Innovative Projects Realized

Impact Evaluation System for Arts & Culture Non-Profits

The project aims to equip Toronto’s Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs) with streamlined data management and impact assessment capabilities. LASOs consist of six registered charity organizations working across Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York, East York, York, and Lakeshore. The partner organization, Sympl Solutions, in collaboration with LASOs, will develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) software solution. This initiative seeks to enhance LASOs’ ability to track program participation, measure impact, and support funding efforts efficiently. By bridging the technological gap, LASOs can better demonstrate their value and continue contributing to Toronto’s vibrant cultural landscape, ensuring inclusivity and equity in their offerings.

Optimization of the Design of Coke Drum Support Structure

Delayed coking is an integral process in upgrading heavy, unusable crude oil to lighter, usable products such as gasoline. Coke drums are insulated, vertically oriented cylindrical pressure vessels that facilitate such a process. Due to the process of delayed coking, these drums are subjected to cyclic thermal-mechanical loading and episodes of thermal shock. One of the potential areas of failure is the shell-to-skirt junction. A skirt assembly is used to support the vessel while allowing for the drum to transition from cylindrical to conical in geometry at the bottom of the coke drum. It also allows the drum to be supported on a raised platform in order to easily remove the petroleum coke. Recently, several designs have been drafted in an effort to mitigate failures at the shell-to-skit junction. The objective of the research project will be to evaluate these designs for their reliability and then to optimize the most effective skirt assembly design. The partner organizations will then be able to implement the results of this project into their new skirt designs and maintenance of existing skirt structures in order to make them more reliable in the future.

Développement logiciel d’un ordinateur embarqué reposant sur la technologie FPGA – QC-744

Le projet consistera en la programmation d’un ordinateur embarqué roulant sur Linux devant assurer le suivi des signaux vitaux (humidité, pression, puissance optiques et températures) d’un laser en opération dans l’espace ainsi qu’au contrôle de certains modules de distribution de puissance électrique. Au-delà de la programmation du FPGA, le projet consistera aussi en la fiabilisation face aux radiations avec redondance et algorithme de type des signaux de contrôles des pilotes de puissance électriques.

Sara Mah Internship

Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, based in Calgary, Canada, specializes in medical imaging software. Their upcoming project involves advancing their cvi42 software, a medical tool for analyzing cardiovascular images. The quality assurance team, including interns like Fabiha with a Biomedical Engineering background, will play a crucial role in designing and implementing testing methodologies. The expected benefits for Circle Cardiovascular Imaging include staying at the forefront of imaging processing technology, improving software performance, and leveraging fresh perspectives from interns to successfully execute these advancements in medical imaging solutions.

Fabiha Chohan Internship

Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, based in Calgary, Canada, specializes in medical imaging software. Their upcoming project involves advancing their cvi42 software, a medical tool for analyzing cardiovascular images. The quality assurance team, including interns like Fabiha with a Biomedical Engineering background, will play a crucial role in designing and implementing testing methodologies. The expected benefits for Circle Cardiovascular Imaging include staying at the forefront of imaging processing technology, improving software performance, and leveraging fresh perspectives from interns to successfully execute these advancements in medical imaging solutions.

Missing Links 2024: Identifying Gaps in Active Transportation Infrastructure in Edmonton

In 2019, Paths for People conducted the Missing Links Campaign. This project sought to call attention to missing pieces of active transportation infrastructure. Having a thoroughly-connected active transportation network is crucial to getting users to walk, roll, or cycle more often, as people generally choose forms of transportation that are safe and easy to navigate. We engaged residents to crowd-source locations and of missing active transportation infrastructure and build support to enhance these locations. We used this information to encourage the City of Edmonton to prioritize the improvement of identified missing active transportation infrastructure to maximize impact.

The active transportation landscape has evolved since 2019, and Paths for People is looking to revisit the Missing Links project. With recent dedicated funding for active transportation, we have an opportunity to provide valuable insight into the most impactful places to invest. This project will help us identify priority campaigns and small wins that can make a big difference to the connectedness of our city. Missing Links 2024 proposes to revisit links identified in 2019, and collect and use new data from new and developing areas of Edmonton.

Community Gardens Mapping Project

From May 2023 to August 2023, our project aims to address the identified need for a centralized mapping resource for Community Gardens and Pop-Up Community Gardens. The project will deliver a comprehensive map informing future placements of both types of gardens, including historical information, geographical positioning, and demographic data. Tasks involve researching and compiling historical information, evaluating criteria for garden placement, engaging with stakeholders, utilizing arcGIS for visual representations, and producing a year-end report on high-priority neighborhoods. The resulting resource will greatly benefit the Gardens Team and stakeholders by providing a standardized and invaluable tool for managing current community gardens and planning future projects, addressing the existing challenges associated with data management and planning processes.

Optimizing cell therapy manufacturing utilizing small molecule viral sensitizers

The current challenge in cell therapies lies in the inefficient delivery of genes to target cells, resulting in costly manufacturing processes. This project aims to identify and validate small molecule viral sensitizers (VSEs) that enhance the efficiency of cell therapy production. These VSEs will streamline the manufacturing process, making cell therapies more accessible and cost-effective. Our project will focus on developing high-throughput methods to assess the transduction efficiency of various transgenes, delivered either through lentivirus or virus-free genomic platforms. Evaluation will be conducted in relevant therapeutic cell types, such as T-cells and NK cells, both with and without VSEs, to identify the most effective compounds. The selected VSEs will undergo further refinement for application in a manufacturing setting, where we anticipate their substantial impact on cell therapy production. This research promises to revolutionize the field and address current limitations in cell therapy, thereby improving access to cell therapies for patients.

Navigating the AI Landscape: Monitoring User Interactions with Large Language Models

In today’s modern business landscape, Large Language Models (LLMs) have emerged as essential tools, enabling personalized marketing, data interpretation, and precise financial planning. However, despite their potential benefits, integrating LLMs into business processes poses inherent challenges. Issues such as misalignment, malicious inputs, harmful outputs, sensitive information disclosure, inaccurate information, and unintended biases can significantly impact their efficacy and integrity. The project aims to monitor and analyze internal user interactions with Large Language Models (LLMs) in a business context, with the objective of identifying, flagging, and remediating problematic usage patterns detected within the AI platform’s logging data. This project is crucial for the responsible deployment of a generative AI system within the organization. With all of the recent interest in the capabilities of generative AI and risks that have been identified it is crucial for the organization to move forward in a responsible and cautious manner. Having this project will help the organization better understand the tool which will encourage optimal usage. Because this tool will be given sensitive information such as client Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Renewable Energy Mobility (REM)

The proposed REM project aims at developing and installing a highly iconographic solar charging station that will help inspire and foster the expansion of local infrastructure for electric vehicles at York University. This effort is part of a plan to use this innovative solar charging station to offset the electrical needs of EVs and most importantly to attract autosharing companies to the campus so EVs can become highly accessible to everyone at the university

Using AI to enhance threat intelligence capabilities

The proposed research project aims to revolutionize cybersecurity at Difenda Inc. by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their security infrastructure. Traditional methods of analyzing cyber threat intelligence (CTI) are hindered by manual processes, resulting in slow response times and information overload. Through the adoption of AI-driven solutions, the project seeks to automate the accumulation, processing, and prioritization of CTI from various sources, such as SIEM logs and the Dark Web. By leveraging Microsoft Security Copilot and developing AI algorithms, Difenda Inc. aims to streamline CTI analysis, reduce analyst workload, and enhance scalability. The project also focuses on transforming data into actionable intelligence for incident response, thus fortifying the company’s security posture. Additionally, by creating standardized formats for data exchange, the research contributes to collaborative defense strategies. Ultimately, this initiative positions Difenda Inc. at the forefront of proactive cybersecurity practices while advancing the collective knowledge base in utilizing AI for effective threat intelligence.

Deep River Case Study Project using Circular Economy Principals

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