Innovative Projects Realized

Habitat function of urban trees: benchmarks for green‐rating systems.

Mobile Image Recognition

Highly Sensitive and Specific Detection of Aflatoxin B1 Implementing Aptamers and Gold Nanoparticle Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance

Optimization of Reforestation Success: a Data Analysis and Spatial Visualization Strategy

A Critical Pathway for Cardiac Defibrillators in Patients with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy

Providence Health Care has established a reputation as one of the leading centres for cardiology research and treatment in Canada. Medtronic of Canada is a major supplier of therapeutic cardiac equipment, technology and implantable devices, and works closely with Providence Healthcare to advance the science of cardiac treatment. Providence Health Care and Medtronic of Canada intend to collaborate on a number of research projects that will potentially further the science and improve patient outcomes in this field. Critical Pathways are standardized, evidence-based schedules of diagnostic tests, medications, and consultations that are implemented to improve the delivery of care to patients with a high risk diagnosis. These pathways have been demonstrated to reduce the variability in practice patterns, improve health care outcomes and enrich health care quality. This project attempts to create and evaluate A Critical Pathway for Cardiac Defibrillators in Patients with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy

Displaying QR Codes on Irregular Surfaces

The goal of this project is to facilitate the scanning of 2D barcodes printed on non-flat surfaces.  For example, the naïve placement of a 2D barcode on a beer mug or a coffee cup will present a variety of difficulties to a scanning application that is expecting a rendering of the barcode on a flat surface.  However, by warping the barcode image prior to printing it on the mug, it is possible to render the barcode so that it can “look” to the camera-based scanning application as if it were on a 2D surface. Project deliverables include technologies for creating and scanning such warped barcodes, and a study of the robustness of the same.

Projects in Algebraic Computation

The goal of this project is to design and implement new algorithms for factoring polynomials in more than one variable with coefficients which involve algebraic numbers such as the sqrt(2) and algebraic functions such as sqrt(1-c^2).  Our goal is to find new algorithms which are efficient in practice so that scientists and engineers can factor polynomials involving algebraic numbers and functions, with thousands of terms (but not millions of terms) in under an hour on a typical desktop computer.  This will improve the capabilities of the Maple computer algebra system, which is the flagship product of our industrial partner. 

Refugee Settlement Patterns in Metro Vancouver

The primary goal of this internship is to produce a web based resource as well as a printed document using a series of GIS maps and statistical highlights to identify neighbourhood settlement patterns of government assisted refugees (GARs) in Metro Vancouver from January 2005 to December 2009. ISSofBC will be able to increase our capacity to analysis data that we currently capture but have no ability to fully analysis. The final product will help us to determine if any current settlement related resources including staffing should be adjusted to meet the needs of specific refugee populations in Metro Vancouver.

Estimation of Production Cost for Chicken Broiler Producers in Saskatchewan

The objective of this research is to estimate the total production cost and its components for chicken producers in Saskatchewan, with different technologies and size, using a survey analysis. The results of this research are expected to provide a ranking on efficiency of different technologies and scales of production (efficiency in terms of both total production cost as well as the cost of different factors like feed, medicine…). Thus, the results can indicate to what extent the chicken broiler industry in Saskatchewan is profitable and economically efficient. By collecting detailed information, this research also provides a statistical basis for the economic study of the chicken industry like evaluating the effects of agricultural policies or negotiations for price determination. To reach the goal, a survey in conducted by means of a direct interview with producers to fill a questionnaire designed for this purpose. All farm-level aspects of fixed and variable costs of production are examined in this survey. Specifically, this questionnaire provides three categories of information: Flock Profile, Operation Costs and Fixed Costs. Finally, the collected data are used to calculate the total production cost for producers with different production facilities and scales. A summary and discussion of the results is also provided.

Bluetooth Enabled Radiation Detectors

The development of a safety assessment model for spent nuclear fuel with special emphasis on fuel corrosion/dissolution processes

The project will involve a partnership between the University of Western Ontario, where Yannick is enrolled in the M.E.Sc chemical engineering program, and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). The NWMO is the organization responsible for developing and implementing a plan for the disposal of nuclear waste in Canada. In 2010, the NWMO will begin a major safety assessment of a deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel, referred to as the Fourth Case Study (FCS). While at the NWMO, Yannick will participate in tasks related to the FCS including the development and verification of computer models for radionuclide transport through the repository environment. At UWO, Yannick will conduct electrochemical experiments and modeling work examining the effect of corrosion products on the behaviour of spent nuclear fuel. By participating in the project, Yannick will widen his understanding of the waste management safety assessment process and develop his computational modeling skills. The NWMO will benefit from the partnership by addressing specific technical topics of interest to them and contribute to their goal of developing effective working relationships with Canadian universities.

Particle attrition at high temperature in an industrial fluidized bed at pilot plant, measurements and modeling

Syncrude Canada is one of the largest producer of synthetic crude oil for oilsands in the world, and the largest producer in Canada. Syncrude Canada uses the fluid coking process to upgrade bitumen. During the fluid coking process, coke is continuously transferred to the burner where air is used to burn some of the coke and raise the temperature of the particles, which are then returned to the reactor to supply the heat of reaction. To achieve optimum reactor performance, the particle size distribution of the coke must be maintained in a specific range. Therefore, steam is introduced at supersonic speed through attrition nozzles to attrit the coke particles. Achieving a high attrition rate of the particles with a lower steam consumption would reduce energy consumption, increase production, and enhance environmental performance. Although particle attrition in industrial fluidized beds occurs at temperatures well above ambient, most research results and attrition correlations are presented for room temperature operation. Therefore, the general objective of the proposed research is to study the fundamental mechanisms of particle attrition in a fluidized bed at high temperature, and the specific objective of this study is to improve attrition performance at realistic temperatures in a hot fluidized bed. A main objective of the internship is to apply the preliminary work conducted at a small scale in a university