This research focuses on creating and implementing a sampling methodology to collect information on vegetation communities and soils along the Lulu Island foreshore in Steveston, BC. This information will be used to examine how the plant communities of natural marsh areas in this area change based on certain environmental parameters (e.g. elevation, salinity, tidal inundation) […]

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are suitable to bridge the existing mismatch between demand and supply. In current study, borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) is selected due to its advantages. The performance of the BTES can be affected by several factors in different patterns including design, operation, and geological and material properties. Although it has […]

One of the major challenges that human beings are currently facing is the mass production of polymers and lastics and their accumulation in the environment. Since most polymers are not biodegradable, plastic wastes wll stay in the environment, causing a myriad of ecological and health problems for living creatures. Biodegradable polymers such as polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) […]

The general objective of the proposed activity is to increase the future productivity of Burrard Inlet and the contribution of seafood to the diet of Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) members in support of the TWN Cumulative Effects Monitoring Initiative. Specifically we propose to (1) quantify the ecological variables driving contemporary clam density, biomass and diversity; (2) […]

The objective is to develop a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm to be implemented on the tractor-trailer type vehicle used in the AIS called a Cart Puller. This vehicle is to work fully autonomously in a nursery farm, while carrying planted pots (loaded onto the plant carts) toward their loading stations. By using SLAM, […]

Drones popularity has been rapidly increasing for a wide class of applications including commercial delivery, photography, fire-fighting and environmental monitoring due to their low cost and high commercial availability as unmanned aerial vehicles. In the light of this growth, anti-drone technology has become a significant research topic of investigation due to unauthorized flying of drones […]

Agricultural wastewater and public effluents often contain elevated levels of phosphorous and nitrogen that limit its ability to be directly repurposed as crop fertilizer or irrigation spray. Removal of soluble nutrients from wastewater is difficult. Current treatment options have high investment costs and are often not well suited for smaller farm sizes common in Canada. […]

Estuaries are important ecosystems which provide us with many benefits, some of which include storing carbon, dampening the impacts of rising sea levels, and are areas of high biodiversity. The Fraser River estuary in the lower mainland of British Columbia is seeing alteration from human presence, including the introduction of invasive species. One invasive species […]

Surface sanitization in public environments is of critical importance to reduce and limit the spread of pathogens such as covid-19. Studies show the RNA of the coronavirus can persist on a surface from few hours to a few days depending on the type of the surface. Hospitals, grocery stores, public transport vehicles, airports and airplanes […]

Origen Air and the University of Victoria (UVic) will construct a controlled test environment inside a seven-meter shipping container with a greenhouse bio filter installed on the roof. It will connect to a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system servicing the interior of the shipping container. The system will include anti-viral surfactants and air […]

The goal of this project is to understand how habitat enhancements, such as semi-natural or natural native managed hedgerows, grass margins, and grassland set-asides impact both pollination and pest control in berry fields in the Delta, BC region. Our hypothesis is that the inclusion of these natural habitats will promote beneficial insect diversity. Beneficial insects […]

Transcription factors (TF) are proteins that drive and maintain cellular functions by physically binding to DNA and regulating the expression levels of other genes. There are approximately 1,600 TFs in the human genome. Accurate and scalable identification of TF binding locations across the entire genome remains a major challenge. An effective solution to this problem […]