Innovative Projects Realized

Industry sectors that attract recent Chinese immigrants to Canada

Community tables: Engaging neighbors!

Development of novel therapeutics for multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens by targeting indel-containing essential proteins

Shrinkage of polymer coatings on wood veneers in aircraft structures: understanding the causes of the problem and possible solution

A common problem in aircraft cabinetry is deterioration of high gloss finishes, giving an "orange-peel look", which is attributed to some kind of dimensional instability. This can be related to the veneer, the varnish, their interactions and how they evolve over time and in different environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) to which the aircraft cabinetry are exposed during their manufacturing and usage. This problem is costly to Bombardier Aerospace, who must frequently rework the cabinetry surfaces. 3M Canada is interested in providing solutions. Therefore, in this project, which involves both polymer chemists and wood scientists, our goal is to understand the underlying reasons for the problem, by doing systematic experiments using a large variety of appropriate and complementary scientific techniques. With the information gained, rational solutions can be proposed and tested. 

A Novel Analgesic for Osteoarthritis

Development of an integrated online enzymatic micro-fluidic chip for glycoprotein analysis using Chip-Cub QToF mass spectrometry

Enabling maximum penetration of distributed generations without violating protection system coordination

Driven by economic, technical and environmental reasons, the energy sector is moving into an era where Distributed Generation (DG) will meet a large segment of increasing electrical energy demand. Local distribution companies are required to accept a given percentage of customer-owned renewable DG units in their system. Generally, DG introduces new possibilities such as shaving of peak loads and reliability enhancement. On the other hand, DG causes a number of protection problems in the distribution networks, such as loss of coordination, de-sensitization, nuisance fuse blowing, relay bidirectional operation, and overvoltage. In this work, general guidelines about maximum allowable DG penetration that will not ignite these adverse effects will be identified for typical feeders in Ontario. Moreover, a recommendation about suitable connection of the interfacing transformer to avoid overvoltage during ground faults will be given. Furthermore, general recommendations will be given at the end of this internship about possible methods that can be used to overcome any protection coordination problem if it happens. 

Evaluating the performance of real-time collaboration on mobile devices

Efficient signal processing and Radio Resource Management (RRM) for coordinated multi-node downlink transmission in heterogeneous cellular networks

A significant challenge in the design of fourth generation (and beyond) cellular systems is the reliable delivery of high speed (up to 1 gigabit per second) wireless data to mobile users. The use of techniques involving multiple antennas at the transmitters and receivers is a key step toward this goal. However, interference from adjoining cells is a primary impediment to such techniques reaching their full potential, especially for users in regions near the cell boundaries. A promising way to solve this problem is for several transmitters in a cluster to act jointly and cooperate in their transmissions so as to reduce the interference to users in the cluster. However, such coordinated systems bring design challenges of their own. This is especially the case for emerging heterogeneous networks (HetNets), which may consist of overlapping cells of different sizes, transmitters with different available power, and so forth. The bulk of previous research has instead been on homogeneous networks, where all the transmission points and cells are identical.

One key challenge in coordinated HetNets is the issue of resource allocation. This includes selecting a subset of users to serve at any instant, as generally there are too many to serve all at once. With each user having multiple antennas, the number of data streams to each user must be chosen as well; a user could potentially receive up to as many streams as it has antennas. In a coordinated HetNet, the transmission points in each cluster can also be chosen dynamically. Lastly, the power assigned to each user and the precoding used at the transmission points must be configured to mitigate interference between the scheduled users in a cluster. A second key challenge is the sharing of information between transmission points. It is already a difficult problem to obtain accurate information regarding the current state of the wireless channel in current systems. In coordinated networks, the channel state information must be obtained for and shared among all the transmission points in the cluster. The data to be sent to the users generally must also be available at each transmission point. The design challenge is how much of this feedback is necessary and possible without inundating the system with control/signalling information, which reduces the bandwidth available for useful data transmission to the users.

The focus of this project is therefore threefold: 1) Investigate the design of coordinated cellular HetNets; 2) Design efficient algorithms for resource allocation within such networks; and 3) Investigate the amount and type of feedback necessary within HetNets, and analyze the effect of limited feedback on the network performance. This project is of great interest to the partners, as it will increase their expertise in advanced cellular systems, and allow them to contribute towards future wireless system standards and development. 

Development of a cost effective type-specific small aircraft simulator

A study on information diffusion systems

Heat stress in older adults