Improving the Efficiency of the Energy System for the Campus’s Legacy Academic Buildings

How can we optimize energy efficiency in UBC Okanagan’s legacy buildings through innovative modeling? How can the campus cut greenhouse gas emissions and set a scalable example for sustainable building practices?

UBC Okanagan set an ambitious target for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including a reduction of 65% in emissions from campus operations by 2030. Improving the efficiency of the existing buildings is one of the actions taken at UBCO to achieve this goal.

Dr. Klaske van Heusden, Assistant professor, School of Engineering and Dr. Warren Hare, Professor, Dept. of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics recently shared their insights in this interview.

Improve the Efficiency of the Energy System for the Campus’s Legacy Academic Buildings

Read more about the project.

Campus as a Living Lab

Learn more about the collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects underway through UBC’s Campus as a Living Lab initiative.

Meet Weijia Yao, UBC Okanagan Master of Engineering (M.Eng) Electrical alumnus (2023). He shares how his experience in the MEng program helped him expand his professional network, add to his technical skills and knowledge, while also advancing his leadership and teamwork skills.

His time in the MEng program helped him land an exciting new role in his field. Congratulations, Weijia!

Tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Weijia Yao. I graduated from UBCO’s Master of Engineering (Meng) program in May of 2023 as an international student.

I was offered and accepted a role with Dometic as a software engineer in firmware development after I finished my coop term with the company.

I really enjoy the work that I am doing and life in Vancouver. In my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball and hiking.

What drew you to UBC Okanagan and the School of Engineering?

The electrical engineering at UBCO was a fit with my interests, and the coop program provided a great transition into my career.

What were some of your fondest memories of your time at UBCO?

The first thing that I can recall is the Arduino development that I worked on with one of my professors. I learnt a lot from the project, and gained a lot of handy practice on the real firmware development. This provided me a great base for future career preparation.

How did the MEng program prepare you for your current/future work/research/study?

The mechatronic course gave me a good knowledge base for my current work, including motor design and PID tuning.

The coop program provided a great work experience, which led directly into my current work as a software engineer.

Why did you decide to join the internship?

Firstly, it can be great transition into job searching after graduation. Secondly, it provided a good chance to meet people from the industry and strengthen my network.

How has the internship helped you achieve your career goals?

I gained firmware develop experience by being assigned a basic driver development which triggered my interests in this area. The internship experience encouraged me to apply to the job right after the coop term, and my supervisor interviewed me by supervising me during the task. By the end of the task, the job was successfully done, and I got a job offer.

What did the professional development opportunities mean to you?

It gave me the opportunity to be in the workplace, get involved in a good project, play a role as a good team player, and build good relationships with my teammates during the project.

These are some of the greatest professional development opportunities I could have received.

What advice do you have for incoming students to the MEng program?

Try coop and an on-campus project to find the industry that you are fond of. Enjoy yourself and find values in your career life.

What do you like most about your role as a software engineer working in firmware development?

It is great rewarding to see software that I built and tested successfully applied into a real-life product. Right now, I am building a boat stabilization system which can help the boat auto-level itself during a cruise, so it will add comfort to the driver and passenger experiences.

What are your future aspirations?

I am looking to build my experience on firmware development and then hopefully explore a chance to combine traditional firmware industry and cutting-edge AI technology.

UBC Okanagan Engineering Professor Dr. Jonathan Holzman.

Dr. Jonathan Holzman is laser-focused on advancing the science of ground-to-satellite communication. 

A professor of electrical engineering at UBC Okanagan, Dr. Holzman is leading an international research project that aims to make laser-based communication more secure. It does so by blending optical innovation with quantum computing.  

Today, Dr. Holzman’s project – ReQON: Reconfigurable Quantum Optical Networking – received a boost. It is one of ten collaborative research projects between researchers in Canada and the UK to receive funding from NSERC and the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI).  

The grants recognize innovative projects focused on advancing research in quantum sensing, detection and communications in both countries. To drive these efforts, Holzman’s research team received roughly $350,000 in funding and his collaborators in the UK, a research team led by Dr. Andrew Reeves at Durham University, received roughly £500,000.  

“Laser-based communication (through free space) has become increasingly important when you consider the need for connectivity in rural and remote communities, where underground fibre optic cables are not feasible,” says Dr. Holzman “Satellite laser communication can bridge the gap in those situations, but it needs to be secure.” 

That’s where he and his fellow researchers come into play, by upping the security of laser-based communication through quantum encryption to keep data safe. 

“With this type of encryption in place, it becomes possible for us to monitor and control access to the data,” he says. 

Dr. Holzman and his team are seeking to push the resilience of such networks, making them more pragmatic and more portable. 

“Much of the quantum efforts in this area, to date, have made use of large-scale infrastructure. We are working to make this technology accessible on a smaller scale, so it can be applied in more challenging settings.” 

“We’re excited and proud to be part of Canada’s push to advance quantum research, technology and innovation, and to be able to do so in collaboration with researchers across the globe.” 

“Congratulations to Dr. Jonathan Holzman and his team, along with their colleagues at Durham, on receiving this significant investment in their groundbreaking collaborative work. Projects like these exemplify UBC Engineering’s commitment to advancing quantum innovation in Canada and across the globe,” said UBCO School of Engineering Director Dr. Will Hughes. 

In addition to the chance to put UBC and Canada at the forefront of quantum innovation, for Dr. Holzman, another rewarding aspect of the research lies in mentoring the next generation of innovators in optical networking.  

Over the past few years, he and his graduate students have participated in tests of laser links from the Teide Observatory in the Canary Islands and an optical ground station near Munich, Germany, in partnership with the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The laser links were established out to geostationary orbit, over a distance of roughly 38,000 kilometres. 

While his quantum project is focused on shorter-range communication, the added security measures he is pioneering could have far-reaching benefits in the long-term.  

According to NSERC, each project in this round of funding was selected for its potential to support key elements and specific missions of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy and the UK National Quantum Strategy.  

The grant recipients will have the opportunity to work closely with their international counterparts, sharing knowledge and resources to achieve their collective research goals.  

Read more about the grants and the awarded projects. 

Dr. Chen Feng is an an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at UBC’s Okanagan Campus.

Dr. Chen Feng of UBC Okanagan (UBCO)’s School of Engineering is among the recipients of Alliance Quantum Grants announced today by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), for his innovative work in quantum computing. 

Dr. Feng received $165,186 over two years for his project which aims to enhance Canada’s strengths in quantum computing and quantum communication by collaborating with Xanadu (a Canadian quantum computing startup) to improve their photonics-based quantum computers through novel quantum error-correcting codes.  

“Quantum error correction is a cornerstone in building scalable quantum computers, bridging the gap between current experimental systems and practical, fault-tolerant quantum computing,” explains Dr. Feng. “Recent breakthroughs by IBM and Google have underscored the transformative potential of advancing quantum error correction.”  

Dr. Feng’s group aims to build on this momentum by developing novel error-correcting codes tailored to the unique hardware architecture of Xanadu’s quantum computers. 

“This project not only positions Xanadu to maintain its quantum advantage but also bolsters Canada’s quantum ecosystem in meaningful ways. By raising the profile of Canadian quantum companies like Xanadu and sharing cutting-edge research findings, the research will contribute to cementing Canada’s leadership in the global quantum computing race,” said Dr. Feng. 

Dr. Feng is one of three professors from UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science and eight UBC experts in total who received grants in this round. The other APSC professors included Dr. Lukas Chrostowski and Olivia Di Matteo. Dr. Feng is the only recipient from UBC Okanagan’s campus.  

“Congratulations to Dr. Chen Feng not only on this exciting support and recognition for his work, but also on his innovative and collaborative approach. This project is a perfect example of how UBC engineers are working with industry to solve – and get ahead of – incredibly complex real-world problems in computing,” said UBCO School of Engineering Director Dr. Will Hughes. 

Last fall, UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering welcomed its first cohort of students into its Computer Engineering program, as demand soars for well-trained computer engineers, computer and data scientists in Canada and beyond to tackle challenges and opportunities around big data, hardware, software, security and artificial intelligence (AI).  

Read more about the UBC researchers and projects awarded.

About Dr. Chen Feng 

Dr. Chen Feng is Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at UBC’s Okanagan Campus. He is also a Tier-2 Principal’s Research Chair in Blockchain and Co-Cluster Lead of Blockchain@UBC. His research focuses on information and coding theory, wireless communications and networking, cloud computing and big data, and recently, quantum communications and blockchain technology. He is working on adapting and developing new ideas and tools from information theory, coding theory, stochastic processes, and optimization to design better communication networks with a particular emphasis on quantum communications and blockchain technology.  

The Green Construction Research & Training Center (GCRTC) Seminar Series presents:

A smart vision for a sustainable future: SMaRT technologies and MICROfactories™ creating sustainable materials and products from waste resources, presented by:

Veena Sahajwalla, FAA, FTSE, HonFIEAust, CPEng

• Scientia Professor, Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology, SMaRT@UNSW, UNSW SYDNEY
• Date: Mon. Feb 3, 2025
• Time: 2:00-3:30 PM (PST)
• Location: EME 4218, School of Engineering, UBC, Okanagan, Kelowna BC
• Join on Zoom

Abstract

The rapid surge in complex waste streams such as e-waste, end-of-life vehicles (EVs), plastics, and batteries poses significant environmental threats. In response, the SMaRT Centre has developed innovative cutting-edge technologies and MICROfactories™ to transform these notorious wastes into valuable sustainable materials, enhancing circular economy. By utilising the state-of-the-art microrecycling concepts, diverse waste streams are converted into value added products like Green Ceramics™ for the built environment and nano materials for energy storage applications, including Li-ion and Na-ion batteries. Key breakthrough includes using waste-derived feedstock to produce hydrogen for greener steelmaking, reducing dependency on carbon-intensive inputs such coke and coal. MICROfactories™ scale the innovative transformation of waste into valuable sustainable materials, demonstrating industrial viability. These cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art concepts not only tackle global waste management challenges but also promote responsible production, industry innovation, job creation, and environmental sustainability, supporting the development of a resource-efficient circular economy.

About Veena Sahajwalla

Professor Veena Sahajwalla is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer, and inventor revolutionising recycling science. She is renowned for pioneering the high temperature transformation of waste in the production of a new generation of ‘green materials’ at the UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre, where she is Founding Director.

Professor Veena is the inventor of polymer injection technology, known as green steel, an eco-friendly process for using recycled tyres in steel production. In 2018, Veena launched the world’s first e-waste MICROfactorieTM and in 2019 she launched her plastics and Green Ceramics MICROfactoriesTM, a recycling technology breakthrough. Professor Veena is the director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for ‘microrecycling’, a leading national research centre that works in collaboration with industry to ensure new recycling science is translated into real world environmental and economic benefits. Professor Veena has also been appointed hub leader of the national NESP Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub. In 2021, Professor Veena featured in the ABC’s Australian Story and she was named the 2022 NSW Australian of the Year in recognition of her work.

Professor Veena was named the 2022 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes winner for the Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science and was also awarded the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) Clunies Ross Innovation Award. In 2023, Professor Veena was awarded the Engineering Australia Chemical College Chemical Engineer Achievement Award and the Good Design 2023 Women in Design Award.

About the Green Construction Research and Training Center

The Green Construction Research & Training Center (GCRTC) is multi-disciplinary research and training hub, which is the results of collaboration between the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Okanagan College (OC). The center enables a multitude of disciplines to work in a symbiotic manner to enrich and broaden all disciplines’ capabilities towards greener construction. Learn more at https://gcrtc.ubc.ca/.

Dr. Ray Taheri with toys he will be distributing to children in Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.

It’s not his first humanitarian mission, but it comes at a time when hope and joy are needed more than ever for children caught in international conflict and strife, says UBC Okanagan Engineering professor Dr. Ray Taheri.

In early January, just in time for the Orthodox Christmas season, Dr. Taheri will travel from Kelowna, BC, to Moldova, Romania and Ukraine, visiting cities such as Străşeni, Chișinău, Oradea, Alparea, Saldabagiu and others along the way, where he will donate gifts of toys to schools, orphanages, and churches.

It’s a repeat mission for Dr. Taheri, who delivered gifts throughout the region last year.

“This trip is a continuation of a mission that is very near and dear to my heart and my family,” said Dr. Taheri. “I have collected more than a hundred stuffed toys over the past two years as part of this mission. These will be given to children whose lives have been profoundly impacted by the war. The ongoing conflict has stripped over five million children of the joy and wonder of the holiday season.”

Brightening the lives of children in war-torn Ukraine holds deep personal significance to Dr. Taheri and his family.

“I have two daughters, aged 6 and 10, who are half-Ukrainian. This year, they included only one gift on their wish lists and donated the rest to children affected by war. I have promised them the ultimate Christmas gift: photos of children overseas holding the toys they shared.”

The long-time UBCO professor also hopes his acts of kindness will resonate and inspire another group of young people who look to him for guidance – his students.

“For my students—who I consider my extended family—this mission is a gentle reminder of the importance of being kind over clever, compassionate over passionate, and embracing humanity alongside technology,” said Dr. Taheri.

This week, while supporting those students through another busy exam period, Dr. Taheri is busy packaging up the toys at UBCO, complete with a gift created by a number of those same students.

UBCO engineering students 3D-printed toys for Dr. Taheri to deliver to Ukrainian children.

“I’m decorating the stuffed animals with pin-back buttons made by our students in UBCO Makerspace. They also 3D printed several intricate dragon toys in the colours of the Ukranian flag. This is a collaborative and symbolic gesture to crystalize our support and solidarity as a community and country for those who have lost their livelihood. The fact that our students took time out of their busy lives to help support this initiative by making the buttons is very heartwarming for me. I’m proud that these buttons will be out in the world as an example of how our UBC Okanagan engineers care.”

Dr. Taheri’s generosity doesn’t stop at gifts for the children.

Two Years ago, he also donated his time and expertise as a teacher and an engineer – helping to set up makerspaces and provide training to students and educators.

In fact, over the course of his three-week journey in 2023, Dr. Taheri built makerspace facilities in four different high- and middle schools and trained large groups of students on how to run and use them. He also led workshops for over 120 educators at the University of Oradea in Romania and pre-paid 1,000 lunches at a school in nearby Cefa.

If you are interested in supporting his mission, Dr. Taheri started a GoFundMe, Merry Christmas RUM, with the target of $5000 by Jan. 7^th 2025 (Orthodox Christmas).

Photos: Jordy Cunningham/Black Press Media.

Faculty of Applied Science members Dr. Julian Cheng, Dr. Peter Englezos, Dr. Kasun Hewage and Dr. Zheng Liu are among 21 engineers across Canada who will be inducted as 2025 EIC Fellows in the spring.

Four leading experts at the University of British Columbia – including three from UBCO’s School of Engineering – are being recognized for excellence in engineering and their services to the profession and society by the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC). 

Faculty of Applied Science members Dr. Julian Cheng (UBCO), Dr. Peter Englezos, Dr. Kasun Hewage (UBCO) and Dr. Zheng Liu (UBCO) are among 21 engineers across Canada who will be inducted as 2025 EIC Fellows in the spring. 

“On behalf of the School of Engineering, congratulations to Drs. Julian Cheng, Kasun Hewage and Zheng Liu for this outstanding recognition,” said Dr. Will Hughes, Director for the School of Engineering. “Being named a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada is truly a career achievement a lifetime in the making and speaks to the remarkable impact each of these researchers has had on our profession in Canada. Well done, all. Thank you for elevating our School, our campus, our university, and our field.” 

Dr. Julian Cheng, a professor of electrical engineering in UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering, is an expert in digital communications over wireless channels, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, spread spectrum communications, statistical signal processing for wireless applications, and optical wireless communications. He is also an elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), as well as the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA). 

Dr. Peter Englezos, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the UBC Vancouver campus, with over 35 years of research experience in clathrate hydrates (ice-like crystals with guest molecules trapped inside “cages” of hydrogen-bonded water molecules). His work has contributed to applications like carbon dioxide capture, desalination, flow assurance, energy storage, and understanding how the earth’s methane hydrates can contribute to climate change.  

Dr. Kasun Hewage is a professor and chair of the civil engineering program at UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering, as well as the Associate Director of UBC’s Clean Energy Research Centre. He is a recognized leader in life cycle management of built assets, green construction and smart energy planning, with his work informing the BC Energy Step Code, provincial policies on internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, FortisBC energy incentives, and municipal-level public transit electrification.  

Dr. Zheng Liu, a professor in the School of Engineering, runs the Intelligent Sensing Diagnostics and Prognostics research lab which develops new sensing measurement technology, and works on signal and image processing, data analysis and data/information fusion to support decision making. His projects include translating infrared thermal images into more colour visible images to aid night perception, and developing data-driven predictive analytics for municipalities to manage their water infrastructure. 

New Fellows will be inducted at the EIC gala on April 5, 2025.  

The EIC was founded in 1887 and is now a federation of 14 Canadian engineering societies, made up of 30,000 Canadian engineers and engineering students. 

UBCO community members and guests gather around the 14 Not Forgotten Memorial.

KELOWNA, BC – Emotions ran high at UBC Okanagan’s 14 Not Forgotten ceremony on Friday, as attendees gathered to honour the lives of 14 women killed in the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre.  

Through tears and heartfelt words, speakers reflected on how far society has come—and how much further it must go—in addressing violence against women. 

North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma, a UBC Engineering alumnus, displayed visible emotion as she addressed the crowd.  

“It’s been 35 years since that horrific day, and yet here we are, still grappling with the same problems—violence, sexism, and systemic inequality,” Ma said.  

“Even now, there are an estimated 1,000 physical or sexual assaults against women in British Columbia every week. These acts do not exist in isolation; they are part of a continuum of discrimination that persists in our workplaces, communities, and institutions.” 

Ma also spoke of her own experiences as a young woman in a male-dominated field.  

“As a new engineer, I was told that bringing up December 6 was ‘too political’ for the workplace. But I’ve come to understand that to be a woman in this world is political. And we must stand together to confront this reality, no matter how uncomfortable it makes others feel.” 

Lesley Cormack, UBC Okanagan’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal, shared how she still remembers getting an anxious phone call from a friend who simply said, “They’re shooting women in Montreal.”  

She spoke of the lost potential represented by the 14 women whose lives were cut short. “These women were brilliant, determined and full of promise,” Cormack said.  

“They were on the path to becoming engineers, innovators, and leaders. Their deaths robbed us not just of their presence, but of the immense contributions they would have made to our world.” 

Cormack urged attendees to channel their grief into action. “We remember these women not only for what was taken from them but also for the light they brought into the world. Their loss is a stark reminder that we must redouble our efforts to build a society where women can pursue their dreams without fear.”

With candles and flowers in memory of the victims, attendees joined in a moment of silence, many wiping away tears as they reflected on the tragedy and its enduring resonance. 

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is marked every December 6 across Canada. It commemorates the victims of the Montreal Massacre and serves as a call to action to end gender-based violence. 

Polytechnique Montréal announced today that Makenna Kuzyk, a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Alberta is the 2024 recipient of the $50,000 Order of the White Rose Scholarship, and that the scholarship will expand in 2025.

Note to the UBC Okanagan Engineering community: this story is being re-shared here for awareness. Please share this information with any women-identifying students or graduates who may be interested in applying for the Order of the White Rose scholarship.

2023 Order of the White Rose Scholarship recipient Amelia Dai

Amelia Dai

Amelia Dai, a UBC chemical and biological engineering graduate, was awarded the Order of the White Rose Scholarship by Polytechnique Montréal in 2023.

“Regardless of which discipline we work in, I believe that the core responsibility of engineers is to apply scientific problem-solving for the sustainable benefit of society, and this includes promoting inclusivity in the engineering space to ensure voices traditionally marginalized are acknowledged,” said Dai.

Dai was the ninth recipient of the Order of the White Rose, and the first UBC graduate to receive the scholarship.

Read her story here.

About the Order of the White Rose Scholarship

The Order of the White Rose Scholarship is open to women in engineering and graduates of any engineering undergraduate program who are planning to pursue an MASc or PhD in engineering. More information on the call for applications will be available in Winter 2025.

Over the years, the white rose has become the symbol of Polytechnique Montréal’s commemorative activities. Therefore, to mark the 25th anniversary of the events of December 6, 1989, which cost the lives of 14 young women and injured several others, Polytechnique created the Order of the White Rose in tribute to the victims as well as the wounded, the families, the faculty members, the employees and the students who were forever affected by the tragedy.

Learn more at https://www.polymtl.ca/ordreroseblanche/en

Four researchers – one faculty member and three graduate students – with UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering are recipients of the inaugural Peter Wall Legacy Awards announced by UBC today.

Made possible by a ground-breaking $100+million endowment and valued at $4 million in annual funding, the Peter Wall Legacy Awards are among the largest internal research award programs in North America.  

The recipients represent a diverse array of scholarly activity and research endeavours aimed at generating real-world solutions to major sustainability challenges in BC and globally. 

“On behalf of the School of Engineering, congratulations to faculty member Dr. Alexander Uhl and students Usmita Adhikari, Thais Ayres Rebello, and Elnaz Ghahremani Rad on being among the first ever to receive Wall Legacy Awards,” said Dr. Will Hughes, Director for the School of Engineering at UBC Okanagan. “This recognition speaks to your exceptional efforts to be on the forefront of sustainability research. We are very proud of you, and extend our congratulations also to your fellow researchers, colleagues, mentors and supporters who are helping you conduct this impactful work.” 

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AWARDEES 

Dr. Alexander Uhl, Assistant Professor – Team Faculty Award 

Dr. Alexander Uhl, Assistant Professor and Principal’s Research Chair in Solar Energy Conversion along with colleagues Dr. Eva Nichols (Lead PI) and Dr. Eric Lees, received a Team Faculty Award for their project “An Artificial Photosynthesis Device to Generate Green Methanol Fuel from CO₂.”  

“I am deeply honored to receive this research grant to work on clean fuels. This support comes at a crucial time when the impacts of climate change are increasingly evident in our region. I am excited to embark on this research journey with Drs. Nichols and Lees and contribute to developing sustainable solutions for our future.” said Dr. Uhl. 

As Dr. Uhl points out, methanol has recently become a focus of great interest as a sustainable fuel for the decarbonization of the transportation and shipping industries, but current methods for methanol synthesis are associated with high emissions.  

As an alternative, the team is developing a greener approach which involves transforming captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) into methanol using water and renewable energy in the form of electricity or sunlight.  

“BC is poised to participate in this green transition, yet there are scientific and technological improvements needed to meet the demand, which is expected to experience significant growth in the future,” said Dr. Uhl. 

“This project aims to remove those roadblocks exploring the chemistry, materials science, transport mechanisms, and technoeconomic analysis of the (photo)electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to methanol and emphasizing the need for advancements from multiple disciplines and perspectives,” said Uhl. 

EMPOWERING GRADUATE STUDENTS 

The awards also recognize the outstanding research contributions of graduate students at UBC. The following UBC Okanagan School of Engineering students received Wall Legacy Graduate Student Awards in 2024: 

Usmita Adhikari, Master of Applied Science in Civil Engineering – Graduate Student Award 

UBC Okanagan College of Graduate Studies Profile 

My research focuses on developing an environmentally friendly approach towards construction of hydraulic barrier liners for hazardous municipal waste detention facilities. Conventional clay liners often suffer from shrinkage and cracking, increasing the risk of leachate seepage that can harm nearby water bodies. Traditional chemical stabilizers like cement and lime, though effective, have a high carbon footprint. To address this, my study uses sustainable biochar and a depolymerized form of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer as stabilizers. This eco-friendly enhancement in liner construction supports both waste management practices and preservation of natural environment in British Columbia and beyond. 

“I aim to develop and implement solutions that not only advance the field of geotechnical engineering but also have a meaningful and positive impact on the built environment and communities around the world. Ultimately, I aspire to be at the forefront of developing sustainable and resilient infrastructure, helping to shape a safer and more sustainable future for generations to come. As I have learned from my supervisor, I carry a profound responsibility as a woman engineer to make the journey welcoming for young girls who may decide to follow in my footsteps,” said Usmita Adhikari.

Elnaz Ghahremani Rad, Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering – Graduate Student Award 

UBCO College of Graduate Studies Profile 

My research at the Laboratory for Solar Energy and Fuels focuses on advancing solar energy infrastructure in British Columbia (BC), addressing climate change and energy security challenges. I plan to develop efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with high power conversion efficiency. Key objectives include optimizing cell stability, testing tandem architectures, and developing scalable production methods. This project could significantly contribute to creating a sustainable and resilient energy system for BC. By collaborating with industry partners, we intend to scale flexible PSCs for outdoor use, benefiting off-grid communities, and supporting BC’s transition to clean energy. 

“The Wall Award will significantly enhance my academic performance and help me develop leadership and problem–solving skills. With access to better resources and academic opportunities, I can further pursue my research interests in clean energy, which is essential for advancing my career,” said Elnaz Ghahremani Rad.  

Thais Ayres Rebello, Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering – Graduate Student Award 

UBC Okanagan College of Graduate Studies Profile 

My research focuses on developing an assessment methodology for the sustainability of Urban Water Systems (UWS). Building on the development of urban environments, my work aims to identify and select key indicators, while also exploring the mathematical feedback loops between these indicators. The goal is to provide stakeholders with tools to support sustainable practices. During my Ph.D., I proposed an integrated approach combining Circular Economy principles with the One Water Approach to create six pillars of sustainability, specifically tailored to the management of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater. My model goes beyond traditional system analysis by considering the integration of UWS with nature and surrounding communities. 

“I am honored to receive the Peter Wall Legacy Award, an award that recognizes innovation in sustainability research. This award will significantly support my ongoing work, providing resources to deepen my exploration and impact in this field. I thank Peter Wall for his immense generosity, all UBC team members that worked hard on making this award available, as well as my supervisors (Dr. Sadiq and Dr. Hewage) and Dr. Haroon Mian, who assisted me in the application process,” said Thais Ayres Rebello. 

ABOUT THE WALL LEGACY AWARDS 

In December 2024, UBC announced the inaugural recipients of the Wall Fellowships and Wall Research Awards, funded by the $100M+ million Peter Wall Endowment and valued at a total of $4M annually.  These researchers represent a wide array of scholarly programs that will generate meaningful solutions to major sustainability challenges in BC and around the world. 

All projects align with three key areas of focus: urban sustainability, environmental protection of coastal areas, and sustainable approaches to resource-intensive industries, with a particular emphasis on the province of B.C. Research ranges from climate change to biodiversity loss, sustainable transportation, energy storage, urban water systems, biodiversity conservation, and more. More information about the awards and a full list of awardees can be found at https://walllegacyawards.ubc.ca/awardees/.