For decades, drying sub-alpine fir and yellow spruce is known as an unmanageable task mainly due to the high moisture variation and the presence of wet-wood that result in a broad spread of moisture in kiln-dried timbers. For this reason, a considerable portion of under-dried and over-dried wood can be observed in kiln-dried subalpine fir […]

The overarching objective of this proposal is to develop and validate a new, robust and reproducible 3D culture system that supports the clonal growth of primary sources of normal and malignant human epithelial cells and that is suitable for commercialization by STEMCELL Technologies who will partner in its development. The work will systematically address 3 […]

Recent advances in wearable devices have allowed athletes to monitor some determinant factors of their sport performance. In addition, they can be used to develop real-time 3D avatars of people to compete with them during dynamic activities. Kinetyx recently developed insoles with multiple sensors that can be worn within a shoe while performing many activities. […]

Social service organizations in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia indicate the incidence of homelessness is on the rise. The colliding crises (housing, overdose/toxic drugs, pandemic, and extreme weather), and the mobility of the target population between communities, introduce complexities that require an innovative and collaborative regional response to support this marginalized population. […]

Recent work in the human-robot interaction community has revealed drones as social entities with emotional capabilities, beyond their initial status of mechanical objects. We build upon this work and envision drones as emotional support technology. To evaluate the validity of this concept, we outlined a design space for Emotional Support Drones (ESD) in our preliminary […]

This research and development project intends to improve the performance of a dental implant stability measurement (ISMS) device made by Prefail Dental Solutions Inc. The technical improvements proposed by this project includes (i) developing an impeoved and reliable signal processing technique, (ii) designing a calibration unit, (iii) designing a new tip for the ISMS clinical […]

Skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema are common and cause discomfort in skin lesions. Psoriasis is a chronic disease with cycles of unknown triggers. Currently treatments for psoriasis are very limited. A special bacterium-produced compound called benvitimod has demonstrated effects on treating both psoriasis and eczema by suppressing inflammation and promoting cell migration. However, […]

Glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels are a lightweight cladding panels primarily used as fascia panels in building structures. Concrete when reinforced with fibers is often presented as an environmental improvement on typical concrete. In the wake of the rapidly emerging climate change emergency and to help improve resiliency in our residential buildings, the National […]

Social entrepreneurship is the practice of recognizing and creatively pursuing opportunities that build social value. Regardless of race, sex or gender, and educational level among other factors, social entrepreneurs are innovative, practical, and results oriented. Worldwide, persons with disabilities (PWD) represent an increasing section of the adult population. This is partly due to the fact […]

Modern music providers offer multiple services such as artist recommendations, browsing, playlist generation etc. Users interact with these services using graphical interfaces on computers and mobile devices. There are applications that need voice-only interactions such as smart watches or when the user’s hands and eyes are occupied. Virtual assistants, such as Siri by Apple and […]

Tens of thousands of Canadians living with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) suffer from debilitating neuropathic pain. This project, in partnership with Spinal Cord Injury Ontario (SCIO), will seek to understand and test the potential for mindfulness mediation, to decrease pain and increase quality of life. Over 36 months, Robert Buren (the intern), in collaboration […]

Climate change is leading to the retreat of glaciers and more extreme weather events that greatly increase landslide hazards on Canadian mountains as seen by the recent catastrophic events and fatalities in British Columbia. BC also hosts dormant volcanoes which are important areas for development of geothermal energy yet are vulnerable as they consist of […]