Innovative Projects Realized

Re-engineering business process of an insurance broker group

This project aims to identify and fix the gaps in existing business processes of commercial insurance brokers group. In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes, I plan to redesign the processes to eliminate bottlenecks and improve the service quality by developing workflow management system for the organization. Workflow management system deals with supporting business processes in the organization. The end product includes streamlined business process with integrated workflow management system that will take care of modeling, execution, management and monitoring of workflow. Streamlined business process would make sure the status of a client application is transparent and traceable within the organization that is currently one of the major limitations because of the current business process. Also the deployment of workflow management system in the organization will reduce the manual work at each department of the organization by automating the tasks currently being performed manually.

Biosynthesized Gold Nanoparticles against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

In this study, we are going to synthesize gold nanoparticles by biological method using Z. officinale and evaluate their antimicrobial activity against antimicrobial resistance Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, we are going to study the synergistic effects of the gold nanoparticles with ceftazidium antibiotic and others with different concentrations against antimicrobial resistance Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.This area of research imposes a great deal of importance globally from patient care, medical research, microbiology and pharmacology. The project has the potential to evolve into a multidisciplinary, multi-center collaboration involving academic scientists and industry players to develop a next-generation treatment protocol and a novel antibiotic for infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Courtney MacDonald – Connected Care

The project titled, Commercialization of Online Youth Mental Health Services, is a project designed to help support the development and execution of ConnectedCare’s online strategy and future partnerships. This project is designed to work directly with potential clients and with various sources of funding to finalize partnership agreements and design fit for purposeful mental health services for youth in targeted communities. ConnectedCare is proud to partner with CloudMD to provide integrated mental health support. Statistics show that early mental health intervention results in 80% of youth leading more productive lives. This commercialization of an online youth mental health services project will provide critical support to ConnectedCare in the early phases of a startup company and individuals will work very closely with key partners to build a pragmatic, repeatable business partnership to deliver mental health support to our most vulnerable communities in Canada.

Investigating the Impact of SALD Materials on CVD 2D Tungsten Disulfide

This project aims at improving LED technology through the utilization of advanced atomically thin materials. It seeks to create a scalable method for fabricating high-performance, energy-efficient, and flexible LEDs, addressing challenges in scalability and reproducibility. By combining CVD-grown transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD)-grown semiconducting oxides, the project promises to advance research on 2D materials within an international collaboration between the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, and the University of Waterloo in Canada. The participating institutions will benefit primarily from the exchange of technical knowledge, know-how, and ideas, fostering a rich environment for collaboration and innovation in LED technology.

Beyond “Here” and “There”: The Complexity of Hmong Rural to Urban Migrants’ Livelihoods in Kunming, China

The ethnic minority classification of ‘Hmong’ has never been an officially recognized ‘minority nationality’ category in China, since it has long been subsumed under the broader category of ‘Miao’ with three other culturally and linguistically diverse groups for national census purposes. This means that understanding of Hmong migration patterns, ways of life, and livelihoods in China are not particularly well understood, despite a population estimated by overseas scholars at around 3 million in China, of a total of about 5 million worldwide (Michaud et al. 2016). In response, my research aim is to investigate the complexities and intricacies of Hmong rural-to-urban migration patterns to Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, including how Hmong migrants establish themselves as urban residents and access livelihood opportunities in the city. To achieve this aim, I will use a portfolio of qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, mental mapping, and photovoice to capture Hmong migrants’ own understandings of their everyday experiences. My research project will contribute not only to expanding knowledge of how marginalized ethnic minority communities make a living in urban environments in a socialist state, but also hopefully to the development of practical policy recommendations to support rural-to-urban ethnic minority migrants in Yunnan Province.

Santé psychologique, fonctionnement scolaire et facteurs associés : portrait de la situation à l’école Charles-Lemoyne

Cette recherche vise à dresser un portrait de la santé psychologique et du fonctionnement scolaire des élèves du secondaire, ainsi que de la santé psychologique du personnel scolaire. Ce portrait se concentrera tant sur des indicateurs positifs, comme la satisfaction des besoins fondamentaux, que sur des indicateurs négatifs, comme les symptômes dépressifs et anxieux, de la santé psychologique. D’autres indicateurs, comme les stratégies d’adaptation utilisées par les élèves, leur rendement scolaire, l’engagement scolaire et le climat scolaire perçu, seront également examinés. Cette recherche, qui impliquera 2000 élèves du secondaire et environ 150 membres du personnel scolaire, se déroulera sur deux années scolaires. À la lumière de ce portrait, des recommandations pratiques seront transmises au milieu partenaire qui pourra développer des stratégies d’intervention et de soutien adaptées aux besoins des élèves du secondaire et du personnel scolaire, et ce, afin de favoriser une meilleure santé psychologique.

Validation of the Ganular flOes for Discrete Arctic Rheology (GoDAR) sea ice discrete element model with an ice tank

Deformations in the sea ice cover occur along narrow Linear Kinematic Features (LKFs) when the load on the ice from the surface wind or ocean current exceeds the mechanical strength of sea ice in shear, tension, or compression. Along these high deformation lines, sea ice floes can slide along one another (shear), ridge (convergence), or move apart creating leads (divergence). All these processes affect the sea ice mass balance in winter, and therefore salt fluxes in the upper ocean, and vertical heat and moisture fluxes between the ocean and the atmosphere. These physical processes, which are of importance for both the global climate system modeling and operational needs, must be adequately represented in sea ice models, whether their origin comes from their physics or parameterizations. I developed the Granular flOes for Discrete Arctic Rheology (GoDAR), a Discrete Element Model (DEM) of sea ice, which is modeled as thin disks. In this framework, opening of leads (where the atmosphere and ocean exchange energy) are explicitly resolved. The goal of this project is to compare idealized simulations from Godar against laboratory experiments in an ice tank. Once Godar is validated, a parameterization of contact normal angles in shearing events will be developed.

Development of Neurofeedback Algorithms Supporting Concentration and Subjective Well-Being

We live in an age of distraction and mind-wandering, which has been broadly linked to greater levels of unhappiness, suggesting that many of us might benefit from mindfulness training that allows us to better control our attention. Interaxon Inc. has developed a potentially breakthrough solution to this problem in a device that measures brain activity to facilitate mindfulness attentional training at home. However, there still remain major barriers toward the popularization of this new technology. I propose to partner with Interaxon in solving two of these key barriers: 1) the development of algorithms that adjust for individual differences in neural signatures; and 2) scientific validation of the attentional and emotional benefits of attentional training. Solving these problems will greatly improve the efficacy of this technology and its user-confidence, thus maximizing its social impact on emotional well-being

Assessment of novel density functionals for optical properties

Developing a reinforcement learning based approach for enabling self-recovery in production lines

Cryostratigraphic characterization of permafrost sediment cores using X-ray microtomographic imaging

Changes in habitat quality and biological soil properties through the use of field robots