Research Team

Yasmine Abdin

Assistant Professor

Materials Engineering

Yasmine's research focuses on the design, manufacturing, and rigorous analysis of polymer based composite materials. Through this rigorous data analysis and digital modelling, Yasmine is establishing a deeper understanding of the structure-property relationship of composite structures in digital…

Mohammad Arjmand

Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Advanced Materials and Polymer Engineering

School of Engineering, UBCO

Dr. Arjmand is recognized as a leading and award-winning researcher in the field of nanotechnology and polymer engineering. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus (UBCO), a Canada Research Chair in “Advanced Materials and Polymer Engineering”, and the…

Susan A. Baldwin

Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Susan's overall research goal is environmental sustainability of Canadian society through bioremediation where active (reactor-based) and passive (natural) processes are studied that involve microbes and biomonitoring, which concerns the use of biological organisms for monitoring potential…

Xiaotao Bi

Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering Xiaotao and his team have been developing environmental systems analysis and life cycle analysis tools to model and evaluate biomass energy systems, including Canadian wood pellets, animal wastes and agricultural residues, as well as integrated…

Joerg Bohlmann

Professor

Botany

Joerg is a world leader in the fields of plant and forestry genomics and in plant natural products biology. He is distinguished for his research on the genomics of defence and resistance mechanisms of conifers against insect pests and insect-associated fungal pathogens, as well as on plant…

Nadine Borduas-Dedekind

Assistant Professor

Chemistry

Nadine’s research focuses on understanding the fate of organic molecules in the atmosphere with implications for air quality and climate. Her research team uses field-deployable mass spectrometers, aerosol instruments and cloud chambers to study the fate of pollutants in the air that we breathe…

Harry Brumer

Professor

Chemistry

The focus of Harry’s research is to understand the way in which particular enzymes act to alter the structure of polysaccharides found in biomass (especially plant cell walls and wood fibers), and to harness these enzymes for application. The discovery and characterisation of new enzymes…

Gary Q. Bull

Professor and Department Head Pro Tem

Forest Resources Management

Gary has spent most of his early career working as a management consultant, an economist for two large forest product companies and as an economist for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.  Today he is a professor of forest economics and management at UBC and department head…

Yankai Cao

Associate Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Research SummaryMachine Learning, Large-scale Optimization, Energy Systems, Process ControlEducationUniversity of Wisconsin Madison, 2018, Postdoctoral AssociatePurdue University, 2015, Ph.D.Zhejiang University, 2010, B.E.Research interests + projectsMy research group…

Emily Cranston

President’s Excellence Chair in Forest Bioproducts

Chemical and Biological Engineering, Wood Science

Emily and her team are designing high-performance materials to replace those that are based on non-renewable resources by learning from nature and using bio-based components. Their current focus is on the production, functionalization and characterization of cellulose nanocrystals aimed at…

Joe Dahmen

Assistant Professor

School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Joe’s research tests emergent materials in two different registers. Quantitative methods measure their structural and environmental performance, while their qualitative spatial and cultural potentials are evaluated through public architectural installations. His research provides…

Chunping Dai

Associate Professor

Wood Science

With extensive industry background, Chunping is interested in both fundamental and applied research in wood and bamboo-based composites. His current research areas include: - Modeling and innovative manufacturing of engineered wood products; - Round and engineered bamboo products for…

Derek Dee

Assistant Professor

Food Safety Engineering

Dr. Dee’s research uses biophysical tools and protein engineering to study protein folding and aggregation, particularly amyloid fibrils (aka nanofibrils). Certain amyloid fibrils play a role in disease, while functional protein nanofibrils hold promise for a variety of applications,…

Naoko Ellis

Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Naoko’s expertise lies in the area of multiphase reaction engineering with emphasis on fluidized beds. Some current projects include: CO2 capture; biomass gasification and pyrolysis; chemical looping combustion; pyrolysis product utilization including bio-oil and biochar applications; and…

Lindsay Eltis

Canada Research Chair in Microbial Catabolism and Biocatalysis

Microbiology and Immunology

Lindsay’s primary research interest is bacterial enzymes and pathways responsible for the degradation of aromatic compounds, including lignin, and steroids. His most significant contributions, including the first characterization of a bacterial lignin-degrading enzyme, have changed the way…

Peter Englezos

Head and Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Fellow of The Canadian Academy of Engineering Peter has over 20 years of research experience on several fundamental and applied aspects of clathrate or gas hydrates. He has published extensively in this area including reviews on clathrate hydrates, kinetics, energy and environmental aspects and…

Cigdem Eskicioglu

Professor

School of Engineering

Dr. Eskicioglu is a Professor and NSERC/Metro Vancouver Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in the School of Engineering, at the University of British Columbia (UBC), specializing in wastewater and sludge treatment. She is also the Founder/Leader of the Bioreactor Technology Group (BTG), which focuses…

Haibo Feng

Assistant Professor

Wood Science

Haibo received his PhD training in UBC Civil Engineering in the field of Sustainable Construction. He was an Assistant Professor for over 2 years at Northumbria University in the UK before joining the Department of Wood Science at UBC Forestry. He also worked in construction industry for over 6…

Johan Foster

NSERC Canfor Industrial Research Chair in Advanced Bioproducts

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Johan’s research currently focuses on structuration, functionalization and fundamental aspects of reinforcement and deformation in polymers and bio-products, and the application of that science to engineering of novel implantable materials and lightweight materials, 3D printing and…

John Frostad

Assistant Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Dr. Frostad's research group investigates the physical models and mechanisms that govern complex food systems, agricultural sprays, oil spills and their remediation, complex fluid-fluid interfaces, as well as other multiphase fluid systems. Such investigations often require measurements that…

Derek P. Gates

Professor

Chemistry

Research in Derek’s group bridges the traditional areas of inorganic chemistry and polymer science. The development of synthetic methodologies to prepare new macromolecules with interesting structures and properties is a challenging frontier in chemistry. Derek’s group has developed…

Bhushan Gopaluni

Professor and Associate Dean of Education and Professional Development

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Bhushan Gopaluni is a professor in the department of chemical and biological engineering and an Associate Dean for Education and Professional Development in the faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia. He is also an associate faculty member in the Institute of Applied…

Dana Grecov

Associate Professor

Mechanical Engineering

Dana’s core research areas are in Biofluid Mechanics, Liquid crystals, Multiphase flow, Fluid Mechanics, Computational fluid dynamics, and Rheology. A few accomplishments: Development of new robust and efficient computational methods to simulate 2D and 3D flows of liquid crystalline…

Sheldon Green

Professor

Mechanical Engineering

Sheldon is a specialist in industrial fluid mechanics, and more specifically the application of experimental and numerical techniques to study and resolve industrially relevant fluid mechanics problems.  His research has involved the experimental and CFD study of papermaking forming fabric…

Junling Guo

Visiting Professor

BioProducts Institute

Junling Guo received his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The University of Melbourne, Australia. He pioneered research on polyphenol-based engineering of particles and thin-film systems, including metal-phenolic network (MPN) and polyphenol-based modular assembly method. Prof…

Steven Hallam

Canada Research Chair in Environmental Genomics

Microbiology and Immunology

Steven harnesses the awesome power of environmental genomics to explore the microcosmos, describing microbial community structure and function across a wide range of natural and human engineered ecosystems. Each of his projects shares a core set of interdisciplinary tools sourced from ecology,…

Savvas Hatzikiriakos

Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Savvas has over 25 years of experience in the rheology of complex fluids including polymer melts and their blends, suspensions, gels and pastes. His group is using rheology as a probe to gain a better understanding of structural changes taking place in complex systems under flow. Primary focus is…

Tao Huan

Associate Professor

Chemistry

Dr. Huan is an Associate Professor in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Liang Li on developing chemical isotope labelling liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. After…

Zachary Hudson

Associate Professor

Chemistry

The Hudson group is focused on developing new bio-based polymers for use in compostable plastics. Tens of billions of pieces of single-use plastics end up in rivers, oceans and landfills every year, most of which take thousands of years to naturally break down. Food and beverage packaging is the…

Reinhard Jetter

Professor

Botany

Reinhard's research interests focus on the formation, composition, structure, properties and function of plant surface waxes. Lipids play a pivotal role in all interactions between plants and their biotic and abiotic environment. Integrative research in his lab spans secondary metabolites, wax…

Feng Jiang

Associate Professor

Wood Science

Feng’s research interest lies in converting naturally abundant biomass into functional nanocellulose and assembled structures. His strategies include: (1) developing green and efficient isolation/modification pathways to reduce production cost and diversify surface chemistry, (2) assembling…

Jaya Joshi

Assistant Professor

Wood Science

Jaya Joshi is a synthetic biologist interested in the directed evolution of enzymes to transform inefficient designer biocatalysts into highly active enzymes. Jaya recently finished a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Andrew Hanson at the University of Florida and moved to Dr. Vincent Martin’s lab…

Kwang Ho Kim

Assistant Professor

Wood Science

Dr. Kim joined the Department of Wood Science as an Assistant Professor in July 2024. Previously, he was a Principal Researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). From 2018 to 2021, he served as an Adjunct Professor at UBC, collaborating with professors and researchers across…

Patrick N. Kirchen

Assistant Professor

Mechanical Engineering

Patrick's current research activities include internal combustion engine studies focusing on novel combustion strategies utilizing natural gas (NG) and biofuels, in particular the development of instrumentation, diagnostic techniques, and phenomenological models. He is developing a membrane…

Frank Ko

Canada Research Chair Professor (Tier 1) in Advanced Fibrous Materials

Materials Engineering

Building on a tradition of creative design and fabrication of fibre based surgical implants, the Advanced Fibrous Materials Laboratory is dedicated to the development of a nanofiber platform for tissue engineering scaffolds in orthopedic, vascular and neual prostheses. Ko also works on Nanofibre…

Vassilis Kontogiorgos

Associate Professor

Food Chemistry

Dr. Kontogiorgos received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Food Science from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). A full scholarship was then awarded from the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) for PhD studies in Food Science at the University of Guelph (Canada), where he investigated…

Rob Kozak

Associate Dean Academic

Wood Science

Rob’s current research and teaching interests revolve around sustainable business management practices and issues and providing business-based solutions to complex problems related to sustainable development, forestry, wood products and the emerging conservation economy. Currently, his work…

Hongbin Li

Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Hongbin’s research currently focuses on elastomeric protein-based biomaterials and single molecule protein mechanics. He and his research team are developing rational approaches to engineer protein-based biomaterials with tailored mechanical properties by using well-characterized single…

Mark MacLachlan

Associate Dean of Research & Graduate Studies

Chemistry

Taking inspiration from nature, he assembles new materials with hierarchical structures on the nanoscale. Much of his research is aimed at developing new materials using biopolymers – cellulose and chitin – as a template. Using cellulose nanocrystals, for example, his team has…

Shawn Mansfield

Canada Research Chair in Wood and Fibre Quality (term completed)

Wood Science

Mansfield and his team use a combination of molecular biology, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and plant cell wall characterization techniques to elucidate the role of various biosynthetic pathways in the development, growth, chemistry and ultrastructure of secondary xylem formation in trees…

Adriana Manso

Associate Professor

Dr. Manso received her D.D.S. degree at the University of Londrina, Brazil, Master of Science in Restorative Dentistry at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and PhD in Dental Biomaterials at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Additionally, she holds two specialty degrees, in…

Mark Martinez

Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

The focus of Mark's research is on fluid mechanics, flow visualization, multiphase flows and computational fluid dynamics with applications to industrial problems. He is currently working on the following research projects: Advanced Particle Fractionation Systems (NSERC Strategic Grant,…

Parisa Mehrkhodavandi

Associate Professor

Chemistry

Parisa’s research focuses on catalysis and bridges inorganic and polymer chemistry. She has developed indium and zinc catalysts for the selective and controlled polymerization of lactones, some bio-sourced, to form biodegradable material. These catalytic systems have allowed the precise…

Carl Michal

Associate Professor

Carl's group studies biological, organic and inorganic materials, using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as the primary tool. The current projects include: Relaxation and Magnetization transfer in brain tissue: We use NMR to probe the fundamental physics of the nuclear…

William Mohn

Professor

Microbiology and Immunology

Bill has made pioneering advances in understanding bacterial metabolism of terpenoid compounds, including plant defense compounds and steroids, as well as understanding complex microbiomes residing in soil, wastewater treatment systems and humans.  They are also studying the composition of…

Madjid Mohseni

Scientific Director, RES’EAU

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Dr. Mohseni's research focuses on water quality and the application of advanced water treatment processes to improve the quality of drinking water. He specifically works on the development, evaluation, and implementation of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), particularly UV-based AOPs, ion…

Michael Murphy

Department Head

Microbiology and Immunology

Michael's research interests lie in how bacteria respond to stresses such as iron limitation, antibiotics, and barriers to motility. The systems used by bacteria to overcome these stresses are required for growth during infection and are potential targets for therapy. He investigates the…

William Nikolakis

Assistant Professor

Forest Resources Management

William Nikolakis, PhD, LLB, BBus practices law in British Columbia, and practiced in Australia. His focus is on the intersection between Aboriginal rights and natural resources law. Since 2000, he has been working with Aboriginal organizations, governments and corporations in Australia…

James Olson

Dean of Applied Science

Mechanical Engineering

An industry leading expert in the application of physics and fluid mechanics, James Olson’s research has led to revolutionary developments in the pulp and paper industry.  He currently leads a five-year university-industry collaborative research program whose  primary goal is to…

Gregory Paradis

Assistant Professor

Forest Resources Management

Gregory's research spans a wide range of forest management problems, with a focus on the application of operations research (OR) methods. His interests lie in the complex intersection of forest science, forest economics, forest and industrial engineering, data science, computer science,…

Anubhav Pratap Singh

Associate Professor

Food Safety Engineering

Anubhav and his team have been developing various novel physical processes and novel technologies for obtaining sustainable improvements in food quality and nutrition. Novel thermal processing technologies like agitation and reciprocating agitation processing, extrusion and HTST/UHT…

Scott Renneckar

Canada Research Chair in Advanced Renewable Materials

Wood Science

Scott’s research program focuses on creating advanced renewable materials through cutting-edge science that will catalyze a green economy.  These sustainable products sourced from nature are stronger, lighter, and more energy efficient than their petroleum analogs.  He uses…

Dominik Roeser

Associate Professor

Forest Resources Management

Research interests include: Forest Operations Wildfire Operations Biomass supply systems Feedstock quality improvements Technology transfer of harvesting technologies in different operational environments Small scale harvesting systems Small scale bioenergy solutions …

Orlando Rojas

Scientific Director

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Prof. Rojas is the 2018 Recipient of the Anselme Payen Award and is an elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society and the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.  He leads the UBC BioProducts Institute. Nanomaterials, colloids and surfaces form the basis of Prof. Rojas’ cross-disciplinary approach to understanding the fundamental principles involved in the design, manufacture and performance of biobased systems.

Jack Saddler

NSERC Industrial Senior Chair, Task Leader, IEA Bioenergy Task 39

Wood Science

Jack’s research specializes on turning forest residues into liquid fuels and chemicals, in what is called the biorefining concept. He expects that new technologies will allow many chemicals and fuels that are currently products of oil refining to be produced more sustainably and, more…

Lacey Samuels

Professor

Botany

Research in Samuels' lab integrates plant biochemistry with plant cell biology to discover how cellulose and lignin are made during wood formation. The formation of wood in the annual growth rings of trees is the most vivid example of how plant cells use carbon captured during photosynthesis to…

Laurel L. Schafer

Professor

Chemistry

Laurel’s research interests bridge the areas of organometallic and organic chemistry.  She has developed a new class of early transition metal complexes for use in selective carbon-nitrogen and carbon-carbon bond forming reactions of industrial relevance.  Applications in…

Peyman Servati

Professor

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Four research areas occupy Peyman's research and collaboration: Low-cost flexible solar cells and storage devices—develop novel nanomaterials and nanocomposites for low-cost and scalable solar energy generation and electricity storage; Wearable health monitoring sensors and systems—novel nanofiber materials can be used to increase accuracy and decrease power consumption and improve comfort of future wearable sensors; Novel display technologies; and Growth and modelling of nanowires and nanostructures complete the quartet of his research focus.

Sumi Siddiqua

Associate Professor

School of Engineering, UBCO

Sumi's research focuses on the design and development of new technologies for mixing soil targeted to improve ground conditions. Optimizing the application of environmentally safe soil stabilizers will significantly enhance the strength and performance of problematic soft soils. Sumi also…

Kevin J. Smith

Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

The aim of our research is to better understand the relationships between heterogeneous catalyst properties, reaction kinetics and reaction mechanisms, so as to assist in the design and development of improved catalysts and catalytic processes. We focus on issues related to the Canadian energy…

Shahab Sokhansanj

Adjunct Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Shahab’s core research is in feedstock engineering focusing on harvesting, drying, fractionating, and densification of cellulosic biomass. The work has evolved in two fronts: (1) experimenting with innovative biomass preprocesses to acquire engineering data for design and optimum…

Taraneh Sowlati

Professor

Wood Science

Biomass utilization, its optimization and management in supply chains have been the focus of Taraneh's research the past seven years. Improved mathematical programming and simulation models for optimizing the utilization of forest biomass along supply chains. Environmental impacts of…

Suzana K. Straus

Professor

Chemistry

The aims of Suzana's research programme are twofold: Increase the applicability of solid state NMR by improving current methods and developing new solid state NMR techniques for the structure determination of membrane peptides and proteins, and Study biologically and pharmaceutically…

Heather Trajano

Associate Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Heather's research focus is explore and harness fundamental knowledge of biomass fractionation and conversion for maximum economic and environmental benefit. Some specific research interests are i) Fundamentals of biomass deconstruction to separate carbohydrates from lignin, ii) Recovery and…

Qingshi Tu

Assistant Professor

Wood Science

Dr. Qingshi Tu’s research combines industrial ecology principles with computational modeling to promote the sustainable development of bioeconomy. Specific foci include; (i) Transforming the information of engineering systems through process simulation, statistical methods and machine…

Hamish van der Ven

Assistant Professor

Wood Science

Hamish’s research focuses on sustainable supply chain governance, eco-labeling and sustainability certifications, and the impacts of online activism on business behaviour. As a political scientist by training, he is interested in the rise of private governance and the growing role of…

Siyun Wang

Associate Professor

Siyun's research goal is to contribute to novel food safety technologies that will help reduce national and global burden of foodborne illnesses. Recent advances in high-throughput OMICs and big data have led to considerable breakthroughs in microbial food safety research, and the impact of her…

Stephen Withers

Professor

Chemistry

Stephen focuses primarily upon enzymes that catalyse glycoside formation and hydrolysis, since these play crucial roles in all areas of biology. Applications of his research range from the development of new catalysts for industrial processes to the design, synthesis and testing of new…

Vikramaditya Yadav

Assistant Professor

Chemical and Biological Engineering

Vikram’s research harnesses metabolic and enzyme engineering to investigate, tailor and express biosynthetic enzymes that can convert biomass-derived feedstocks into better fuels and pharmaceuticals under benign conditions without using hazardous reagents and solvents. Salient examples of…

Tianxi Yang

Assistant Professor

Food Science

Tianxi's research focuses on the development of innovative analytical technologies and advanced materials to improve the safety, sustainability, and resilience of agricultural and food systems. The Yang Lab applies interdisciplinary approaches from Food Science, Analytical Chemistry, Material…

Hisham Zerriffi

Associate Professor

Forest Resources Management

Overall research focus is on rural energy in developing countries, climate change, and the tradeoffs inherent in solving global environmental problems through local development projects. He practises an interdisciplinary approach that combines technical and social analysis to address important…

Ryan Ziels

Associate Professor

Civil Engineering

Beyond traditional wastewater treatment design approaches, Ryan’s goal is to integrate genomic information on the metabolic capacity and structure of microbial communities into treatment process modelling, design, and control. His research utilizes advanced molecular sequencing tools, such…