Innovative Projects Realized

High-Efficiency mm-Wave Power Amplifiers

This project involves the developments of novel mm-Wave power amplification structures to achieve significant improvements in energy efficiency for next-generation wireless networks.

Pop Up Bike Hub mini: Investigating strategies for sustainable community programming and the student employment experience

This research project aims to investigate strategies and approaches for designing and implementing sustainable, community-centered programs that effectively empower employed students, address local community needs, and have positive long-lasting effects on both the community and students.
As an organization whose community programming relies heavily on student employment, the expected benefit to the Ecology Action Centre of this research project is improved hiring and training processes. Improvements in the design of community programming that positively impact both community members and student’s experiences will ideally lead to deeper engagement and long-lasting relationships for all stakeholders.

Reconnaissance en temps réel de patrons dans des signaux physiologiques pour faire évoluer un script d’animation interactif

À l’Institut National de Psychiatrie Légale Philippe Pinel (INPLPP), nos partenaires et leurs collaborateurs ont mis au point un examen pour évaluer le risque de récidive de sujets ayant commis un crime sexuel. Cet examen consiste à immerger le sujet dans un environnement virtuel impliquant des stimuli sexuels humains tridimensionnels et à enregistrer trois types de signaux physiologiques. L’électroencéphalographie (EEG) permet de recueillir l’activité cérébrale, et plus particulièrement au niveau de l’aire sensorielle tout au centre du cerveau. L’oculométrie permet de suivre le mouvement des yeux en 3D et d’analyser la direction du regard. La pléthysmographie sexuelle mesure la réponse génitale d’excitation chez les sujets. L’analyse de ces signaux permettrait d’une part d’évaluer la présence sexuelle, et d’autre part de moduler le scénario virtuel.
La pléthysmographie sexuelle est une mesure très délicate et invasive pour les sujets. L’idée est donc de prédire en temps réel la réponse sexuelle, à partir de l’analyse par fusion multimodale des signaux EEG et oculométriques, dans le but de personnaliser l’évolution du scénario immersif.

National Data Benchmarking – Smart Energy

Canadian energy systems lack an industry specific set of standards to support the development of policy options and plans for clean energy transition and decarbonization of electric power systems. These include inter-organization standards for data, information, insights and metrics on electricity regulatory systems, utility operational capabilities, technology architecture and human resources. The objective of this project is for the intern will work with industry, government, utility and academic partners to build and maintain a regionally populated, nationally-integrated benchmarking system which meets the sector’s needs. The sectoral needs are: to understand Canada’s readiness to transition and increase nation-wide decarbonization; to improve utility return on assets and Canadian productivity; and to increase industry innovation. The research will be performed in collaboration with the SGIN. The work will be primarily qualitative using semi-structured interviews supported by primary and second documentation gathered by the intern from public as well as industrial sources.

Electro-magnetic simulation of charged particle trajectories in vacuum arc evaporation process

Coatings are widely applied to cutting tools with the benefit of extending tool life, improving cutting efficiency and part quality. Vacuum arc evaporation has been used for the deposition of the coating materials on the cutting tools. This project will investigate the vacuum arc evaporation process in order to improve the coating efficiency and the coating quality. Specifically, simulations and analyses will be performed to understand the plasma behavior under the electro-magnetic field, including the effect of the electric and magnetic field intensity and distribution on the charged particle trajectory in the coating process. Based on the simulation results, an optimum electro-magnetic field will be designed to achieve the desired plasma trajecotyr, thereforing enhancing the coating process performance.

Addressing the Identity Dilemma: Comparative Assessment of technological advances in Identity Validation

The goal of this research project is to better understand the dilemma faced by displaced persons needing to prove their identities to aid institutions without the assistance of formal documentation. While there are processes in place for addressing these situations, advances in distributed ledger technologies (DLT) may offer ways to improve efficiency and thereby improve the processing experience of these vulnerable persons. This research project, in partnership with Peer Social will analyze current distributed ledger projects being developed and deployed that impact identity validation that claim to offer alternative identity solutions against a literature review and review of legacy systems utilized today. This analysis will inform the development of Peer Social’s Peace Coalition project in Ukraine which is seeking to position itself as the mechanism to facilitate the mass claims and restitution process in Ukraine after the mass destruction caused by Russia. Furthermore, a critical assessment of whether DLT technologies offer novel solutions to the identity crisis experienced by vulnerable individuals around the world will aid other projects to better design such technologies.

Pertinence culturelle pour le biais de négativité

Le biais de négativité désigne la tendance générale à être plus affecté par les informations et les événements négatifs que par ceux positifs. Dans ce projet, je fais l’argument que la culture est un facteur explicatif important mais peu étudié du biais de négativité. J’attends à ce que la culture collectiviste réduise le biais de négativité, car les normes collectivistes donnent la priorité aux liens sociaux sur les réalisations individuelles. Trop de négativité dans la vie sociale peut produire des effets contraires en mettant en péril l’harmonie du groupe. Pour tester cette hypothèse, je mène une expérience en laboratoire avec des individus biculturels au Canada, et examine si le biais de négativité physiologique (mesuré par la conductance de la peau) est moins important parmi le groupe des individus collectivistes.

Biogas plants’ network: optimized locations and connections

Biogas is a gas obtained from the anaerobic digestion of biomass inside fermenter reactors , typically located in biogas-generating plants. The biogas can be burned to produce electric energy and heat. This form of energy conversion can be significant for the decarbonization of actual energy generation. In addition, the biogas can be “purified” and can be injected into the general grid of natural gas. Although the generation of biogas is very promising, there are nowadays several obstacles to a widespread use of this renewable resource. Among these: 1) relatively high initial investment costs, 2) difficulty in getting access to the natural gas grid, and 3) difficulty in securing continuous biomass to each production. The main objective of this project is to alleviate these three obstacles by provide quantitative decision-support tools to help determining optimal locations of biogas plants, as well as the design of a suitable connecting network that facilitates the supply of biomass of each plant, as well as reduction of the cost to connection to the main natural gas grid. The project will be completed by two case studies in Italy and Canada.

Town of Sunnyside Internship – Development of Commercial Composting/Bio-Gas Facility; Exploring sustainable economic opportunities

This project aims to address climate change and identify potential solutions that the Town of Sunnyside can facilitate through the Sunnyside Waste Management Site. The project supports ongoing and future greenhouse gas reduction priorities and municipal resource energy reduction targets in Newfoundland and Labrador. This project will leverage effective composting/bio-gas techniques that ensure environmental sustainability. The Sunnyside Waste Mgmt. site is a key revenue driver for the Town of Sunnyside; profits are directly funneled back into Town infrastructure and resources that benefit not only the residents of Sunnyside but also residents of all towns of the region.

Plateforme Upcycli Inc – Impact de la consommation textile

Upcycli est une place de marché québécoise permettant à toute et à tous de vendre ET acheter des vêtements de seconde main. Créée et publiée au Québec sous forme d’application mobile, c’est plus de 20 000 utilisateurs qui soutiennent la mission d’Upcycli: promouvoir et accroitre le mouvement “Slow Fashion”.

Face à un marché de plus en plus compétitif, dans lequel les besoins des consommateurs sont dirigés par l’industrie de la mode, il est essentiel pour nous de positionner le Québec comme un exemple à suivre sur ce marché.

L’innovation sur laquelle nous travaillons est la mise en place sur le web d’une calculatrice à impact qui est capable, à partir de données collectées sur notre place de marché, de fournir une estimation des bienfaits et de l’impact positif du magasinage de seconde main. Ce faisant, Upcycli souhaite ériger sa communauté en porte-étendard du Slow Fashion et offrir aux Québécois un outil pour estimer son impact personnel.

Gillian Emerson – Toast

The User Research Specialist will support the partner company, Toast through a variety of endeavours. Toast is a women led and women owned talent partner that is aimed at increasing gender diversity on teams as well as providing a network for women in tech. The company is fast growing and is already enjoyed by hundreds of members. The intern will assist Toast in automating and restructuring data collection processes as well as create a sustainable strategy for future growth.

The User Research Specialist project objective is to conduct in-depth research and analysis to gain a better understanding of our target audience’s needs, expectations, and behaviors. This will involve a variety of research methods, such as surveys, interviews, usability testing, and user behavior analysis. The ultimate goal of this project is to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement in our products/services, and to provide actionable insights that will inform the design and development of our products/services to enhance the overall user experience.

The project will be completed over the course of 4 months, with milestones that include conducting user research and data analysis, ideating and prototyping solutions, and testing and iterating on prototypes.

Communications and Marketing Intern

Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) is the provincial association for Alberta’s locally-elected public, catholic and francophone school boards.

A key component of the Marketing and Communications Intern’s responsibility is to use market research practices to enhance ASBA’s advocacy and communications efforts with various stakeholders including the Government of Alberta, membership and the public. The intern will identify communications strategies that align with the Strategic Plan. The Intern will additionally have exposure to events that will occur on a national level including the 2023 Canadian School Boards Association’s National Trustees Gathering on Indigenous Education & CSBA Congress, which will be hosted by ASBA. This event will take place in Banff, Alberta, with attendance from school board from across the country.

This project will allow ASBA to streamline and enhance available communications platforms, as well as the ability to provide more enhanced services to our members through our website, events and new projects for our stakeholders. Additionally, public awareness of school board trustees is lacking, though the role each serves as the voice of their communities is critical.