In January 2000, the US Department of Energy organized a meeting between nine nuclear countries to discuss the potential of a large scale collaboration, aimed at developing the generation four nuclear reactors. The meeting was concluded by the formation of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). The Canadian nuclear industry have taken particular interest in […]

In this project, I will undertake research in the Church Missionary Society Archives to study the writings of Charles Pratt (c. 1816-1888) and James Settee (c. 1809-1902), two Cree men who worked as missionaries for the Anglican Church in Canada. My research will take me to Birmingham where Pratt’s and Settee’s writings are housed. I […]

Traditional chemical separations, such as water filtration for example, are often energy intensive and require large amounts heat to achieve success. In an age with a growing need for clean technology, there has been increased demand for membranes capable of achieving these separations, without the traditional downfalls. These so called super-membranes are capable of producing […]

After leaving the hospital, about 65% of older adults go back into the hospital because of mobility problems. Mobility problems are caused by many factors such as cognitive (e.g. dementia) psychological (e.g. depression), physical (e.g. medical conditions), environmental (e.g. bad roads), financial (e.g. low income), social (e.g. relatives/friends) and personal (e.g. age). Usually, these mobility […]

Gene therapy is an expanding field that shows promise in the long term treatment of many genetic disorders. CRISPR-Cas9 technology is one way of editing the existing genome when trying to treat genetic disorder, or engineering genetic therapeutics. One area of interest is RNA therapeutics based on this technology. The Zydney and Salis lab groups […]

In nature, a complex network of cellulose and hemicellulose interacts to provide plant cell walls with their mechanical strength, flexibility, and light weight. However, there is still little known about the relationship between the cellulose-hemicellulose interactions and how that influences the resulting mechanical properties of plants. In this work, we will use films thinner than […]

Doctors are learning that nutrition plays a very important role in patient outcomes. Research has shown that protein is especially critical to patient health and recovery, especially for the elderly and severely ill. The quality of the protein, and the quantity of protein that patients receive makes a big difference. This project will examine how […]

The harmful effects of smoking on fetal development, child health, and maternal wellbeing are well described, making smoking cessation during pregnancy and the postpartum period a global health priority. Although a large proportion of expecting mothers will spontaneously quit smoking during pregnancy, the majority will restart smoking within 6 months post-pregnancy. Efforts to reduce smoking […]

The proposed research aims to use non-destructive MicroCT analysis to investigate the levels of adolescent rickets and potential gender differences in the occurrence of the condition in two 19th century communities, Beemster and Hattem, in the Netherlands. In paleopathology, patterns of rachitic changes are well recognized in individuals that died during infancy and early childhood, […]

Dielectric elastomers or “artificial muscles” are a class of electroactive polymers that undergo expansion when subjected to an applied electric field. Polysiloxanes commonly referred to as silicones are often the material of choice for dielectric elastomers due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, they suffer from minimal expansion when subjected to an electrical field. This […]

The net 5-year survival rate for patients suffering from liver cancer is less then 20 percent and the number of cases is rapidly increasing in Canada. Unfortunately, currently available oral chemotherapies can only extend median survival by 3 – 4 months making the development of new and effective drug treatments critical. The proposed study aims […]

For a software application to be released, it may need a number of standard certifications, which should be issued from different associations and for a wide range of software features (e.g., security, perfor-mance, scalability). We call these associations trusted third parties. The main problem with these trust-ed third parties is that they are single points […]