Innovative Projects Realized

Explore thousands of successful projects resulting from collaboration between organizations and post-secondary talent.

13270 Completed Projects

1072
AB
2795
BC
430
MB
106
NF
348
SK
4184
ON
2671
QC
43
PE
209
NB
474
NS

Projects by Category

10%
Computer science
9%
Engineering
1%
Engineering - biomedical
4%
Engineering - chemical / biological

Building Neighbourhood Third Sector: A Holistic Organizational Governance Development and Training Tool Kit

This project supports a partnership between the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater Vancouver and the School of Social Work and Family Studies of the University of British Columbia. It aims to produce a toolkit and training package for neighbourhood houses which are neighbourhood based, multi-service non-profit organizations. The purposes of this project are twofold: to enhance the governance and program capacity of existing neighbourhood houses and to provide a hands-on, step-by-step manual for neighbourhood residents, resident groups and emerging organizations interested in establishing neighbourhood houses in their own communities. It is believed that the products of this project will be of great use, benefit and value to the thousands of neighbourhood houses in Canada and around the world.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Miu Chung Yan

Student:

Jocelyn Yu

Partner:

Association of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater Vancouver

Discipline:

Social work

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Algorithms for Nonlinear Inversion in Medical Imaging

Non-invasive imaging techniques using near-infrared (NIR) light yield extensive information on cells and tissues and can reconstruct images of the deep interior of biological tissues. The place occupied by NIR imaging within the multidisciplinary field of molecular imaging has been growing in recent years. This is, in pat, because of its intrinsic advantages (such as its low cost and non-invasiveness) when compared to other imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). In collaboration with ART Advanced Research Technologies, a leader in molecular imaging products for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, this project will develop mathematical algorithms for solving the nonlinear inverse problems that are at the heart of the NIR imaging process. The methods that will be developed will help ART and practitioners in related fields to obtain better images. Ultimately, the optimization software developed in this project will be used within ART’s medical imaging technology.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Michael Friedlander

Student:

Shidong Shan

Partner:

ART Advanced Research Technologies Inc.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Algorithm for Robust Spam Blog Detection

In the world of today’s internet, ‘web notifications’ are becoming increasingly common. As opposed to a traditional search which is executed once against entered keywords, a web notification search is performed on a regular or continual basis, keeping track of available information changes in real time. The user is then notified once an item of interest appears on-line. Notification services receive continuous pings from blogs which inform of updates. Unfortunately many blogs are created with the purpose of artificial inflation of the page ranking of some websites, or of enticing the user to click on advertising banners, or for aggressive advertising of (often dubious) goods and services not related to the keywords that the page will be shown for. These types of blog are usually referred as 'spam blogs', or 'splogs'. An essential feature of a useful web notification system is the capability of filtering out these unwanted results. The goal of this project is to find a set of heuristics that will robustly determine if a particular blog is spam, and thus to enable the web notification service to ignore unwanted updates.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Andrei Bulatov

Student:

Evgeny Skvortsov

Partner:

Something Simpler Systems

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Aiding in the Design of an Efficient, Robotic System for Manufacturing Scalable Models

Precix is a leading manufacturer of CNC routers, dispensers, engravers and laser cutting systems. The goal of this project concerns the optimal design of a robotic finisher which is, in part, a novel manufacturing process used to replicate and scale-up 3D models. Applications are mainly in the movie and art industries. In these fields, there is the need to replicate few copies which generally have highly-detailed shapes. This project will focus on the system design of the robotic finisher and on the optimal design of its robotic head. Flexibility and precision are the main requirements of the system. The close collaboration between the industrial and academic partners will allow for the development of a system with cutting edge performance, suitable for the potentially growing market which has been identified.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Carlo Menon

Student:

Merle Kinkade

Partner:

Precix Advanced Cutting Technologies

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Ab-initio Simulation on Morphology and Reactivity of Supported Platinum Nanoparticles

Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFC) are under intense research as highly efficient and clean power sources for transportation and portable applications. The Cathode Catalyst Layer of PEFC, usually formed by carbon supported Pt-based catalyst, is considered as the most critical component. It involves all processes relevant for fuel cell operation. Cost and abundance of Pt is the major challenge for the commercialization of PEFC technology. Recent results in experiment and modeling indicate that catalyst activity and utilization could be improved by substantial factors. The fundamental understanding of supported catalyst systems is required to establish links between fabrication, structure formation, performance, and degradation that could lever such improvements. In order to gain insight into structural effects of the catalyst-substrate system, this project employs the Density Function Theory (DFT) as well as the relatively new variant of Orbital-Free DFT. We will relate particle size and surface morphology to electronic structure effects and interactions of supported catalyst systems. The result will contribute to physical models for structure formation, electrokinetic performance, and structural degradation in CCL of PEFC.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Michael Eikerling

Student:

Ataollah Roudgar

Partner:

NRC - Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation

Discipline:

Chemistry

Sector:

Fuel cells

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

Video-On Demand Equipment Allocation

The content delivery network market is undergoing rapid growth as a broadband penetration develops and the demand for Internet delivery of high-quality media increases. To facilitate the planning phase of Video-on-Demand (VoD) networks, in collaboration with Nortel Networks, we developed the VoD Equipment Alocation Tool. We define, and propose a methodology to solve, the VoD Equipment Allocation Problem (VoD EAP) of determining the number (and model) of VoD servers to install at each potential location in a metropolitan area network topology such that the deployment costs are minimized and all demand is served. Verivue Inc. is a start up company currently investigating solutions of Video-on-Demand (VoD) servers. By applying our method and using our tool, they will acquire important knowledge about efficient design and can, subsequently, adapt their products to present more convincing and cost-effective solutions to interested service providers.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Mark Coates

Student:

Frederic Thouin

Partner:

Verivue Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

McGill University

Program:

Accelerate

Vancity Climate Change Strategy

Vancity Credit Union has been a leader on the climate change issue for many years and has been actively attempting to reduce its carbon footprint since the mid-1990s. Climate change activities at Vancity were undertaken to invest in Canadian solutions to climate change, to build local knowledge about reducing emissions and to create local sources of high-quality carbon offsets. The carbon offset program, in particular, was developed under the advisement of The David Suzuki Foundation, the Natural Step, the Pembina Institute and Ecotrust. Specifically, Vancity Credit Union is interested in collaborating with interns to research implementation strategies for the latest stage of this strategy. With this in mind, the goal of this research project is two-fold, and aligns with Vancity Credit Union’s strategic aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2010. The first purpose of the project is to develop a quantitative emissions model for Vancity Credit Union’s current and future greenhouse gas emissions. The second purpose is to develop behavioral reduction strategies where possible to reduce Vancity’s overall climate impact via its carbon footprint.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Gunilla Oberg

Student:

Brian Gouge and Jeremy Osborn

Partner:

Vancity Credit Union

Discipline:

Resources and environmental management

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

The Potential for Drainage to Improve Productivity of Regenerating Forests on Northern Vancouver Island

Extensive portions of the productive forests in coastal British Columbia display below-average timber productivity possibly due to excess soil water. In particular, conifers regenerating on some western red cedar/western hemlock sites on northern Vancouver Island show very slow growth and nutrient deficiencies after harvest. The research team hypothesizes that the low nutrient supply is caused by inadequate drainage in these sites which results in anoxic conditions and lower mineralization of carbon and nutrient. The intern will study a drainage trial established by Western Forest Products Inc. on Suquash Flats near Port McNeill, BC. She will sample the vegetation and soil and compare vegetation growth and composition, soil moisture, redox potential, pH, microbial respiration, microbial community structure and mineralization of nitrogen and carbon in drained and un-drained plots. Findings from the field and laboratory studies of this project will be later incorporated into the ecosystem-based models, ForWaDy and FORECAST, to predict the responses of the ecosystems to different soil moisture conditions. A better understanding of inter-related factors affecting forest growth will help in providing more sustainable forest management solutions and demonstrate whether or not drainage is a potential operational practice for improving nutrient supply and productivity of these problematic sites.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Cindy E. Prescott

Student:

Toktam Sajedi

Partner:

Western Forest Products Inc.

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Forestry

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

The Gem Cutter Educational Tool

This project will explore the pedagogical usefulness of a visual programming tool developed by Business Objects, called Gem Cutter. It will be used to illustrate and teach computer programming concepts to new students. This is different from the traditional text-based model in which students are required to engage in text-based interactions with a computer as they develop programs. The text-based model tends to be difficult for new students to grasp and often discourages them in early stages of learning. It is expected that visual programming, with its graphical model of a program, will provide a better interface that promotes learning for students new to computer programming.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Yvonne Coady

Student:

Adam Parkin

Partner:

Business Objects

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

Roof Plane Generation Algorithm for Slope Roofs

Automated Systems Research (ASR) has been supplying software to the roofing estimation market for close to 20 years. While the lack of competition in this niche market has provided for a steady ongoing business opportunity, it has created a vacuum of research in this area. One of the recurring research problems at ASR is that of generating the entire surface of a sloped roof given the building’s polygonal outline and also the roof slope angle at each outline edge. Currently, expectations and requirements for a robust and efficient algorithm which can solve the sloped roof generation problem have been growing in size and urgency. With a lack of available solutions in the existing literature, the seemingly straightforward nature of the problem, and several known fallacies of the current implementation used by the company, ASR considers sloped roof generation a novel problem in need of pure research in the form of experimentation and prototyping. Thus, the objective of this internship research is to complete ASR’s existing work in this area.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Richard Zhang

Student:

Joe Kahlert

Partner:

Automated Systems Research

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program:

Accelerate

New Polymers for Use in Flame Retardant Paper and Flame Retardant/Decay Resistant Wood

The intern will apply the phosphorus polymer previously developed at UBC, as well as the H2O-soluble phosphorus polymers which will be prepared during the first two months of this internship, to the surface of paper and wood samples to study the fire retardancy of the paper samples and the fire and decay retardancy of the wood samples. The intern will react the H2O-soluble phosphorus polymers with pulp and wood samples in aqueous solutions and determine how much of the polymers are retained by the pulp and wood samples. The fire retardancy of the paper made from the polymer-reacted pulp and the decay retardancy of the polymer-reacted wood will also be studied.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Derek Gates

Student:

Paul Siu

Partner:

FPInnovations - Paprican

Discipline:

Chemistry

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure

University:

University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate

Modelling the Wave Climate of Vancouver Island Using Multi-Directional Wave Buoy Data

SyncWave Energy Inc (SEI) is a domestic developer of wave energy conversion technology. In 2008, SyncWave aims to deliver small commercial SyncWave Power Resonators (SPR) for generating electricity in isolated communities and off-shore installations. SEI is collaborating with University of Victoria researchers to deploy a TRIAXYS™ Directional Wave Buoy to obtain a wave spectra representative of the deployment location. The field data will then be used to determine which of the various theoretical wave spectra are most appropriate for the Vancouver Island wave climate. The spectral data produced by the intern will be a vital input for the numerical simulations of a larger ocean going SPR that is currently being completed. These simulations will illustrate how the SPR responds in the real ocean environment.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Drs. Bradley Buckham, Peter Wild and Andrew Rowe

Student:

Justin Blanchfield

Partner:

SyncWave Energy Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Alternative energy

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

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