News Stories
BC Government announces support for VIU-developed drug checking technology
August 17, 2021
Vancouver Island University (VIU) is excited to share the news that the provincial government is providing $305,000 for HarmCheck – a cutting-edge drug-checking technology that was developed at VIU. It uses high-throughput paper spray mass spectrometry to provide rapid drug-checking and can be used on-site as a harm reduction method. HarmCheck is a collaboration between VIU and the Victoria-based... Read more
VIU Faculty Take Popular Extreme Science Show Online
April 12, 2021
Series of videos showcase daring and exciting physics and chemistry experiments to get youth interested in science. A show that has been getting kids excited about science for more than a decade went virtual this year – and caught thousands of elementary school-aged children up in a challenge that saw 11 lucky classrooms win science supplies. Every spring, Vancouver Island University (VIU)... Read more
Researchers Developing "Game-Changing" Methods to Measure Contaminants
December 3, 2020
VIU acquiring first high-resolution mass spectrometry instrument of its kind in the central Vancouver Island region thanks to grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and BC Knowledge Development Fund. Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers are striving for faster, better and more economical mass spectrometry methods to measure environmental and biological samples in the field to... Read more
Air Quality Improves Across the Province During the COVID-19 Crisis
May 26, 2020
Vancouver Island University (VIU) student researchers see a dramatic decrease in air pollution levels due to reduced car and plane traffic. Restrictions imposed to help save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to less people driving and flying, which has created a rare opportunity for Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers and students to study the impacts of automobile and plane... Read more
VIU Donates Critical Health Supplies During Covid-19 Crisis
May 25, 2020
University community puts expertise and resources to work to benefit frontline workers. As COVID-19 quickly spread around the world and critical health supplies became scarce, Vancouver Island University (VIU) employees have found ways to help protect frontline responders and their colleagues on campus providing essential services. “Universities have enormous intellectual capacity and the... Read more
Alum of the Month: Hannah McSorley
January 14, 2020
It’s been a few years since Hannah McSorley graduated from Vancouver Island University, but her connections to the institution remain strong. Thanks to a research background in environmental analytical chemistry which she gained while still a student at VIU, as well as significant field experience in hydrology, McSorley is working for the university’s Coastal Hydrology Research Lab as an analyst... Read more
Women of STEM
September 18, 2019
The white lab coat and plastic eye protection glasses may not have changed in the past two or three decades, but who is wearing them has. The number of women entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers has increased in recent years, but not enough. What needs to be done to ensure the increasing number of women accessing STEM education translates into more gender... Read more
Innovative Chemistry Major Now Being Offered at VIU
April 10, 2019
The emerging disciplines of green chemistry and analytical chemistry are just two of several unique aspects of the new Bachelor of Science, Major in Chemistry degree program being offered at VIU this fall. Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award holder Misha Zvekic is excited to be among the first to graduate with Vancouver Island... Read more
World-Class VIU Research Vehicle Will Monitor Air Quality in Nanaimo this Winter
November 19, 2018
Researchers with Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), in co-operation with community partners are conducting a Regional Air Quality Mapping Pilot Project in the Central Island region. The Mobile Mass Spectrometry Lab, a.k.a. the Mass Specmobile, is the only one of its kind in Canada. The high-tech innovations onboard allow researchers to... Read more