Innovations Realized

Explore thousands of successful projects resulting from collaboration between organizations and post-secondary talent.

13270 Completed Projects

1072
AB
2795
BC
430
MB
106
NF
348
SK
4184
ON
2671
QC
43
PE
209
NB
474
NS

Projects by Category

10%
Computer science
9%
Engineering
1%
Engineering - biomedical
4%
Engineering - chemical / biological

Role of Wetlands in Carbon Export from Forested Watersheds

forWater Network researchers at Dalhousie University are working with Halifax Water and Westfor Management Inc. to determine how the Pockwock forested watershed can be managed to improve water treatability. A key issue here is the movement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). DOC movement from the land to the water has increased in recent decades, and that increases the cost of treating drinking water to acceptable standards. The Halifax study centres on integrated simulation modelling to build and analyze long-term scenarios of forest management and climate change and their effects on DOC levels in Lake Pockwock. The modelling is supported by monitoring of water moving through the forested landscape as well as detailed measurements of the carbon stocks in the forests themselves. The work proposed herein is to make a thorough quantification of a critical but poorly understood component of ecosystem carbon – that of the wetlands. As part of the field program to characterize all major components of the terrestrial-ecosystem carbon pools, the student will take samples of wetland organic soils (to be analyzed for carbon in a commercial lab) and analyze those carbon pools for incorporation into the simulation models.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Peter Duinker

Student:

Charlotte Large

Partner:

Westfor Management Inc

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

Dalhousie University

Program:

Accelerate

Novel Microwave Welding for Thermoplastic Polymer Components

Microwave welding is proposed as a fabrication technique for joining thermoplastic polymer based composites. Microwave welding uses microwave energy and in the present study, a domestic microwave has been proposed to carry out the microwave welding of the thermoplastic components. Thermoplastic materials studied in this project will be considered after referring technical literature and in line with the industrial partner. Thermoplastic materials generally do not absorb the microwave energy and thus an interface material has to be applied in the weld zone. Interface material has to be a combination of thermoplastic material and a microwave energy absorbent filler. Post microwave welding, specimens have to be tested for understanding the performance of the weld joint and the joined specimens. Microwave welding is an environment friendly joining technique that leads to reduced cost and ease of processing, thus benefiting the partner organization to have an edge over other competitive companies.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Pierre Mertiny

Student:

Mahima Dua

Partner:

Shawcor

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

University:

University of Alberta

Program:

Accelerate

Development of compact and portable vibrometer for microfluidics cantilevers for blood diagnostics

In this project, we are looking to find a way to design a low-cost vibration measurement equipment that is portable, sensitive and affordable by medical staff. Therefore, to develop it, three different modules would be designed: sensitive optics, miniaturized optics; low-noise and high-speed electronics, using extremely sensitive electronics components; compact and lightweight housing, by utilizing porous 3D printed materials. These three engineering areas will help decrease the cost of a vibrometer down to few hundred dollars.
The partner organization is currently collaborating with a few medical doctors in the community to utilize this device for diagnosing diseases at early stages. These diseases range from predicting cancer through blood clotting or even flu. A low cost and indigenous design will allow enable them to become the local provider of this equipment which is highly desired in industries ranging from medical to research as well.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Rafiq Ahmad

Student:

Nabil Khalid

Partner:

Central Institute of Technology

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Alberta

Program:

Accelerate

Development and Improvement of Solantro Self-Forming Nano-Grid (SFnG)

With the development of industry, more and more energy consumption has brought about a huge crisis. The development of renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaic equipment, offers new hope for solving energy problems. Solantro SFnG has been developed and operated in the company’s lab for about 5 years. This real-life nanogrid contains PV panels, energy storage units, a variety of loads and the micro-chip controller. Based the Solantro SFnG, this project is going to develop a bidirectional, high efficiency, high power density on-board charger to enable EV charging for the current nanogrid. The proposed project involves three sub-objectives: (a) Develop bi-directional high efficiency, high power density, and low-cost power factor correction . (b) Develop high efficiency, high power density, low-cost, and safe DC/DC converter. (c) Develop optimal energy management strategies. It will provide Solantro’s customers and commercial partners the ability to unify alternative energy generation/storage and high performance integrated EV charging system.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Xiaoyu Wang

Student:

Guibin Li

Partner:

Solantro Semiconductor Corp

Discipline:

Other

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Carleton University

Program:

Accelerate

Prototyping and testing of novel facemasks for protection against SARS-CoV-2 aerosol transmission

The proposed research project to be undertaken by the interns involves laboratory measurement of the filtration efficiency and pressure drop of fabric-based filtration media. Results of these experiments will inform the selection of filtration media used by the partner organization for mass production of made-in-Alberta masks for protection of the public against viral transmission. Such protection is critical in helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Warren Finlay;Andrew Martin;Reinhard Vehring

Student:

Conor Ruzycki;Hui Wang

Partner:

Alberta Centre for Advanced MNT Products

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Alberta

Program:

Accelerate

Building an active learning module to accelerate the validation and qualification of image-based biomarkers for blinding eye disease

Computer vision and artificial intelligence provide unprecedented opportunities to realize new image-based biomarkers with the potential to drive precision drug development and personalized medicine; particularly in degenerative disease of eye and brain, where tissue sampling is not possible and where no treatments exists. This research project will deploy AI models for multiple tasks including segmentation, classification, anomaly identification and disease progression estimates taken from ophthalmic data collections across multiple clinics. Results of this project will provide the partner with critical human-machine interface to facilitate collaboration within and between clinical sites to enhance expert curation/annotation. The ability to identify unique patient subpopulations will allow improvements to drug development and clinical care.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Filiberto Altomare;Ali Khan

Student:

Nikhil Patil

Partner:

Tracery Ophthalmics Inc

Discipline:

Dentistry

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Program:

Accelerate

LiDAR-based object detection and tracking for real-time parking availability monitoring

This project will develop a smart parking solution, including both hardware sensors and the analytics platform, that provides real-time parking availability data, which can support decision makings, such as policy refinements, demand-responsive pricing, etc. Our project aims to optimize the rate of parking facilities’ utilization as well as improving drivers’ parking experience. In terms of urban planning, our solution will reduce traffic congestion, carbon emission, parking-related accidents and frustration, creating a more habitable community. This project will be a showcase of our expertise in LiDAR-related technology. The development of the project will help Akasha Technology Inc. to improve our reputation in the 3D mapping industry.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Kin Fun Li

Student:

Jingyi Ma;Wenqin Qi;Yiming (Amy) Sun

Partner:

Akasha Technology Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Victoria

Program:

Accelerate

Free-Piston Direct-Drive Thermal Engine for Waste Heat Applications

The research project proposed here takes a radically new approach to on-vehicle electric power generation, with the potential for developing a scalable, flexible, and conceptually very efficient method without the need for complex mechanical off-take. The new method is called the Free-Piston Direct-Drive Linear Generator, a type of Rankine Cycle expansion engine. Excess thermal energy is used to heat a fluid via a heat exchanger, and the energy in this high-pressure and high-temperature fluid is then converted into work via the free-piston expansion engine. A Free-Piston Expander (FPE) provides this approach with flexibility and a very broad dynamic range of operating points. Unlike a more familiar reciprocating piston, there is no connecting rod or crankshaft; the piston trajectory is completely unconstrained and key parameters impacting thermodynamic performance, such as expansion ratio (ER) can be varied over an enormous range in real-time. Furthermore, by optimizing the piston trajectory (position versus time) in each stroke, it is possible to smooth the power output to nearly steady conditions. The FPE embodiment of the Rankine cycle expander is likely to be optimal in the range of 10-1000kW.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Luis Rodrigues;Charles Basenga Kiyanda;Chunyan Lai;Pragasen Pillay

Student:

Dimpykumari Patel;Christophe Cyusa

Partner:

NovoPower International

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Other

University:

Concordia University

Program:

Accelerate

Securing elastic radio access networks – Year two

G networks have emerged as a promising solution for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to offer ultra-fast mobile broadband and ultra-low latency services with exceptional reliability for consumers. By leveraging softwarization, Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), MNOs can offset the high capital and operational expenditures incurred due the additional deployment of legacy equipment. Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) is a novel mobile network architecture that offers centralized operation of BaseBand Units (BBUs), and scalable deployment of lightweight Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Elastic-RAN (E-RAN), Ericsson’s implementation of C-RAN, leverages SDN and NFV to offer flexible and elastic 5G network slicing to meet the different end-users QoS. Though virtualization facilitates flexible coordination between BBUs and RRHs, it introduces new security vulnerabilities in E-RAN. For instance, a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack can cause severe degradation of the QoS/QoE by compromising the availability of resources and the integrity of data. In this proposal, we: 1) employ Machine Learning (ML) to develop novel techniques for anomaly-based DDOS detection, 2) devise mitigation measures to protect against DDoS attacks and zero-day threats using ML, and leverage the flexibility offered by NFV and SDN to automatically reconfigure network slices across the multi-tenant E-RAN infrastructure.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Raouf Boutaba

Student:

Hyame Alameddine

Partner:

Ericsson Canada

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

University:

University of Waterloo

Program:

Elevate

A Multi-Case Study to Advancing Accounting, Financial Reporting, and Performance Management Strategies

The role of accountants, especially in today’s fast changing data-driven world, is continually evolving. Responding to the technological advancements as well as to the increasing amounts and complexity of data available, accountants need to develop skills that go beyond their traditional training. Businesses and their accounting departments need to be able to not only collect information through billing, reporting, and operations, but also need to be able to evaluate and analyze the information received from internal and external sources. The results of this analysis impact the company’s performance as well as business strategy formulation, risk assessment, growth, and mitigation practices. The amount of data available also raises ethical and professional concerns including the ownership of the data and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) applied to it.
The following research project seeks to evaluate the role of data analytics in accounting practices and performance assessment, and the use of AI in company performance improvements, strategic planning, and risk mitigation. This project will help better understand how accountants can offer additional value-add services to a company and/or its clients/customers.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Renee Majeau;Ryan Young

Student:

Alex Geertsen

Partner:

Durabuilt Windows & Doors

Discipline:

Other

Sector:

Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services

University:

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

Program:

Accelerate

Addressing Knowledge Gap in Sustainable Financing and Investment for Climate Conscious Canadian Investors

Sustainable investment is an expending sector of the mainstream financial market, yet there are few studies evaluating the trends, opportunities, impacts and knowledge gaps as they relate to Canadian investors. Understanding the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues related to business operations and investment are critical to understanding trends that are driving this shift towards sustainability in financial markets. The proposed study will identify future opportunities for the partner organization within four industry sectors significant affected or closely intertwined with the issues of climate change (oil and gas, energy generation, building infrastructure and agriculture). The aim is to identify both the likely rewards and potential risks posed to any investor seeking to use their financial resources to both benefit from and positively contribute to successful mitigation strategies and adaptation impacts linked with 10 different investment scenarios.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Michelle Adams

Student:

Reddi Sekhara Yalamala

Partner:

Addenda Capital

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Finance, insurance and business

University:

Dalhousie University

Program:

Accelerate

Research on Wideband Tunable Semiconductor Laser

Wavelength tunable lasers are indispensable in future wavelength division multiplexing networks which can improve the communication capacity significantly. The objective of this project is to develop wavelength tunable semiconductor lasers with an ultra-wideband. By exploiting wave manipulation method, we will target the physical realization of such a device with high fabrication yield and high reliability. As a representative of such devices, a semiconductor laser with its center lasing wavelength at 1550 nm or 1310 nm with a considerable tuning range will be designed, simulated, and experimentally demonstrated through prototyping and characterization. Meeting growing bandwidth requirement, tunable lasers will promote the development of optical communication. Therefore, this research project will enhance the competitiveness of the partner organization in communication and related fields and bring enormous economic and social benefits.

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Faculty Supervisor:

Xun Li

Student:

Chuanning Niu

Partner:

Hisense

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

McMaster University

Program:

Accelerate