Learning Discussion Thread Representations to Empower Conten-based Recommendation

VerticalScope is a company that owns online forums in many domains, such as automotive, health, technology, and powersports. VerticalScope uses a content based recommender system to mitigate the cold start problem, where a large portion of traffic on the forums are made by unregistered users. The goal of this project is to learn representations of […]

Read More
Improving Resource Estimation with Machine Learning

The proposed project aims to improve the prediction of mineral resources for better decision making throughout a mining project, that is, to decide whether to reject or to process extracted material using machine learning algorithms. This will help maximize profit for mining companies while minimizing environmental impact as the correct material will be processed more […]

Read More
Novel Perovskite Nanoparticle Water Quality Sensor

The proposed research aims to manufacture smart water sensors for real-time monitoring of Canadian watersheds’ quality. The need for clean water is constant for communities across Canada. With growing concerns related to organic pollutants entering the water supply, the treatment of drinking water and water systems, and their health effects a need has been sown. […]

Read More
Ovarian Cancer Research Program

Ovarian cancer has a high mortality rate and cannot be detected by screening. Strategies to decrease the burden of OC in Canada will need to improve the delivery of effective prevention, particularly risk-reducing surgery. This initiative is designed to execute three projects that focus on possible strategies to improve the effective delivery of evidence-based OC […]

Read More
Analysis, design, and implementation of a recommendation engine to suggest charities

The goal of this research is to investigate and build a recommendation system that suggests charities to users based on their previous donations. One of the first successful recommendation systems was Amazon’s “Customers who bought this, also bought…”. This recommendation system focuses mainly on making it easier for users to find relevant information and increasing […]

Read More
A blood test to diagnose western red-cedar asthma

Western red-cedar asthma (WRCA) is the most common form of occupational asthma in British Columbia and is caused by sensitivity to a molecule found in the wood called plicatic acid (PA). Patients suspected of having WRCA must complete two inhalational challenges to determine sensitivity to PA, an expensive and time-consuming process. There is need for […]

Read More
Optimizing the use of recycled treated fines in eco-efficient concrete mixtures

Concrete is a major construction material used worldwide responsible for the production of roughly 7% of total global carbon dioxide emissions. The extent of its environmental impact relates to the energy embodied in extraction and transportation of concrete aggregates with a direct link to the amount of Portland cement (PC) used to bind the raw […]

Read More
Wise Practices in Indigenous Entrepreneurship Education

In partnership with Tribal Resource Investment Corporation (TRICORP), the University of Victoria (UVic) Gustavson School of Business co-created and designed the Aboriginal Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACE) program. The ACE program provides entrepreneurial training, mentorship and coaching for members of First Nations communities, governments and financial institutions in their home communities. While the ACE program has made […]

Read More
Asset Information Modelling for Non-Urban Environments (AIM-NUE)

In 2016, in partnership with The Ontario East Economic Development Commission (OEED), we started exploring the potential of AIM to represent and manage multi-dimensional graphic and semantic assets related to a geospatially large (40,000+km2), non-urban environment in Eastern Ontario. The area under study is comprised primarily of what Statistics Canada identifies as “rural and small […]

Read More
Infection and Immunity Screening

The COVID-19 crisis in Canada has transformed from one of containment to one of mitigation, as the disease has begun to spread through the community, slowed by “social distancing.” An ideal mitigation strategy requires extensive testing to determine (i) who has COVID-19, (ii) who has recovered from it (presumably with immunity), and (iii) who has […]

Read More