Innovations in Marine Food Systems

Coastal communities in British Columbia are economic hubs and gateways to marine resources. The health of these communities’ depends on having sustainable food systems. How these communities’ access and eat local marine foods can be threatened by economic and environmental pressures – including the impact global climate change has on marine environments. In order to […]

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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 […]

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Development of an optical sports monitoring sensor and method for non-invasive evaluation of muscle metabolic fitness and function in elite athletes

Currently, elite athletes and their coaches rely on the subjective self-awareness and measurement of muscle force, heart rate, and the amount of blood lactic acid level to monitor body fitness and athletic performance. These methods, however, are not ideal and always reliable due to subjective errors, technological limitations and individual confounding factors that limit the […]

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Controlling the Recoil of .50 Calibre Sniper Rifle

A novel approach is taken to reduce vibration through the design of a passive smart device with the use of magnetic actuators. In the proposed device, magnets are arranged in a particular alignment, so as to attenuate the resulting vibrations from the explosion at the moment of firing. The device has shown to be effective […]

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Combating loneliness at the neighbourhood level: Developing a Community Cohesion Index

With an increasing concern toward social isolation and loneliness issues in society, there is growing interest in social initiatives aiming to enhance social connectedness within communities. To make such efforts sustainable, the next step would be to evaluate their effectiveness to develop evidence-based practices. The goal of this project is to build a reliable assessment […]

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Cumulative effects of climate and land cover change on river flows in mountain catchments

As glaciers retreat, the reduction in area available for melting ultimately causes declines in summer streamflow. In addition, evaporation from newly formed lakes and evapotranspiration from vegetation establishment on deglaciated areas would act to further reduce summer streamflow. However, these latter processes have received little attention to date. The objective of the project is to […]

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Cumulative effects of climate and land cover change on river flows in mountain catchments – Year two

As glaciers retreat, the reduction in area available for melting ultimately causes declines in summer streamflow. In addition, evaporation from newly formed lakes and evapotranspiration from vegetation establishment on deglaciated areas would act to further reduce summer streamflow. However, these latter processes have received little attention to date. The objective of the project is to […]

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Multi-SNP prediction model for lung function decline

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a 3rd leading cause of death (1) which decreases lung function due to irreversible airway obstruction. The main indicator of the progression of COPD is a rate of the forced expiratory volume of 1 second (FEV1) decline. The intern will build the prediction model for the slope of FEV1 […]

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Deciphering the catalyst-ionomer interface in fuel cells: Molecular dynamics simulations of local transport properties

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells are a key technology in the race against climate challenge, and while commercial applications are increasingly common, challenges remain in cost, performance, and durability. Most of the issues that prevent full commercialization affect the catalyst layer, the region where the power-generating electrochemical reactions take place, like the oxygen reduction reaction. This […]

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Deciphering the catalyst-ionomer interface in fuel cells: Molecular dynamics simulations of local transport properties – Year two

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells are a key technology in the race against climate challenge, and while commercial applications are increasingly common, challenges remain in cost, performance, and durability. Most of the issues that prevent full commercialization affect the catalyst layer, the region where the power-generating electrochemical reactions take place, like the oxygen reduction reaction. This […]

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