Innovative Projects Realized

Business Process & Automation Consultant and IT & Training Systems Consultant

Flow Cleaning Services is a growing company focused on delivering high-quality commercial and residential cleaning solutions. As the business expands, operational inefficiencies, lack of process automation, and IT system limitations create challenges in maintaining productivity, service consistency, and scalability. Many internal processes, including workflow management, customer relationship tracking, and employee training, are not fully optimized, leading to redundancies, security risks, and manual inefficiencies. Additionally, the company’s digital infrastructure, including its network setup, password management, and training systems, requires standardization and security improvements to support a larger workforce, both in-office and remotely. To remain competitive and improve internal operations, Flow Cleaning Services must implement automation, process optimization, and IT enhancements that will increase efficiency and allow for seamless business growth.

Determining the half-life of prophylaxis treatment using population pharmacokinetics

Hemophilia is a rare blood coagulation disorder caused by a deficiency or deformity in one of 12 primary clotting factors. Hemophiliacs experience insufficient healing and prolonged bleeding either from trauma or unprompted bleeding. We are able to maintain a level of the deficient factors in a patient through direct and immediate infusion of a drug into the blood. To determine the frequency of injections and the appropriate dosage, we need to consider how long a drug will stay in a child’s body. Tailoring prescriptions for each patient often requires the withdrawal of 11 blood samples over a period of only 24 to 72 hours – a taxing assessment for both clinicians and patients, particularly for children. Our objectives of this study are to predict the half-life of drugs for children with hemophilia (using only 2 or 3 blood samples) and to evaluate the variability in dose requirements among children to determine a target minimum safe level of the drug concentration in one’s body.

Business Strategy Internship Application

We are making a waste heat recovery device for class 8 heavy-duty vehicles targeted towards cold chain. The device will recycle the energy wasted by the diesel engine of Semi Trucks and convert it to electricity to power the refrigeration unit. Currently, competitors are trying to create fully electric refrigeration units with big batteries that will be charged at distribution hubs. We are building a system with a small battery backup that is constantly charged by the waste heat recovery system.

Development of one-pot chemoenzymatic cascade hydrazone transformations

Modern synthetic chemistry, and in effect the production of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, still relies heavily on molecular transformations that inherently generate metal waste. In the CJ Li lab at McGill, we developed a “hydrazone” strategy that does the same transformation while generating only benign by-products (nitrogen and water). To expand the utility of this technology, we aim to integrate it into chemoenzymatic processes—combining enzymes with our approach to access molecules that either were previously inaccessible or require harsher conditions. To achieve this, we are teaming up with a world-leader in biocatalysis and protein engineering, Prof. Uwe Bornscheuer of Greifswald University (Germany). Through this international collaboration, not only will we leverage the synergy between technologies from both labs but also strengthen ties between our institutions.

SK Soccer Legacy Project

The Saskatoon Soccer Centre has formed a committee called the “SK Soccer Legacy Project.” The committee exists to create a living, breathing, organic preservation of the history of Saskatoon soccer of past, present and future generations.
The Saskatoon Soccer Centre Inc. is partnering with the University of Saskatchewan History Department’s CoLab – Centre for Community-Engaged and Collaborative Historical Research (CoLab) to review and document its history. The intern will collection, document and preserve this history, creating a database of archival documents and training videos on how to use the collection.

Machine Learning developer and technical business interns working within cross-functional teams to develop and commercialize AI-powered solutions in the Public Services sector (2)

“THIS IS A GENERIC TEXT PUT IN PLACE AS THERE WAS NO PROJECT OVERVIEW”

Development of a simple and inexpensive method to quantify surface contamination on metals

Metallic parts are used in combination with oil or grease in many applicaitons, for example in car engines or hinges. To re-use them, the surface of the metal needs to be cleaned. Current technology makes use of solvents to remove the contamination. Although very effective, this method is polluting. Our industry partner (Walter Surface Technologies) has developed a new technology with very low environmental impact. They wish to test the effectiveness of their technology by measuring the amount of contaminant left on metal surfaces after cleaning with their products. However there are no current methods to determine surface cleanliness quickly and inexpensively. We propose here a new method based on dyes, which will allow for a fast, easy and cheap test of the level of cleanliness of any metal. Since there is no current standard to determine metal surface cleanliness, this method is likely to be of interest not only to Walter but to many other industries. Walter would like to commercialize this method should the project bring to the expected outcome

Stage en évaluation du potentiel minier 2025

Ce projet vise à donner des expériences de stage appliqué de 4 mois dans le domaine de l’exploration/exploitation minière à des étudiants/étudiantes en géologie au niveau maîtrise. Ces stages seront accueillis par des compagnies d’exploration, d’exploitation ou de service basées au Canada à la recherche de différents types de minéralisation sur des propriétés minières dont le niveau de connaissance est variable. Le début du stage est marqué par une formation pratique sur des concepts théoriques et techniques de la géologie d’exploration au Canada et donnée à l’UQAT. Par la suite, les stagiaires seront déployés vers leur compagnie d’accueil respective. Faisant partie d’une équipe interdisciplinaire et supervisé par un géologue, les stagiaires participeront à des travaux de cartographie géologique, d’échantillonnage, de mesures de propriétés physiques, de caractérisation chimiques et minéralogiques et/ou de descriptions de forage dans le but de découvrir de nouvelles minéralisations, de définir les extensions de zones déjà connues, de définir des modèles géométallurgique et géoenvironnementale ou d’évaluer des opportunités de récupération de minéraux critiques et stratégiques. Ces stagiaires permettront aux organismes partenaires d’avoir accès à des étudiants/étudiantes en géologie dont le corps d’emploi est en grande demande sur le marché du travail canadien présentement.

ESROP – Imperial College London – Real-Time Source Apportionment of Organic Aerosol

PM2.5 are organic molecules, less than 2.5 nm in diameter, which pose significant risks to public health, and have been shown to cause lung irritation and cancer, corrode the alveolar wall, and premature mortality, among other issues. Using traditional methods, it is difficult to find the source of these molecules and document them promptly, as processing this information requires high-level skills in source-apportionment analysis. Because of this, information is only available to policymakers for months or years in the future.

To address this, it is possible to integrate additional supporting, auxiliary data into real-time monitoring, alongside statistical analysis and receptor-based source apportionment techniques to provide immediate pollutant source information. In addition, the project will create a publicly accessible interface that provides up-to-date information on pollution sources. This will help scientists improve air quality research and give policymakers the tools they need to make faster, more informed decisions to protect public health. Participating institutions will benefit from better data accuracy, improved research opportunities, and a stronger ability to address air pollution challenges.

Ultra-broadband quantum signals

Quantum laws of physics allow to reach the ultimate sensitivity of sensors and electronic components. Travelling wave parametric amplifiers are components that amplfy signals over a broad frequency range while adding only the minimum amount of noise that corresponds to vacuum fluctuations. Such components generate electromagnetic fields with quantum correlations. Our goal will be to detect and analyse these correlations using an ultra-broadband, 1-10 GHz setup.

Development of Functionalized Clay-Based Reactive Media for Removal of Cationic Salts from Brine Effluent (Salinity Mitigation for Potash Mine Effluent)

One-third of the world’s demand for potash is being supplied by Saskatchewan. The potash mining industry is thus a core element driving rapid economic development in the province. However, potash mining operations generate a substantial volume of highly saline mine wastewater. There are strong demands for mitigating the salinity of potash mine water in Saskatchewan. A novel salinity mitigation strategy specialized for potash mine water that uses functionalized reactive clay materials as remedial agents has been proposed. The proposed research is organized into the development of (1) recyclable surface-modified reactive clay media for salinity mitigation, (2) innovative salinity mitigation using nanoclay-amended sorbents, and (3) novel biomass sorbents recycled from the treatment of potash mine wastewater. Up-to-date knowledge, cutting-edge research tools in geoenvironmental engineering, microbial and chemical analyses, and synchrotron-based X-ray microscopy analyses will be combined to generate innovative solutions for the management and reclamation of potash mine water. The proposed research is therefore aligned with the goals of sustainable economic development and environmental protection in Canada.

Impact des perturbations multiples (feux et épidémies d’insectes) sur les forêts boréales (Québec)

Impact des perturbations multiples (feux et épidémies d’insectes) sur les forêts boréales (Québec) Le stage proposé s’inscrit dans un projet à l’échelle du Québec qui vise à combiner approche paléo-écologique, dendrologie (pour reconstituer les épidémies de TBE) et modélisation dynamique pour mieux comprendre et prédire les interactions entre climat-végétation et régimes de perturbations. Dans cette approche, les variations climatiques passés des 1500 dernières années permettent de quantifier la réponse des régimes de perturbations et de la végétation à une large gamme de conditions climatiques, de l’échelle décennale à millénaire. L’objectif du stage proposé est de produire les données sur la dynamique de végétation au cours des 1500 dernières années dans le parc National de la Gaspésie et d’intégrer ces données avec les données déjà existantes sur les régimes de feux et les épidémies d’insectes pour mieux comprendre les mécanismes de réponses des perturbations aux variations climatiques et leur impact sur les écosystèmes. L’acquisition des données de végétation se fera par le comptage des grains de pollens dans la carotte sédimentaire du lac Paul.