Innovative Projects Realized

Evaluation of the effects of modified micronized copper azole (MCA) and chromated copper arsenate (CCA) on decay resistance and mechanical properties of selected Canadian timber species

The proposed research project aims to work alongside Canada’s largest wood preservation company, Stella-Jones, to help solve an ongoing industrial challenge. Since phasing out the popular wood preservative chromated copper arsenate (CCA) for residential use in the early 2000’s, the wood preservation industry has begun to formulate new wood preservatives as an alternative. Since these new wood preservatives are intended for residential use, their composition is primarily made to exhibit a desired colour (brown) rather than a desired decay resistance. However, the new preservatives have shown challenges including discoloration and failure to protect against wood-rot fungi. Working directly with an industry partner such as Stella-Jones, this research will help to maximize the company’s (and industry’s) production and product quality.

Jumine : Augmentation de l’efficacité du processus de création des boulettes de fer

Ce projet porte sur le bouletage, une méthode essentielle dans la production de boulettes de minerai de fer. Le processus consiste à mélanger du minerai, de l’eau et un liant, puis à les former dans un bouletteur à disque. La taille optimale des boulettes (8-16 mm) est cruciale pour la qualité et la productivité. Contrôler l’humidité est également vital pour l’efficacité énergétique. Le défi consiste à développer un système automatique multimodal mesurant taille et humidité des boulettes en mouvement. Le système envisagé intègre des mesures par imagerie et un modèle de contrôle. Bien qu’une preuve de concept ait été réalisée pour prédire l’humidité, le projet vise à étendre ces capacités de manière multimodale, dynamique et d’y inclure une estimation de la taille des boulettes. Le stagiaire contribuera ainsi à optimiser la production, réduire les rejets et améliorer l’efficacité énergétique de l’usine.

LegacyX Large Language Model – Knowledge retention, sharing and mobility

In this project, we will develop a system to revolutionize how knowledge is captured, retained, shared, managed and utilized, particularly in software development and user support. Our aim is to capture essential knowledge that has accumulated by experts and is often overlooked, organizing it systematically for easy access and application by others. A key component of our approach is the advanced fine-tuning of large language models (LLMs) using cutting-edge machine learning techniques. This will allow us to tailor these models specifically to our needs, ensuring the knowledge is not just stored but also effectively processed and made readily available.
For LegacyX, this project represents a significant advancement in operational efficiency and customer service. The techniques and insights gained from this project will also benefit other sectors, demonstrating the broader impact and potential of our research, offering substantial benefits to both LegacyX and the wider Canadian community.

Snow Crab productivity and Management Targets under Changing Ocean Conditions

With recent annual landings values over $200 million, snow crab remains a dominant component of Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries and these snow crab stocks have recently been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as an initiative of the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP). MSC certification increases market value and access by the fishery; however, it also prescribes research and management milestones aimed at sustainability that must be met within a five year timeframe in order to maintain MSC certification. This research proposal is aimed at fulfilling some of the MSC research needs of industry partners by providing snow crab biomass and harvest rate estimates, and also forecasting how environmental conditions affect the productivity of Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab stocks. By contributing new knowledge in support of the MSC certification process and to aid management decisions, this project will help ensure that the NL snow crab industry maximizes its economic potential for years to come.

Jumine : Explication des anomalies en flottation minière

Le projet se concentre sur l’amélioration du processus de flottation par écumage, une méthode clé dans le traitement du minerai à grande échelle. Actuellement, un détecteur d’anomalie dans la cellule de flottation développé par Jumine identifie des problèmes tels que la vitesse inappropriée de la mousse, son affaissement ou encore sa coalescence trop importante, mais ne fournit pas d’explication ni de solution. L’objectif du présent projet est d’expliquer et de résoudre ces anomalies en analysant les données des capteurs dans la cellule de flottation. Le stagiaire sera chargé de développer des modèles utilisant l’apprentissage machine non supervisé pour expliquer et potentiellement résoudre ces problèmes. Le résultat attendu est un système capable d’offrir des explications détaillées sur les anomalies détectées, permettant aux opérateurs de prendre des mesures correctives plus informées, améliorant ainsi l’efficacité du processus de concentration des minéraux.

Enhancing the Structural Ductility of Prestressed UHPC girder

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) exhibits superior material-level strength, ductility, and durability when compared to conventional concrete. Therefore, UHPC is being increasingly applied in concrete industry. However, prestressed UHPC girders may often show low structural ductility, which poses threats to precast/prestressed industry. This intern is going to create a large database of prestressed UHPC girder test results from both experiments and simulations. New design guidance will be developed to ensure high structural ductility of prestressed UHPC girders. The outcome is expected to benefit our partner, Canadian Precast/Prestress Concrete Institute (CPCI), by enhancing the durability and structural safety with prestressed UHPC girders.

Expérience d’accès à la justice, aux services et conseils juridiques de migrant·es sans statut ou à statut précaire au Québec : une recherche-action exploratoire

Alors que la mobilité internationale atteint des niveaux sans précédent, exacerbés par les crises politiques et économiques, le visage de l’immigration se transforme. Au Canada, comme au Québec, on assiste à une augmentation sans précédents des migrant.es temporaires. Or, être migrant sur un statut temporaire peut engendrer différentes formes de précarités. Les services juridiques et communautaires jouent un rôle important dans le
soutien aux personnes migrantes en situation précaire, en prodiguant des conseils et une assistance juridique. Or, les obstacles d’accès aux services juridiques et la complexité du système d’immigration renforcent la vulnérabilité de ces personnes. Dans ce cadre, l’objectif général de cette recherche-action exploratoire, en partenariat avec la Clinique Juridique Solution Justes de la Mission Communautaire Montréal, vise à documenter l’accès à la
justice, aux services et conseils juridiques pour les migrant.es sans statut ou à statut très précaire au Québec, en explorant leurs besoins à ce titre, l’accès, leurs expériences d’utilisation des services et les retombées (le cas échéant). Et ce, en tenant compte des différentes sphères relatives aux conseils juridiques (immigration, droits de la famille, droits du travail, logement, droit criminel).

L’expérience vécue des personnes trans et non binaires hospitalisées dans le système de santé québécois

Cette enquête a pour but d’explorer le vécu de personnes trans et non binaires qui ont été hospitaliées dans le systéme de santé québécois. Les personnes trans sont trop souvent les oubliées de l’acronyme LGBTQ+en raison de la spécificité de leur situation par rapport aux autres membres de la diversité sexuelle et de genre. Par ailleurs, les déficit de soin et de santé de cette population commencent à être documentés. Ainsi nous souhaitons étudier les contraintes spécifiques rencontrées par des personnes trans lorsqu’iels sont hospitalisé·es dans le systéme de santé québécois. Nous souhaitons documenter l’état actuel du vécu des personnes trans hospitalisées dans le systéme de santé québécois, les expériences vécues comme des pratiques d’inclusion ou d’exclusion, et par la même occasion entamer une réflexion sur les actions possibles favorisant l’inclusion et le bien être de la communauté trans tout en proposant des pistes d’actions pour améliorer les soins offerts auprès de cette population.

Generating Wellness at Work: Developing and Implementing an Evaluation for a Workplace Social Health Intervention

The rising incidence of social isolation and mental health challenges in modern society calls for a focused investigation into interventions that can promote social health and wellbeing. Given the amount of time individuals spend at work, this is a particularly relevant context. This project aims to develop an evaluation of the effectiveness of a multi-dimensional workplace intervention delivered by a non-profit organization (The GenWell Project) to their business partner (Telus Health).The intervention consist of three primary components: (1) a seminar aimed at educating employees on the importance of social connections for health; (2) a Digital Social Health Toolkit
that provides activities and suggestions for employee engagement; and (3) a program that facilitates routine one-to-one social connections between employees. To evaluate this program we will: (a) conduct a scoping review of existing literature related to each component of the GenWell intervention; (b) perform another scoping review to identify methods for evaluating workplace interventions, including an inventory of measure; (c) collaborate with GenWell Project and Telus Health to design a three-time point pre-post survey; (d) implement the evaluation as designed; (4) analyze the collected survey data; and (e) report the findings, specifically the
impact of the GenWell intervention, to relevant stakeholders. Benefits

Advanced Machine Learning Analytics for Eye-Tracking Based Diagnostic System in Vision Therapy

Amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is a significant visual problem in childre n worldwide. Lack of proper visual development during the first 8 years after birth leads to deficits in sensory and perceptive stimuli processing. Around 5% of children in the world are commonly affected with amblyopia. When left untreated, amblyopia affects everyday activities, quality of life and leads to major learning difficulties. Thus, targeted vision disorder screening is essential for early diagnosis and treatment. The cost of existing diagnostic tools prevents diagnosis and treatment of amblyopia for many in the general population. In the proposed research, the applicants partner with Vision Therapy Research Center in Windsor, Ontario to develop diagnostic tools that are powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. The proposed research aims to utilize commercially available low-cost eye-tracking devices to develop a diagnostic tool. Particularly, the proposed work will develop machine learning tools to analyze eye-tracking data for diagnosis. The outcome of the proposed research will help to reduce the diagnostic cost of Amblyopia and will lead to its widespread screening and treatment.

Embedded Low Power Signal Processing for Passive Acoustic Monitoring

This project will attempt to explore the solution space around a number of key issues related to passive underwater acoustic monitoring. Namely the mitigation of acoustic flow noise in turbulent environments, digital compression techniques for underwater acoustic data and the implementation of real time signal processing algorithms related to the detection of marine mammals on ultra low power processors.

Cosmological perturbations from quantum gravity

The last century substantially advanced our understanding of the laws of physics and the cosmos, but many questions still remain unanswered. This project aims to bring us a step closer to unravelling the details of the beginning of our universe. Many researchers expect that gravity has a quantum nature, but a concrete theory is yet to be found. We will investigate the influence of a candidate theory to quantum gravity on the earliest measurements of our universe, namely the cosmic microwave background. This will give hints as to where quantum gravity effects could manifest in observations and constrain quantum gravity theories.

The project lies at the interface of research interests of the two research groups participating in this project. Going substantially beyond previous results, the proposed project will advance the research goals of all parties involved. It will furthermore enhance the exchange of ideas between the groups and will likely lead to further collaboration.