Carbon management technologies and alternative clean fuel sources play an important role in the decarbonization and competitiveness of Canada’s economy, the federal government believes, and says it is working to strengthen the country’s advantages in these areas. Canada announced $12 million in investments targeting clean technology projects in British Columbia, including $5M for Squamish-based Carbon […]
UBC
Circular Biotech Startup Mycofoundry is Growing Furniture from Mushrooms
A studio based in Vancouver is building a business around growing furniture rather than manufacturing it. Mycofoundry combines a “deep knowledge of spatial design” with modern bio-technology to build “enduring furnishings in partnership with nature.” The B.C. startup creates its products out of mycelium, which it describes as “an organism rooted in circularity.” More specifically, […]
Immersion Week at UBC: Innovators and Storytellers Unite to Drive Change
Immersion Week, powered by Innovation UBC, is coming up September 24-25 at UBC Robson Square. This annual celebration promises to bring together storytellers and movement builders from across the Vancouver ecosystem to share their insights on the strategies and tactics that helped them transform their innovation and ideas to impact. This year’s theme is Translating Inventions […]
UBC Receives $9M from PacifiCan to Launch Two State-of-the-Art Innovation Spaces
The Government of Canada is supporting collaboration between industry and academia in an effort to bring more B.C.-made products to global markets. Through the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada’s Regional Innovation Ecosystems program, federal minister Harjit Sajjan this week announced nearly $9 million in funding for two projects based out of the University of […]
Powered by Government Funding, UBC to Add 800 Spaces Across Tech, Science
The University of British Columbia is adding nearly 800 new spaces for its technology-related programs, the post-secondary institution announced this month. The significant expansion of UBC’s tech talent pipeline is partially powered by funding from the B.C. government. A grand total of $23 million was promised by the government, which will contribute to the addition […]
How Genomics Could Boost Resilience of Province’s Fragile Shellfish Industry
The shellfish industry is a salient component of British Columbia’s economy. This is particularly true in the Comox and Deep Bay area, a region which produces two-thirds of the province’s oyster production. But if fecal pollution is detected in BC waters, harvesting areas are shut down immediately. It’s a problem, and one exasperated by the […]
UBC Receives $4M from Alberta to Innovate Carbon Fibre Technology
Alberta is investing $15 million across five Western Canadian organizations in order to help boost regional advancements in carbon fibre production technologies. Alberta Innovates and Emissions Reduction Alberta announced this week the funded projects representing Phase III of the region’s Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge. “Carbon Fibre is a significant opportunity . . . to diversify […]
UBC Research Questions Risk-Reward Ratio of Popular Weight Loss Drug
A medical student at the University of British Columbia was motivated to learn more about adverse drug effects following an emergency room case where a man was vomiting up to 20 times per day. “Doctors couldn’t figure out what was causing it,” he recalls in an interview with CNN, “until they noticed he was taking […]
BioProducts Institute Believes Innovation is Solution to BC’s Micro-Plastics Crisis
Promising research out of the BioProducts Institute at the University of British Columbia could help Canadians tackle one of the most pressing environmental concerns of the modern era: micro-plastic pollution. The solution from the Institute is ingenious: natural plant compounds and wood dust can combine to create a filter that traps virtually all micro-plastic particles […]
UBC Innovation Rethinks Urban Navigation with Eye Toward Safety
Is it worth risking your life just to “save” a few minutes? Of course not—but to some degree, many folks may be taking on unnecessary risk every day. When it comes to map apps, the fastest-route is naturally the top pick for most people. More recently, some opt for eco-routes that save on fuel usage. […]