Innovative Projects Realized

A study of green building rating systems for existing buildings in Canada

The objective of this study is to determine how LEED Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance [LEED EB (O&M)] and BOMA BESt rating systems perfrom with respect to reductions in environmental impact, measureable resource use, continual improvement and perceived social values. The study will also place these two ratings into a context of other environmental initiatives that may affect building owners and occupiers.

The Social History of Oil Springs, Ontario

The interns research will focus on gathering and analyzing information about the social history of Oil Springs, Canada’s first boom town. Areas of focus include: deeper understanding of community lifestyles that arose from the advent/loss of sudden personal wealth; investigate historical personages to understand them not as “technological achievers” but as personalities with stories to tell; and conducting oral history interviews with five former oil producers. The intern will enter four of site’s Oil Heritage District structures into the Canadian Register of Historic Places, and assist in drafting a Commemorative Intergrity Statement for Parks Canada in a step towards bidding for World Heritage Status. Finally, the research will help a team of playwrights draft an historically-accurate interpretive production to celebrate the site’s national and global significance, scheduled for the 150^th anniversary celebrations in 2012. The Oil Museum of Canada will benefit from increased research resources and additions to the museum’s interpretation, and Fairbank Oil will benefit from a better understanding of their institutional history and improved public relations.

Policy Development Project

Located on Northern Haida Gwaii, Old Massett represents one of two Haida communities on this remote archipelago. The Haida, like any other Indigenous Community, have faced obstacles and challenges in finding their niche within the modern and Western World. Innovation, expertise, and active community engagement has brought the Old Massett Haida to a place where they can now participate within the economic realm of the larger world. In order to assure that resources and wealth is generated and guided in the most locally and culturally appropriate manner possible, the Old Massett Village Council, through the Economic Development Office, proposes a project to research existing Indigenous Communities’ Profit Policies. With this information, then, the Intern will develop a Profit Policy that will steer economic revenue, utilizing a bottom-up and holistic approach, specifically addressing the social issues that the community faces.

An Adaptive Load-Shedding Scheduler for Space Missions

Photocatalytic Treatment of Containminants in Water

Emerging contaminants in drinking water are coming under increasing scrutiny as hazards to human and aquatic health. These compounds include pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, Endocrine Disrupting Compounds and others. At present, the technologies for treating these compounds are costly and inefficient. Photocatalysis has been identified as a promising technique for treating these emerging contaminants in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. The intern in this project will identify promising photocatalyst materials, and then conduct research into the synthesis, detailed characterization and assessment of the catalytic performance novel photocatalytic materials for the treatment of contaminants in water. Specifically, the candidate, in collaboration with a team of Trojan scientists, will molecularly design catalytic materials that will enable new reaction pathways to efficiently transform toxic contaminants found in water to stable, non-toxic products. The objective is to develop effective, low-cost and environmentally-friendly ways to treat contaminants and produce safe drinking water.

Frequency Domain Waveform Tomography of Crosswell Data

Crosshole tomography using seismic waves is a  useful technique for the mapping of ore containing sulfides between drill holes. The technique uses sound waves generated in one drill hole, and received in a second drillhole. Images are then formed in a manner analogous to medical tomography. However, conventional crosshole tomography does have limitations in the resolution it is able to provide. The aim of this research project is to overcome these limitations and better delineate mineralized zones using seismic crosshole data collected and provided by Vale Inco. Imaging software developed at the University of Western Ontario will be used to enhance the resolution of the images. The imaging approach utilized recorded wave forms in their entirety, as opposed to only using the first arrivals, as with the conventional travel-time approach. High quality images will guide underground exploration and future placement of drill holes, enhancing the productivity of Vale Inco’s operations.

Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emission for Chinese and Developing World Cities

Chinese cities are amongst the fasted growing cities in the world and they have per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rates that are similar to western cities. This research quantifies GHG emissions for the three Chinese city-provinces of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. A computer model is then developed for projecting the future growth in Shanghai’s emissions under current policies and infracstructure plans.

Electronic Medical Case Management Evaluation of the Adoption of Electronic Medical Case Management Solutions Amongst Healthcare Service Providers and Funders

While the digitalization of medical information is central goal of governments, such initiatives are often cumbersome and at times inefficient. By understanding the regulatory environment and potential markets, there may be adequate incentive for private companies to offer solutions that would facilitate the creation and distribution of specific medical information. By conducting and environmental anaylsis and an analysis of potential markets and by then creating and applying specific metrics to the specific markets all parties will have a comprehensive understanding of the costs and benefits or private entry into the market.

Assessing the performance of an in-river backwards run reconstruction of Fraser River sockeye under biological uncertainty.

This project is the first to assess reliability of run reconstruction methods for estimating sockeye salmon abundance and exploitation rates in the Fraser River. Run reconstruction is a model-based approach to estimating fishery harvest rates and catch of up to 35 individual sockeye salmon stocks. Fishery managers typically require these estimates to design pre-season fishing plans aimed at meeting stock-specific escapement and catch objectives defined under Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy, which stipulates management of individual sockeye stock (i.e., conservation units). This project will test the reliability of run reconstruction under certainty through a process referred to as simulation-estimation, in which a stochastic simulation model of sockeye migration and fisheries represents the “truth” that a run reconstruction attempts to estimate. We will use repeated simulation-estimation cycles to evaluate reconstruction performance by comparing exploitation and abundance estimates to known values from the simulator. The intern will partner with LGL Limited to develop and test a run reconstruction of Fraser River sockeye from 2002-2008. LGL has extensive run reconstruction experience, and consequently is interested in model development and performance testing.

Recommendation in Entrepreneurship Social Networks through Questions & Answers (Q&A)

Recommendation is a critical problem in social networks and social media. In this project, we tackle the problem of recommendation in entrepreneurship social networks through questions and answers. The novelty of the proposed research is on three aspects. First, we use Q&A activities to express users’ interest. Second, we recommend not only single users as most of the existing recommendation systems do, but also a small group of users carrying complement expertise to satisfy the requirement and potentially can work together. Last, we consider both the content of the Q&A activities as well as the patterns in successful Q&A activities in the past. The outcome of this project will be a proof-of-concept prototype system for SilkStart.

Development of a protocol to digitally capture and animate highly detailed, miniature 3D theatrical maquettes for a web environment

The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s premiere public institution for the promotion of the performing arts. For over forty years, the NAC has showcased the finest performers and production professionals from around the world. Many of these productions required the design and construction of elaborate stage sets that were built specifically for the show and then dismantled after the final curtain closed. While glimpses of these remarkable designs can be seen in photographs, a little know three-dimensional record has also survived. This collaborative project among the National Arts Centre of Canada; industry partner, 76 Design; and the Carleton Immersive Studio at Carleton University will develop a prototype for an innovative protocol to digitally capture and animate highly detailed, miniature 3D set-design maquettes from the NAC archives for a web environment. The resulting web-based models represent a unique three-dimensional history of theatre production at the NAC and provide an educational tool accessible globally. In addition, his prototype will also contribute to ongoing research questions surrounding the effective use of laser scanning technology and point-cloud data.

Feasibility study on design and development of an advanced online flatness measurement system for improving control of rolled flat strips.