Within museum collections, formalin fixed samples have long posed persistent challenges in acquiring viable nucleic acids for taxonomic and phylogenomic reconstructions. This proposal represents a vital first step in determining the presence or absence of formalin and its derivatives in the formalin fixed historic samples located at the Smithsonian Institution where the oldest can be […]

The upcoming research internship will explore how a specific class of ligands incorporating cyclopentadienyl and carbene moieties can stabilize less common, low oxidation states of certain heavier elements like germanium, tin, antimony, and bismuth. This computational study aims to understand the unique bonding and reactivity patterns of these compounds. By simulating these reactions computationally, the […]

Measurement of trace-levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) is critical to manufacturing processes such as in semiconductor production. Electrochemical sensors are a mature technology for measuring DO, with the classic sensor pairing a silver (Ag) with a lead (Pb) anode. Emerging international regulations that ban the use of Pb due to environmental concerns threaten the continued […]

Les techniques courantes d’identification bactérienne nécessitent la mise en culture des échantillons dans des laboratoires spécialisés, une étape qui introduit des délais pouvant aller jusqu’à 48 heures ouvrables. En complexifiant la gestion des bactéries pathogènes, ces délais imposent un lourd fardeau dans de nombreux secteurs essentiels, tels la production agroalimentaire, le traitement des eaux potables […]

The proposed project will address the functional role of tree marking practices within industrial forestry applications. The intern will evaluate the use of on-the-ground identification or ‘marking’ of trees by forest professionals prior to implementing new, innovative and ecologically based harvesting techniques in Maritime Canada, within the Wabanaki-Acadian Forest region. Tree marking is widely used […]

This project will support the development of a business strategy for a startup company based around the rollout of low-cost carbon dioxide capture technology. Through a series of workshops and from access to mentorship from individuals well versed in the start-up space, the intern/founder will gain crucial knowledge pertaining to the potential end users, structuring […]

This proposal aims to investigate the ability to produce an mRNA vaccine that can be delivered orally, rather than by intramuscular injection. The drawbacks of intramuscular injection include a poor patient experience, the costly need for healthcare professionals to perform the administration, the large amount of waste (needles, syringes, vials), and the requirement for cold-chain […]

This proposed project will investigate the failure modes of platinum-rare earth element alloy catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells. These alloys are the current state-of-the-art catalysts in terms of durability for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), yet due to their recent discovery are lacking important studies to understand their degradation under working conditions. These types […]

Photonic technologies offer promising prospects for quantum information processing and simulations. Quantum states are usually encoded in photonic degrees of freedom like polarization and spatial modes, enabling the mimicking of target evolutions via a number of devices linearly growing with their temporal extension. This constraint intrinsically makes them lossy and inadequate for extreme quantum dynamics, […]

A PhD student from the IMDEA Nanoscience research institute in Spain will travel to Canada for an internship at the University of British Columbia. This internship will initiate a new collaboration to develop materials, methods, and devices for detecting a protein malfunction in white blood cells that reflects the emergence of the neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic […]

The amorphous selenium (a-Se) based active matrix flat-panel imager (AMFPI) has demonstrated promising performance in breast imaging, exhibiting high image quality and dynamic range. However, sensitivity variation due to previous x-ray exposures, known as ghosting, is a common phenomenon in direct conversion detectors, which can lead to the incorrect interpretation of breast images for diagnosis […]

Today’s Canadian children and youth are bigger, weaker and less fit than they were a generation ago. Only 5% of children and youth meet the recommended Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines while spending 8.6 hours per day in sedentary pursuits. These results suggest that Canadian children today do not have the capacity to achieve and maintain […]