Innovative Projects Realized

Industry & University Partnership in Developing Highly Qualified People to Address the Human Resources Challenge of the Global Mining Industry

There is a global human resources shortage in the mining industry due to a number of factors including demographics affecting supply and projected production growth affecting demand. Companies are struggling to develop and retain Highly Qualified People (HQP) who are essential to the successful operation of their business. HQP have an invaluable combination of technical post-secondary education and lengthy industry experience which takes many years to achieve. In my seven years working at the UBC Engineering Co-op Program I’ve developed relationships with hundreds of people related to the mining industry such as students, faculty, staff at other universities in Canada, senior engineers, and human resources. I plan to collect data through surveying mining alumni from schools across Canada and interview industry experts to support my hypothesis on the impact that university and industry partnership can have on addressing some of the greatest human resources challenges of the mining industry.

Enzymatic Improvement of Kraft Dissolving Pulp Reactivity: Mill Trials

AV Nackawic is part of a new and innovative group of companies (AV Group), which are focused on producing specialty pulp products to service the textile and paper industry. The pulp produced is the raw material for the rayon production process, where reactivity of pulp is an important parameter determining the quality of the product. In the first phase of this internship, improving pulp reactivity by enzyme treatment was studied and the best enzyme type was found, with reactivity improvements of up to two times of the untreated pulp achieved. In the extended phase of this internship, mill trials will be conducted to evaluate the feasibility of scaling up the enzymatic treatment. Successful implementation of enzymatic treatment will increase the pulp reactivity and better its processability and improve the quality and market demand of the final product, and also decrease the load of bleaching chemicals, reducing costs and environmental impacts of the process. It will also look at the improvement of a-cellulose purity through cold alkali treatment. This internship aims knowledge-based optimization and improvement of an industrial plant, providing AV Nackawic Inc. with greater access to knowledge, research and development found at the University of New Brunswick.

Computational Design Research and Dissemination Methods: ACADIA 2013 Adaptive Architecture Conference

The goal of this project is to develop enhanced knowledge and gain applied experience through technical research, development and knowledge mobilization activities. The research topic is focused on adaptive architectures with a focus on computational design of environmentally responsive, intelligent, interactive, and reconfigurable structures. Working with Philip Beesley as academic chair of ACADIA 2013 and as principal of Philip Beesley Architect Inc. (PBAI), the intern will undertake practical research and knowledge mobilization activities contributing to ACADIA 2013 ADAPTIVE ARCHITECTURE, a major international conference to be hosted by the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture in October 2013. Philip Beesley Architect Inc. is the company responsible for developing the conference publications, graphics, and workshop programming of the conference. During this placement, the research intern will gain valuable knowledge equipping him with advanced research craft and knowledge of the state of the art, while the industrial partner will benefit from the significant gathering of international research and the opportunity to develop highly specialized technical and aesthetic systems.

Financial Governance and Modelling for Coastal Shellfish Corporation Strategic Plan

The purpose of this project is to provide Coastal Shellfish Corporation with an integrated biological and financial modelling framework for the management of current and future aquaculture operations of the corporation. The primary goal of this research is to provide a framework for implementation to the management of CSC that will enable to organization to implement best practices for biological and financial modelling for coastal shellfish aquaculture at farm-scale level.

Syntheses of novel 3,5-bis(benzylidene)-4-piperidone derivatives as potential anticancer agents

The principal objective of this proposal is to discover novel drugs to treat colon cancers. Currently colon cancer is a huge medical problem and there are many disadvantages to current drug therapies. These disadvantages include their ineffectiveness to completely eradicate cancers, causing toxic side effects and the development of multidrug resistance. A group of compounds discovered in the laboratory of the supervisor designated series 1 has significant potencies towards a number of human colon cancer cell lines. However it is unlikely that they will be effective when given orally due to their low water solubility. Thus this proposal outlines the preparation of analogs of series 1 which retain their anticancer properties but have increased water solubility thereby enabling the compounds to be given by mouth. Bertech requires novel anticancer agents in order to attach antibodies to them which are specific for colon cancers. In other words, this application is part of a long term strategy of Bertech to provide treatment for the detection and treatment of patients with colon cancer.

Sustainable Engineering Design Audit (SEDA) Part II: Investigations in implementing environmental accounting at engineering companies in major Canadian cities

Sustainability continues to be one the most critical issues of the 21st Century. Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) are a popular research topics as academia looks to promote sustainability within industry. Small to mid-sized Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) firms in Canada remain outside the capable bounds of the expensive and complex tools and consultation required to develop their organizations strategic framework to include, track and innovative with sustainability measures. The purpose of the proposed research is to determine the effectiveness of the Sustainability Engineering Design Audit (SEDA) at implementing sustainability parameters into the decision making process of these firms. SEDA is a software tool that seeks to meet these needs by offering a streamlined LCA in the feasibility phase of an engineering project providing data on environmental parameters to engineering decision makers. The research will address this issue through four focus points:

– Streamlining the LCA process for EPC projects; minimizing complexity while maintaining a significant level of accuracy

– Determine the level of impact various environmental parameters have on the outcome of the decision process

– Finding the most effective way to present the user interface that minimizes user-experienced complexity

– Implementing environmental constraints into the software’s capabilities and adding sensitivity analysis for the various parameters in completing these objectives, SEDA will transfer valuable academic knowledge into Canadian industry, specifically engineering companies of small to medium size (SME). Organizations will learn of sustainability, develop in-house sustainability accounting, and do so more cost-effectively and simply to become effective players in becoming environmentally responsible.

Animal Recognition From Natural Scene Images

With the development of imaging technology, camera trapping becomes one of the best ways to record the presence and activities of large mammals in a given area. The approach to monitoring the animals can assist people in the community with decision making about preserving biodiversity. In the past, experts analyzed such images manually, which required domain knowledge and took significant time. In this project, we aim to develop an animal recognition system that can help analyze natural scene images which record the presence of large mammals, such as elk, deer, bear, etc., and automatically categorize those animals. Such a system can help experts save significant time and better understand natural scene images and the activities of animals around the certain area and in a reasonable time. This work will support ecologists to make a better decision on protecting and preserving the biodiversity in the province Alberta.

lnfluence of odour presentation on panelist response variability

Olfactometry is the science of using human subjects to measure odours without bias, as no instrument yet can replace the human nose. Recently, the method presenting odours to panellists has been identified as a potential element affecting response and measurement variability. Furthermore, the sensitivity of electronic noses also developed to measure odours remains an issue. The objective of the research is to use 3 odours and present them in 3 different ways to 6 panellists, and compare panelists' response to that of two widely used commercial noses. The experimental work will be conducted in the olfactory laboratory of Consumaj Inc. in St-Hyacinthe. The 3 methods of odour presentation will be: a single outlet where the panelists must respond as to the contamination or not of the air sample released; two outlets, one of which is contaminated and the identification of the contaminated outlet by the panelists, and three outlets one of which is contaminated and the identification of the contaminated outlet by the panelists.

Observations of atmospheric stability and three dimensional turbulence for wind energy development applications

In 2012, wind energy in Canada grew by nearly 20% and wind is expected to supply 20% of Canada's electricity by 2025. Accurate measurement of the wind resource is essential for future wind energy development but current wind resource assessment practices do not adequately measure atmospheric turbulence or stability. These variables affect average wind speeds, wind energy turbine performance, and energy production. The research proposed here will deploy advanced instrumentation (a 3-d sonic anemometer) to provide highresolution measurements of 3-d atmospheric turbulence and stability. These measurements have potential to improve wind speed models and reduce uncertainties in energy production estimates at a proposed wind energy production site in British Columbia.

Effects of Probiotics on Anxiety and Depression

Dr. Potter has recently begun exploring the impact that probiotics (beneficial bacteria found in some food sources such as probiotic yogurt and kefir) have on anxiety and depression. Other researchers have shown that probiotic bacteria exert a significant effect on anxiety and depression-like behaviours in animals. A few studies have extended these findings to humans. Lallemand Health Solutions is an innovative company that produces probiotics for human consumption, and has recently developed a technique to microencapsulate or coat the probiotic bacteria to help them survive stomach acids. Dr. Potter and Acadia graduate student, Amber McConnell, plan to study the effectiveness of these probiotics for alleviating the symptoms of anxiety and depression in humans. While it is known that probiotics are helpful for persons who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, less is known about their other beneficial effects. Given that a sizable proportion of the population suffers from anxiety and depression at some point in their life, research demonstrating that probiotics are an effective treatment for alleviating these problems has the potential to help numerous people who either do not wish to take pharmaceutical medications or cannot due to adverse side-effects.

Real Time Decision Support for Quality Assurance and Productivity Improvement in Drainage Tunnel Construction: Research, Development and Implementation

During the proposed Mitacs Accelerate program time period, the intern (student researcher) will electrically evaluate, revise, and improve the integrated circuits himself designed for Peraso Technologies in winter 2013. This project will also include the design and implementation of a die package that hosts Peraso’s wireless communication systems including the integrated circuits designed by the intern. This project is part of Peraso’s R&D effort to improve the performance of its existing wireless communication system. The results from this project have strong potential to be implemented in its future commercial products. In the same time, the research carried out will lead to the successful completion of the intern’s thesis report. Therefore, this project is beneficial to both the industrial partner (Peraso Technologies) and the intern (Yin Fei Meng).

Development of a new sample introduction system for inductively coupled plasma spectrometry

Numerous industries and government agencies carry out analyses every day using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) instruments that typically waste 95% of the sample. A greener approach would not generate any sample waste. During this project, an infrared heated pre-evaporation tube will be developed and coupled to nebulizers from the industrial partner so as to allow 100% sample introduction. A significant improvement in the smallest amount that can be measured by ICP instruments should result, along with freedom from sample-dependent effects, which will enable calibration using a single set of standards. This project will be carried out in collaboration with Telegistics Inc., who owns Burgener Research Inc., the only Canadian company fabricating nebulizers that are essentially impossible to clog. The resulting sample introduction system will greatly facilitate analyses by all Canadian laboratories employing ICPbased instruments, while allowing the partner company to expand, thereby creating new jobs.