Governments and technology companies around the world are working quickly to unveil contact tracing abilities, which could prove to be an important tool in limiting the spread of COVID-19, especially as more countries begin to loosen restrictions and reopen their economies. Yet while these types of tools are expected to be useful in protecting the general population, […]

When Canada closed its borders to visitors, growers lobbied for migrant workers to be excluded from the restrictions. The Canadian government agreed and demanded that the newly arrived workers be placed in a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Forced to share their living quarters with many other workers, the migrants will be hard-pressed to maintain the social […]

Energy giant Suncor is joining the fight against COVID-19 by putting technology currently employed in its wastewater treatment processes to use with the aim of developing an at-home antibody test kit. The project — a partnership between the Calgary-based energy company and scientists at the University of Western Ontario — aims to use equipment and […]

Ramtin Rasoulinezhad was placed through Mitacs Accelerate with AVL Manufacturing in Hamilton to work on the Net Zero Energy Building Project, when he was selected to work directly with the Hybrid Solution Division. “You put people like Ramtin out into small-medium enterprise, especially who are really dedicated to innovating but they need the talent to […]

If you’re a small to medium-sized business (SME) with an idea that can help in Canada’s fight to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, a national research organization is poised to help your company rapidly transform that concept into reality. Mitacs — a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with […]

A graduate student at Western University, Ramtin was working as a research engineer supported by Mitacs Accelerate . He was working on the Net Zero Energy Building project with AVL Manufacturing when CEO Vince Discristofaro selected him to work directly with the Hybrid Solution Division. “At AVL manufacturing we are working non-stop to build this […]

“We are improving existing eco-friendly technologies to more efficiently produce the next generation of biofuels that can help lower greenhouse emissions,” said Sonil Nanda, a chemical and biological engineering research associate. Nanda and his supervisor Ajay Dalai have successfully produced high-quality synthesis gas or “syngas,” a fuel gas mixture, using crop and forestry residues, food […]

Developed by food scientist Keith Warriner and a Niagara-area company, the “clean flow” technology enables health-care facilities to decontaminate much-needed N95 masks for safe reuse. He said proper sanitation is important for reusing personal protective equipment such as masks to prevent the spread of infection among health-care workers. Following approval from Health Canada last week, […]

Mitacs, a Canadian not-for-profit, has altered a pre-existing accelerator program serving small and medium businesses in order to bring products related to fighting COVID-19 to Canadian markets as quickly as possible. The not-for-profit has representatives nationwide ready to guide businesses through the application process where businesses are matched with research or production-focused interns for a four […]

It took just two weeks for Western doctoral student and power grid specialist Ramtin Rasoulinezhad, an intern at Hamilton’s AVL Manufacturing, to show his bosses how to go from producing enclosures for power generators to making life-saving, mobile medical units where patients can be triaged outside a hospital. From the outside, the units, which vary […]

Vince DiCristofaro, CEO of AVL Manufacturing, is working with Mitacs researcher Ramtin Rasoulinezhad on the mobile modules, billed as alternatives to conventional triage tents. Using repurposed 40-foot shipping containers, the modules will have self-contained heating and cooling systems, on-board power generation, hepa filtration, walls bolstered with reinforced fibreglass panels and a large window. The standard […]

A national research organization is calling on businesses to knock on its door if they have an idea to help combat COVID-19. Mitacs, a government-funded organization that designs research and training programs, is offering to help fast-track any idea if it can help in dealing with the pandemic. “Our team is committed to supporting the […]