Collaborations

With Ford Motor Company at the Powertrain Engineering Research and Development Centre (PERDC) in Windsor, Ontario, and Ford’s Global Research and Engineering Centre in Dearborn, Michigan, we are developing thermal characterization and design optimization methodologies for enhanced electric vehicle battery pack thermal performance, fast charging, and lifespan.

With Jule, a leading electric vehicle charging and energy storage company in Toronto, we are jointly developing a digital-physical framework for thermal modelling, design, and optimization of stationary battery energy storage systems, and ground-breaking battery thermal management and thermal runaway mitigation strategies to enable thermally performant and fire-safe stationary battery energy storage systems for electric vehicle fast charging infrastructure and the electrical grid of the future.

With Flex-N-Gate’s FLEX-ION Battery Innovation Center, we developed coupled thermal-electrochemical models and characterization approaches of novel lithium-ion cell architectures for electric vehicle batteries, advancing product design and innovation. Through this collaboration, we aimed to enhance battery lifespan, fast charging capabilities, and overall thermal management, ensuring the reliability and longevity of electric vehicle batteries.

With Tata Motors, we are developing thermo-electrical models of Tata’s lithium-ion battery packs, integrating advanced cell characterization, battery modeling, and simulation tools to develop a battery pack digital twin aiming to enhance heat removal from beginning-of-life and degraded batteries, with context-dependent temperature set points that can be adjusted on-demand based on the battery state-of-charge, charge/discharge C-rate, and state-of-health.

With eLeapPower (Formerly Havelaar) and UTEV, we engaged in a large multidisciplinary NSERC Collaborative Research and Development project on “Electro-thermal management and charging of next-gen automotive batteries with a seamless transition to second-life stationary applications.” We jointly developed innovative thermal management systems for liquid-cooled EV battery modules with parallel cooling architecture.

With Covestro, a world leader in polymer solutions, we developed breakthrough packaging and thermal management technologies for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries using Covestro’s thermoplastic materials.

With the University of Toronto Electric Vehicle (UTEV) Research Centre and Professor Olivier Trescases (ECE), we developed a multidisciplinary research program focused on disruptive EV battery and charging technology. We have designed, prototyped and tested advanced EV battery packs and on-board power electronics, including their electrical and thermal management systems. We have outfitted a road-ready concept vehicle with these systems.

With Electrovaya, Canada’s leading lithium-ion battery manufacturer, we collaborated on electro-thermal characterization of Electrovaya’s batteries, allowing us to implement a holistic approach to battery pack design and optimization based on an intimate knowledge of all aspects of their lithium-ion battery technology.

With Professor Gisele Azimi’s Laboratory for Strategic Materials, we are developing an innovative modelling-experimental framework for material discovery combining thermo-electrochemical hierarchical modelling of batteries with state-of-the-art material synthesis processes and characterization techniques. This multidisciplinary collaboration is investigating earth-abundant materials as candidates for next-gen batteries.

With Professor Sanjeev Chandra’s Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies (CACT) and UTEV, we are developing GaN-based power inverter systems for bidirectional on-board EV chargers, enabled by innovative thermal management approaches, including a transformative approach for metal spray deposition of heat sinks.

With Doctor Van Arsdell, Chief of Congenital Cardiovascular Surgery at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, we used patient data and computational models to develop a surgical planning tool to improve long-term outcomes in patients with tetralogy of Fallot, the most common cyanotic, congenital heart defect. Doctor Arsdell was the former Head of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at SickKids Hospital

With Doctor Osami Honjo, Cardiovascular Pediatric Surgeon at SickKids, and Doctor Lucy Roche from the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, we have designed a minimally invasive cavopulmonary assist device to increase cardiac output and bridge failing Fontan patients to heart transplantation.

With the University Health Network, we are collaborated with Doctors Thomas Forbes, Thomas Waddell, Jennifer Chung, Osami Honjo, Rachel Vanderlaan, Christopher Haller, Michael Laflamme, Sara Vasconcelos and Golnaz Karoubi.

With Doctor Thomas Forbes, Chair of the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Toronto, we developed computational models of Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair (TEVAR) surgical procedures and Fenestrated Endovascular Aortic Repair (FEVAR) hemodynamics.

With Doctor Jennifer Chung, Cardiac Surgeon-Investigator at Toronto General Hospital, and in collaboration with Prof. Craig Simmons, Scientific Director, Translational Biology and Engineering Program at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, we investigated how near-wall hemodynamics affects the mechanical properties of the aortic wall. We further investigated the hemodynamic changes after aortic root replacement surgeries, and how they may correlate with mid- to long-term development of aortic dissections.

With Doctor Christopher Haller, Cardiovascular Surgeon at SickKids, we supported the design of artificial placenta systems by developing computer simulation models of the fetal circulatory system and its interaction with extra-corporeal circulatory support systems.

With Doctor Rachel Vanderlaan, Cardiovascular Surgeon at SickKids and Co-Director of the Pulmonary Vein Stenosis (PVS) Network, we created patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to study the hemodynamics inside pulmonary veins and how it correlates with the onset and progression of PVS disease, a frequently fatal condition in which pulmonary veins progressively narrow, causing pulmonary failure.

With Doctors Thomas Waddell, Golnaz Karoubi, and Siba Haykal at the Latner Thoracic Research Laboratories, we developed computer simulation models to support the design and manufacturing of bioreactor devices for decellularization and recellularization of tracheal grafts for transplantation. This project contributed to the Medicine by Design and New Frontiers Transformation NFRFT programs led by Doctor Shaf Keshavjee, UHN Surgeon-in-Chief and Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program.

With Dr. Michael Laflamme, Robert McEwen Chair in Cardiac Regenerative Medicine, and Dr. Sara Vasconcelos, Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and Chair of Diabetes Research, we developed simulation models for cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, and for advection-diffusion-reaction processes in perfusion and static bioreactors and microfluidic devices. These models enabled innovations in the production of cardiac tissues and micro-vessels at scale.

With Professor Maria Jacome from the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology at Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, we worked on low-cost and time-effective ways to monitor the transport and accumulation of pollutants in soils, ground and surface waters by developing an integrated machine learning-based research that combines geophysical data (i.e., GPR and geoelectrical tomographic images of the subsoil) with gas emissions and geochemical information.

With DGI Geoscience, a Canadian Company leader in borehole logging, processing and interpretation, we engaged in an NSERC Collaborative Research Project on “Numerical Modeling of Fluids and Gas Migration in a Sanitary Landfill in Simcoe County, combining Geophysical and Gas Emission Data”.

With the Chief and Council and the Band Office (Departments of Health, Education and Social Services, and Property and Lands), we are creating interdisciplinary bridges to build self-governing environmental monitoring capacities in a nest of cultural safety and care. Our projects with FWFN refer to Caring for the Thunderbird’s Nest, a sacred site at the summit of Anemki Wajiiw (Mount McKay) overlooking Thunder Bay. According to Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) traditions, Thunderbirds (Anemkiig) are powerful and protective creators, helpers, messengers, and healers bringing rain, wind, thunder, and lightning.

Centre for Global Engineering, a multidisciplinary research Institute at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, promotes engineering innovation projects for the world’s most vulnerable populations by mobilizing engineering researchers and students. Genuinely committed to such a mission and vision, CGEN is supported our Project: Caring for the Thunderbird Nest using Machine Learning Tools to Make Invisible Environmental Threats Visible by Mapping the Spatial Distribution of Inequitable Exposures to Ground and Water Pollution in Fort William First Nation.

With Dr. Joaquin Moran, Professor at Sheridan College, we continue our research into simulation, optimization and control of wind energy systems. We focus on the integration of data-driven, physics-informed and physics-based modeling tools to improve efficiency, reduce cost, and reduce environmental impact of wind turbines and wind farms.