Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

The nano- and micro-scale particle size analyzers requested support an imperative infrastructure requirement for a minimum of nine young researchers in the School of Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC)'s Okanagan Campus. The four co-investigators and five users involved in this proposal belong to environmental, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines. This is part of the continuous effort in the School of Engineering (started in 2006) to build/strengthen research and advanced training facilities in the Okanagan Campus. The particle size analyzers are equipped with both wet and dry dispersion modules, which provide an important versatility to meet the research requirements/tasks of the co-applicants and potential users. This configuration will give the different research groups the ability to work with both liquid (e.g., water, wastewater, sludge) and powder (e.g., cement, metal powders, minerals) samples in a very dynamic range (0.3 nm to 3500 µm) for characterization. Furthermore, the nano-scale particle size analyzer has additional capabilities, such as zeta potential and molecular weight measurements, which can be key factors in understanding the performance of physico-chemical water treatment processes, such as flocculation and sedimentation in the field of Environmental Engineering. The equipment will support the training of undergraduate, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows that are directly related to the protection of public health and the environment, development of new ceramic and structural construction materials as well as solar cells. The highly qualified personnel (HQP) will be trained in the use of the macro- and micro-scale particle size analyzers with laser diffraction and dynamic light scattering methods, respectively and will gain skills for the operation of these systems, data collection and analysis.