FortisBC proposes to replace a pipeline in Kamloops, B.C. Of concern are habitat losses, loss of native plant communities and alteration of the composition of plant communities due to introduction of invasive species. My research addresses the role of order of seed arrival, called priority effects, and soil amendments such as straw matting and wood ash in facilitating ecosystem restoration after pipeline replacement.

Increasing visibility into asset inventory and gaining situational awareness in industrial control system (ICS) environment are of critical importance for electric utilities to effectively manage cybersecurity risks. In this project, we aim to investigate the solution design for electric utilities to automate asset management in an ICS, addressing the unique challenges such as device heterogeneity and legacy technology.

Climate change has been a top concern of Canadians for the past several years. Canada is among 3 top global CO2 emitters per capita. Our goal is to develop and commercialize a viable solar energy harvesting system to help Canada decarbonize its economy.
Amorphous silicon has the most mature technology in the photovoltaic market. Silicon solar cells are mostly used in solar farms or installed on roofs.

Attached growth wastewater treatment processes such as the rotating biological contactor (RBC) have been recognized as more energy efficient compared to suspended growth processes. Hannah Environmental Equipment Inc. specializes in producing high energy efficient RBC systems providing high modular flexibility suitable for various plant sizes. The proposed project aims to assess the application of RBCs in the Canadian environment and compare that to current secondary wastewater treatment technologies in terms of energy efficiency, treatment performance, and environmental impact.

ReWatt Power facilitates transactions of green energy derivatives/green attributes such as Alberta Carbon Offsets. The company uses a blockchain technology to manage all transactions on their platform. This way, all parties have access to the transaction history in a database they own, and the transactions are immutable. The first objective of this project is to ensure that source energy measurements are accurate before the resulting green attributes are permanently recorded.

Sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is an activated sludge process that has been used successfully in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. SBR process is operated in a batch mode where different batch phases run successively in a single tank or several tanks operating in parallel. Many studies on real-time control strategies have been employed to check the effects of parameters on SBR operation.

This research aims to provide an affordable, clean energy alternative to meet the world’s cooling demands. As global warming, urbanization, and society’s dependency on digital storage increases, the world’s cooling demands continue to rapidly grow with predictions showing that they will outweigh heating demands by 2060. The majority of these demands are currently being met with the use of fossil fuels. Through the use of proprietary Eavor-Loop technology (joined horizontal wells acting like a subsurface heat exchanger), geothermal energy can become a feasible, reliable, scalable solution.

How do you support the fastest growing municipality in a largely rural region as it works through its growing pains? What happens in a rapidly growing community that’s been recognized as one of the best places to live as it tries to keep up with labour demands, changing demographics, and challenges to the enabling infrastructure that support a strong labour market and economic development? This research focuses on understanding the implications of the unique labour market dynamics of a rural region in transition through a case-study of Saugeen Shores, Ontario.

In recent years there has been renewed interest in nuclear power for the purposes of combating climate change. ARC Nuclear’s ARC-100 reactor design requires extensive research and development to deploy a prototype. Significant effort is needed to develop the materials to be used in the reactor’s core. HT9 is a specialty steel alloy which has shown some promising results in the past and therefore has been selected for use in the ARC-100.

Cyber security is fundamental to guarantee the reliable operation of the electric power systems. As the energy industry migrates to the digital space with information and communication technology (ICT), managing the electricity delivery is becoming complex and increasingly dependent on industrial control systems (ICS). The heavy reliance on ICT and the rapid penetration of ICS devices, however, have exposed the power systems to new cyber security challenges.