The integration of significant capacities of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as renewable wind and solar generation for a more sustainable energy future creates several challenges to the reliable and efficient operation of power distribution systems. These include: (i) Uncertain and intermittent nature of renewable generation compromises power quality for end-customers. (ii) Up-to-date distribution system network topologies are not well known and their real-time monitoring is limited. As a result, effective management of DERs is challenging.
Golder Associates Ltd., teaming with the Seyem’ Qwantlen Business Group (Kwantlen First Nation), was retained by the Township of Langley to develop a model to predict the location of unrecorded archaeological sites on a 10,000 year-old landscape located in the Fraser River Valley, British Columbia. Conventional predictive modelling techniques are common practice however with the increased availability of more powerful computers and software there is a growing potential for using machine learning algorithms to predict a wider variety of archaeological site types with greater accuracy.
The Hoy Creek Shared Equity Home Ownership Project aims to provide a site-specific example of how a shared equity home ownership project can succeed in Canada. As few Canadian examples exist of scalable affordable home ownership models, more research is required to identify options for implementation and strategies for long-term administration. This research project aims to identify strategies for shared equity home ownership implementation and administration while determining best practices for Community Land Trust execution.
The protection of water is a priority for Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) and revitalizing Indigenous legal and governance systems is fundamental to advancing Indigenous approaches to water governance. While the citizens of C/TFN have governed the waters and lands within their traditional territory since time immemorial, their Tagish and Tlingit legal orders have been disrupted by colonial forms of governance. Nevertheless, knowledge of these systems endures in practice and oral history.
EMBED (Enhanced Measurement-Based Care Effectiveness for Depression) is a multistage collaboration between mental health researchers and advocates based in Canada, China, USA, and Australia.
Timing is everything. In cleantech innovation, it’s the difference between leading and falling behind. For Professor Martin Ordonez’s team at the UBC Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering who work in power electronics and conversion, one of the ways of being ahead is developing clean energy through research in renewable electric vehicles (EV) and power storage.
Due to the lack of investment from the Federal and Provincial governments for affordable housing and the low number of housing cooperatives formed in the last 30 years the co-op housing model is outdated. In response to a need for affordable housing in Vancouver, BC the Community Land Trust (CLT) has recently opened two newly built housing cooperatives. This research project aims to identify tools and best practices to foster a sense of belonging, ownership, and community in newly formed housing co-ops with members from mixed socio-economic backgrounds.
The use of natural gas as a fuel for on-road commercial vehicles offers significant benefits, including lower greenhouse gas emissions. Methane, the main component of natural gas, has many virtues as a fuel. One of these benefits is that it is a very stable molecule. This stability does introduce a challenge: it is hard to remove from the exhaust stream any methane that isnt consumed in the engine. This internship will help to address this factor, focusing on using a catalytic reactor in the exhaust of an engine.
NORAM Engineering and Constructors have a technology called salt splitting. This technology is used to produce caustic soda and sulfuric acid. However, the presence of fluoride in this technology can cause the breakdown of the coating on the titanium anode, which can cause premature anode failure. As replacing these titanium anodes can incur significant costs, purification in this technology to reduce its fluoride concentration is imperative.
Systematic conservation planning tools allow us to use data on species distributions, habitat quality, and cost to and identify optimal areas to invest conservation and restoration resources. These tools can be particularly helpful in highly contested biodiverse landscapes where pressures from growing populations and economic development compete with conservation objectives.
