Hydrogen fuel cells represent one of the most exciting technologies available for producing clean energy for onsite combined heat and power delivery, portable electronics, and electric vehicles. In the transportation sector specifically, several commercial vehicles powered by hydrogen have hit the market in the last several years, on top of a growing number of city buses and cargo trucks running on fuel cells. However, high cost due to the use of the precious metal platinum remains a barrier to their widespread adoption.

This proposed research seeks to better understand how people make decisions on purchasing consumer goods online. Due to COVID-19, we have seen a massive acceleration of online shopping, especially for essential items such as food. As such, consumers are increasingly relying on digital information to connect to food (and the places it grows). By studying single-origin chocolate, a packaged consumer good product deeply tied to land, we aim to better understand how ‘moral markets’ are using place-based cacao origins to market chocolate in digital spaces.

A helical pile is a screw steel pile comprising a small diameter hollow shaft welded with one or multiple helices. It has been widely used to retrofit structures or provide foundation support for infrastructure. The current research and design practice of helical piles have heavily focused on the “capacity”. In contrast, little attention has been paid to the performance of these piles, i.e., the movement of piles. This research project aims to understand the load-movement response through static loading tests of helical piles with and without post-grouting in soft clays.

The interns will assist with surveying the literature and prior work as it concerns reporting frameworks that capture the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects of small, medium enterprise (SME) policies and performance in Canada. This review will inform an interview process with a pilot cluster of businesses to determine the challenges and constraints they face, specifically related to the implementation of non-financial reporting.

At present, the understating of the lateral behavior of large pile group foundations (> 100 piles) supporting bridges, high-rise buildings, marine structures, and LNG tanks is limited. There are no definitive published design recommendations or guidance on evaluation of the lateral group effect of large pile groups. The current design standards (e.g., AASHTO, Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual) are based on the previous experimental results of full-scale and model testing of much smaller pile groups (

This research is designed to advance understandings and monitoring of the recreational and Indigenous food salmon harvests and their management within the Central Coast of BC. Further, this collaborative research project is being led by the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance and four partnering First Nations (Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai'xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv Nation) to develop a salmon catch monitoring framework.

The blown plastic film industry is constantly evolving, and the simpler products of just a few years ago are being displaced by new technical films. Market pressures have demanded a lower cost of plastic film with higher quality and thinner gauges. As a result of these trends, the demand for improvements in gauge control of the film increases dramatically, especially for manufacturers with older generations of equipment.

Climate change is affecting BC farmers, with associated impacts to food security, community economic development, business risk management programs, and trade and innovation. With some of the oldest farmers in Canada, BC’s farmers also experience some of the lowest incomes in Canada.

Six million people in rural and Indigenous communities in Canada face water insecurity and associated risks to ecosystem functioning and biodiversity loss. Many of these communities could benefit from the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBCS). One challenge in the widespread implementation of these solutions is appropriate knowledge-sharing pathways, particularly in rural and Indigenous communities. This project will use the principles of reconciliation to develop strategies for knowledge dissemination in local communities.

Metals, and particularly alkali metals, are contaminants in silicon wafers used to make computer chips and power electronics devices [1,2,3]. The movement of contaminating ions in the SiO2 under the influence of an applied voltage across the oxide causes the electrical characteristics of the transistor, such as the threshold voltage, to change [4]. This is particularly problematic for the class of ion implanters used in the production of silicon-based computer chips and power electronics devices requiring negative ion beams for the implant process [5].