UBC Civil Insights on Vancouver Seismic Risk Report
A new report from the City of Vancouver and Natural Resources Canada has outlined how a 7.2-magnitude earthquake could impact Vancouver, and it highlights six neighborhoods in high-risk areas. In the report, Vancouver’s West End, Yaletown, the Downtown Eastside, Kitsilano, Fairview, and Mount Pleasant have the highest risk of damage from a large earthquake. Seismic […]
New funding for CoLab PhD research on extreme weather
A new funding initiative at UBC is bringing together expertise from multiple disciplines to tackle one of the most pressing problems of our time: managing the impact of extreme weather conditions, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall. With $53,000 in annual renewable funding, the Collaborative PhD Program is aimed at training students across diverse fields […]
UBC Civil Engineering finds e-bike incentives worth the investment
A version of this article originally appeared on UBC News. Electric bicycle rebates have exploded in popularity in North America as transportation planners try to get people out of their cars and into healthier, more climate-friendly alternatives. However, there is limited understanding of the full impacts of these incentives. Are new cycling habits sustainable? Who benefits […]
A Q&A with UBC Civil Research Assistant on the Aftermath of Mount Polley Spill
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and the program that you are in? My name is Brody Granger and I completed my M.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering in the discipline of Environmental Fluid Mechanics with Dr. Bernard Laval in 2020. Since then I’ve been working for Dr. Laval as a research assistant, […]
Revolutionizing Affordable Housing: Dr. Tony Yang’s Research on Reinforcing Concrete Construction with Welded Wire Mesh
Rapid population growth in major cities worldwide has created immense challenges when seeking affordable housing. However, excess construction costs can be reduced by employing concrete elements such as slabs, panels, and beams that are reinforced with welded wire mesh (WWM). This material consists of electrically welded rods to form a uniformly continuous mesh which has […]
UBC Civil in the Media – Learning from Turkiye earthquake
UBC engineering experts were among a group of researchers that visited Turkey to study the aftermath of its earthquake
UBC Environmental Engineering receives Board accreditation
This announcement originally appeared on UBC Environmental Engineering. UBC Environmental Engineering (ENVL) has achieved the maximum allowable accreditation period for a new program by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). The first accreditation period will be for three years for the four-year program at the UBC Vancouver campus, with regular renewal procedures planned to maintain program accreditation […]
UBC REACT Lab Wins 2023 Climate Action Award
UBC Civil Engineering’s REACT Lab has been honored with the 2023 Climate Action Award from the Community Energy Association for their work on an income-qualified e-bike incentive program in collaboration with the District of Saanich, British Columbia and the Greater Victoria Community Social Planning Council. This award highlights the effectiveness of the program in reducing […]
Rain gardens could save salmon from toxic tire chemicals
Salmon holds immense ecological and cultural significance in B.C. However, the survival of these magnificent fish is under threat due to multiple stressors. Among the challenge salmon fac is a toxic chemical associated with car tires, which finds its way into our rivers and streams when rainwater washes it off roads. Fortunately, there’s a ray […]
New algorithm maps safest routes for city drivers
Originally published in: UBC News Most navigation apps can show you the fastest possible route to your destination and some can even suggest an eco-friendly route calculated to produce the least amount of carbon emissions. But what if they could also map the safest route with the lowest possible risk of a crash? A new algorithm developed […]
Civil Engineering PhD candidate receives Doctoral Scholarship
Kishoare Tamanna, a PhD student in Civil Engineering and a UBC Killam Doctoral Scholar at the School of Engineering, is making waves in the field of sustainable infrastructure development. Working at the Applied Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Structures (ALAMS) under the guidance of Professor Shahria Alam and co-supervised by Professor Tony Yang at the […]
UBC Concrete Canoe places 3rd at ASCE PNW competition
The UBC Concrete Canoe team’s journey in the summer of 2022 was filled with challenges, but their unwavering dedication and resilience propelled them to remarkable success. The team’s outstanding performance at the ASCE Pacific Northwest competition, securing 3rd place overall and achieving notable victories in the races, stands as a testament to their skill and […]
Third Quadrant Design Won 3rd Place at Solar Decathlon 2023
Originally published in Mechanical Business. Teams from the University of British Columbia and the University of Waterloo are among the winners of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Decathlon 2023 Build Challenge. This was the 21st edition of the annual Solar Decathlon, a student competition that challenges the next generation of building professionals to design […]
EERI Competition: UBC Seismic Receives Communications Award
Although their tower collapsed, their exceptional performance still earned them the second highest overall score
CIVL 446’s Team 10 Selected as The Winner of D&I Project Poster
On Design and Innovation Day in April, the project titled “Improving 16th Avenue for Walking, Biking and Rolling” by Team 10 from CIVL 446 was selected as the winner of the project poster category among several amazing projects by civil engineering students. Team 10, consisting of Adi Henegar, Bahati Msakamali, Jasmine Ma, Jeremy Karkanis, […]
Civil Engineering Researcher Recognized for Editorial Leadership
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has bestowed upon Dr. Ehsan Noroozinejad, a distinguished Senior Researcher at UBC Smart Structures, the esteemed ASCE Associate Editor Award of the year. This recognition is an exceptional honor, given the competitive nature of the award, with nearly 1,000 Associate Editors hailing from eminent universities across more than […]
How Base Isolation Technology can Preserve Cultural Heritage
The Great Hall of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA) is a cultural and architectural masterpiece that requires modern seismic safety measures to protect against future risk
Turning disasters into knowledge, Professor Trevor Carey travelled to Taiwan to advance earthquake resilience
Professor Trevor Carey was part of a team funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation that travelled to Hualien County in Southeastern Taiwan to study the impact of the September 2022 Taitung earthquakes.
UBC Civil In The Media – Flight wastewater to be tested for COVID
Originally published in: Victoria News Pilot project coming into effect alongside new federal mandate for COVID tests. The Vancouver International Airport will soon be testing wastewater off flights arriving from China and Hong Kong, as part of the federal government’s efforts to track how many cases of COVID-19 may or may not be entering Canada from […]
UBC engineers want to save whales from drowning…in noise
Originally published in: UBC News Chronic ship noise can lead to stress, hearing loss and feeding problems for marine mammals like whales, dolphins and porpoises. UBC researchers are diving in to help address the issue. According to project lead Dr. Rajeev Jaiman, an associate professor in the department of mechanical engineering, propeller noise accounts for much […]
Study finds Vancouver can integrate new electric-powered mobility
Originally published by UBC Media Relations Love them or hate them, new mobility devices like e-bikes are here to stay. In one of the first large-scale studies to measure the real-world usage of these devices, UBC transportation researchers found that most other road users are comfortable sharing cycling lanes and off-street paths with these new […]