During thhis project I will investigate the interactions responsible for maintaining functional protein networks in the basement membrane, a specialized tissue surrounding epithelial cells. By utilizing the recently developed centrifuge force microscope of the hosting research group I will investigate the strength and lifetime of the forces between head domains of the important protein in […]

Organic feedstock chemicals such as those from extracted from natural gas and petroleum refinement are employed as fuels, however their abundance and relative inexpensive makes them attractive candidates as starting materials for other useful chemicals. This remains a difficult yet highly desired task for chemists, as these compounds are notoriously unreactive. We plan to develop […]

The overall objective for this project is to support the research of one master’s student who will help advance the research related to the social discourse of sustainable transportation and climate policy in Canada. In this field, START, in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at SFU, is one of the leading research teams […]

D-Wave’s quantum computer is good at solving a specific type of problems known as Ising spin problems. However, in order to solve one of these spin problems, you must first solve another hard problem—embedding the spin problem on D-Wave’s quantum processor. From the land of discrete mathematics, this embedding problem falls into a well studied […]

Bicycling count data (exposure) are difficult to collect but are vital to understanding the safety of different routes. Crowdsourced exposure data collected through fitness apps such as Strava Metro can provide bicycling exposure data with better spatial and temporal coverage than manual or automatic counts. Efforts are underway in cities throughout Canada and the US […]

The project revolves around automation in nursery farms and greenhouses. The goal is to deliver planted pots using autonomous unmanned systems. Planted pots will be loaded/unloaded to/from plant carts using a small robot called BigTop, designed and developed at the supporting organization, AIS. Motion planning, control, and navigation algorithms will be developed through this project […]

This project will explore the ways that businesses communicate internally, with their employees and other stakeholders. In order to determine what the current best practices are in terms of how to communication to employees, through which platforms or media, or using specific strategies, the intern will conduct a thorough review of academic and ‘grey’ literature […]

As shared micromobility services (e.g., e-bikes, public bike shares, e-scooters) expand, there are uncertainties in how these will integrate with our current transportation systems. This project aims to examine public perceptions of micromobility in Metro Vancouver to understand the potential for shared micromobility in the region. Using surveys, focus groups, and case studies we ask: […]

The project will evaluate the Community Scholars Program (CSP) to promote program sustainability, growth and further development. The CSP provides free research database access for 500 community organizations in British Columbia and is a partnership between United Way of the Lower Mainland, Mindset Social Innovation Foundation, and the SFU Library. Now in its second phase, […]

D-Wave systems purports to have designed a quantum processor based on scalable architecture that physically implements quantum annealing, an algorithm that can be used to solve a wide variety of optimization problems. In order for D-Wave devices to exhibit a performance advantage over classical processors, it is necessary that the devices utilize a resource that […]

Facing Dragons is a mobile health game that gives quests and challenges to young adults (17-29) to help them figure out what to do with their lives, gain an empowered sense of self and unlock their purpose in life. One of the key research innovations in this game is the addition of a special interface […]

The objective of this project is to research new technologies and methods to help in the assessment and functional imaging of neuroplasticity related to music therapy. The approach utilizes key novel technologies being researched in partnership with Dr. Ryan D’Arcy. It takes advantage of on-going, integrated work with Music Heals to research music therapy as […]