The Columbia Valley Community Renewable Energy Project

The proposed research will review and evaluate the renewable energy options available for both energy production and carbon dioxide mitigation in the Columbia Valley and how to implement the preferred solution at the community level. The research aims to review relevant academic literature and Canadian case studies, consult with local stakeholders, provide quantitative analysis (e.g., […]

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Assay and Portable Device for the Assessment of an ALS Biomarker

A PhD student from the IMDEA Nanoscience research institute in Spain will travel to Canada for an internship at the University of British Columbia. This internship will initiate a new collaboration to develop materials, methods, and devices for detecting a protein malfunction in white blood cells that reflects the emergence of the neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic […]

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A programmable microalgae cultivation platform for sustainable food production and waste resource recovery

The manipulation of gene activity in microalgae (cyanobacteria) offers the possibility of producing energy and materials directly from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide, contributing directly to more holistic modes of food production, innovative bioproducts and reliable bioenergy solutions that reduce human carbon emissions. Despite their recognized potential, it has proven challenging to develop scalable genetic […]

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Mental health, substance use and treatment seeking in Canada and Australia: a cross-national comparison

Mental health and substance use disorders are the leading cause of disease burden in Australia and Canada, both alone and in co-occurrence. In recent years, the Australian federal government has actively promoted expanding both the quality and quantity of mental health services, including innovation in areas like early intervention in psychosis and digital technologies. In […]

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Catalyst Coated Membrane Conditioning

Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell production facility must condition rolls of catalyst coated membrane [CCM] material to specific humidity and temperature conditions before using CCM in the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cell manufacturing process. Rolls of CCM material are conditioned in a clean room for a fixed time upon delivery to the facility. Previous testing was conducted […]

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Alternator-based Energy Regeneration Utilizing a Wheel-Roller Mechanism

Friction control plays a major role in reducing wear, noise and vibration, and managing wheel/rail interaction on rail transit systems. Recognized as a global leader in rail industry, L.B. Foster has developed innovative lubrication technology for friction management at specific sections of a railroad track. The mobile dispensing system used for friction management requires an […]

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Optimization of test protocols to investigate material influences on the fuel cell performance caused by material handling

In Early 2013, an NSERC Engage grant and a Coop term project enabled collaboration between Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. Fuel Cell Division (MBFC) and Dr. Merida’s group at the University of British Columbia (UBC). A test-bench apparatus for the evaluation of fuel cell material properties during manufacturing processes was designed. The present proposal builds on the […]

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Water quality and community attitudes at three sites of inaccessible water

Recreational waters offer many benefits to society and public health. However, they can become risky when contaminated by disease-causing microbes. To ensure public safety, water quality is monitored at developed recreational water locations in compliance with the Canadian Recreational Water Quality Guidelines. In the interests of improving quality of life and local water quality, municipal […]

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Selective Compression of Live Digital Video Frames for Power-friendly Wireless Transmission and Efficient Reconstruction

The project is aimed at implementing real-time processing techniques for video acquisition, compression and transmission. The project focuses on defining solutions in order to solve constraints within the system related to bandwidth and the battery energy of the sensor. Depending on the application, the acquisition and compression procedures could be based on extracting significant features […]

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Procedural Tree Modeling with Silhouette Constraints

Modeling trees is known to be a difficult problem in computer graphics. At Animal Logic, the typical artist workflow involves using the in-house tool for semi-procedural tree generation. The artists hand model trunk, branch, and leaf geometry, and trees are generated by scattering branches and leaves in a recursive manner. This approach has several limitations. […]

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