A Viable Scalable Electrochemical System for Highly Selective CO2 Electroreduction to Formate at High Current Densities

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, is a major scientific concern to tackle climate change. One promising method is to convert CO2 into fuels via electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR). Nonetheless, several challenges remain before this technology can be scaled up and commercialized, including achieving a high selectivity, current density (i.e., reaction rate), and long-term […]

Read More
Biobased Polyurethane Composites Comprised of Lignin derivatives

Polyurethanes are an important class of synthetic polymers with widespread applications in consumer products. The origins of most of these products are derived from petrochemicals, and these traditional polymers are non-degradable and have limited recyclable potential. There is a need in this industry to endorses the practice of conserving resources, minimizing the environmental, health impacts […]

Read More
Effects of Probiotics on Anxiety and ADHD in Children

The Probiotics and Mental Health Research Lab in the Psychology Department at Acadia University is currently involved in exciting and innovative research examining the benefits that probiotics (a type of beneficial bacteria found in the human digestive tract as well as in certain foods) may provide to individuals living with psychological conditions such as anxiety, […]

Read More
Application of Machine Learning Models to Predict Potato Crop Health

This project aims to apply machine learning in the context of potato farming. By analyzing many previous spectrometer scans of potato plant leaves, models will be developed that can estimate the amount of nutrients in a potato plant based on a single scan. The models produced by this project will help offer a more scalable […]

Read More
Microbiome-endocannabinoidome role in response to prebiotic and probiotic interventions in a Murine Model of Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome

Probiotics could help prevent or treat metabolic-related conditions such as dyslipidemia or Type 2 Diabetes. Combination of probiotics with prebiotic fibers could potentiate the positive effect of these treatments. Our hypothesis is that probiotic strains, coupled with brown algae prebiotic fibers, may hold potential for modulating lipid metabolism, which might represent an interesting avenue for […]

Read More
Modeling water temperatures in the Fraser River watershed network

Rising river temperatures, partly driven by land-use and climate warming, threaten the future of Fraser River salmon. It is vital that fisheries managers acquire tools that will aid their understanding of how rising river temperatures will impact salmon in the Fraser River. With my industry partner, I will build a novel mathematical temperature model for […]

Read More
Mode of action of organic plant-growth stimulant in tomato trials

This proposed project will investigate potential modes of action of novel plant biostimulants on tomato plants. This will include changes in the plant growth rates and potential plant gene activation as it relates to the biostimulant treatment. It will also investigate changes in the microorganism profile in the root zone of biostimulant treated plants. In […]

Read More
Enhancing Ultrasonic Waves Transmission in Liquid Metals for AI-Assisted High-Temperature Characterization

Companies in the energy sector are increasingly considering the use of liquid metals in their operations (e.g. for cooling). This presents new challenges related to the inspection and monitoring of these infrastructures. Indeed, these industries often operate in very harsh environments (e.g. ionizing radiation) and under very high pressure and temperature conditions. Thus, the ultrasonic […]

Read More
Directed energy deposition processing of plasma atomized Ti-64 powders

Additive Manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing) of metallic materials is in a state of rapid, globalized expansion. Many of the associated technologies utilize metal powders as the raw feedstock material. Canada is a significant player in this area and is now home to a number of the world’s leading metal powder producers. This project seeks to […]

Read More
Understanding the Bighorn Sheep Decline in Southern Interior BC: An Investigation of Grassland Health and Secwépemc Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

This project focuses on a herd of wild bighorn sheep on Kamloops Lake in the Secwépemc Territory of southern interior BC. The first goal of the project is to monitor lamb survival and assess habitat conditions for the Kamloops Lake herd over two years. The second goal of the project is to document Secwépemc Traditional […]

Read More
Evaluation of Online Urban Futures Survey for Metro Vancouver

This project will expand upon the underlying research conducted with the 2012 Urban Futures Survey of Greater Vancouver. The intern will evaluate a survey that was the third similar survey approximately 20 years apart to inform planning policies in the Metro Vancouver region. The last survey, in 2012, used an online consultation platform instead of […]

Read More
An Automated Manhole Extraction Algorithm from 3D Point Cloud Utilizing a New LiDAR-based Mobile Mapping System

Traditional surveying procedures are labor and cost intensive. Mapping features like manholes require traffic disturbance, add risk to the field crew personal and the community members. The proposed project utilize a newly developed unique LiDAR-based mapping system. The developed 3D mapping system has a substantial cost reduction compared to the commercially available, which also tend […]

Read More