Strategic Priority Areas: Solutions for People
Capturing carbon using pressure swing adsorption for point-source emitters
| Spotlight
Our projectThe pulp industry generates CO2 emissions, primarily as a result of burning fossil fuels to generate the high heat required to manufacture pulp. Finding ways to reduce these emissions is a top priority.
Designing a machine shop for BC Ferries
| Spotlight
Our projectBC Ferries is building a new facility in Richmond to repair and upgrade its vessels.
Apple halves greenhouse gas emissions through clean energy and innovative recycling initiatives
ESG News | | Media coverage
Apple published a new white paper with the University of British Columbia’s BioProducts Institute that analyzes the challenges with current consumer packaging and explores more sustainable future solutions through the use of advanced fiber-based…
Designing an aeroponic smart grow cabinet
| Spotlight
Our projectWe designed a high-end consumer product to grow microgreens in your home, using aeroponics and featuring our client’s innovative lighting technology. Our client, Genoptic, has developed lighting technology that can be used in everything…
Building a rig to make smart swim goggles smarter
| Spotlight
The challengeIn 2019, Vancouver-based company FORM developed the world’s first smart swim goggles that collect real-time metrics on a swimmer’s stroke rate, distance per stroke, pace, heart rate and more. For the next generation of their swim…
Producing Hepatitis B virus-like-particle vaccines using Pichia pastoris
| Spotlight
Our projectWe wanted to develop an innovative process to produce a vaccine for hepatitis B, a serious liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. Our approach is to create a virus-like particle, a molecule that resembles a virus but…
Student ingenuity abuzz on Design and Innovation Day 2024
| Announcement
From addressing environmental challenges to enhancing human well-being, the 201 capstone projects on display at the 2024 Design and Innovation Day showcase were a testament to the ingenuity and commitment of UBC’s aspiring engineers.
Scientists have invented a method to break down "forever chemicals" in our drinking water
World Economic Forum | | Media coverage
Chemical and biological engineering professor Dr. Madjid Mohseni led the development of a water treatment that removes “forever chemicals” from drinking water.
Award-winning UBC Engineering student charts a new path in medicine
| Spotlight
In May 2025, Stephanie Quon was named a Rising Star in BC Business’s 2025 Women of the Year Awards for the significant impact she’s had with The Sprouts Initiative, a foundation she started in 2017 that focuses on sustainability and…
Transforming access to clean water through decentralized treatment solutions
| Announcement
Dr. Sara Beck, an assistant professor at UBC Civil Engineering, is advancing research aimed at removing microbial and chemical contaminants from water and wastewater in decentralized settings.