Innovative Projects Realized

Mineralogy and isotopic signature of the Marshall lake VHMS deposit

The proposed research project will study processes which took place during formation of the copper-silver-gold deposit in the southern part of the Marshall Lake property, western Ontario. The study will focus on deciphering primary and metamorphic mineral assemblages and conditions of their origin. Studying mineral textures and their chemical and isotopic compositions will allow characterization of the processes which formed the deposit, including estimation of temperatures and pressures at which they took place. Isotopic dating of minerals will show relationships with the geologic processes on a regional scale. The study results will significantly improve the current model of the deposit and understanding about copper, silver and gold behavior at this locality. As a result, the partner organization will be better able to select targets for exploration. In addition, this information may be applied to other, similar exploration prospects.

Machine Learning based Events Targeting Applications in Online Display Advertising

An important concept in industry and science is the occurrence of rare events: events that occur with low probabilities but have significant impacts. Examples of rare events include the chance of an automobile insurance holder filing a claim or credit card accounts are compromised. The proposed project investigates applications of machine learning algorithms in the analysis and prediction of the occurrence of rare events. Of particular interest in this proposal is the application of rare event targeting to online display advertising that is also the core idea of the flag product of the industrial partner, the Infersystem engine. Outcomes of the research will directly contribute to further improvement on the performance of the Infersystem engine by minimizing the cost and maximizing targeted reach for media campaigns in real time. 

Diagnostic screening for conscious awareness in brain injury and disease: Visual component

Since the mid 1970s, medical personnel have used the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) as an important tool to rate and describe levels of consciousness. This scale is rudimentary and subjective, often resulting in misdiagnoses in cases where people lack the capacity to communicate. In some unfortunate situations, severe neurological damage can render people unable to move. Inevitably, these people are deemed vegetative when in actuality; many are simply ‘locked in’. Family members and professionals alike are left wondering…are they in there?

For years researchers have used cognitive event related potentials (ERPs) with modified EEG to assess receptive language capacity. However, the testing is typically laborious and clinicians are not able to access it in order to assess their clients; which eliminates the technology’s utility to working professionals. Acknowledging this, an innovative research team out of Halifax lead by neuroscientist, Dr. Ryan D’Arcy developed the Halifax Consciousness Scanner (HCS). The HCS is a portable, easy to operate modified EEG/ERP system complete with a specially designed 5 minute protocol which can be implemented in almost any setting by frontline health care professionals. It is anticipated that the HCS will improve our ability to objectively evaluate conscious awareness following brain injury/stroke in emergency rooms, evaluate candidacy for rehabilitation, measure outcomes of intervention when subtle progress is not yet outwardly observable, and identify those patients who are trapped in their bodies so we can intervene. Carolyn Fleck-Prediger is a veteran Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in complex brain injury and stroke. She is completing her graduate work at the University of Alberta. Carolyn is working with Mindful Scientific to develop a HCS that uses visual stimuli so that the conscious awareness of people with hearing or English language barriers can also be evaluated with this new and practical device.

Determination of net calorific value of fresh and aged wood pellets

In this project, the effects of storage time on the heating value of wood pellets are investigated. During relatively long-term storage and transportation, pellets may lose part of its heating value, which could translate to financial losses. However, for a limited and shorter storage time, studies have shown that pellets could have a slight gain in heating value. Thus, this project aims at resolving this ambiguity by conducting lab experiments and fitting the data to a mathematical model for prediction purposes. In this collaborative project between Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group (PREG) and UBC Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group (BBRG), the intern will be involved in the laboratory investigation of the wood pellets using specific instrumentation. The partner organization would be able to use the outcomes of this project to calculate the expected changes in heat value and hence make adjustments on their logistics accordingly.

Impact of Lumbar Vibrotactile Plantar Sensory Substitution System on Gait and Balance

Peripheral neuropathy is a medical condition that leads to a loss of sensation in the feet. Due to this loss, patients suffering from this condition are at an increased risk of falling due to impaired control of posture and gait function. Orpyx Medical Technologies Inc. has developed a biomedical device to substitute the sensory loss in the feet. The device consists of pressure sensing insoles that provide real-time feedback to the patient about the pressure distribution at the feet. The main objective of this collaboration is to investigate the effectiveness of the device to improve postural control and gait function in patients with peripheral neuropathy. These results directly contribute to the understanding of the medical device and facilitate an application for patients suffering from peripheral neuropathy with the ultimate goal of improving their quality of life.

Long-term Monitoring Protocol and Analysis Template for American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)

In 2012, the American Eel were recommended by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada to be upgraded to Threatened from Special Concern. American Eel are important to Aboriginal people, and recreational and commercial fishers. Research from a four-year-study (2009-2012) occurring in a near pristine watershed, looked at habitat selection and population estimates of American Eel. Data from this study will be analyzed to provide a framework for commercial harvesting with regard to recommending a detailed sampling protocol for adult eels that is transferable to other impacted watersheds. This will provide a roadmap to long-term sampling of adult eel within multiple watersheds should this be warranted for commercial purposes. These sampling protocols and procedures should provide an efficient pathway to enable long-term monitoring of adult eel populations to help with conservation of this species and simultaneously allow commercial enterprises to continue.

Improvement in the quality of dissolving pulp

The dissolving pulp produced by Neucel Specialty Cellulose is a grade of pulp with high purity of alpha cellulose and used as the raw material to manufacture synthetic fibers, plastic materials, etc. The viscosity of pulp, one of the crucial factors, is undesirably decreased in the bleaching process, particularly in the hot alkali extraction stage, due to the so-called peeling reactions. Our research will minimize the peeling reactions with borol treatment, therefore will increase the pulp viscosity and upgrade the current product. The project will start with a lab study to investigate the borol treatment possibility and optimize treatment conditions. If positive results are confirmed, mill trials will follow to further optimize the condition and process design, monitor its effects on the pulp quality and overall production, and eventually integrate the borol treatment into the current mill operation system.

Advanced Crowdsourced Market Research and Reporting Using Machine Learning

Chaordix is a company that develops crowdsourcing solutions for a variety of clients in industry, universities and governments. In early 2009, it launched a commercial managed services platform for crowdsourcing, called Chaordix, which has firmly established the company as a crowdsourcing pioneer. At this point in time Chaordix provides a global standard in crowdsourced market intelligence. It works with a number of clients around the world (Orange, IBM, World Wildlife Fund, P&G, University of Oxford, American Airlines, Genius Crowds, etc.).

Brunel Employment Study

Outsourcing of product research and development has been a growing trend in the pharmaceutical industry over the last decade. Allegorical evidence garnered from interactions with clinical research professionals indicate that employees of outsourced firms tend to have lower job satisfaction, morale, and commitment to their jobs than their counterparts working in innovative pharmaceutical companies. This study aims to examine whether job satisfaction can be correlated with the model of employment in clinical research professionals.

Enhancing the Performance of the Internal Circulation Anaerobic Reactor System at AV Cell

AV Cell, located in Atholville, New Brunswick, produces high-quality specialty cellulose (dissolving pulp). As an integral part of the manufacturing process, it operates a modern internal circulation (IC) anaerobic reactor system that handles the mill effluent while producing bio-gas that feeds to the boiler. The objective of the project is to enhance the performance of the IC anaerobic system. This internship will investigate the reasons that determine the optimal operating conditions of this effluent treatment system. The intern will be involved in both the laboratory and field work: carrying out the detailed experiments; doing the initial engineering/ process development for the proposed mill trials to improve performance of the effluent treatment unit. It will provide a strong training opportunity to the intern.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of sludges/biosolids for the production of bio-crude oils

Conventional wastewater treatment process includes primary treatment (clarifier), secondary treatment (aeration tanks) and anaerobic digestion (AD) of primary sludge (PS) and waste activated sludge (WAS), followed by disposal of the bio-solids from of the AD process. It is estimated that the sludge treatmen/disposal processes account for approximately 40% of the costs for a wastewater treatment plant. Currently three main approaches are: land application, landfill disposal, and incineration/thermal technologies. These approaches are facing great challenges due to various concerns related to the secondary emissions, limited land availability and costs. Compared with the conventional sludge disposal approaches, hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology using hot-pressed water converts sludges/bio-solids into valuable products such as bio-oil, bio-char and aqueous product (AP). The HTL technology is particularly promising for processing high-water-content biomass resources such as sludge and bio-solids as it eliminates the need of costly de watering/drying process that is otherwise required in other thermal/thermo-chemical processes (such as incineration). The long-term objective of this project is to develop low-footprint energy-self-sufficient new sludge treatment processes based on HTL. Trojan is one of the world leading companies providing innovative UV-based solutions to wastewater treatment, drinking water and industrial/residential water purification. Recently, Trojan has decided to heavily invest and expand its commercial interest towards new processes and technologies in the wastewater treatment area. It has a keen interest in evaluating alternative and innovating sludge treatment processes like HTL. The success of the present BiofuelNet-Mitacs internship project could lead to longer-term collaboration between Trojan and the academic researchers to develop new product and new processes on bio-solids disposal and valorization, which would benefit Trojan for development of new products/processes and creation of new jobs.

Datalink Processing System – Research and Development – Naval to Air Force Replatforming

The IBM DLPS software is used to provide an intelligent interface system that enables a ship’s Command System to interface to Tactical Data Links for the exchange of information with other friendly units. The DLPS software integrates the ship's Command System data with the tactical networks of data links. IBM would like to expand and modernize the DLPS solution through the use of new technologies and improved software programming techniques. Our proposed research will develop a framework consisting of reverse engineering tools and methods to assist in the evolution of the DLPS software. IBM Canada sees potential benefits of this research work as improving maintainability, adaptability and contributing to a more robust architectural framework for DLPS and positioning the DLPS for renewed application within a new Force environment. An improved Canadian DLPS product increases commercialization opportunities for DLPS globally.