Research profiles

In this digital age, many important documents – from land deeds to photographs – are created in digital form. The convenience of digital files is unparalleled, but how do we ensure that these digital files remain authentic and accessible in the context of rapid technological change? Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed guidelines for the creation, maintenance and preservation of digital records. The project, which involves 21 countries, has already spurred new legislation in China. Researchers are also working with financial institutions across Europe to ensure authenticity of bank transactions.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia are turning beetle-infested wood into biofuels. In recent years, the pine beetle infestation has destroyed more than 13 million hectares of Lodgepole pine – a devastating hit for the province’s forest sector. No longer suitable for regular forestry products, researchers are developing a technique for harvesting this now lower quality lumber to produce cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 90 percent. Researchers have created a production schedule that will enable the forest sector to use this infested wood to meet the province’s renewable fuel standard each year for the next 25 years.

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia have developed a vaccine that will dramatically reduce the level of e-coli in cattle. This toxic microbe, responsible for recalls of meat and water contamination, causes illness in 50,000 North Americans annually, and approximately 500 deaths.