BCIT Faculty, Instructor, & Researcher profiles

Mastercard Chair in Digital Trust, Faculty, School of Computing

Aaron holds a Ph.D. in Computing Science from Simon Fraser University, where he studied formal aspect of Knowledge Representation. Aaron's research interests lie at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Information Security. His NSERC-funded research focuses on formal models for reasoning under uncertainty, and the practical utility of these models for solving problems in security, network communication, and resource management. In addition to his academic research experience, Aaron also has a background in the private sector where he has worked as a software developer and an industrial research analyst.

SW02 321 - Burnaby Campus

B.A. Chemistry cum laude, 1989. Minor in Classical Studies. University of Puget Sound.
Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, 1995, University of British Columbia 
Postdoctoral Fellowships: 1996, Chemistry, University of British Columbia; 1997, Chemistry, University of Copenhagan (U.S. National Science Foundation Fellowship; 1998, Computing Science, Simon Fraser University (NSF Fellowship)

SW02 218 - Burnaby Campus

Experienced Research Faculty with a demonstrated history of working in the pharmaceuticals industry. Skilled in GC-MS, UV/Vis Spectroscopy, IR Spectroscopy, Gas Chromatography, and Research and Development (R&D). Strong research professional with a Certificate of Education focused in Chemistry and Physics from University of Strathclyde.

SW03 4605 - Burnaby Campus

Fitsum Tariku, Ph.D.Bachelor's Degree (Mechanical Engineering)Master's Degree (Mechanical Engineering), Ph.D. (Building Engineering), Director, Canada Research Chair in Whole-Building Performance.

Dr. Fitsum Tariku's experimental and computer modelling research program spans from materials and building envelope systems right through to whole-building performance analysis. Currently, he is working on material property measurements and characterizations; hygrothermal modelling and measurements of building envelope systems; and integrated analysis of whole-building performances. He aims to develop a comprehensive building optimization and decision-making tool that integrates whole-building simulation, risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis, with the objective of designing a building that is energy efficient, durable, economical, environmentally friendly, and provides comfortable and healthy indoor air quality to occupants.

Industry and academic veteran with extensive interdisciplinary research and HQP training experience in Smart Grid, Electric Utility Systems and Energy Management System (EMS) research in North America and Asia. Internationally recognized researcher and leader for his contributions to Smart Grid research and project/services developments with numerous publications and HQP training in various areas related to Smart Grid. Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of two joint government/industry funded Pan Canadian Strategic Research networks, involving Canadian Universities, Government Institutes, Electric Utilities and Private Sector in Interdisciplinary Research into Smart Grid and Cyber Security (please, see links below):

1. http://www.smart-microgrid.ca/
2. http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/db-tb/index-eng.asp?province=2&category=0&popup=1&story=13086
3. http://www.bcit.ca/appliedresearch/smart/

Over an eight year period, secured approximately $30 million dollars funding from the government and industry for pan-Canadian initiatives in interdisciplinary research in Information Technology, Cyber Security and Smart Grid. Dr. Farhangi is a Professional Engineer (PEng) and a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEG), a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), a nominated member of Cigre and member of various international standardization committees for Smart Grid, Smart Microgrid and AMI.

Canadian Research Chair, Rehabilitation Engineering Design, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Adjunct Professor, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Research Director, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Ph.D. (Neuroscience) [University of British Columbia]B.A.Sc. (Engineering Physics) [University of British Columbia].

Dr. Borisoff focuses his research on how technology development can improve accessibility and mobility for people with SCI. One focus of his work is on expanding patients' ability to interact more fully with others, the environment, and their world. This includes dynamic wheeled mobility, the ability to change your position in a wheelchair to suit different daily activities. Rehabilitation Engineering Design looks at how people use devices in real life and, from these observations, designs better versions of the devices. In the long term, Dr. Borisoff wants to merge current models with newer technologies like robotics and exoskeletons in order to increase the ways in which technology can improve the lives of people with SCI.

Associate Dean, Building Design and Construction Technology, Director, Sustainable Development and Environmental Stewardship.

Dr. Jennie Moore is an accomplished and recognized global leader in sustainability whose work and leadership has received local, national and international acclaim, Jennie launches sustainability-focused industry practices and educational standards that make our community a better place in which to live and work. A LEED-accredited professional, Jennie's work received an Environmental Citizenship Award from the federal government for her groundbreaking Employee Trip Reduction program.

SE01 140N - Burnaby Campus

Joan is a Research Scientist and part-time Instructor in the Biotechnology Program at BCIT, where students earn a joint BCIT-UBC Bachelor Honours Degree in Biotechnology. She has taught core courses in molecular genetics, introduction to biotechnology and currently teaches protein biochemistry and advanced animal cell biology. Joan has almost 20 years of post-doctoral work experience and has conducted research in both the academic and biotechnology sectors. She has consequently developed a diverse background in several areas of molecular and cell biology, with a particular interest in the molecular biology of stem cells.

Industry Experience: Prior to joining at BCIT, Joan worked for over five years at Chromos Molecular Systems as a Sr. Scientist and Team Leader for their Cell Line Engineering program. She led all projects focused on enhancing gene targeting and expression, and was successful in engineering Chromos' proprietary (US Patents 20050181506 & 0120064578) ACE System vectors (Perkins et.al.). Joan was also responsible for engineering a manufacturing (CHO) cell line for a first-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibody, which is now undergoing clinical development by Glenmark and Sanofi Pharma for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease, respectively (Bloomberg; Nature Biotech).

Academic Background: Joan's Ph.D thesis focused on the biochemical purification and characterization of a novel & selective growth regulator of hematopoietic progenitor cells (Shellard et.al.; Logan, Shellard et.al.). This regulator belongs to a class of neutrophilic granule proteins that mediate a variety of pro-inflammatory activities and Joan is credited as the first researcher to identify its regulatory role in hematopoiesis and the pathogenesis of myeloid leukemias (Ouriaghli et.al.; Tavor et.al.). Joan's post-doctoral work expanded her expertise in the molecular mechanisms governing embryonic and stem cell development. In the Zoology department at UBC, she analyzed the Polycomb gene, Asx, in fruit fly development (Sinclair et.al.) and at the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France), she studied the role of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) in maintaining the totipotency of mouse embryonic stem cells (Shellard et.al.).

SW09 208 - Burnaby Campus

University of British Columbia, Ph.D., 2014

Mirela Gutica is Faculty member and Option Head in the School of Computing and Academic Studies, at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her interests in computing technology include digital logic design, computer architecture, programming languages, operating systems and human-computer interaction. She is also involved in research in learning theories, education technologies and intelligent pedagogical agents.

Over the years, Mirela Gutica taught in post-secondary education at BCIT and Douglas College courses in programming methodologies, discrete mathematics, computer architecture, operating systems, web development, system internals and research methodologies. She is the Option Head for Technical Programming since 2002. She is interested in enhancing students' learning experiences and creating a learning community. Mirela Gutica organized and participated in several events that showcased students' projects and connected them with specialists from industry.

Mirela Gutica completed in May 2014 a PhD in Curriculum Studies with a specialization in Technology Studies. In her PhD thesis, Mirela Gutica studied how emotion influences learning in the context of tutoring systems. She designed an educational game, Heroes of Math Island, for students in grades five to seven, and analyzed the learners' emotional states as they interacted with it. Her findings will benefit researchers and designers in the field of advanced learning technologies.

Areas of study: Curriculum Studies,Technology Study Education, Adaptive Interfaces

Dissertation: Designing Educational Games and Advanced Learning Technologies: An Identification of Emotions for Modelling Pedagogical and Adaptive Emotional Agents

Program Coordinator, Forensic Science, BCIT

Patrick has been involved in the justice and public safety field since 1982. He has worked in the Canadian military, federal corrections, law enforcement at the federal, provincial, municipal and city level, health care security, and post-secondary institutions. He has published research articles on vehicle arson patterns, police uniform standards, information sharing between federal agencies, and marijuana grow-ops to mention a few. Throughout his career, Patrick has worked with police officers, fire fighters, ambulance crew members, special interest groups, occupational health and safety professionals, and public policy departments and organizations. His special area of interest is public perception of the information society, perceptions of safety and security on the internet, and discourse analysis. 

Patrick completed his Master of Arts (Royal Roads University) 2004, and is in his 1st year of his Doctor of Social Sciences research in the securitization and social construction of cybersecurity offensive tactics.

DTC 473 - Downtown Campus

Director, Natural Health and Food Products Research Group (NRG), Canada Research Chair in Phytoanalytics

Dr. Paula Brown is the Director of the BC Institute of Technology's Natural Health and Food Products Research Group (NRG), which has been actively supporting the NHP industry for over a decade through applied research activities, including product development, establishment of quality standards and regulatory compliance. By providing fundamental investigations on product quality, safety and efficacy, BCIT supports industry through the entire continuum, from grower to manufacturer, ensuring product integrity is maintained. Dr. Brown has spoken at numerous conferences over the last decade on product quality standards, analytical method validation and is currently the "Quality Focus" columnist for Nutraceuticals World.

An active volunteer, Dr. Brown sits on various Boards, Committees and Working Groups including the Dietary Supplement Joint Committee (NSF) and the Analytical Laboratories and Botanical Raw Material Committees (American Herbal Products Association). She is currently a Director for the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC which strategically invests federal and provincial funds in support of innovative projects to benefit the agri-food industry. In 2003 she was a founding Director of the NHP Research Society of Canada, dedicated to supporting and promoting scientifically rigorous NHP research and education and most recently she joined the Advisory Board of the American Botanical Council.Dr. Brown serves on two grant review committees for National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine, NIH and is a reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed Journals in the field of analytical chemistry and natural products. A Fellow of the AOAC International (2009), she served as Referee for the Dietary Supplement Methods Committee from 2004-2009, is a current member of the Dietary Supplement Task Force (2003-present), and has participated on seven Expert Review Panels for AOAC. In addition she has directed three full collaborative studies; Goldenseal (Official Methods SM 2008.04), Ginseng (SM 2008.05) and Echinacea (in review).

Dr. Brown is currently a member of the Natural Health Products Program Advisory Committee (PAC), and Chair of it's Product Testing Working Group, convened to make recommendations on policy related to standards of evidence for quality. The mandate of the PAC is to provide the NHP Program Directorates (Natural Health Products Directorate, Marketed Health Products Directorate and Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate) with advice and recommendations on current and emerging issues relevant to the Canadian regulatory framework for natural health products.

Rodger Beatson, BSc, PhD (Organic Chemistry), Faculty, Chemical and Environmental Technology.

Areas of interest: Energy efficiency in mechanical pulping, production of dissolving pulps, forest biomass as a source of fuels and chemicals, genetic control of plant fibre properties.

SW01 2448 - Burnaby Campus

Rodrigo Mora, PhD, P.Eng. 

PhD Building Systems Integration (Concordia University), MEng, Building Science (Concordia University), Civil Engineer, Building services and systems (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana). 

Throughout his professional career, Mora has focused on involving research and development for the planning and design of large residential developments and hospitals, as well as his academic research, he has been keen on developing tools and methods to help engineer built environments that are healthy, welcoming and pleasant. Rodrigo is passionate about great architecture and human-centered design. As such his research focuses on improving knowledge on modelling and measuring techniques for predicting indoor environments and how these affect human health and improve human experiences in buildings. He uses this knowledge to investigate novel environmental systems that are responsive to the needs and goals of people, and in harmony with the environment.

NE01 248C - Burnaby Campus

Ph.D., EIT, Instructor, Program Coordinator, Civil Engineering, School of Construction and the Environment

Sudip's interests and expertise are in the fields of construction materials and structural engineering. His current research interests include durability modelling of concrete structures, investigating different non-destructive test methods for masonry blocks, and looking into the development of testing standards for shotcrete. Alongside his teaching responsibilities at BCIT, he continues to work part-time as a Field Engineer with Metro Testing Laboratories in Burnaby, BC.

Ph.D, Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2013. Thesis Title: The effects of global climate change on carbonation induced corrosion of reinforced concrete structures.

M.A.Sc, Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2008. Thesis Topic: The Application of Sprayed Fiber Reinforced Polymers for the Retrofit of Timber Bridges.

B.A.Sc, Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2004. Specializing in Structural Engineering.

SW03 2082 - Burnaby Campus