The project involves researching statistically-based image matting techniques and interfaces for mobile devices.  This would allow users to identify an object or other region in a photograph by indicating with a touchscreen parts of the image that are “inside” or “outside” the desired region.  Statistical computer visions techniques will use the human input to […]

  The Malcolm Knapp Research Forest’s Loon Lake Research and Education Centre hosts 20,000 visitor-days per year and a bioenergy facility at Loon Lake would create opportunities for research, demonstration and training as well as provide new opportunities for the Centre to host educational retreats and conferences based on bioenergy conversion, installation, operation and maintenance. The […]

  Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) technology is a method of harnessing wind power using tethered kites.  The partner organization in this project is a developer of this kind of technology and has made significant innovations in producing utility grade power with a predictable power drop-off. As such, this technology is a great candidate for deployment […]

  One of the most important biological advances made in the last 10 years has been the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) and the ability of short pieces of RNA (siRNA) to inhibit protein synthesis with remarkable specificity and potency.  This technology holds great promise as a new generation of highly active drugs with low […]

    Emerging research indicates that a variety of short (<200 bp) nucleic acids contain a wealth of biological and medically-important information.  Two attractive sources of short nucleic acid fragments include formalin fixed embedded tissues (FFPEs) and circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) in blood. The medical value of these tissues is often limited by researchers’ ability […]

Tyze Personal Networks Ltd. (www.tyze.com) is a for-profit, social venture business interested in designing infrastructure that supports its dual goal of achieving social and economic value. In partnership with Vancity Savings Credit Union, Tyze would like to continue to explore a variety of potential avenues identified in the initial phase of research to support its […]

  Two of the most important characteristics of woody biomass to consider when evaluating their suitability for use in bio-energy applications are moisture content and ash content. The industry has long been seeking a technology capable of rapidly and economically characterizing feedstock, however such asolution is currently not available. This project will lay the groundwork for a potential solution […]

  The Block Caving method is emerging as a significant future underground mining method (e.g. New Afton Mine, BC; Oyu Tolgoi Mine, Mongolia), becoming more popular in massive underground ore bodies. The design and planning for developing such complex underground excavation systems is challenging both technically and managerially. This research study aims to apply emerging […]

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, while coastal ‘Special Economic Zones’ and ‘Open Cities’ flourished in eastern China, western regions still languished in relative poverty. To bridge this gap, Chinese authorities launched an ambitious development campaign in 2000: the “Western Development Program”, aimed at bringing domestic and foreign investment, expertise and capital into the vastness of western China. As China struggles […]

  The purpose of this project is to take methodologies designed by the California Climate Action Reserve for calculating carbon storage within wood products, and adapt them for application within British Columbia. The project will involve a review of the methodologies from Forest Project Protocol v.3.2 (FPP), United States Department of Energy’s 1605(b) report and […]

  In January 2009, the federal government of Canada proposed to invest $400 million nationally over two years as a one‐time economic stimulus measure to address the issue of affordable housing. In certain situations multi‐storey wood frame housing forms may be used where land value requires a higher density to achieve an economically viable project […]

  The project applies two formal mathematical constructs to the similarity ranking of descriptions of mineral deposit zones. In so doing, the project will assist metallurgists to cost-effectively identify the most appropriate metallurgical processes for the extraction of metals from different mineral deposit zones. The two mathematical constructs to be used are those of “prior […]