Innovative Projects Realized

Synthesis and characterization of silver titanium dioxide celluloseacetate membrane and their application in waste water treatment

The research will entail the creation of silver titanium dioxide and cellulose acetate membrane. Their applications in wastewater treatment will be assessed. The different methods of preparation will be compared and the most efficient method shall be determined. Tests will be conducted to simulate wastewater treatment. Expected outcomes include: creating silver titanium dioxide and cellulose acetate membrane in the most efficient method; using silver titanium dioxide and cellulose acetate membrane to treat wastewater; develop a new method for cleaning wastewater that can be carried out in a mass-scale. Hopefully, the research will trigger many innovative solutions to not just wastewater treatment but – in the bigger picture – global environmental problems. I hope to expand my current repertoire by increasing my research skills, honing my communication skills, and developing intercultural relationships that last a lifetime.

Advancing Automated Construction: Pose Estimation with Fiducial Markers

This project will develop a prototype technology to guide cranes to automatically place building elements using visual reference markers (QR codes). Working with Sparkbird, the R&D arm of WZMH, two interns will develop a software application to estimate the relative positions of the element to be placed with existing elements and the crane, allowing for this process to be conducted more quickly and more safely. The performance of this systemcompared with typical construction methods will also be compared to determine the return on investment for this equipment and provide valuable case studies to support marketing of the project. WZMH will benefit from this
project as it will allow them to overcome the technical hurdles required to bring this product to market.

Microwave-based object detection for monitoring individual grain kernels

In agriculture, header losses, indicating the loss of grains at the combine harvester’s header, usually contribute the most of harvesting losses. While not entirely avoidable, their impact can be significantly reduced through careful monitoring of the harvesting process. In this proposed project, the intern aims to explore microwave-based
object detection technology as a solution to address the existing challenge. The primary goal of this initiative is to develop cost-effective proof-of-concept microwave monitoring system, accurately detecting individual grain kernels in specific agricultural areas and environments. The intern plans to enhance and adapt an ultra-high quality microwave resonator previously developed by their supervisor’s research group, achieving highly sensitive detection of detection of grain presence and movement. Simultaneously, the partner organization will provide valuable insights into monitoring and control systems for grain harvesting, ensuring that the intern’s research aligns closely with real-world application and could quantify losses occurring at the combine header.

Multicriteria Optimization of Agricultural Machine Operations

Careful operational planning is essential for making agriculture autonomous and sustainable. The movements of agricultural equipment in the farm can be optimized to increase productivity and reduce costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The aim of this project is to develop and productize advanced optimization algorithms to determine the best end-to-end machine routes, positions of refill trailers and operating schedule during agricultural operations in a growing season. A route is a path from start to end points that one or more machines take while servicing one or more fields in a farm. It can be optimized based on several criteria such as time, distance, GHG emissions, alignment to field boundary and soil erosion. Refill trailers should be strategically placed in the field to reduce idle times of the machines and all machine activities must be coordinated and scheduled to reduce the operation time window.

Investigating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for tree canopy planning app

THIS IS A GENERIC TEXT PUT IN PLACE AS THERE WAS NO PROJECT OVERVIEW

Exploring pathways to net-zero: utilizing advanced energy system modelling to investigate the impact of long duration energy storage on Nova Scotia’s energy transition

Nova Scotia’s investment of Green Fund resources in energy efficiency, solar energy and electric transportation will mitigate carbon emissions immediately. Both the Green Choice Program and renewable energy transmitted via the Maritime Link will significantly decarbonize the electricity grid in the short to medium-term. The initiatives conceived within these programs are cost efficient and low risk.

But scaling up affordable renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that have been proven in Nova Scotia will not get us all the way to net-zero by 2050. There are still significant knowledge and technology gaps that must be identified and addressed. The Emerging Concepts and Technologies (ECT) Research Program will make R&D investments in two areas:
1. to foster early-stage genesis of novel technologies in Nova Scotia, and
2. to evaluate the suitability of technologies emerging from other jurisdictions for application in Nova Scotia.

To address the most recalcitrant, hard-to-abate emissions in the 2030-2050 period, the ECT Program will identify gaps in carbon-reduction pathways and invest today in the early stage R&D needed to create and implement affordable solutions.

Priority research areas are expected to include subjects listed below, but will also be defined in consultation Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change (NSECC – the primary funder) and through the application of Net Zero Atlantic’s Energy System (ACES) Model. The model will be used to identify knowledge gaps and provide insights into the relative costs, benefits and challenges of different deep decarbonization options. Initial priority research themes include:
• Fishing and Ferry Fleets
• Nature-Based Solutions for Carbon Sequestration
• Agricultural emissions
• Long-Term Energy Storage
• Direct Air Capture
• Electricity System Challenges Post 2030

Advancing a Hydrogel Vitreous Substitute for Retinal Surgery

Innovation is increasingly necessary to alleviate the systemic strain on healthcare systems around the world. However, despite significant investment in universities and hospitals to support the integration and application of research its application continues to greatly lag research discoveries. Graduate students play an increasing role in addressing this issue. They have the knowledge, motivation, and research expertise required but lack application experience and competencies. Co-curricular opportunities allow students to build and demonstrate their research translation competencies, build their resumes, and expand their professional networks. This will allow them to help drive an organization’s application of the latest research discoveries.

The Innovation Internship Umbrella Program (I2UP) is a co-curricular vehicle that leverages graduate research training to accelerate innovation at partner organizations. HQPs work closely with contextual experts, faculty, and advisors to 1.) identify or validate unmet needs, 2.) develop innovation strategies and conduct applied research, or 3.) to deploy and/or assess the implementation of new healthcare delivery solutions.

The introduction of I2UP across the Temerty Faculty of Medicine will:
• Help students gain real-world work experience, develop career path networks, and build core competencies necessary for innovative thinking.
• Help partner organizations identify talent as well as generate, implement, and assess innovative projects and new interventions.
• Help academics build stronger relationships with hospitals, the community, and the private sector to support knowledge mobilization and application.

Enhancing Wind Farm Design and Development for Harsh Northern Locations

The Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland is in a harsh northern climate with excellent wind power potential. The partner organization, St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc (Sabri), has been approved for a Licence to Occupy (LTO) for a location on the Great Northern Peninsula. The purpose of the LTO is to investigate the feasibility of wind power development at the site. In this proposed research, the interns will assist Sabri in the technical activities of monitoring the wind resources at the site and evaluating the technical and economic potential of installing wind turbines at the site. This project has notable alignment with Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan and Rural Economic Development Strategy.

Détermination des marqueurs de performance chez les nageurs

Le projet vise à relancer la natation au Québec en identifiant les marqueurs de performance en natation. Cela permettra de créer un guide de développement et des protocoles de tests pour suivre les athlètes sur le long terme. Les marqueurs de performance en natation peuvent être divisés en deux catégories principales: les marqueurs physiologiques et les marqueurs techniques. En identifiant ces marqueurs de performance, il sera possible de créer un guide de développement qui aidera les nageurs à améliorer leur performance en natation. Ce guide de développement comprendra des protocoles de tests qui permettront de suivre les athlètes sur le long terme et de mesurer leur progression. En utilisant ces protocoles de tests, les entraîneurs pourront aider les nageurs à dissocier le temps de leur progression et à se baser sur différentes métriques et critères techniques.

Improvement of Quality and Efficacy of Natural HealthProducts & Dietary Supplement

The overall goal of this project is for the University science team at the University of Ottawa and University of New Brunswick to develop high quality Echinacea products for Canadian and world markets in collaboration with Amway Canada. One objective involves phytochemical and pharmacological selection and propagation of elite Echinacea from the historic Echinacea germplasm available at Amway’s Trout Lake Farm. A second objective is to develop evidence based marketing information on the improved Echinacea

Efficient computational methods for generating differentially private synthetic tabular data

Generating synthetic data is important for a number of machine learning problems at Mastercard especially in the areas of additional data generation for imbalanced problems, data sharing etc. The data is mostly tabular in nature and a number of techniques exist for generating tabular data in the literature. However most of these techniques do not work on large datasets or fail to generate differentially private datasets. We already have done some work in this regard (see https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-92310-5_60 ). However, the problem is not “solved” yet as it is difficult to generate differentially private datasets from large training sets and metrics like machine learning efficacy can be abysmally lower. The intern would be asked to work upon improving the current algorithms available in the literature both from privacy and accuracy standpoint.

Switchable ionophoric systems comprising macrocyclic ligands, methods, and uses of the same for trapping and releasing alkali metal ions

A substantial proportion of the lithium used in energy storage and numerous other applications is extracted from naturally occurring continental brines. The recycling of the lithium-ion batteries, which are experiencing a sharp increase in demand, also involves extraction of lithium from solutions containing other battery metals. The proposed research targets the development of sorbents for selective lithium extraction from water-based solutions. These sorbents will consist of lithiumtailored ion traps affixed on polymer support and are meant to provide a more economical and sustainable alternative to the slow, land-intensive solar evaporation that has been the industry standard for decades. Targeted are robust materials that can accommodate a diverse chemical composition of the lithium-containing solution, are highly selective to lithium, have a high sorption capacity, and allow for a fast, easily controlled sorption – desorption process.