Innovative Projects Realized

Exploring the employment experiences of Inuit receiving employability services at Ivirtivik

Presently and historically, Inuit have faced unequal access to employment. Douglas Health Research Center
members and Ivirtivik, an employment centre for Inuit, seek to create a collaborative, meaningful research
relationship to better understand employment facilitators and barriers for Inuit in Tiohtià:ke (the geographical
region called “Montréal”). Inuit cultural knowledge guides this endeavour, emphasizing inclusive, collaborative and
consensus-building research that respects Inuit worldview. Inuit will be invited to share their stories in focus groups
to develop a collective understanding of employment experiences. Inuit knowledge will be distributed in search of
solutions to improve collective well-being. Researchers, Ivirtivik and Inuit will contribute to future opportunities to
develop culturally safe tools to support Inuit employment by building bridges between Inuit and non-Indigenous
researchers.

Centre de Recherche d’Hydro-Québec (IREQ) : Analyse de la flèche des conducteurs par analyse spectrale

Ce projet va permettre l’évaluation de la capacité de transit des lignes aériennes en temps réel avec des marges
d’incertitudes. Les données acquises vont faciliter l’identification des lignes aériennes qui pourront transiter plus
de courant de manière sécuritaire dans le but d’atteindre les objectifs d’augmentation de puissance d’Hydro-
Québec.

Full Scale Ice Impact Data Analysis

The main objective of this project is to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of the full scale ice impact measurement and temperature measurements taken on board an Arctic tanker and compare with existing data sets and analytical models. The results will be used in support of developing and improving ice class rules, design criteria, and guidance on modern large icebreaking merchant vessels to enhance safety of Polar Ships. The results may also be used to validate or calibrate ice transit simulation models.

Launching and Online Career Preparation and Self Development Course for Under Resourced Youth in Canada

Purpose and Background
The “Ahead of the Game Youth Mentoring Organization” (AOTG) seeks to address the significant challenges faced by “side-lined” youth, including lack of direction, underdeveloped skills, financial literacy issues, and career preparation barriers. AOTG aims to empower youth (ages 12-29) through mentoring programs focused on leadership, emotional intelligence, and life transitions, especially for under-resourced youth in Canada.

Building on prior efforts funded by Mitacs, which included an environmental scan of challenges faced by youth in rural Nova Scotia, the current project focuses on creating and launching an online education program to bridge gaps in youth development and readiness for life transitions. The program will include online courses, webinars, mentorship, personalized coaching, and community engagement.
Impact
This project targets societal challenges such as youth disengagement, lack of preparedness for life transitions, and mental health issues. By equipping youth with skills, resources, and guidance, AOTG intends to improve their educational and career outcomes, thereby fostering a more equitable and capable generation.

This structured approach leverages technical expertise, community input, and innovative methodologies to create scalable solutions for youth mentorship and development in Canada.

Elucidating Ion Transport and Catalyst Degradation Mechanisms in Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

As one of the most promising pathways to achieve zero-emission targets, Canada and Germany launched their respective hydrogen strategies. Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) for green hydrogen production and hydrogen-fed PEM fuel cells (PEMFCs) for zero-emission vehicles are two technologies considered to be crucial parts of the future hydrogen infrastructure in both countries. Although both PEMWEs and PEMFCs are in early commercial stages, in addition to cost, two major barriers to large-scale commercialization are their durability and the increasing concerns about the environmental impact of fluorocarbon-based polymer electrolytes. Development of strategies to enhance durability via new materials discovery or new component design requires a robust experimental-evidence-based understanding of the degradation and transport phenomena in the PEM and at the membrane-electrode interfaces. Using a diagnostic microfluidic cell, transport phenomena in the membrane and at the interface can be visualized to understand phenomena in existing materials and develop novel, fluorocarbon-free materials with a deeper understanding of their impact on long-term stability and large-scale commercialization of PEMWE and PEMFC. To ensure that results from the diagnostic cell accurately reflect phenomena in larger-scale operation, the findings will be checked and cross-referenced in a benchtop-scale setup.

Development of genetic engineering in microalgae

Biopharmaceuticals are pharmaceuticals that are produced in biological systems, as opposed to being made synthetically using purely chemical approaches. Biopharmaceuticals are becoming increasingly important today, as biological systems are very good at making pharmaceuticals with very precise activity within people and with fewer side effects. However, most of the conventional approaches used to make biopharmaceuticals suffer from shortcomings such as high cost and the need to remove human pathogens. On the other hand, microalgae overcome many of the limitations of the current systems. They are low-cost, safe to humans, and even edible. Microalgae are like very small plants, and plants were the original source of biopharmaceuticals, including the cancer drug, taxol. However, in spite of their many advantages, microalgae have not yet been used commercially for biopharmaceutical production. The purpose of this Mitacs Accelerate proposal is to develop tools which are crucial to harnessing the potential of microalgae for making biopharmaceuticals.

Refining Earth’s first exit from oxygenation

The first initial buildup of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere – the Great Oxidation Event – started around 2.5 billion years ago, where oxygen may have reached levels comparable to today’s atmosphere. Following its debut, atmospheric oxygen levels quickly crashed, coinciding with a contraction of the global biosphere. The geologic time period of the Orosirian (2.05 – 1.8 billion years ago) records Earth’s exit from oxygenation (“OXIT”) in addition to an evolutionary milestone – the emergence of Eukaryotes. Animals (including humans), plants, and fungi are all eukaryotic organisms and without the rise of Eukaryotes, life as we know it today would not exist. The Orosirian has been overlooked for understanding early life and the environments that eventually enabled it to proliferate. Fortunately, Orosirian aged carbonates, from the Great Slave Lake region of northern Canada, may just hold the very clues we need. Trace element concentrations of these samples will be measured at the University of Western Brittany. In doing so, the environmental conditions in the aftermath of OXIT, which enabled the advance of Eukaryotes, will finally be understood. This project will offer major breakthroughs to the fields of Earth and life history and critical metals.

An Experimental and Numerical Investigation into Phase Change Material Thermal Storage using High Voltage Electric Fields

The project entails an experimental and numerical investigation into the effect of adding seeding particles into a Phase Change Material (PCM) thermal storage system under the application of Electrohydrodynamics (EHD).In previous experiments we have seen an increase in heat transfer enhancement for the same applied electric field when we have added seeding particles. The objective of the project is to investigate the underlying physics of this effect by using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the velocity of the seeding particles.

Ecological Restoration: A scan for determining the true costs

In order to meet our City Plan and Climate Resilient Edmonton goals of restoring ecological networks, and natural and modified ecosystems, we need to understand the true cost of restoration. The cost of ecological restoration can encompass multiple factors adding complexity to an already complex task. This project will aim to gather information from other municipalities, organizations and literature on the costs of ecological restoration. This information will then be used to analyze what the average cost of restoration would be for the City’s different natural areas based on condition and other factors. This project will help support the City’s overall restoration efforts and help to develop new budgets for it.

Advanced FLIM-Hyperspectral confocal microscopy

This project aims to develop a high-resolution and high-speed microscope for capturing fast cellular biological interactions and processes. CoVision, a custom microscope instrumentation company, will directly work with the research fellow to develop and build this custom system. This includes designing the commercial grade packaging, sourcing components, and development of the user interface to be compatible with existing commercial microscope systems. The system will be tested by biology and biotechnology users studying biological interactions in live cells. Collaboration on this project will provide CoVision with valuable access to transformative cellular and molecular research, and to understand the imaging needs of the biology and biotechnology community for the custom microscopy market. The success of this research will lead to technology that has broad applications for understanding disease and precision medicine. The project will deliver a fully functioning microscope, which will be housed in and managed by the McMaster Centre for Advanced Light Microscopy (CALM) as an open access instrument to both internal and external (national and international) users who are interested in using the technology for dynamic imaging research.

Emergency Management CO-OP

The Town of Drayton Valley is seeking to focus on two main areas including the creation of a multi-faceted Emergency Social Service (ESS) plan and a community re-entry plan; two areas we are struggling with to solve with our knowledge and experience. These plans are being implemented across Alberta, and Canada, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the public and our plans will incorporate all the best practices learned from other places and plans

Wildlife Passages in an Urban Environment

As the largest urban park in Canada, with more than 160 kilometres of maintained pathways and 20 major parks, the River Valley is a natural asset for the City of Edmonton and part of a broader ecological network that connects through the tablelands and into the region. Edmonton has a long history of protecting the natural environment, building on strategic policies such as Natural Connections and Breathe: Edmonton’s Green Network Strategy. More recently, City Plan speaks to the green and blue network.

Part of developing and fostering this network is creating connectivity between natural areas, through the use of wildlife passages. Wildlife passages range in size, and scope, depending on their placement and target design groups. Passages provide safe movement opportunities for wildlife, but also reduce dangerous collisions and other wildlife-human conflict. Edmonton has been consistently implementing wildlife passage design into all new, and some retrofit neighbourhoods, for over a decade. Reflecting on the implementation and outcomes of this work is important, as well as examining new tools and approaches that have been developed over the past decade.

This project will improve our understanding of current best practices with respect to wildlife passage design. It will also create a comprehensive database of all wildlife passages that have been planned and constructed within the City. This will advance the knowledge of tools available, as well as provide a baseline for further analytic examination of the efficacy of the passages. The improved understanding will support the design of a connected, green and blue network.