Pawel Pralat receives NSERC Alliance grant for COVID-19 research

Congratulations to Pawel Pralat, who has been awarded an NSERC Alliance COVID-19 grant (external link) . Pawel will work with industry partner, cybersecurity firm Security Compass (external link) , on the project entitled "COVID-19: Agent-based framework for modelling pandemics in urban environment”.

The objective is to create an agent-based framework for building virtual models of an urban area. The framework can then be used as a virtual laboratory for testing various pandemic scenarios. Simulations might, for example, include the implications of wearing masks, closing down non-essential businesses, or promoting actions such as #stayathome. Findings could eventually inform policy design in managing pandemics and emerging technologies such as the use of contact tracing apps.