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RUN - RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES' NEWSLETTER VOL 18 | APRIL 9, 2021

President's Message Our young people, unlike their parent’s generation, live in a world where global threats increasingly preoccupy them. Currently, as we enter what we hope are the last throes of the pandemic, they remain keenly aware of the other existential - but much slower moving - threat of climate change. Young people are calling for action and solutions, and RUCBC universities are responding by equipping our students with the skills they will need to build a prosperous, balanced, and sustainable future. British Columbia is renowned within Canada and internationally as a climate action leader. Our province was first in North America to introduce a broad-based carbon tax. Our thriving clean energy sector, coupled with our abundant clean power from hydroelectricity, allow our industries to operate with a lower carbon footprint than many of their competitors in other jurisdictions. New and ongoing research at RUCBC universities is crucial to understanding sustainability challenges and developing the solutions to address them. This includes helping governments to meet targets on net zero emissions buildings, the adoption of electric vehicles, industrial energy and process efficiency, and much more. These research programs and associated teaching are central to our future as global demand for green products and services grows. Below we feature a small sampling of the ways in which our universities are advancing new knowledge and educating the talented people who will mobilize that knowledge. Our graduates will fuel sustainable prosperity with passion and fresh new ideas as they innovate globally competitive clean products and services. So, while young people face increasingly severe consequences of climate change in the decades to come, they also are developing the resilience, adaptability and scientific and social knowledge necessary to meet those challenges. They are our bright hope. Be Safe! Stay curious! Max Blouw, RUCBC President

UVic Prof on Canada’s Growing Blue Economy Kate Moran, president and chief executive officer of UVic’s Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), knows that the state of the ocean is an important indicator of the overall health of our planet. In this Q&A, she says that smart public policy, support for research, and continued ocean sector investments can position Canada to be a world leader in the global blue economy. Pairing ocean observation data with scientific knowledge is the key to unlocking the potential of ocean intelligence, leading to the development of new technologies to address climate change, as well as the tools to measure success.  Read More >>

SFU Partners with Industry to Grow Clean Tech in BC A new research program is being created as the result of a partnership between Simon Fraser University and Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre. This collaboration between SFU and industry will help Canadian companies transition to cleantech and help inform climate policy, advance energy solutions from lab to market, create jobs and engage professors and students in cleantech issues and solutions. “This partnership exemplifies SFU’s commitment to engagement in creating sustainable innovations that benefit society,” according to professor Elicia Maine, special advisor on Innovation to SFU’s Vice-President, Research and International. Read More  >>

UBC Leading on Clean Transportation UBC is leading research efforts to make transportation cleaner, safer and more connected, using its unique campus as a living laboratory. One block on the Vancouver campus is being converted into an integrated energy system with initial funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund. The project is led by Dr. Walter Mérida, a professor in Mechanical Engineering and Senior Advisor to President Santa Ono. The new infrastructure will become a world-leading platform to test how interactions between vehicles, infrastructure and pedestrians can be optimized, ultimately enabling the transportation sector to boost energy efficiency and cut GHG emissions. Read More >>

UNBC and City of Prince George Chart Low Carbon Future The City of Prince George’s Downtown Renewable Energy System (DRES) and the UNBC Wood Innovation Research Lab (WIRL) are two examples of how local innovation and local economic development are helping to prove the value of reliable energy and energy-efficiency. The UNBC Wood Innovation Research Lab, one of the most energy-efficient buildings of its kind in the world, is built almost entirely of wood and houses state-of-the-art equipment used to test different types of wood building materials. Despite being nearly 10,000 square feet, the lab’s heating bill is about the same as a 1,600 square foot house. The Downtown Renewable Energy System operated with 100% renewable energy, in the form of sawmill residuals from nearby Lakeland Mills, even during the winter’s most punishing cold snaps. Read More  >>

Contact us: [email protected]  The Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia (RUCBC) represents the interests of BC's research universities. RUCBC's mandate is to identify issues facing the universities, provide system-wide leadership in the development of relevant public policy and communicate on behalf of the university system.