Innovative Projects Realized

Toward a Cross-Cultural Ethics for Human-Caribou Engagement

This project will use ethnographic and community-based participatory research methods to develop a cross-cultural, community-driven ethical model for caribou research, management, and conservation in and around La Ronge, SK. The project will contribute to caribou work already underway between the partner organization, Prince Albert Model Forest (PAMF), and Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB), e.g. collecting traditional ecological knowledge regarding woodland caribou to contribute to range planning. It is directly related to a PAMF objective, working effectively and meaningfully with Indigenous communities and organizations. The project will help to enhance PAMF’s relationship with LLRIB, reinforcing to the LLRIB community that their contributions to previous studies in this field have contributed to continuing protection for caribou populations – this may increase the community’s support of research. Lastly, this project will directly apply to other organizations and governments working with communities, which benefits the partners who are part of the PAMF board.

Characterization and Pelletization of Western Red Cedar Residue

The key objective of this research is to test the Refuse-Derived Fuel supplied by ICC and investigate parameters involved in making durable pellets from these residues. This will include conducting a series of pelletization tests with different mixture recipe, pre-conditioning of material as well as adding binders. The produced pellets will then be tested for their calorific value, chemical composition, chlorine content and ash content. ICC plans to convert RDF to heat, and electricity through gasification. To develop the technology, this research focuses on providing the optimum operating conditions to produce durable pellets for use in gasification systems. A successful project would allow ICC Group to provide such a system for conversion of waste to energy.

Technology innovations in Wheelchair Sport measurement and analysis

This project will assess the game demands of wheelchair court sports. While this has been attempted in the past, new methods using inertial measurement units (IMU) allow each push to be identified and offer new ways to analyze these game demands and connect them to key performance metrics. With the help of Own the Podium, and Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, these key performance indicators will become an important for developing and developing elite athletes in wheelchair court sports. Further, the development of IMU algorithms will speed up the integration of these devices in other sport applications being developed by Proskida. Overall, this project will further help the high performance sport industry in Canada.

Assessment of Climate Change-induced Geohazards for Ice-clad Canadian Volcanoes and Mountains

In Canada’s mountains, climate change is leading to the retreat of glaciers, permafrost thawing and accelerated snowmelt. These factors contribute to a significant increase in slope stability hazards and the risk of landslides, placing numerous communities and critical infrastructure at risk. Volcanoes are particularly vulnerable as they are commonly hydrothermally altered and weakened, thereby compounding the effects of climate change and further increasing the associated risk of collapse. Municipal, regional, provincial and federal agencies recognize the critical importance of effectively monitoring unstable slopes on ice-clad volcanoes and mountains in order to more effectively mitigate and respond to these potentially catastrophic hazards. By coupling satellite-based Earth Observation data with ground-based geological and geotechnical information, this project will help TRE Altamira develop a framework for a semi-automatic satellite monitoring service to monitor ice-clad volcanoes and mountains within the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt and ore broadly throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Notification Mat

WP 2.1.2: Advanced, Intelligent, Analytics Driven Apps for Software Defined and Functionally Virtualized Networks

Networks are moving towards being adaptive. This means that automation will be used to replace processes which are today highly manual. This project proposes a development of knowledge in the area of algorithms required to enable adaptive networks. The project will train two PhD students to understand optical networks and devise optimization algorithms in the areas of interest. In particular, the algorithms will be devised to be fast and near-optimal to enable their implementation in the network in accordance with operator’s goals of making the network near-optimal and adaptive. We anticipate that the algorithms will be implemented in the network and used to make 5G networks work near-optimality.

Advanced analytics and predictive statistics in continuous flow sports.

Hockey has long been shown to be among the least predictable of all professional sports. Recent developments in data collection methods have created the demand for more detailed and advanced predictive modelling techniques to extract value from and apply the data to real world problems. This project focuses on predicting important outcomes in hockey at both team and player levels. Game winners and scores will be predicted using Bayesian approaches tailored to accommodate evaluative statistics and relevant pre-game factors. Player level models will predict individual game performances and project career trajectories for draft eligible players.

Prototype testing of a liquid cooling system for electric vehicle inverters

Thermal management of power electronic devices in an electric vehicle inverter is a critical factor influencing cost, size, efficiency and reliability of the system. Liquid cooling is a viable option; however, for peak power operation, the existing liquid cooling system must be optimized. A new impinging-jet-based liquid cooling system with enhanced heat transfer was designed and developed at the University of Windsor in collaboration with MAGNA International. Initial evaluations have shown that the new system has significant advantages over existing liquid cooling systems. However, comprehensive experimental testing must be carried out before this technology is commercialized. Therefore, a prototype of the new cooling system will be built and comprehensively tested. The objective of this proposal is to evaluate the performance of the new impinging-jet-based liquid cooling system at different driving load conditions. This would enable the way towards commercialization of this technology and for more efficient and reliable electric vehicles.

Testing of a Collar-Mounted Airbag to Protect Against Neck Injuries and Concussions

Hockey parents are worried about rising concussion rates. Currently no sports equipment protects against concussions. Hockey players aged under 18, must wear a neck guard for protection against skate blade cuts. Recently, a redesigned hockey neck guard, using an impact sensor and airbag technology was conceptualized. We want to test whether airbag inflation upon direct or indirect hit to the head/face/neck/upper body, can simulate “neck bracing,” and reduce neck injuries and concussion risk caused by whiplash or rotational movement of the head/neck. These latter movements often cause more severe concussions than those from direct hits to the head. In this project, Strathum Solutions Inc. will benefit from York University’s technical expertise to begin the initial phase of research towards proof-of-concept testing. This project will focus on the electronics system, specifically, to verify the previously designed sensor system, and develop and implement falls/hits algorithm into the microcontroller.

Deploying electric vehicles in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area: Health and climate benefits and strategy development

In Canada, the transportation sector is the second largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter and a large contributor to air pollution emissions, which can cause significant health impacts. Since electric vehicle (EV) does not generate any exhaust emissions, introducing EVs can bring health and climate co-benefits to society. From a life cycle perspective, this study will evaluate the environmental, health and economic impacts of introducing EVs in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Based on the impact evaluation, the intern will assist Pollution Probe in creating a generic municipal zero emission vehicle EV deployment framework, as well as an Electric Mobility Strategy tailored to the City of Toronto. The development of this framework and strategy is important, since electric mobility benefits can only be achieved through widespread EV adoption, and comparable studies have not been undertaken in Canada.

Sustaining Biodiversity Protection and Restoration Potential as the Foundation of Land Trust Business

This project is designed to create a strong plan for both the environmental and economic sustainability of the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust and the properties they manage through the ecological gifts program. Another benefit to this project for the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust is that donors are much more likely to contribute land and dollars to the Land Trust if they are comfortable with role the Land Trust plays as a steward of the land, including activities related to ecological restoration and of damaged properties. The intern’s work is related to developing a new business model for these land trusts as well as developing a new assessment methodology for restoration potential of the various land in the Haliburton region. This increased restoration potential of lands would lead to attracting more visitors to the Haliburton region increasing the local economy through eco-tourism.

Efficacy of CB1R inverse agonists for enhancing insulin secretion in mouse and human islets, ex vivo, and for preventing cytokine-induced ?-cell death in human islets

Inversago and CR-CHUM will collaborate to evaluate new generation Cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1) blockers for the treatment and/or prevention of type-1 and type-2 diabetes. Previous generations of CB1 blockers have shown their promise in treating several features of the metabolic syndrome, including obesity, type-2 diabetes and liver diseases. However, they were plagued with important psychiatric adverse effects which eventually caused the termination of all development and commercial efforts. Inversago’s drug candidates have shown high potency towards the same target (CB1 receptors) but are not providing brain exposure, and therefore should not provoke psychiatric side effects.
Recent research in the field of Type-1 diabetes has suggested that CB1 receptors located in pancreatic beta cells could be linked to improved insulin production and secretion, as well as beta-cell proliferation. As such, it is of interest to evaluate Inversago’s candidates in the research laboratory of the diabetes world expert Prof. Marc Prentki to evaluate their potential to treat type-1 diabetes.