Stronger infrastructure. Smarter communications. Cleaner energy. Better health technologies.
Six UBC Okanagan School of Engineering researchers have received a combined $1.55 million in Discovery Grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for work advancing solutions to some of today’s most pressing challenges.
The grants are part of a broader investment announced by NSERC, which is supporting 19 research projects through more than $4.3 million in funding at UBC Okanagan. Across both UBC campuses, nearly $45 million was awarded to 199 new research projects and programs.
Congratulations to the following School of Engineering researchers and their teams awarded in this round:
- Dr. Shahria Alam received $260,000 for research advancing transformative strategies for infrastructure resilience through experimentation and emerging technologies.
- Dr. Joshua Brinkerhoff received $260,000 to explore multiscale modelling of onshore and offshore wind farms, helping improve renewable energy systems.
- Dr. Anas Chaaban received $260,000 to investigate AI-native communication schemes enabled by stacked-intelligent-surface neural networks, advancing the future of wireless communications.
- Dr. Ian Foulds received $190,000 to develop point-of-care systems for quantifying biomarker panels, supporting faster and more accessible health diagnostics.
- Dr. Kasun Hewage received $365,000 for research focused on planning and developing climate-resilient, occupant-centric net-zero-energy building clusters.
- Dr. Loïc Markley received $215,000 to study periodic structures and metasurfaces for electromagnetic wave control and channel enhancement in advanced wireless systems.
“These projects reflect the depth and diversity of research excellence within our School, spanning areas that are both timely and of critical importance to communities across the world,” said Dr. Will Hughes, Director of the School of Engineering. “Congratulations to all our researchers awarded this week—we are proud to see you recognized, and look forward to watching your good work have an impact.”
NSERC Discovery Grants are among Canada’s most prestigious sources of research funding, supporting long-term programs of inquiry that advance scientific and engineering knowledge while creating opportunities for students and trainees to contribute to leading-edge research.