Battery chargers are an essential component in electric, plug-in hybrid vehicles and various other clean energy systems. However, the battery charger performance is susceptible to the operating temperature. Thus, an efficient and reliable thermal management system should be developed to address the problems due to induced thermal stress. This project aims to develop a heat […]

Over 250 million scrap tires are generated in North America every year. More than 2% of municipal solid waste is composed of scrap tires or approximately one scrap tire per person in this area. Additionally, approximately three billion tires are stockpiled in landfills, collection sites, and illegal dumps, posing environmental hazards and possible health risks. […]

This Mitacs Accelerate represents the first year of the UBC Precast Design Studio, which is a multi-year partnership between the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI) and the University of British Columbia (UBC). The Studio will provide students with a hands-on learning experience for the seismic design, construction, and seismic response of precast shear walls. This […]

Battery powered Portable Power Station (PPS) becomes popular in recent years because of its multiple benefits to consumers, such as portable, environmentally friendly, no noise, no need for gas. However, the existing PPS suffers from two fundamental limitations: (1) longer re-charging time, such as 5 to 7 hours; and (2) limited power capability. This project […]

Additive manufacturing (AM, also referred to as metal 3D printing) promises to revolutionize the manufacturing sector by allowing custom parts to be printed on demand. Despite manufacturing accounting for 10% of Canada’s GDP, less than 5% of Canadian companies use AM. Among the limiting factors to the adoption of this technology are a lack of […]

Computed Tomography (CT) scans are commonly used in the medical field to diagnose diseases such as cancer. It uses X-rays to capture human structures without invading the body. Although it has a been widely used and provide great benefit for patient diagnosis, the cumulative exposure to X-ray radiation can cause health risks. For this reason, […]

There is a permanent demand for technological advances in the automotive sector that allow the timely detection of drivers under the influence of alcohol. Although there are technologies to estimate alcohol in blood such as breathalyzers with a mouthpiece, the suspect individual needs to breathe through the mouthpiece as enough to reach the sensor threshold. […]

The main goal of this project is to improve the sustainability of building materials. To work towards this goal, the research project turns towards biology as a source of inspiration for the next generation of building materials. Natural fibres (i.e. hemp, straw, agricultural residues) have great potential in the building industry, but currently still need […]

The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide guidance for how to address the interconnected challenges of climate change. Most modelling does not include consideration of the different factors of the SDGs, though recent work has begun to include the nexus of Climate, Land, Energy and Water interactions in models. This helps identify impacts of the energy […]

The mining sector is vital to the Canadian economy, contributing $71B towards the GDP and providing 392,000 jobs. Canada is the 4th and 8th largest global producer of refined zinc and lead, respectively, and as one of the world’s largest zinc and lead refining facilities, Teck Resources’ operation in Trail, BC, is an important part […]

Our research aims at developing efficient and cost-effective solutions for sustainable geothermal energy production, conversion, utilization and energy system integration. A practical geothermal energy production study will be conducted to explore medium to high temperature geothermal reservoirs in Saskatchewan with careful engineering design planning, and implementation to secure a long-term sustainable energy development process. A […]

The objective of this GRA is to recreate high mobility debris flows in the laboratory to create the novel observations of landslide shear behaviour during flow needed to further refine predictive models of landslide mobility. Specifically, this collaboration is aimed to unlock the synergy between advanced sensor technologies developed by the team at the Technion […]