Prefabricated construction, as an alternative to the traditional stick-built construction, has its advantages in shortening the schedules and reduce onsite construction exposure. The prefabricated construction components are often produced in offsite controlled environment and shipped to site for installation. Due to its similarity to manufacturing, prefabricated construction provides opportunities for continuous productivity improvements. Through such […]

Global population growth, urbanization and changing climate patterns have increased the demand for potable water, wastewater reuse and value recovery from wastewater, treatment of industrial process water, and food and beverage. Consequently, there is increased demand for improved technologies that can provide sustainable treatment of water and wastewaters, and development of new fluid treatment methods. […]

The generation of a huge amount of plastic waste creates serious social and environmental concerns. As such, there has been a movement to develop fully biodegradable compostable biocomposites in recent years. To join this initiative, Nanomaterials and Polymer Nanocomposites Laboratory (NPNL) at UBCO, in collaboration with Advanced BioCarbon 3D (ABC3D) seeks to develop fully biodegradable […]

The impoundment of a reservoir can cause erosion that poses risks to public safety and land use around its shoreline. Methods that are currently available to predict shoreline erosion rates and help manage these risks rely on inputs that are challenging to constrain without historical observations, resulting in uncertain predictions that may significantly underestimate or […]

Mine tailings pose significant environmental risks due to their poor mechanical and chemical stability. This project aims to implement a novel nature-based procedure to improve stability of mine tailings using indigenous microorganisms with biocementation properties. Microorganisms capable of surviving in the tailings environment will be discovered that precipitate calcium carbonate. These organisms will be used […]

The objective of the intern’s research is to develop a computer program based on a panel-free method to predict the second-order wave loads on floating offshore structures which are critical for coupled mooring analysis. Integration of the mooring analysis computer program with a second-order wave loading analysis tool will allow for the coupled mooring line […]

The objective of this research is to develop a comprehensive material waste minimization program in order to enhance sustainable development and promote innovation in the residential construction field. The scope of the research will include the identification and detailed examination of the factors that contribute to residential construction material wastes, the investigation of opportunities for […]

The Office of the City Assessor is required by the Cities Act to determine the fair value of land and improvements of single family dwellings by applying the residential sales comparison method. Thus, the intern will perform analysis to determine how major factors contribute to the values of properties using newly available data. Such analysis […]

This research project will automate construction drawings for wood framing designs and apply them on site to residential facilities under construction by Landmark Master Builder. By utilizing 3D modelling, the intern will produce automatically-generated sets of construction drawings that can be easily read and understood by carpenters and framers who assemble wall panels, thus eliminating […]

The intern will apply the phosphorus polymer previously developed at UBC, as well as the H2O-soluble phosphorus polymers which will be prepared during the first two months of this internship, to the surface of paper and wood samples to study the fire retardancy of the paper samples and the fire and decay retardancy of the […]

Automated Systems Research (ASR) has been supplying software to the roofing estimation market for close to 20 years. While the lack of competition in this niche market has provided for a steady ongoing business opportunity, it has created a vacuum of research in this area. One of the recurring research problems at ASR is that […]

Evidence-based research has provided a body of evidence which links improved patient outcomes with building features such as courtyards, views of nature and access to daylight. While the quantitative data produced by such studies makes a strong case to decision-makers for the inclusion of such features into healthcare facilities, the design of healing environments requires […]