, the project aims to enhance the long-term sustainability, innovation, and export potential of the Canadian cider industry.

Prévisions énergétiques au moyen de l’Intelligence artificielle en présence de données massives

L’analyse prévisionnelle des surplus ou des déficits énergétiques pour le parc de production d’Hydro-Québec est primordiale pour l’entreprise. Elle définit les stratégies des stocks cibles (niveau des réservoirs) sur le moyen long terme et les contrats d’échanges avec les réseaux voisins. En 2025, deux approches de modélisation sont considérées opérationnellement pour faire la prévision énergétique. La première approche se base sur la modélisation hydrologique conceptuelle (avec intrants météo simplifiés) pour effectuer une prévision d’apport énergétique pour l’année courante. La seconde approche utilise un modèle statistique simple (de type autorégressif d’ordre 1 sans aucun intrant météo) combiné à des données d’écarts énergétiques globales et annuelles pour anticiper les écarts énergétiques futurs (Perreault 2025).

Ce projet de stage est un préambule à un potentiel projet de thèse du même titre. Premièrement, il permettra à l’étudiant d’établir les assises de la compréhension portant sur les données et les approches utilisées pour effectuer la prévision énergétique. Deuxièmement, il permettra de se familiariser avec les concepts et les processus portant sur l’hydrologie, l’hydraulique et l’énergie sa valeur monétaire. Finalement, il permettra
d’établir et d’utiliser des métriques de performance sur les approches utilisées par l’entreprise. À terme, ce stage permettra à l’étudiant d’avoir une compréhension des processus hydrologiques et des concepts hydrauliques menant une prévision énergétique et de faire un état des lieux.

Community Driven: Improving Infrastructure Management and Maintenance by Actively Engaging Citizens

Cities face significant challenges in maintaining infrastructure due to inefficient reporting processes, duplicate submissions, and reactive maintenance approaches that address problems only after they become serious. In 2023, the City of Edmonton developed the REPAIR AI platform to address pothole management, demonstrating the potential of AI-driven solutions for infrastructure maintenance. The Community Driven project will extend that success by developing a mobile application for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay that allows citizens to report a broader range of road conditions and infrastructure problems in real-time while driving. The app will integrate with the existing REPAIR platform and will use GPS data to accurately locate issues like damaged roads, streetlight outages, and traffic signal problems. By making it easy for residents to report problems as they encounter them, the system will help the City of Edmonton proactively manage maintenance issues to prevent issues from worsening.

Hydrogen safety controller model with a deterministic and fault-tolerant architecture for monitoring hydrogen concentration in real-time

The transport sector remains a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions1. This impact is even greater in the case of perishable goods, where the vehicle’s propulsion engine or an auxillary unit must also power the refrigeration systems. As a result, engines run continuously, also while stationary, leading to increased fuel consumption and emissions2. Fully electric solutions remain limited due to the high energy demands of refrigeration, meaning most systems still rely on diesel-powered engines, further elevating the environmental footprint of refrigerated transport.
Hydrocool is developing a “Made in Ontario” hydrogen-powered, AI-enabled zero-carbon mobile refrigeration system for cold-chain transport. The system requires a novel controller unit to be able to manage device modes, monitor input/output behavior, handle safety interlocks, and publish real-time data to a cloud dashboard. The solution replaces diesel powered cooling and heating units, eliminating emissions and reducing operating costs.
Refrigerated transport is recognized as one of the main areas in terms of potential energy savings and reduction of GHG emissions in cold chains3. Replacing a conventional diesel-powered transport refrigeration unit (TRU) with a hydrogen-powered alternative would deliver substantial environmental benefits across greenhouse gas and air quality impacts.

CKD Application for Soil Improvement and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Cement kiln dust (CKD), a highly alkaline byproduct of cement manufacturing (Elbaz et al., 2019), is produced in large quantities and is commonly disposed of in landfills despite its potential value as a soil amendment. CKD may improve soil pH, nutrient availability, and soil functioning, and it may also help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils. Although CKD contains trace levels of heavy metals, including V, Cr, As, Cd, and Pb, findings from our completed incubation study, together with assessments conducted by Norstar, indicate that these constituents are not present at levels of environmental concern with CKD application (Barnat-Hunek et al., 2018). Norstar has received Canadian Food Inspection Agency approval for CKD’s land application. However, field-based evidence remains limited regarding the effects of high-rate CKD application (6 t ha?¹), particularly when combined with reduced fertilizer inputs and complementary amendments such as digestate and humic substances. This project will address that gap through a field study at the Breton Plots, University of Alberta. Five treatments will be compared: (1) conventional chemical fertilizer management; (2) high CKD with the full fertilizer rate; (3) high CKD with 50% fertilizer; (4) high CKD plus digestate with 50% fertilizer; and (5) high CKD plus a humic product (H3) with 50% fertilizer. The study will evaluate effects on soil properties and GHG emissions (CO2, N2O, and CH4). Norstar Industries Ltd. is a socially and environmentally conscious Canadian company operating in the agriculture, environmental, and construction sectors. Its agriculture division develops sustainable products to improve nutrient use efficiency and address soil constraints. The project will generate scientific evidence on whether CKD-based amendment strategies can improve soil quality, reduce fertilizer dependence, lower agricultural GHG emissions, and support the beneficial reuse of industrial byproducts, with potential benefits for sustainable nutrient management, climate change mitigation, and circular economy goals. The project aligns with the efforts of the Canadian Net-Zero Energy Solutions (CANZES) to reduce GHG emissions on land and diversify Alberta’s economy.

Building of on-premise RAG AI system pipeline

This proposed project aims to apply the emerging and open source large language models (LLMs) systems, particularly Retrieval-Augmented-Generation (RAG) pipelines, to generate the deployment scheme of the cryptographic product for different application environments of end customers. The semi-automation of generating the deployment scheme helps improve the scalability of business by the increase of productivity while keeping the private and sensitive data used behind the firewall.

Optimization of Cleantech Catalyst for Odor Reduction Applications

Air Fixx produces private-label specialty cleaning supplies and uses proprietary made-in-Canada equipment to apply a biobased liquid catalyst for odour control applications. They currently serve over 400 multi residential buildings (MRB) in the GTA, with three-year growth projected to be 20-25% annually. The odour treating catalyst is highly effective, but susceptible to mold. Mold clogs nozzles and tubes, hampering system operation and impacting both effectiveness and efficiency because of the need to reinstall equipment. Through the proposed collaboration, Air Fixx seeks to improve the mold resistance of the catalyst and obtain preliminary production data on manufacturing the yeast-based component of the catalyst in Ontario, thus displacing the current U.S. production. Social benefits include closing the municipal solid waste (MSW) diversion gap for MRB, currently 34 percentage points below single-family homes. As competitive odour control systems have a high infrastructure burden and/or rely on conventional petrochemicals, greater uptake of Air Fixx’s biobased technology could also lead to greenhouse gas savings as well as the direct economic benefit to the company. Other economic benefits to Air Fixx include additional revenue by controlling the manufacturing supply chain as well as data for new biobased destined for Ontario waste-to-energy applications.

SADS Quebec Resource Modernization Initiative

This project aims to help the Canadian SADS Foundation improve how it supports patients and families affected by sudden cardiac conditions while expanding its services into Quebec. It will involve updating and simplifying educational materials so they are easier to understand, more accessible online, and available in both English and French. At the same time, the project will develop a clear plan for entering the Quebec market by identifying key partners, understanding local needs, and creating culturally relevant resources. Overall, this work will allow the Foundation to reach more people, improve health education, and provide equitable support to underserved communities in Quebec, strengthening its national impact.

La communication stratégique pour mieux faire face aux messages contradictoires liés aux enjeux climatiques et à l’eau

La complexité des changements climatiques pose des défis majeurs aux personnes chargées de les communiquer. Les acteurs de l’eau, au Québec comme au Canada, doivent souvent aborder des réalités qui peuvent sembler contradictoires. Il est désormais fréquent de devoir, dans un court laps de temps, communiquer à la fois sur des excès d’eau (inondations) et sur des pénuries (étiages sévères). Ces tensions apparentes, loin d’être anecdotiques, sont régulièrement exploitées pour alimenter la désinformation climatique. Dans ce contexte, la capacité à communiquer avec rigueur, cohérence et nuance constitue une compétence stratégique essentielle.
Afin de répondre à cette problématique, Ouranos et l’initiative QClim’Eau ont soutenu une recherche théorique interdisciplinaire ayant mené à la production d’une modélisation des processus communicationnels entourant des enjeux contradictoires, en mettant en lumière leurs composantes et leurs interactions. Compte tenu de leurs retombées stratégiques, il importait toutefois de décloisonner ces résultats pour en favoriser l’application concrète.
Le présent stage vise précisément cette opérationnalisation. Il consiste à développer des outils, contenus et activités stratégiques permettant l’appropriation des résultats par les parties prenantes de QClim’Eau et, plus largement, par les organisations appelées à communiquer sur les enjeux liés à l’eau et aux changements climatiques. À travers divers supports — capsules, ateliers, présentations, infographies et affiche — les productions contribueront à renforcer la capacité des institutions publiques à communiquer de manière cohérente, transparente et adaptée à des contextes polarisés, favorisant ainsi une meilleure compréhension des risques et une mobilisation éclairée.