Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Environmental protection and Truth and Reconciliation are two of the most pressing issues facing Canadians. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other pollutants must be detected and quantified to assess their impact on climate change and human health, as well as the regulatory compliance of the underlying sources. At the same time, Canadians must reconcile with Indigenous peoples, which includes supporting research into Indigenous epistemologies that have been long overlooked, and even systematically erased, by western academe. Hyperspectral (HS) imaging is a potent tool to accomplish both tasks. HS cameras generate thousands of near simultaneous images, each at a unique wavelength. Since most gases absorb and emit radiation at distinct infrared (IR) wavelengths, HS imaging can fingerprint and quantify gases far more reliably than is achievable using conventional IR imaging techniques. HS and other IR imaging techniques may also provide key insights into the construction and adornment of culturally- and spiritually-significant Indigenous objects, e.g., the pigments associated with a given colour, in a non-destructive way. This five-year research program has two interconnected objectives: developing new HS imaging techniques to quantify emissions; and deploying IR techniques, including HS imaging, to support scholarly exploration of Indigenous material culture. The first objective builds on collaborations between the applicant and industry, governmental agencies, and Telops, the Canadian originator of this technology. A key task is to derive algorithms that convert the HS data into emission estimates in an expedient manner. An emphasis will be placed on deploying statistical tools to draw probabilistic conclusions about plume composition and emission rates. Trainees will work directly with industry and regulatory agencies, equipping them with skills needed by Canada's cleantech industry The applicant and his trainees will also work with Defence Research Development Canada to extend these algorithms to detect chemical warfare agents that may be used against Canada's military and civilian populations. The applicant will also help researchers at UW's Longhouse Labs to deploy IR imaging techniques to support exploration of Indigenous material culture. The same algorithms used to fingerprint gases will be extended to key pigments, which will be illuminated using a reflectometer system to be developed by UW engineering students. The applicant and trainees will then generate IR images of loaned Indigenous cultural objects, which may then be interpreted by Indigenous scholars and artists-in-residents, thereby contributing to Indigenous epistemology. By involving settler engineering students in the research, these activities will also help decolonize UW's engineering program. These research objectives are an important step towards the applicant's long-term goal of helping Canada achieve its climate change goals and reconciling with Indigenous peoples.