Research

Research at ECU

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Research

Research at ECU

Faculty Research

Emily Carr University faculty actively pursue their own creative practices and research projects in art and design, alongside their work as educators and leaders in their fields.

A student presents to a small group, standing at a table with illustrated materials and colorful supplies while others listen.

Faculty Research Support

The Research + Industry Office (RIO) supports faculty throughout their research journey – from early project development to post-award grant management.

Faculty can connect with RIO for:

  • Post-award project management
  • Funding Opportunities
  • Applying for grants
  • Grant writing support

Research Compliance and Getting Started

All researchers must be familiar with Emily Carr University’s compliance policies, including Ethics in Research, Responsible Conduct of Research, Research Administration, Ethics and Conduct, and Conflict of Interest procedures.

If you are new to research at Emily Carr University, a good place to begin is by exploring the wide range of research areas and creative projects already underway across the university. Learning about current initiatives can spark ideas, build connections, and open the door to future collaborations.

For those interested in working with organizations beyond the university, the Research + Industry Office (RIO) can help explore partnership opportunities and support the development of agreements for specific projects.

Research Projects

We’re grateful for the support provided by the Research Support Fund, which has helped make the current + recent research projects listed below possible.

These projects are funded through Canada’s federal research funding agencies, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Unless otherwise indicated, all projects are held at Emily Carr University and led by the researcher as Principal Investigator.

Audain Faculty of Art

Dr. Julie Andreyev

Branching Songs
SSHRC Connection Grant, (2022-24)
Funding: $47,558

Wild Empathy
SSHRC Connection Grant, (2019-21)
Funding: $47,058

Listening in Relation
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2024)

Dr. Ruth Beer

Land, Sea, Sky: Digital Infrastructure and Transition in Northern Landscapes and Communities
SSHRC Insight Grant (2025-2029)
Principal Investigator: Ruth Beer
Co-investigator at Emily Carr: Lindsay McIntyre
Funding: $368,337

Shifting Ground: Mapping Energy, Geographies and Communities in the North
SSHRC Insight Grant (2019-2023)
Principal Investigator: Ruth Beer
Co-investigator at Emily Carr: Lindsay McIntyre
Funding: $315,591

The Hidden Costs of Supply Chains: A Global Investigation
SSHRC Partnership Grant – Stage 2 (2018-2025, University of British Columbia)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $2,489,633

Feminist Energy Futures: Power Shift and Environmental Social Justice
SSHRC Insight Grant (2017-2022, University of Alberta)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $356,608

A Multi-sector Partnership to Investigate and Develop Policy and Practice Models to Dismantle Rape Culture in Universities
SSHRC Partnership Grant (2016-2023, McGill University)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $2,499,525

Peter Bussigel

CDMLA Research-Creation: Reanimating the Archive
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)

Nick Conbere

Drawing Ecologies: Towards an Ethics of Care for the Urban Tree Canopy
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2025-2027)
Co-investigators: Cameron Cartiere, Mimi Gellman
Funding: $74,973

Randy Lee Cutler

Leaning Out of Windows – art and physics collaborations through aesthetic transformations
SSHRC Insight Grant (2016-2020)
Co-investigator
Funding: $299,208

Emily Hermant

Core Memories: Retracing the Fabric of Computing Technology
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2024-2026)
Funding: $72,814

Tadasu Takamine: Sculptural Rebirth
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)

Beth Howe

Collective Description of the Wosk Print Collection: A Knowledge Exchange for Printmakers, Activists and Librarians
SSHRC Institutional Connection Grant (2023)
Co-investigators at Emily Carr: Ana Diab and Kristy Waller
Funding: $18,858

Conference Travel to present Collective Description at SGCI Printmaking Conference
SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) – Exchange (2024)

Mark Igloliorte

The Space Between Us
SSHRC Partnership Grant – Stage 2 (2021-2028, The University of Winnipeg)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr

Ingrid Koenig

Leaning Out of Windows – art and physics collaborations through aesthetic transformations
SSHRC Insight Grant (2016-2020)
Co-investigator: Dr. Randy Lee Cutler
Funding: $299,208

Dr. Daphne Plessner

Near Dwellers as Indwellers: Exploring New Approaches to Cohabiting with Wildlife in Urban Spaces
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)

Near Dwellers: A Series of Podcasts Examining Social and Political Relationships with Animal Neighbours
SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) – Explore (2024)

Birthe Piontek

Gradient Descent
SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) – Explore (2024)

Ian Gillespie Faculty of Design + Dynamic Media

Dr. Manuhuia Barcham

Digital Duty to Consult
SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) – Explore (2024)

Keith Doyle

Material Matters: Texture Lab – Material and Visual Poetics of LDM Technologies in Architectural Product
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)

Hélène Day Fraser

Moving Matter: Organic Encounters
SSHRC Insight Grant (2025-2029, Simon Fraser University)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $284,505

Meaningful Production: Muskox Wool in Nunavik
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2025-2027, University of Toronto)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $74,930

Material Matters Lab: Here/Too/For
SSHRC Connection Grant (2023-2024)
Co-investigator: Keith Doyle
Funding: $27,336

Amber Frid-Jimenez

Participedia Phase Two: Strengthening democracy by mobilizing knowledge of democratic innovations
SSHRC Partnership Grant (2021-2026, McMaster University)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $2,500,000

Reading Charisma: Art and Politics in the Age of AI
SSHRC Insight Grant (2020-2025)
Principal Investigator
Funding: $303,629

Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Art and Design Technology
CRC Programme, SSHRC (2014-2024)
Funding: $1,000,000

The Studio for Extensive Aesthetics
Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) (2022-2027, 2014-2019)
British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (2014-2019)
Principal Investigator
Funding: $75,000, $142,000

Participedia
Jarislowsky Foundation Grant (2020, University of British Columbia)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $75,000

Reading Charisma: Art and Politics in the Age of AI
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2018–2019)
Principal Investigator
Funding: $54,452

Participedia: A Global Partnership to Create and Mobilize Knowledge about Democratic Innovations (2015–2020, University of British Columbia)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $2,500,000

Participedia
SSHRC Partnership Development Grant (2012–2014, University of British Columbia)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $75,000

Daniel Wildberger – Ian Gillespie Faculty of Design + Dynamic Media

Animating Bird Behaviours to Enhance Immersion in Nature-Based XR Games
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)
Co-investigator: Cemre Demiralp

Jon Hannan

Co-designing Organizational Change for Supported Housing
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)
Co-investigator: Caylee Raber

Ki Wight

Critical and justice-oriented approaches to media production education
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2023-2025)
Funding: $69,931

Responses to AI and disinformation in art and design higher education: A review of policy and practice
SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) – Explore (2024)
Co-investigators: Dr. Leah Burns, Dr. Sara Osenton, Michelle Ng

Faculty of Culture + Community

Natasha Bissonault

Zimaz: Queer Aesthetic Seams of Diaspora
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2024-2026)
Funding: $47,668

Cameron Cartiere

Rain City Redux: Story of the Swale
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2024)
Co-investigator: Nick Conbere

Dr. Alla Gadassik

Animate Materials Workshop: Material Research Through Animation
SSHRC Insight Grant (2024-2029)
Funding: $261,989

Taqqut Productions and Inuit Storytelling through Animation
SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) – Exchange (2024)

Laura Kozak

Water Equity and Reconciliation Lab: Integrating a One Water Approach in the City of Vancouver’s Water Management Work
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)

Sunny Nestler

Saltwater City: Shaping Diasporic Spaces Through Immersive Media and Extended Reality
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2025-2027)
Co-investigator: Janet Wang
Funding: $74,897

Henry Tsang

Celebrating 50 years of Japanese Canadian Art and Activism: The Powell Street Festival 50th Anniversary Exhibition
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2024)

Janet Wang

Saltwater City: Mapping Diasporic Spaces Through Sensorial Immersion
SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) – Explore (2024)
Co-investigator: Gabe Wong

Other

Caylee Raber – Health Design Lab

Developing an emergent model of care through participatory arts-based practices with elders & community on the Sunshine Coast
NSERC College and Community Social Innovation Fund (2022-2025)
Co-investigator: Jon Hannan
Funding: $360,000

Co-design Beyond Pandemics: New Models for Research in Design and Health
SSHRC Connection Grant (2025-2026, University of Alberta)
Co-investigator at Emily Carr
Funding: $22,920

Co-designing Communication Materials for Dementia-Friendly Communities in the Comox Valley
NSERC Mobilize Institutional Grant (2025)
Co-investigator: Jon Hannan