Innovative Projects Realized

Explore thousands of successful projects resulting from collaboration between organizations and post-secondary talent.

13270 Completed Projects

1072
AB
2795
BC
430
MB
106
NF
348
SK
4184
ON
2671
QC
43
PE
209
NB
474
NS

Projects by Category

10%
Computer science
9%
Engineering
1%
Engineering - biomedical
4%
Engineering - chemical / biological

Development of a portfolio of graphite and graphene based processes and products

The interns involved in this MITACS cluster will work in close collaboration with the industrial partner, Grafoid, a Canadian company based in Kingston, Ontario, to develop a portfolio of graphene-based products, including autonomous sensors, energy storage, fuel cells and electrically conductive devices. The ultimate objective is to develop proof of concept products including automotive parts, cathode materials in Li-ion cells, antimicrobial surfaces, super-capacitors and wearable sensors. This three-year spanning research will have the following outcomes: (a) environmentally friendly, scalable, reproducible and industrially relevant technologies to produce thermoplastic and elastomer-based composites, suitable for automotive and other structural applications; (b) high-value added products, such as sensors and supercapacitors; (c) thermoplastic composites suitable for additive manufacturing processes. This research will thus produce a portfolio of graphene-based products for high value-added products and applications. The knowledge generated by this research cluster has the potential to provide new value-added products at a substantially reduced cost to various Canadian industrial sectors, including the advanced materials, automotive, manufacturing and alternative energy sector.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Marianna Kontopoulou

Student:

Osayuki Osazuwa

Partner:

Grafoid Inc

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Advanced manufacturing

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Fire retardant fabrics for active workwear applications

Besides sport activities, active wear has found its way into people’s routine life because of its fashionable appearance and comfort. Active workwear is also preferred for some jobs with strenuous activities, like operators working in factories or construction fields. Each of these environments has its own list of hazards, such as fire, chemical spills, or falling objects. Accordingly, specific protective clothing has been designed for such hazardous environment. However, they are not necessarily comfortable. Therefore, the demand for work clothing with active wear appearance and characteristics is increasing. This project is thus aimed at producing a fabric suitable for comfortable active wear while offering resistance to fire and other functionalities such as liquid barrier, UV-blocking and insect repellency.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Patricia Dolez

Student:

Mahsa Kalantari

Partner:

Jess Black Inc.

Discipline:

Visual arts

Sector:

Advanced manufacturing

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Enhancement of Cement Properties by Means of In Situ Prepared Nanoparticles

Cement is a vital material in our modern society. It is the only thing that humans consume more of, by volume, than water. Conventional cement-based materials are usually brittle, have low tensile strength and exhibit bulk shrinkage. With the recent advancements in nanotechnology, many researchers investigated the addition of nanoparticles to the cement mix to enhance its workability and mechanical properties. In fact, nanoparticles were found to increase compressive and tensile strengths and decrease porosity and permeability of the cement. However, on top of the high cost of the commercially available nanoparticles, proper dispersion of the nanoparticles within the cement slurry was a challenge. This work aims to fabricate the nanoparticles within the cement slurry by utilizing inexpensive materials to formulate the nanoparticles. The study focuses on cementing applications in the oil and gas industry, but the methodology can also be applied to the construction industry. The potential impact of this work is huge through providing better protection for the environment and reducing cement requirements in various applications. Hence, lower CO2 emissions from cement manufacturing and lower construction cost.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Maen Husein

Student:

Ahmed Mehairi

Partner:

Trican Well Service Ltd.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Nanotechnologies

University:

Program:

Development of improved fuel cell system hybridization, control and on-board diagnostics for heavy duty bus and rail applications

This proposed research project is an extension of a previous NSERC CRD project that is investigating hybridization optimization of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) used in FC bus and rail applications. The models developed in this research are expected to yield improved fuel cell and system lifetimes in service, and improved detection and mitigation of fuel cell faults causing degradation and unacceptable emissions, and detection/mitigation of critical system component faults.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Jiacheng Wang

Student:

Hooman Homayouni

Partner:

Ballard Power Systems Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Alternative energy

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Selective breeding of honey bees

Over the past eight years we have a diagnostic test for disease resistance in honey bees and then attempted to use this test to selectively breed disease-resistant bees. The bees selected in this way appear to not lose other economically important traits (e.g., honey production) but are far better equipped to deal with disease than ‘average’ bees. This then opens up many doors, some of which we would like to pursue here. First and foremost though is to get the tools we have developed into the hands of the bee industry. For this project, we are proposing to work with a handful of early-adopter bee breeders from across the province of BC to start applying these tests in their own operations. The funds here will support the translation of research results into standard operating procedures for the diagnoses and then the actual application of the tests on several hundred colonies from across BC. We will carry this out over these tests over the following three years and work with the bee breeders to simultaneously measure disease resistance in their colonies to monitor progress. [TBC]

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Faculty Supervisor:

Leonard Foster

Student:

Mopelola Akinlaja

Partner:

Canadian Honey Council

Discipline:

Biochemistry / Molecular biology

Sector:

Forestry

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Hybrid Distributed Energy Resources for Net-Zero Energy Buildings

The main objective of the project is to develop hybrid distributed energy resource (HDER) systems to supply energy to net-zero energy commercial and residential buildings. This is expected to result in lower energy costs to consumers and utilities and in greater reliability of the grid. The HDERs will consist of solar panels, generators, and batteries. They will supply buildings with energy whenever possible and feed any excess energy to the grid. The grid will supply energy to the buildings whenever energy from the HDERs is insufficient. Over time, the net amount of energy supplied by the grid will be zero. The project will be a collaboration of researchers from Western University and personnel from the Centre Wellington Energy innovation, who will commercialize the HDERs under the product name of ONguard.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Gerry Moschopoulos

Student:

Ramtin Rasoulinezhad

Partner:

Centre Wellington Energy Innovations

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Energy

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Evaluation of neuro-protective effects of novel water-soluble formulation of Ashwagandha root extract alone and in combination with water-soluble Ubisol Q10 using in vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson’s disease

There is an increase in brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases as the number of aged individuals is increasing. Currently there is no treatment available that can halt the progression of these diseases. Previous work has shown that a natural compound CoQ10 can prevent brain cell death. Similarly an Ayurvedic Herbal extract, Ashwagandh Root Extract has also shown promising results in some studies. In the present research project we will prepare a novel water-soluble formulation of CoQ10 and Ashwagandha Extract using a patented technology of Nextremedies Inc. We will test this novel formula in cellular (in petri dishes) and animal models of Parkinson’s disease to find out if it can protect brain cells and halt the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Successful completion of this project will lead to the development of a natural neutraceutical formula that can be used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Siyaram Pandey

Student:

Caleb Vegh

Partner:

Next Remedies Inc

Discipline:

Biochemistry / Molecular biology

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Study clay deposits within the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (Fort Nelson area) for industrial applications

The town of Fort Nelson has been hugely impacted economically with the drop in oil prices and cancellation of west-coast LNG export. Local companies and entrepreneurs are looking for other natural resources in an attempt to save the region’s economy. Mindbody Networks Inc. has access to a variety of natural clay deposits distributed within the area that hold huge economic potential. In this research project, the suitability of this clay deposit for different industrial applications will be evaluated. The clay mineral will be sampled and then analyzed for its physical and chemical characteristics using different instrumental techniques. Physical, thermal and chemical treatment will be used to purify the clay. Properties of the natural and modified (treated) clay samples will be tested in the context of evaluating their potential for commercial applications including but not limited to environmental processes, oil/gas industries and cosmetic products.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Hossein Kazemian

Student:

Farzana Nargis

Partner:

Mindbody Networks Inc

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Natural resources

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Vela Canada; Building Social Capital

Research has shown that persons with disabilities have difficulty establishing relationships and becoming involved in their communities, which can generate barriers to generating and maintaining social capital. Microboards are small groups of people who have agreed to collaborate with an individual with a disability to form a person-centered ‘board’. Microboards have generated anecdotal attention for the positive impacts they can generate on the enhancement of social capital in persons with disabilities, but there is limited formal research to date on the impacts of Microboards on individuals and communities. The proposed qualitative research project will conduct 1 interviews with individuals involved in Microboard systems (persons with disabilities, board members, and community members) in the province of British Columbia. Participants will be invited to share their experiences with Microboards related to social capital outcomes.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Tim Stainton

Student:

Rae Morris

Partner:

Vela Microboard Association of British Columbia

Discipline:

Social work

Sector:

Other services (except public administration)

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Comprehensive study of VCSEL-MMF coupling techniques

Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) are in high demand in short-reach optical interconnects. Reflex Photonics is a leading company in developing VCSEL-based optical transceivers for the harsh environments. So far, the speeds up to 12.5 Gb/s for a reach of 100 m have been achieved. One of the key bottleneck in developing rugged transceivers is the loss associated with the coupling light from the VCSEL to the multimode fiber (MMF). By analyzing the overlapping modes from the VCSEL to the MMF, the optimum launching condition can be determined. In this project, Lumerical mode, which is an optical modeling tool, will be used to perform the mode overlap analysis at several launching conditions. The results of this project helps the partner organization to improve the performance of the existing transceivers by modifying the optical interfaces used for the VCSEL-MMF coupling.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Odile Liboiron-Ladouceur

Student:

Mohammadreza Sanadgol Nezami

Partner:

Reflex Photonics

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Program:

Accelerate

RLCapture: A deep reinforcement learning based control strategy forswitching between motion capture inspired controllers.

Making robots walk and balance as well as humans is extremely difficult. New techniques involving machine learning have shown promise in getting robots to mimic the movements of humans recorded using motion capture
technology widely used for videogames and movies. While these techniques show promise, they are still in development, and have difficulty switching between behaviours. It’s still very difficult for robots to go from standing still to running. They also fall over very easily when pushed or tripped, since they don’t have a concept of reacting to pushes in the same way that people do. This research aims to solve this problem by training robots to switch between mimicked behaviours as they move, so that they can learn how to react from human examples. Ubisoft will benefit by utilizing this technology to create more realistic games where characters can react, move, and fall more like real people do.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

James Forbes

Student:

Kevin Bergamin

Partner:

Ubisoft Divertissement

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Program:

Accelerate

Overcoming Barriers to Sustainable Purchasing: A Case Study of Avocado Co-op

In order to meet global climate change goals, it is necessary for consumers to shift their preferences for products towards more sustainable and eco-friendly options. Two common barriers that consumers experience when purchasing green products are: 1) perceived difficulty of buying green, and 2) skepticism about the quality of green brands. Avocado Co-op is attempting to address these barriers by offering a service that delivers member-tested sustainable household products direct to the consumer. This research proposes using Avocado Co-op’s business as a case study to develop a strategic plan which allows Avocado to target and overcome key barriers to purchasing sustainable products. Interviews, focus groups, and surveys will be used to talk to participants about their knowledge and experience of Avocado Co-op’s service.

View Full Project Description
Faculty Supervisor:

Sean Geobey

Student:

Sarah Fries

Partner:

Avocado Co-op

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Program:

Accelerate

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