Some of Our Rock Star Researcher Highlights

Maria Jacome, PhD., Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology

Humber value/s: Sustainability, Health & Well-being

Maria’s field of expertise spans integrating surface and borehole seismic data with geological information for oil/ gas and mining exploration, as well as environmental/civil engineering studies and applied exploration geophysics.

In 2020, Humber College received grants through NSERC Engage funding to support applied research projects with industry partners. Maria led the research project on “Numerical Modeling of Fluids Migration in a Sanitary Landfill, by Combining Geophysical and Gas Emission Data”, as the Principal Investigator. This project was awarded $25K.

Humber College’s pioneering research project won third place in the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) York Chapter 2020 Engineering Research Project of the Year Award. Maria Jacome led the research project in collaboration with ATOMS Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto in partnership with DGI Geoscience Inc. Maria envisions and hopes to expand the research project to a national level targeting other landfill sites in the future.

Maria Jacome states, “I wanted to reinvent my research background in geophysics and apply acquired knowledge and expertise to the civil engineering and environmental industry. I am so glad that this project got its due recognition. It was successful due to the collaborative efforts of all parties

involved, including the student research assistants from Humber and the University of Toronto.”

A brief synopsis

Aquifers are one of the main supplies of drinking water in most communities of Ontario. Landfills have a significant impact on public health and safety, which is why they require close monitoring. Conventional methods used to monitor landfill gas (LFG) and contaminated groundwater are costly, time-consuming and provide limited information.

Project Objective

An alternative methodology has been developed to fully characterize groundwater contamination sources that uses subsoil 3D electrical conductivity images and quantifies the complex synergy between methane surficial emissions and leachate accumulations at depth. This low-cost, time-effective, and non-invasive methodology provides reliable tools for choosing prevention, mitigation and remediation strategies.

I had a great experience working with ORI’s team. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with an incredible group of people that delivered professional, committed, and reliable responses to all the challenges we faced during the different stages of the project.”

Orren Johnson, Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology

Humber value/s: Innovation, Sustainability, Collaboration

Orren’s expertise spans big data, application development, innovation, SDLC, database, project management and data analytics. Orren aims at motivating students to get involved in an all-inclusive culture of teamwork and technical craftsmanship while coordinating and leading research and capstone projects at Humber.

In 2020, Humber College received grants through NSERC Engage funding to support applied research projects with industry partners. Orren led the research project on “The Occupancy Monitoring System: IoT Sensors and Gateways resulting in a Delivery Platform”, as the Principal Investigator, in partnership with Embedded Sense Inc. This project was awarded $25K.

A brief synopsis

Embedded Sense, Inc. (ESI) is a premier technology partner specializing in leveraging embedded processing, interface, sensing and wireless expertise into product solutions for global customers in the military, industrial/ commercial and medical markets. ESI provides a full suite of intellectual property management, proof of concept, engineering design, product prototyping and commercialization services. The Occupancy Monitoring System is a smart building technology product of ESI.

Project Objective

The system’s first requirement was to monitor the utilization of workspaces and help optimize the workspace to reduce

costs. The second requirement of the system was to provide alerts based on a criterion of different forms of activity or inactivity at specified intervals. A dashboard and integration engine were built to work with ESI’s sensors which collected the data from various access points.

Power consumption was a key feature of the proposed system. With this solution, ESI will have the ability to efficiently inform decision-making customers across a geographically disbursed real estate portfolio with current occupancy, capacity, vacancy and density metrics. In the context of fast-evolving mobile technology and space sharing environments taking shape in Canada and globally, this solution will prove a competitive advantage for the Canadian industry, not only in occupancy management but also in the broader “smart building” and “smart city” initiatives. The customer is pleased, to the extent that they hired a few Humber students. A great relationship with the industry partner was founded.

“ Capstone projects have the opportunity to transition to a larger research project creating a more fulfilling and expansive environment. From my vantage point, all students want to do is get involved, they realize the potentiality of gaining real experience: they can add it to their resumé, stating they did more than just learn big data; they were involved in impacting real change.”

A project-based learning environment is crucial for students to develop real-life skills. My experiences stemming from industry and client interaction, understanding the customer’s psychology, and the market’s technological needs and demands greatly help in guiding students to get deeply engaged, which eventually results in developing a working prototype that benefits all parties involved.”

Audrey Wubbenhorst, Faculty of Media & Creative Arts

Humber value/s: Collaboration, Enabling Others, Innovation

Audrey brings with her vast experience in public relations, human resources, business strategy and social media. Audrey states that getting involved with case studies which eventually led the path to work on a research project approved through an NSERC Engage grant, has been an eye-opening experience.

In 2020, Humber College received grants through NSERC Engage funding to support applied research projects with industry partners. Audrey led the research study on “Governance Best Practices: Looking Outside the Box”, as the Principal Investigator, in partnership with Sunshine Coast Credit Union. This project was awarded $25K.

A brief synopsis

Founded in 1941, Sunshine Coast Credit Union is a full-service financial institution delivering personal and commercial banking services to more than 17,000 members. Its three strategic pillars are member centricity, financial health and social impact. The credit union industry has become increasingly agile, innovative and technology-driven.

Project Objective

This project filled a gap in existing research looking at governance models outside of the credit union industry for best practice models of director recruitment, committee structure and board effectiveness. The research team built on Audrey’s governance expertise to investigate and subsequently draft a best practice study for a Credit Union in BC with a goal to ensure that its governance practices are leading edge.

In 2020, Audrey also led a team of two students and implemented the “Communications in the Time of COVID-19”—case studies focusing on corporations navigating the crisis. This study was supported and funded by ORI.

Audrey proudly shares her appreciation for the continuous feedback and support from ORI during the grant application and throughout the research process, expressing her thanks for the opportunities provided to faculty to participate in different types of research projects and availing the chance to work with different industry partnerships.

I have been able to use research to stay current in my field and collaborate with a number of different partners along the way. ORI’s team has provided a ton of support, from structuring the projects to advising on the dayto-day administrative work. The funding has also enabled me to hire and work with students more directly and over a longer period than the classroom allows. It is great to see the outcomes of my projects!”

Bernie Monette, Faculty of Media & Creative Arts

Humber value/s: EDI, Health & Well-being

Bernie Monette has made significant research contributions through working with external partners and engaging students by allowing them to tactfully apply concepts they are learning in their respective programs to real-life industry challenges. Bernie’s field of expertise spans web development, project management, usability and user experience. His vast experience as a seasoned researcher continues to inform his teaching practice.

In 2020, Bernie wrapped up a research study on “Sharing My Journey: Engaging end-users in the design of a compassionate community platform”, led by him as the Principal Investigator, in partnership with The Hospice of Windsor Essex County Inc. Humber College received CCSIF funding through a grant from NSERC. This project was awarded $240K.

A brief synopsis

The Windsor-Essex Compassion Care Community (WECCC) helps people who are elderly, disabled, or isolated and their caregivers develop a personalized care plan organized around their priorities, and receive customized feedback on how to improve their quality of life. WECCC assembled a series of existing off-the-shelf, open-access technologies for the initial demonstration of the model. In the initial feasibility study, patients, caregivers and volunteers all reported high or very high satisfaction with the model and community process but found the WECCC technology manually intensive, difficult to use and cumbersome.

Project Objective

WECCC and Humber have created a platform that allows patients and caregivers to take direct control of their healthcare in the broadest sense of the term. Initially, this project was to create a prototype, but due to the enthusiasm of the student team, a much higher quality version was created. This version is currently in use to help people and track their progress.

Bernie mentions another memorable achievement is the Get Your Hours website, a web platform designed to help high school students find and track the volunteer hours they need to graduate. A professor who has led his students beyond the classroom to instill a desire to learn cognitively and think like problem-solvers, Bernie has used the funding he has acquired to propel economic development and spark real change. Bernie has provided mentorship for several projects and continues to be an impactful part of our growing research community at Humber. We asked Bernie why he values ‘research,’ and he fittingly responded:

It’s been good for Humber. It’s good for the program. It’s good for the partners.

Research is great for the economy.

Lars Kristjansen, Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology

Humber value/s: Sustainability, Collaboration, Innovation

Lars’ expertise spans pneumatics and fluid power, electronics, microcontrollerbased automation, biomedical engineering, product development and computer programming. He lives the term “experiential learning” and is motivated to lead his students by getting them involved in hands-on training and engaging with them holistically.

In 2020, Humber College received grants through NSERC Engage funding to support applied research projects with industry partners. Lars is leading the research project on “Automated Cell Inspection”, as the Principal Investigator, in partnership with Nahanni Steel Products Inc. This project was awarded $25K.

A brief synopsis

Nahanni Steel is a tier II/tier III metal fabricator servicing the automotive manufacturing, mining, and solar power industries. Nahanni Steel manufactures bracket cargo partitions and needs a quality control process. Currently, Nahanni’s international customer is being shipped incorrect quantities as well as some partitions that are missing bolts.

Project Objective

The proposed project will develop an automated cell to inspect inventory manufactured pieces for Nahanni Steel. The aim of this project is to prevent their international customer from being shipped incorrect quantities and defective parts.

As a result of the shipment of defective parts, Nahanni has implemented a final inspection step to their process conducted by an associate, adding production costs. By improving quality, Nahanni will have increased customer satisfaction and become more competitive in the market as price is a major factor in the industry.

Lars Kristjansen states, “We’re pushing the limits of vision systems and developing a unique method to remote view the inside of machines. We want to go where no vision systems has gone before.”

Lars’ motivation to participate in research:

To empower lives, an opportunity to work with brilliant young minds and to access state-of theart technology that Humber has to offer.”

The duty of a leader is to have the heart of a servant.