Exploring the Importance of Snow to Vancouver Island Water Supplies
February 15, 2019
VIU researchers are helping devise new methods of assessing the quality and quantity of water sources in coastal mountains using drones. Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers are taking a deeper look at snow packs in unique alpine forested watersheds on northern Vancouver Island, with the aim of using drone technology to fill a science knowledge gap on stream flows. VIU... Read more
VIU Researchers Aim to Develop Improved Mapping Methods For Canada's North
January 15, 2019
A Vancouver Island University (VIU) research project will provide a unique opportunity to examine the glacial landscape of Canada’s North, leading to new mapping methods that will help people identify sources of sand, gravel or minerals. Canada’s North is rich in natural resources and a major driver of economic growth in the region. Large mineral deposits could include diamonds, gold,... Read more
VIU Graduate Student Researches How Libraries Impact People's Quality of Life
January 7, 2019
The value of public libraries goes well beyond the multitude of books lining the shelves. Assessing the role that libraries play in contributing to community completeness and increasing? quality of life, and how this can, in turn, help marginalized urban groups is what Vancouver Island University (VIU) Master of Community Planning student Dylan Thiessen aims to determine. Thiessen... Read more
VIU’S MABRRI Researches the Importance of the French Creek Estuary Area
December 5, 2018
As communities continue to expand on Vancouver Island, creating a balance between development and natural spaces is even more crucial to ensure the protection of the environment and wildlife. The Friends of French Creek Conservation Society (FFCCS) sought out the expertise of VIU’s Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI) to help support their efforts to... Read more
VIU Master of Community Planning Program Launches Academic Journal
December 4, 2018
Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Master of Community Planning program now has its own peer-reviewed academic journal. Future Plans, an online academic journal accepting submissions from students, professional planners, consultants and researchers across Canada, published its first edition in late November. Featured authors in the inaugural edition include VIU students, a VIU professor and a... Read more
VIU Student Investigates How to Help Cities Better Prepare for Natural Disasters
November 28, 2018
Can community planning play a role in creating more resilient communities that are better able to withstand natural disasters? Vancouver Island University (VIU) Master of Community Planning student Lainy Nowak says without a doubt. She is investigating ways in which governments can plan cities to better withstand slow-moving environmental issues such as climate change and fast-moving natural... 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
VIU Launches Nanaimo-focused Remembrance Day Project
October 29, 2018
For 11 days leading up to Remembrance Day, nearly 200 names of Nanaimo soldiers who died during the First and Second World Wars will be displayed in prominent locations across the city. Nanaimo Remembers is a unique video memorial project that displays details about the fallen soldiers listed on the Dallas Square Cenotaph downtown. Spearheaded by Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Marketing,... Read more
VIU Research a Breakthrough in Opioid Overdose Harm Reduction
October 29, 2018
Researchers at Vancouver Island University (VIU) are zeroing in on a drug-testing method that could dramatically slow a burgeoning epidemic of opioid overdoses and potentially save countless lives. Led by Dr. Chris Gill, a VIU Chemistry professor and Co-Director of the Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), the research uses mass spectrometry-based methods to overcome key... Read more
Gender Historians Bring International Research Journal to VIU
October 15, 2018
The world’s leading journal on the history of gender relations is now basing its North American editorial operations out of Vancouver Island University (VIU). VIU History Professors Dr. Cheryl Krasnick Warsh, Dr. Katharine Rollwagen and Dr. Cathryn Spence made a successful bid to become the North American co-editors of Gender & History, a well-respected international journal that publishes... Read more