With research halted, sometimes it feels a little disheartening that we cannot do more towards the fight against COVID-19. Luckily, with friends around town, sometimes it’s just a matter of connecting the right people!
IDEaS Component 1a Awarded!
Something like nine months ago, the DND posted their upcoming challenges for the next round of the IDEaS funding competition. One quizzically named challenge was, “Breaking the ice – ground solutions for removing frozen contaminants from aircraft“, which sparked the interest of Dr. Zarifi’s MEAS Lab and the OPERA Lab. We decided that detecting ice accretion on aircraft was the first step in its removal, something that is woefully behind the technology the ice sits upon.
Ben, Kiana, and the two PIs went into the lab and developed a robust and real-time ice/snow/frost detector high high sensitivity and the ability to be embedded on a planar wing. We published this work late last year, and soon after the official challenge was released. Jump to April 2020 and we’ve been awarded a Component 1a Competitive Project on the topic! Congratulations all and it will be an exciting 6-month endeavour that started in our hearts, minds, and labs over a year ago.
IDEaS Component 1b officially awarded!
Our collaborative project with Dr. Zarifi and PRE Labs Inc. has been officially awarded an IDEaS Competitive Projects Component 1b for Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) Hazard Detection and Planning. We are developing the next generation of personal protective ensembles that can simultaneously protect and detect wearers from hazardous solids, liquids, and gases. More information on the $1M, 12-month project can be found here.
More information on PRE Labs Inc.
Paper paper
Dr. Zhao‘s work on non-fluorinated omniphobic paper is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. We (humans) are getting one step closer to eliminating the need for perfluoro-carbons in our daily lives. Great work Xiaoxiao and Arif!
Non-fluorinated Omniphobic Paper with Ultra-low Contact Angle Hysteresis
Kamran becomes a PhD candidate!
Kamran successfully passed his candidacy and proposal defence with flying colours. Congratulations Kamran!
Holiday Curling Contest
The OPERA Lab challenged Dr. Zarifi’s MEAS Lab to a curling contest for the holidays. There was brushing, bruising, and lots of laughing by all. A re-match is guaranteed for 2020, and perhaps next year we’ll keep score!
Dr. Pillai joins OPERA as the Cluster Coordinator
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Anu Pillai to the OPERA Lab. Dr. Pillai will be coordinating our Eminence Fund Cluster in Comfort Enabling Technologies, as well as overseeing the project developing antimicrobial fabrics. We are very glad to have you Anu!
Eminence Fund Awarded
The OPERA Lab was awarded a UBC Eminence Fund for our Cluster of Research Excellence in Comfort-Enabling Technologies! This award is bringing together a handful of faculty and several industrial and municipal partners, with the following mission:
This diverse team of researchers is working collaboratively with industrial partners to enhance human comfort in extreme and high-risk environments. The cluster combines multidisciplinary expertise in textile, biomedical, electrical, and materials engineering, as well as big data and machine learning to understand and maximize personal comfort.
The team will define and quantify comfort using thermal, physiological, psychological, fluid-mechanical, and environmental assessment tools and technologies. Applications include developing heat-resistent base layers for female firefighters, next-generation, breathable helmets, and evaluating comfort-enhancing technologies for preterm infants.
More information can be found here!
Dr. Im joins the OPERA Lab
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Wanhee Im as the latest edition to the OPERA Lab. Dr. Im comes to us from Seoul National University and will be developing high-strength, hydrophobic paper, both here in Kelowna and at the Pointe-Claire location of FPInnovations in QC. Welcome Wanhee!
Behrooz and Kiana attended CSChE
Behrooz and Kiana attended CSChE 2019, presenting their works on developing omniphobic surfaces and ice sensors. Sounds like both projects were very well received!
