Today, construction activities have resulted in the depletion of vast amounts of non-renewable resources that cause climate change which is one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our day. The construction industry is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Sustainable construction is now mainstream, necessitating the investigation of environment friendly construction material […]

In recent years, numerous jurisdictions in the USA and Canada have enacted bans on ‘conversion’ practices, i.e., organized attempts to suppress Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (2S/LGBTQ+), and other minoritized sexual and gender identities. In 2022, our team conducted the UnACoRN survey, a first-of-its-kind binational survey of 9,679 youth (15-29 years of age). Through […]

The “local turn” of migration policies has been more pronounced since the “refugee crisis” of 2015. Its accompanying camps, emergency shelters, and buildings occupation have put cities under the microscope, underlying the multiple interactions between homelessness and forced migration, including precarious housing and hidden forms of homelessness. Several types of networks are engaged in tackling […]

This project will explore the strengths of one existing Indigenous-led school-based ecocultural restoration program, PAPAKEN HAUTW, and support the program in dreaming and designing of a larger and more sustainable youth land stewardship/land-based learning program within the tribal school where it is currently housed and beyond, to the community and Greater Victoria School Board-SD61.

Lighting is one of the largest demands on the global electricity supply at nearly 20%, meaning that a small change to more efficient lighting technology can have an outsized impact on our environmental footprint. Current research into efficient lighting technology is focused on third-generation organic light emitting diodes that emit light through thermally activated delayed […]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with severe pneumonia sometimes required a type of life-support machine for their lungs called ECMO. Using large intra-venous lines, ECMO removes blood from a patient, adds oxygen to the blood, and puts it back into the body. While it can be life-saving, some patients can develop a brain injury while […]

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is an important respiratory disease characterized by recurrent blockages of the throat (‘upper airway’) during sleep. These blockages result in short lapses in breathing. The low oxygen levels and disruption of sleep caused by OSA contribute to many problems including: sleepiness, poor quality of life, awakenings during sleep, hypertension, heart disease, […]

In an era where mass protests are happening with increasing frequency across the globe, there has been a growth in research interest on why people participate in social movements. However, consequences of social movements have received less attention (Louis, 2009). One especially understudied area is how attitudes towards language, a core aspect of group identity, […]

This research looks to explore the collaboration of ecology, education and design in the creation of built and natural systems to sustainably manage and educate about storm/rain water on school grounds. The research will be conducted through the analysis of 3 key case studies of schoolyard storm/rain water management projects that represent a successful, progressive […]

Informed thin-film device design, wherein layers of thin-films are deposited onto an underlying substrate, requires an understanding of the spectral dependence of the optical functions associated with the thin-film layers which constitute such a device. In this project, we aim to continue to develop our understanding of the form of the optical functions for the […]

Land-dwelling slugs are routinely exposed to cold or freezing temperature during the winter. Some species of slugs can even survive partial ice formation within their bodies. How they survive low temperatures is largely a mystery as ice formation is damaging, and they lack external protection like shells. This project aims to determine the lower temperature […]

Hydrogels can hold many times their weight in water and consequentially find a diverse range of applications, ranging from biomedical applications to photonics and adhesion. However, their moisture content is not easily controlled; in wet environments, water easily enters the hydrogel, and in dry environments, water in the hydrogel quickly evaporates. This leads to swollen […]