British Columbia’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions has identified healthy social and emotional development (SED) in early childhood as a priority action towards addressing the province’s mental health crisis. In response, ChildHealth BC (CHBC) is developing a multi-component provincial intervention to expand the capacity of caregivers to promote SED in young children- the first […]

Heat management in semiconducting nanomaterials requires the design of engineered artificial structures, known as metamaterials, where thermal properties can be tuned almost at will by microstructural modifications. Testing a broad range of nanostructures for the particular device applications, with predictive behavior, is a grand challenge especially because of the difficulties associated with the experimental synthesis […]

Leaching of primary copper sulfide (chalcopyrite) using ferric as the oxidant at ambient temperature and pressure exhibits slow kinetics and poor leaching efficiency. In collaboration with LeadFX, this project aims at developing an atmospheric tank leaching process for copper extraction from chalcopyrite concentrate with iodine as the catalyst. The temperature used will be higher than […]

Both global warming and increasing supply of nickel and cobalt are urgently world-wide issues to be addressed. Mineral carbonation is a promising method to permanently store greenhouse gas CO2 into stable mineral carbonates but energy-intensive requirements and low-value products limit the successful application. Meanwhile, with the increasing demand on global nickel and cobalt supply for […]

Our aim is to use machine-learning to improve treatment of post-surgical pain in children and adults. Most people addicted to opioids were initially exposed through the treatment of pain from trauma and/or surgery. The opioid crisis is reaching the pediatric population, in whom effective post-surgical pain management, with less reliance on prescription of opioids, is […]

Welding has widespread use in manufacturing, and its quality often determines the overall performance of the manufactured part. Nevertheless, due to the complex nature of the process, weld quality inspection remains manual with the standard approach of QA for defects after production completes. This introduces significant costs of downtime and reworks associated with finding defects […]

The increasing global demand for mineral resources and the depletion of significant of high grade near-surface deposits is driving mining companies to consider cave mining as the ideal method to exploit large low-grade deposits at depth. A key characteristics of cave mining is the formation of a significant surface subsidence crater, which may impact nearby […]

Inhalation of Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) generated during construction activities such as cutting or grinding can cause lung cancer and the irreversible lung disease. Exposure to RCS is common on construction sites because silica is a naturally occurring mineral that is present in many construction materials. The Silica Control Tool is a risk assessment tool […]

The use of aluminum alloys in automotive applications is increasing since the weight of the vehicle can be decreased. This is beneficial for both internal combustion and battery powered vehicles, to increase fuel economy and increase vehicle range, respectively. However, in general, aluminum alloys are more difficult to form and their performance during a vehicle […]

Cattle in commercial farming systems are highly motivated to use brushes to perform grooming and improve coat cleanliness. A change in brushing behavior may also serve as an early indicator of health and welfare problems. Farmers often provide rotating motorized brushes for cows but the currently available devices do not collect any data on which […]

The rapid development of wearable electronics and smart textiles demands a more flexible energy supply. Compared with charging from a rigid and bulky battery/capacitor, harvesting the energy from the environment and converting the energy to electricity is a more sustainable and user-friendly approach. A yarn-shaped energy harvester, which is able to convert solar and mechanical […]

R-Sulforaphane (R-SFN) is a naturally occurring phytochemical that can be found in most of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and kale. R-SFN has been shown in many research studies holding therapeutic promise for many chronic diseases. We propose to develop more advanced methodologies to product, purify and formulate R-SFN. We also propose to evaluate the […]