Grants and Contributions

Project seeks to understand the interlinkages between gender and competition; how competition can contribute to gender equality; promote measures that OECD countries can implement for inclusivity

The Project is a light rail transit (LRT) line that will run along the surface of Finch Avenue from the new Finch West Subway Station on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension at Keele Street to Humber College.

Contribution as part of the Policy Dialogue Program to Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence to assist in preparing for and engaging in participation activities associated with the ongoing Review of Legislative, Regulatory, and Policy Development Processes.

Grant as part of the Participant Funding Program to Conseil de la Première Nation des Innus Essipit to assist in preparing for and engaging in Indigenous consultation activities and public participation opportunities associated with the impact assessment process for the Gazoduq Natural Gas Transmission Line Project.

This project sets out to determine the design of new optically active group IV semiconductor quantum materials. The proposed research seeks to establish the foundation of future quantum devices exploiting hole spin-photon interface in a platform compatible with processing standards of the semiconductor industry. For decades, Si-compatible low-dimensional systems and quantum devices have been exploiting either tensile strained Si or compressively strained Germanium (Ge) quantum wells (QWs), which are the only group IV systems that can currently be routinely obtained using SiGe as growth template and barrier layers. For quantum information, the former has been used as the building block for electron spin qubits, whereas the latter has been explored in new schemes for hole spin qubits. In this project, the team will explore a third low-dimension system recently developed. This system consists of highly tensile strained Ge QW integrated on an optically active platform. Our experimental plan aims at establishing the basic properties of light holes in this quantum structure and evaluate its relevance to emerging quantum technologies.

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide release can be offset by capture and conversion of carbon dioxide to urea, the most important nitrogenous fertilizer. However, industrial synthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and ammonia is not effective for carbon dioxide reduction because it requires a large input of energy. This project aims to develop catalysts that will produce urea more efficiently from carbon dioxide and nitrogen in an electrochemical membrane reactor. Catalysts based on metals and oxides will be screened in a multi-cathode cell to establish relationships between their activities for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and the determine the optimum combinations and conditions for formation of urea. The work is expected to establish the feasibility of this process, and provide knowledge that will guide the development of a membrane reactor

The optical transmitter is a critically important component in optical satellite communications, which includes a high-power high-bit-rate laser, a telescope, and a driving circuit. The current satellite communication based on visible and near-infrared (NIR) light does not work for all-weather (such as fog, rain and snow). Optical satellite communication at mid-IR atmospheric windows (3-5 mm and 8-12 mm) is essential for practical all-weather networks since absorption is much smaller for wavelengths in mid-IR atmospheric windows than for visible and NIR wavelengths. Unfortunately, mid-IR lasers with high optical power and high bit rate are not available on the market. In this project, mid-IR transmitters suitable for all-weather optical satellite communications will be developed. The developed mid-IR transmitters will be tested under various weather conditions. System performance of the developed mid-IR transmitters will be tested and radiation hardness testing and real world (space) implementation will be conducted.

In ground networks, when a user moves from one network to another or between the domains of a single network, the handover management process handles the user connection to the network. The state-of-the-art mobility management protocols provide seamless handover and keep the user connection continuous when the user mobility is at low speed. In satellite networks the handover management faces two challenges: 1) The very high speed of the satellites, and 2) the absence of fixed network nodes to handle the handover process. Through the use of machine learning (ML) techniques, promising improvements will be achieved in the handover management process of satellite networks. As satellites might move in groups (swarm operation), there is a need to handle their handover as a group. The proposed approaches will aim to reduce the handover process delays and control messages overhead.

To deliver packets between non-neighboring satellites using intermediate satellites, efficient routing protocols are required. There exist a high number of routing protocols in the literature, however, they were not designed for the highly dynamic, three-dimensional, fully distributed, and heterogeneous environment of the envisioned satellite networks. As the satellite network changes rapidly, it is necessary to keep learning the topology of the network in order to make the correct routing decisions. In this regard, online machine learning methods will play a significant role in improving the accuracy of routing decisions.
In this project the team will use machine learning to determine routing algorithms for LEO satellite networks.

The optical transmitter is a critically important component in optical satellite communications, which includes a high-power high-bit-rate laser, a telescope, and a driving circuit. The current satellite communication based on visible and near-infrared (NIR) light does not work for all-weather (such as fog, rain and snow). Optical satellite communication at mid-IR atmospheric windows (3-5 mm and 8-12 mm) is essential for practical all-weather networks since absorption is much smaller for wavelengths in mid-IR atmospheric windows than for visible and NIR wavelengths. Unfortunately, mid-IR lasers with high optical power and high bit rate are not available on the market. This project will provide a practical Made-in-Canada approach to mid-IR sources for all-weather optical satellite communications based on novel materials. The developed mid-IR transmitters will be tested under various weather conditions, with system performance of the developed mid-IR transmitters, radiation hardness and real world (space) implementation conducted.