Grants and Contributions

The proposed work is aimed at engineering innovative hot-gas path components for the aerospace sector (in particular) that could effectively reject heat by featuring internal porous media, also known as porous medium-based transpiration cooling. The design and optimization of such functional parts take advantages of new capabilities offered by additive manufacturing and improved understanding of transpiration cooling from recent ground-breaking studies. Advanced modeling methods adapted for transpiration cooling configurations will be developed and tested against measurements to provide some form of global model validation. The modeling tools will then be used to test various possible configurations and allow cost-effective design optimization while taking into account the feasibility of producing these parts via additive manufacturing processes. The engineered special-purpose components are expected to offer superior mechanical and thermal properties and offer a disruptive new technology for the aerospace sector.

Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles (Ln-NPs) are an emerging class of nanomaterials with light shifting properties that make them highly attractive materials for use in biomedical diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. Herein, understanding of their optical properties when interacting with biological systems is an important step towards the design of more efficient probes,
The aim of this collaborative project is the design of such more efficient optical probes, while setting a strong focus on the assessment of the probes' cytotoxicity and nano-bio-interaction. In order to achieve our goal, i.e. the design of small-yet-bright and safe-to-use optical bioprobes (Ln-NPs), research at the HemmerLab will focus on the synthesis and surface modification of inorganic lanthanide-doped nanoparticles and their structural and optical characterization. Herein, we will use the emerging technique of hyperspectral imaging in order to gain insight into environment-specific photoluminescence of the Ln-NPs incubated with various biological cells.

The body responds to injury in several ways. While the healing process begins by replacing damaged tissue with cells of the same
type, this phase is typically followed by fibrosis, wherein normal tissues are replaced by connective tissue. The result is overgrowth,
hardening, and/or scarring of various tissues, such as lungs, liver, heart, and brain, and is attributed to excessive deposition of
collagen. Current histological methods for analyzing the changes happening within the extracellular matrix (ECM) cannot accurately
resolve the biochemical and 3D structural composition of specific proteins and components. We will be responsible for assessing the
models developed at the NRC using super-resolution optical microscopy techniques as well as transmission electron microscopy
(TEM) to assess 3D structural features of ECM molecules. We will be responsible for acquiring such images and develop new image
analysis methods to assess how the fibers and fibrils morphology are altered, as well as establish metrics to capture the 3D structure
of the bioprinted tissue fibers.

The objective of this collaboration is to test how systemic disruption of sphingolipid and phospholipid metabolism converges on systemic and nervous system-based immune responses to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome. We propose that this activation leads not only to cytokine production but, ultimately, ensures a vicious cycle of systemic aberrant immune responses by perpetuating pathological release of neurotoxic lipid mediators. Here we, will identify, using in vitro models and unbiased lipidomic approaches, the lipid mediators that initiate NRLP3 inflammasome activation, establish whether this induction is required to sustain systemic lipid dysregulation, and finally provide proof-of-principle that inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome will reverse the induction by pro-inflammatory lipid mediators.

The research goal for Dr. Bao's team is to explore the role of random grating in reducing the noise in random fiber lasers, especially the relative intensity noise (RIN), comparing with commonly used Rayleigh scattering in optical fibers. The RIN noise is normally contributed by the mode moping and mode competition for the limited laser gain. To reduce the number of modes, we plan to use strong reflection in random grating of a few centimeters to replace kilometer long weak Rayleigh fiber. The entire laser cavity length is shorted with longer cavity mode length, and hence smaller number of modes. This approach has proved to reduce the RIN.

Biomimicry, adapting and implementing nature's designs, provides a first-order solution to achieving superior mechanical performance. NRC’s recent study, showed laser engraved architectured ceramics to have 50 times more quasi-static energy absorption and 70% more impact resistance compared to plain ceramics. However, the design space for further enhancements is too vast even using biomimetic designs as prototypes. The main objective of this research is to propose a new approach to design architectured ceramics using machine learning, trained with a database of hundreds of structures from finite element analysis, together with a self-learning algorithm for discovering high-performing ceramics where inferior designs are phased out for superior candidates. Preliminary results, validated through additive/subtractive manufacturing and experiments, show that this approach can create microstructural patterns that lead to tougher and stronger ceramics.

In this project, we will apply optical spectroscopy and data analytics technique to address problems in gold mining process. Gold processing by cyanidation can be limited by the presence of specific gangue materials in the ore. The aurocyanide complex, Au(CN)2-, can be partially removed from solution by carbonaceous materials (CM) in the ore, thus reducing yields and profits. We propose to combine the hyperspectral imaging tools of coherent Raman microscopy, Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) plasmonic sensors, and advanced machine learning for the rapid screening of CMs with respect to their preg-robbing ability. This novel platform technology will eliminate the need for extensive sample preparation and metallurgical testing, offering Canada’s gold mining sector a rapid, automated, in situ proxy for slow and expensive industry-standard lab-based screening approaches. This potentially disruptive tool for the real-time assessment, operation, and optimization of gold processing will help increase efficiency while reducing environmental impacts.

Our team at Laurier is collaborating with scientists at the National Research Council (NRC) to study the transformation of CO2 to useful fuels using new catalytic materials. Within this project there is a need to understand the chemical reaction intermediates and products and the effect of the electronic properties of catalysts on the selectivity and efficiency of the electrochemical process. We have access to state-of-the art characterization tools (not available at NRC) that will allow the us to unravel the chemical nature of the catalyst’s surface and associated intermediates and products formed from electrochemical reduction of CO2 using simultaneous and online monitoring of surface chemicals and gas phase products. The team at NRC will be preparing the catalytic material to ship to Laurier to investigate their effectiveness. The significance of our research lies in the fact that results will provide detailed mechanistic experimental data at a molecular level that can be used to enhance the catalytic performance of new materials for scaling up for commercialization.

The Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory (ACE Lab) at Carleton University is pleased to collaborate with the NRC to develop
innovative technology using blink-related oscillations to address pilot safety. Blink-rated oscillations, which vary according to task
demands, are central to a promising method for evaluating human brain function during the performance of complex tasks like piloting
an aircraft. Led by Drs Chris Herdman and Kathleen Van Benthem, the ACE Lab is one of very few centres in Canada with specialized
equipment, such as realistic flight simulators electroencephalography, designed to collect a wide range of data associated with pilot
safety. In this collaboration, the ACE Lab will oversee the preparation of pilot cognitive and biometric data and collaborate with the
analysis and sharing of the results to a wide range of stakeholders. This New Beginnings initiative is an opportunity for students at the
ACE Lab to develop their scientific skills and collaborate with experts on real world problems using the latest research methods.

The objective of the project is to improve light absorption in light detectors, the devices used to detect light. Specifically, our plan is to go beyond the wavelength (or color) limit of the existing optoelectronic devices such as short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) to push it to longer wavelengths. This can be achieved by a careful design and implementation of two-dimensional arrays of metal nanoparticles (a metasurface) that can be attached to the detector's sensitive element and can influence its optical response. The expected long-term outcome is a new generation of detectors capable of sensing longer-wavelength infrared light, which is technically challenging with the existing devices. Optoelectronic devices sensitive to longer-wavelength infrared radiation have applications in biomedical imaging, solar cell inspection, agricultural quality control and other areas.