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Recent Submissions

UEPVGA: A Novel Unreal Engine 5 Based Methodology for Airport Photovoltaic Glare Assessment
(University of Waterloo, 2026-01-26) Lyu, Hongliang
Airports have significant potential for deploying solar photovoltaic (PV) systems because they have large amounts of available land and high energy demands. However, the deployment of PV systems in and around airports in Canada and the United States is constrained by concerns from pilots and ground personnel regarding glare risks and formalized in policy that restricts their deployment without a comprehensive glare risk assessment. To address these issues, we developed a novel Unreal Engine PV Glare Assessment (UEPVGA) framework. The framework uses real-time game engine rendering to create photorealistic, dynamic glare simulations. It employs physically based rendering techniques to model the optical properties of PV modules that accurately reflect the relationship between incident angle and reflectance. Astronomical algorithms precisely simulate the sun's position and trajectory across the sky throughout the year. Simulated glare from the UEPVGA was validated against observational data at different altitudes and angles from real-world PV panels that were acquired by a remotely piloted aircraft. Validation results demonstrated that the simulated solar position and glare intensity of solar panels highly correlate with observational data. The framework was then used to conduct a glare assessment of a study area considering three hypothetical zones for PV panel installations. Results revealed pronounced seasonal risk patterns and identified specific high-risk zones, demonstrating the framework's practical value for operational safety planning. This study suggests the feasibility of using game engines as environmental simulation platforms and highlights their potential to support aviation safety and other fields.
Spectra of Translation-Invariant Function Algebras of Compact Groups
(University of Waterloo, 2026-01-26) Zhang, Zhihao
Let G be a compact group and let Trig(G) denote the algebra of trigonometric polynomials of G. For a translation-invariant subalgebra A of Trig(G), one can consider the completions of A under the uniform norm and the Fourier norm. We show in Chapter 2 using techniques developed by Gichev that both completions have the same Gelfand spectrum, answering a question posed in a paper of Spronk and Stokke. In the same paper, a theorem describing of the Gelfand spectrum of the Fourier completion of finitely-generated such algebras A was given. In Chapter 3, we extend this theorem to the case of countably-generated, translation-invariant subalgebras, A. In Chapter 4, we give a brief overview of the Beurling--Fourier algebra, a weighted variant of the classical Fourier algebra studied by Ludwig, Spronk, and Turowska. The addition of a weight for these particular algebras invites new spectral data in contrast to its classical counterpart. In Chapter 5, we show for Beurling--Fourier algebras of compact abelian groups G that its weight can be used to construct a seminorm on tensor product of the real numbers with the Pontryagin dual of G that remembers the spectral data of the algebra.
Characterization and Comparison of Flammability Properties and Trace Emissions of Select Native and Invasive Canadian Wildland Fire Fuels
(University of Waterloo, 2026-01-26) Lakhani, Ayaan
Fire has played an integral role in the evolution, formation, and sustainability of North American forest ecosystems. Historically, Indigenous peoples have employed fire as a deliberate land management tool to maintain forest health, shape landscapes, and achieve early industrial objectives. With the landing of European settlers, and changes in governmental policy, the use of fire as a land/fuel management tool was greatly diminished. In addition to the suppression of fire as a tool, the intentional and accidental introduction of non-native plant species to Canadian forest ecosystems has dramatically altered its structure from the 17th century through to today. In addition, emissions of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases have been rapidly increasing since industrialization, which has warmed the planet, resulting in extreme weather events like droughts and storms that occur at increasing frequency and severity. This has culminated in wildfire conditions that are drastically different to those that shaped the historical evolution of Canadian forests. Key changes in forest fuels include larger spatial distributions of fuel types and moisture content, which affect fire growth and development. Over the past few decades it has become evident that understanding these factors of fuel types, moisture content, and fire growth and development are critical to improve performance of predictive models, as well as our overall understanding of how to combat and minimize the damage caused by these severe wildfire events. Assessment of wildfires has generally taken two approaches: the first being a largescale analysis of a real wildfire event, which characterizes total emissions and bulk burning behaviour, and the second being small-scale studies that often focus only on one specific fire performance metric or a limited set of emissions. While both approaches have yielded significant data in terms of bulk fire performance metrics and separate emissions data, this separation has led to a dearth of integrated, detailed, and comparative data. This comparative data is critically important because the lack of species-specific flammability metrics and associated detailed emissions data under varying conditions hinders the accurate prediction of fire behaviour and the development of effective land management strategies. Furthermore, the absence of data explicitly linking exposure conditions to trace emission profiles (the toxic fraction of smoke) leads to misestimates in both emission inventories and air quality models, potentially compromising environmental safety assessments. In this research, a pair of native species and a pair of invasive species are tested at small scale for their flammability properties, major, and trace emissions. Testing was conducted under two different levels of fuel moisture and two different radiation exposures, with twelve replicates per condition. The native species are trembling aspen and ironwood while the invasive species are buckthorn and barberry. All four species were tested under reference conditions (35 kW m⁻² incident heat flux, and naturally dry conditions), buckthorn and trembling aspen were tested under elevated heat flux (50 kW m⁻² incident heat flux, and naturally dry conditions), and barberry and ironwood were tested at elevated moisture conditions (35 kW m⁻² incident heat flux, and field-tested moisture conditions). Across the tests, flammability properties, such as ignition delay time and heat release rate, were compared as well as real-time concentrations of CO₂, CO, and VOCs. In addition to these three gases, thermal desorption tubes were employed to sample the smoke plume at three phases during a test – pyrolysis, open flaming, and smouldering – and were analyzed using GC-MS to identify and group key emissions, then develop a qualitative sensitivity of trace emissions to species and burning conditions. To properly frame the discussion surrounding the production of trace emissions, the lignocellulosic compositions (% cellulose, % hemicellulose, and % lignin) and the apparent activation energy of each of the species was determined using thermogravimetric analysis. Finally, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were employed to identify and quantify metallic emission differences in the post-burn particulate matter and the fire smoke plume. A broad summary of the results shows that species composition (lignocellulosic makeup) and intrinsic physical characteristics (sample piece sizes and packing geometry) are the dominant factors driving differences in fire performance and flammability under reference conditions. When exposed to a higher heat flux, the external energy largely overcame the impacts of geometry, allowing compositional differences to become the sole dominant factor dictating distinct species responses in peak heat release rate and emissions. The exposure to the increased heat flux also greatly reduced the ignition delay time and increased the heat release rates for both native and invasive species. Conversely, increased fuel moisture content led to a clear and consequential shift toward less efficient, incomplete combustion processes, resulting in substantial increases ignition delay time, reductions in heat release rate and increases in CO and VOC emission factors during the pyrolysis, flaming, and smouldering phases. Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed a compositional-kinetic relationship where the apparent activation energy varied by up to 24% across species. This kinetic variation, coupled with data from thermal desorption-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, highlighted the dependent nature of trace species production on the specific species composition and apparent activation energy. Different species produced distinct groups of trace emissions and showed differing responses to both elevated heat flux (where some experienced volatile suppression and others persistent intermediates) and varying moisture conditions (where smouldering emissions were dramatically amplified or altered).
Electroluminescence in the Classical and Quantum Regime in Undoped GaAs/AlGaAs Heterostructures
(University of Waterloo, 2026-01-26) Harrigan, Stephen
Quantum information processing holds the promise to radically change the way we perform computations and transmit information. In the realm of quantum computing, there has been enormous progress in the last few decades in a huge variety of quantum systems and it is unclear which platform will be the leading system to execute quantum computations. Conversely, photons have always remained the front-runner for the long distance transfer of quantum information since photons travel at the speed of light and have limited mechanisms of decoherence (as compared to other carriers of quantum information) when traveling over long distances. The method used to generate single photons remains the pertinent open question. Current state-of-the-art single-photon sources (SPSs) are optically-active quantum dots driven by an external laser source. For laboratory-scale experiments, they have proven fruitful in order to demonstrate key components of a quantum network, as well as performing fundamental tests on the nature of quantum mechanics. However, one challenge associated with these optically active quantum dots is two-qubit interactions since the quantum dots are usually spatially isolated. Conversely, two-qubit interactions for spin qubits in gate-defined quantum dots is routinely achieved via the Heisenberg exchange interaction. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a way to convert the quantum information of the spin state of gate-defined quantum dots to photon polarization. Furthermore, for the prospects scaling of the technology, it would be highly desirable for this quantum information transfer to be all-electrical in order to leverage conventional multiplexing techniques. In the first part of this thesis, we outline our proposal for an all-electrical SPS where single-photon emission is driven by electroluminescence (EL) at the single-charge to single-photon level. In order to control carriers at the single-charge level, we propose using non-adiabatic single-electron pumps (SEPs) previously investigated as quantized current sources for metrology. We have also previously developed a lateral p—n junction whose geometry allows direct integration with a SEP. We compare our proposed SPS to existing electrically-driven SPS in the literature, highlighting anticipated strengths of our proposed device, including a fabrication process compatible with standard semiconductor fabrication techniques. Given the key role SEPs play in our proposed SPS, we describe the established theory underpinning the high fidelity operation of SEPs. We also highlight practical considerations for the operation of SEPs, including device fabrication challenges faced during the course of this research, and demonstrate how to measure and characterize a SEP. A secondary focus of this thesis has been investigating EL from lateral p—n junctions in regimes where there was no attempt to control carriers at the single-charge level. While measuring lateral p—n junctions, we noticed an unconventional form of EL that did not require a forward bias to be applied. By swapping the polarity of the top gate voltage of our ambipolar induced devices, existing carriers recombine radiatively with incoming carriers of the opposite charge. Due to the flow of carriers in and out of the device, we called this form of luminescence the tidal effect. We develop a model to explain the non-monotonic frequency-dependent EL intensity and perform temperature-dependent measurements to identify the species responsible for the observed EL. We also further investigate a similar phenomenon when two adjacent top gates are periodically swapped with a phase difference between the two signals. We demonstrate that this form of EL is more efficient over larger areas than the tidal effect, and therefore may be more suitable for general illumination purposes. Lastly, we also performed the first EL measurements from lateral p—n junctions in single heterojunction interfaces. Despite the lack of a bottom barrier in these devices, our measurements suggest that carrier recombination is occurring near the interface. We characterize the EL spectra and observed the so-called H-band, a type of space-indirect exciton created in proximity to a populated single heterojunction interface, which has only previously been observed in photoluminescence experiments. Time-resolved EL experiments suggest reduced dimensionality of neutral excitons. We show that the lifetime of the H-band can be tuned electrically. We also demonstrate that the tidal effect can also be observed in these single heterojunction interfaces.
Designing Public Health Surveillance for Urban Air Quality in LMICs: Community Insights, Technology Acceptance, and System Design for Low-Resource, High Vulnerability Settings
(University of Waterloo, 2026-01-26) Salim, Shahan
Climate change is tightening exposure windows and widening inequalities in urban air quality, especially across low- and middle-income countries. Many cities lack dense regulatory networks, timely analytics, and trusted communication pathways, which means signals arrive after decisions are due. Grounded in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, this thesis begins by asking how people make sense of pollution in their daily lives, what actions are realistically available, and which institutions are expected to respond. These lived accounts specify what usable guidance must deliver in contexts where resources are limited and risks are uneven. Guidance must be fast, intelligible, transparent about uncertainty, and aligned with social roles and constraints that vary. A second qualitative strand examines technology acceptance of digital monitoring and early warnings. It identifies what confers legitimacy, including credible data provenance, visible accountability, and delivery pathways that match capabilities such as low connectivity, limited time, and competing obligations. Together, these qualitative insights establish system requirements and the conditions under which guidance is likely to be acted upon. Based on these insights and in partnership with UNICEF Mongolia, the thesis designs, develops, and evaluates a real-time air quality pipeline for Ulaanbaatar. Low-cost sensors feed an automated device to database workflow that stabilizes sparse and noisy inputs. A sequence modeling approach produces continuous predictions with calibrated error suitable for communication and decision support under intermittent power and limited connectivity. Evaluations suggests the system performs reliably under these constraints and can be adopted within existing civic workflows. The integrated contribution is a pathway from qualitative insights to deployable infrastructure that supports proportional protection. The thesis advances empirical understanding of disproportionate risks in an LMIC city, delivers a validated and operational monitoring and prediction pipeline build from locally derived requirements, and offers policy and design guidance that ties technical accuracy to local relevance and shared accountability so that evidence arrives in time to reduce harm.