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We currently have an opportunity for 2-year MASc position or 1-year Post-doctoral fellow positon to develop a IoT based vibration performance monitoring system for mass timber buildings, starting in September 2025 or January 2026.

The MASc position is only available to applicants who are already in Canada.

Research Project

This research will develop a cost-effective vibration performance monitoring system based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology to conduct event-based vibration monitoring of mass timber buildings. The potential outcomes of the proposed research include, 1) a cost-effective monitoring system that can be deployed to mass timber buildings for data collection and data-informed structural design, building management and maintenance; 2) dynamic properties and response induced by different types and levels of load activities including footfall on floors, wind or seismic activities on a whole building.

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications:

• A Engineering or Applied Science degree in Civil/Structural Engineering, Wood Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, Engineering Physics or Electrical and Computer Engineering.
• Demonstrated experience in structural health monitoring, vibration testing, signal processing, skills in coding, sensor development, IoT and PCB design are highly desired.
• A proven track record of projects and/ or publications in respected scientific journals and conferences.

Application Process

Please first read here for application process.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV, transcript, and statement of purpose, highlighting their previous research experiences and achievements in the related fields. Please note that only eligible applicants will be contacted for further steps in the selection process.

Tianci defended his MASc thesis last Dec. Congratulation to Tianci on finish his thesis work on “optimizing hollow-box floor systems with structural composite lumber through screw-gluing method and parametric modelling”. He conducted a comprehensive research on adopting screw-gluing method for SCL, and developed a parametric design tool in Rhino/Grasshopper for optimal rib floor design.

His thesis can be assessed here. Best wishes for this future endeavour.

Last December, Chenyue defended her thesis on “VIBRATION SERVICEABILITY PERFORMANCE OF MASS TIMBER FLOORS WITH BEAM SUPPORTS AND CONCRETE TOPPING”, and then she started her PhD study under the co-supervision of Drs. Zhou and Chui at the University of Alberta in January. Her PhD study will continue the topic of floor vibration serviceability, aiming to develop a generalized vibration serviceability design framework for mass timber floor systems.

Recently in April, Reza defended his thesis on “A CONNECTION FOR TWO-WAY SPANNING CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER CONCRETE COMPOSITE FLOORS”. This work is co-supervised by Drs. Zhou and Tannert. The findings from his research will pave the way for two-way spanning CLT-concrete floor composite systems such as point-supported CLT-concrete composite floors.

Congratulations to both, and best wishes for their future endeavours.

We currently have an opportunity for a Ph.D. student to join our project titled “Vibroacoustic performance of wood-based hollow rib/box floor systems,” starting in September 2024 or January 2025. This position is a part of the three-year research program “Impact sound insulation in mass timber buildings: perception, modelling, and improvement,” funded by the NSERC/FRQNT NOVA program and co-led by Dr. Joonhee Lee from Concordia University.

Research Project

The selected candidate will explore the vibroacoustic properties and performance behaviour of wood-based hollow box/rib floor systems that is being developed in our research group, contributing to a comprehensive study aimed at enhancing sound insulation in mass timber buildings. This project offers the chance to be at the forefront of sustainable building research, combining theoretical and practical methodologies to drive innovation in the field.

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for candidates who are passionate about sustainable construction and have:

• A BSc/BASc or MSc/MASc in Civil Engineering, Wood Engineering, Architecture Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Vibration Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or Engineering Physics.
• Demonstrated research experience in wood, vibration, and building acoustics, especially in testing and modelling using Finite Element Method (FEM), Discrete Element Method (DEM), or multiphysics approaches.
• A proven track record of projects and publications in respected scientific journals and conferences.

Application Process

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV, transcript, and statement of purpose, highlighting their previous research experiences and achievements in the related fields. Please note that only eligible applicants will be contacted for further steps in the selection process.

The successful applicant will have a minimum stipend of $18,000 per year plus a Doctoral Tuition Award for 4 years.

The 2023-2024 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship competition has launched!

Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships are Canada’s most prestigious and highest valued award for postdoctoral researchers. Valued at $70,000 per year for 2 years, the competition is open to both Canadian and international researchers who have recently completed a PhD, PhD – equivalent, or health professional degree. More details can be found at: https://banting.fellowships-bourses.gc.ca/en/home-accueil.html

Research at UNBC aims to be impactful locally, nationally, and globally. Our desire to contribute meaningfully to a community depends upon drawing from the diversity of that community, and we recognize that all perspectives add value and breadth to research endeavours. We strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups (Indigenous, visible minorities, diversely-abled, women, LGBTQ2S+ and all intersectionalities) to apply.

The UNBC internal deadline for the submission of an “Expression of Interest” is 9:00 am Monday July 10, 2023 (late submissions will not be accepted, so we need to develope the proposal in May and June). Expressions of interest must include: a brief research proposal (max. 4 pages; excluding references), a letter of support from the applicant’s proposed supervisor, and an up to date CV from the candidate.

The Wood Engineering research group at UNBC is well known for our research strength in R&D of wood-based building systems, with state-of-art research facilities and labs.

If you are interested in developing an IoT-based post-occupancy evaluation and structural health monitoring system for mass timber buildings and bridges, please feel free to contact me (jianhui.zhou@unbc.ca). Desired applicants should have a PhD in Structural Engineering or Timber Engineering or a closely related field from a recognized university, with prior experience in structural health monitoring, programming, physics-informed machine learning, and a strong interest in IoT technology.

The full application deadline is September 20, 2023 (by invitation only).

Peter successfully defended his master’s thesis this October. Congratulations to him, and best wishes for his future endeavor!

Peter’s thesis is on the impact sound insulation of mass timber slabs with floating floor assemblies (thesis can be downloaded here). He was a valuable member of our group, and he made lots of contributions to different research projects.

This summer, we added four new members to our research group.

We want to say thank you to our Global Research Interns, Mo from Hongkong Polytechnic University, Prakhar from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University and Riddhi Mandal from G.H.Raisoni College of Engineering.

Tianci (Aiden) started his MASc in Engineering in May, and he holds a BASc in Civil Engineering From the University of Queensland, Australia. His research topic is on prefabricated hollow timber floors using structural composite lumber and screw gluing.

Chenyue and Reza presented their research works in the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) conference and attracted a few audiences’ attention as well as received multiple comments. All the students expanded their social networks and had opportunities meeting professionals.

Several local media reported the CFI and BCKDF grants that we received. We are now in the purchasing process to acquire equipment that will enable us to build an integrated start-of-the-art system for our research in structural dynamics, vibration and acoustics.

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