Leaf Area Index (LAI) is an important variable to measure when revegetating and reclaiming disturbed ecosystems. Estimating LAI from models using remotely sensed data is becoming increasingly common; Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems, or ‘RPAS’ in particular, have the potential to grow in importance as they can acquire the fine scale spatial data necessary to accurately […]

Microplastics are emerging anthropogenic particulate pollutants that pose risks to both societal and environmental health. As such, there is a need to characterize the distribution of microplastics both within the environment and at potential points of release. Current analytical techniques – primarily thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy – used to characterize microplastics offer […]

In nature, animals must make decisions about where to find food. Looking for food, however, exposes animals to the risk of being eaten by predators and forces them to compete with other animals for food. This combination of risk and competition is stressful, and animals respond by releasing hormones help them cope. Initially, a common […]

Building hybrid quantum devices that compose of systems with complementary advantages is a promising approach to develop next generation quantum technology. In particular, the hybrid systems that consist of long-lived matter qubit (e.g. defect centers) and highly controllable photons (e.g. microwave in superconducting resonators) have been suggested to be a versatile platform for realizing quantum […]

How can matter, including us, actually exist? According to the Big Bang theory, at the start of the Universe an even amount of matter and anti-matter was created, which should have all annihilated leaving nothing but photons. Subatomic ghostly particles called neutrinos may be a critical piece of this puzzle. A phenomenon called neutrino oscillation […]

Wearable and implantable electronics have the potential to transform personalized health monitoring, particularly as human-machine interfaces and biosensors to improve human health and well-being. When we think about the current electronics in our lives, such as our phones or laptops, we notice that they are mostly hard and not flexible. This is in strong contrast […]

Super-Kamiokande is a Japan-based, Nobel Prize winning underground neutrino detector aimed at measuring differences in the behaviours of tiny fundamental particles called neutrinos and their antiparticle counterparts, antineutrinos. These measurements would provide part of the answer as to why our universe is dominated by matter and why so much antimatter is missing. The detector is […]

The presence of metals impurities in conjugated polymers can have important consequences on their performances and lifespan. Yet, measuring trace levels of metals in polymeric matrices is challenging both in terms of sample preparation and detectability. In this project, we aim at assessing diverse approaches to overcome the challenges associated with the measure of numerous […]

Seismic lines – linear exploration corridors constructed for petroleum exploration – bisect the forests of northern Alberta and influence a host of ecosystem processes. There are an estimated 1.8 million kilometers of seismic lines in Alberta alone. Unfortunately, many of these lines are in a state of arrested succession and are unlikely to recover without […]

Protocells are synthetic, cell-like microcompartments designed to mimic key aspects of living cells to provide researchers with deeper insights into primitive cellular functions and behaviours. This research project is aimed to design and synthesize functional polymer coated gold nanoparticles and clusters (AuNP and AuNCs) that are capable of self-assembly into gold inorganic functional colloidosomes. The […]

The boreal ecosystem in the Northern Alberta is strongly segmented by linear exploration corridors for petroleum exploartion, called seismic lines. Unfortunately, many of these lines are in a state of arrested succession and are unlikely to recover without active intervention. Restoration planning for such a large affected area demands knoledge about the possibility and the […]

The boreal ecosystem in the Northern Alberta is strongly segmented by linear exploration corridors for petroleum exploartion, calles seismic lines. Unfortunately, many of these lines are in a state of arrested succession and are unlikely to recover without active intervention. An essential variable to the understanding of regeneration of forest cover is the hydrology and […]