In pictures: York’s Convocation celebrates Class of 2023
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Spring Convocation for York University’s Class of 2023 ran from June 9 to 23, and featured 13 ceremonies at both the Keele and Glendon Campuses.
This year’s Spring Convocation began on June 9 with a ceremony at York’s Glendon Campus, and continued with a dozen more in the following weeks at the Keele Campus. 6,140 graduands received their degrees during ceremonies overseen by the newly inaugurated 14th chancellor of York University, Kathleen Taylor.
View photos from the Class of 2023 ceremonies below:
In early June, at the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University, the Research Awards Celebration honoured four of its faculty members who demonstrated excellence in research, knowledge translation and student mentoring carried out in the last three years.
“This year’s recipients of the Lassonde Innovation Awards (LIA) embody the vision of our School,” says Magdalena Krol, associate dean of research, innovation, enterprise and partnerships at the School. “They each have made incredible efforts to create positive change at Lassonde and throughout our wider communities. We are excited to see what amazing work they will do next and look forward to supporting their endeavours.”
The Lassonde Innovation Awards (LIA) were part of a celebration that further honoured a total of 60 faculty members for their positive contributions to Lassonde and beyond, with half of the achievements representing interdisciplinary work and addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
“World-class research and teaching are of critical importance as we cultivate new ideas, knowledge and contribute towards a more sustainable world for all,” says Lassonde Dean Jane Goodyer. “Our faculty members are creating local and global impact, in addition to raising Lassonde’s reputation as a first-rate engineering and science School on the international stage.”
This year’s LIA winners are:
Innovation Award (Early Career Researcher): Hina Tabassum, assistant professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Hina Tabassum
Tabassum, who leads the Next Generation Wireless Networks (NGWN) research lab, is focused on developing solutions for 5G/6G wireless networks, addressing their performance, design, modelling, analysis and optimization, as well as problems related to mobility management, traffic offloading and resource management. Tabassum’s extensive research output has significantly contributed to elevating York University’s telecommunications ranking, which is currently among the top 150 schools globally, according to ShanghaiRanking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities.
Tabassum has been named one of the 10 Rising Stars in N2Women: Rising Stars in Networking and Communications List and recorded in the Stanford’s List of the World’s Top 2% Researchers in 2021 and 2022. Demonstrating enthusiasm for her research field, Tabassum is an active senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), served on technical program committees for over 26 different conferences, held editorial roles for six prestigious journals and continues to commit to her position as the founding Chair of IEEE ComSoc RCC Special Interest Group (SIG) on Terahertz Communications. Tabassum was also the Chair of Lassonde’s Women in Computer Science and Engineering (WiCSE) from 2018 to 2020, providing opportunities for students to develop essential engineering skills and serving as an exceptional role model to women in engineering.
Innovation Award (Established Researcher): Jinjun Shan, professor, Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering
Jinjun Shan
Recognized as an international expert for research on space and autonomous systems, Shan founded the Spacecraft Dynamics, Control and Navigation Laboratory at York University nearly 20 years ago and continues to conduct innovative work in areas such as space instrumentation, multi-agent systems and unmanned vehicles. His research output has contributed to several national and international space missions, including Canada’s Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite (NEOSSat) – the world’s first space telescope used to track both celestial objects and man-made resident space objects (RSO).
In recent work, Shan has been highly focused on the development of autonomous systems, including self-driving cars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV).
He has secured over $5 million in research grants, produced over 200 publications and holds two patents. He is currently leading related projects with substantial funding ($2.5 million) from Innovation for Defense Excellence and Security (IDEaS), the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Mitacs Accelerate and Canadian Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund (CFI JELF). Shan was also elected as a Fellow of Engineering Institute of Canada in 2021, American Astronautical Society in 2022 and Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2023.
Graduate Mentorship Award: Sunil Bisnath, professor, Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering
Sunil Bisnath
Bisnath’s contributions to global navigation satellite systems research have led to over 100 publications, $4 million in research grants, and numerous collaborations with industry leaders, including Honeywell Aerospace, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Union.
He has also demonstrated exceptional commitment to the mentorship of his graduate students, encouraging his students to pursue competitive internships, world-leading international conferences and publishing numerous papers.
In addition, his guidance has led his graduate students to obtain positions with notable organizations following graduation, including Rx networks, MDA Ltd., NovAtel, the Canadian Space Agency, NASA and more.
Students commend his efforts to create a family-like research environment that exemplifies equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles. His graduate students often refer to their research group as a “miniature United Nations,” with the majority of members being visible minorities or belonging to underrepresented groups in STEM.
Public Engagement Award: Solomon Boakye-Yiadom, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Solomon Boakye-Yiadom
With Boakye-Yiadom’s research in advanced and structural materials and related applications, such as metal additive manufacturing, he actively brings his passion and expertise outside of the laboratory and classroom.
Collaborating with local school boards and educational programs, including Lassonde’s k2i academy and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO), Boakye-Yiadom has led panel discussions and presentations on various science and engineering topics.
He is especially dedicated to supporting underrepresented and marginalized groups in STEM, providing educational opportunities for women and Black students, as well as taking part in motivational and informative discussions organized by the Harriet Tubman Institute and Canadian Black Scientist Network (CBSN). In 2021, Boakye-Yiadom hosted a summer camp for international high school students across Africa, offering hands-on experience with projects that explore programs in the fields of STEM, arts, business and entrepreneurship. Encouraging women to get involved in engineering, Boakye-Yiadom also pioneered programs to recruit female African students to York.
Learn more about the award winners and their prestigious accomplishments in research and impact on the Lassonde website.
Tom Lee reminds Lassonde graduands to ‘stay thoughtful’
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The Lassonde School of Engineering Spring Convocation on June 22 was commenced by honorary doctor of laws recipient, Chair of the Corporate Advisory Council at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Heads Association, and Adjunct Professor Tom Lee, who expressed pride for the graduands and their institution for shaping a more humanitarian engineering ethos.
Welcomed to the stage by Lassonde Dean Jane Goodyer, Lee was praised for his ingenuity and unwavering sense of ethics. “Today, we not only celebrate Dr. Lee’s accomplishments, but also the values he embodies, the same ones Lassonde holds very dear: entrepreneurship, the pursuit of new ideas, academic freedom, and a passionate desire to create a better world,” Goodyer said.
Honorary degree recipient Tom Lee and Chancellor Kathleen Taylor
Having arrived in Canada in 1971, Lee’s family of six lived in a small, two-bedroom apartment and established roots just minutes away from the heart of York University’s Keele Campus.
“I’m a Downsview guy,” Lee explained as he reflected on what the community surrounding the Keele Campus means to him. “And it feels so good to be home again. And my roots in this neighbourhood makes this day much more special.”
Lee built a notable career after receiving his doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo, eventually being inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering and being named the Walter Booth Chair in Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship at McMaster University. A continuous thread throughout his many accomplishments is the passion Lee says his peers admired in him at various institutions, a trait which was inspired in him by Pierre Lassonde, whose legacy Lee sees carried on in Lassonde’s graduands.
Paying homage to Steve Jobs, Lee iterated on a famous quote from the late Apple founder’s own address at a Stanford University convocation.
“’Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.’ These words in so many ways capture the spirit of our digital age … We celebrated those who took decisive action, often without concern for immediate consequences. We’ll deal with that later. ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish,’” Lee remarked. “Today though, I want to suggest that we consider adding one more. Stay thoughtful. Stay hungry, stay foolish, stay thoughtful.
“About 10 years ago, I first met Pierre Lassonde and many of the founding leadership of the Lassonde school and they introduced me to a provocative new perspective on engineering education, and they called it renaissance engineering. I’m glad to see that these words and sentiments persist today here because renaissance engineering also had a lasting impact on me,” he continued. “It suggested that engineering could be a foundation for all sorts of creative and ambitious endeavours, and that the needs of people and communities need to directly connect to what you learn in class.”
Tom Lee
Lee suggested that for many decades an ask-questions-later approach to engineering had given rise to some of the most impressive feats of human inventiveness but had simultaneously driven crises and disasters.
“Nuclear energy, pesticides, plastics, pain medications, refined fossil fuels and internal combustion engines are all examples of engineered technologies that had a great start … but now represent enormous planet-level challenges,” he said.
On the other hand, Lee also expressed his hope that the next generation of thoughtful engineers – to which the Lassonde graduands now belonged – would be best equipped to handle both yesterday’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
“Things are changing, and you have a lot to do with it. More and more. I find your increased awareness of societal and global challenges and your loud and critical voice on the mistakes of people my age, to be welcome and essential to remaining optimistic about tomorrow.
“Today, I hope you celebrate like never before. Maybe even get a little foolish. Go nuts. You deserve it,” Lee concluded. “And tomorrow, you’ll begin building a wonderfully interesting and rewarding career, whatever that may be for you. And I hope that once in a while you will pause and think of something wonderfully thoughtful to do as well, whatever that may be for you.”
Lassonde students embody Women in Engineering Day
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From the Civil Engineering department at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, current student Peace Ikpotokin and recent graduate Josephine Morgenroth represent the intent of International Women in Engineering Day, celebrated annually in late June, to draw attention to women changing the face of engineering and the world’s future.
Peace Ikpotokin
Ikpotokin, who is in the final year of her master’s degree at Lassonde, conducts research with Liam Butler, assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, focused on monitoring the distributed strain behaviour of two-way slabs produced with low-carbon concrete. The production of concrete poses a major problem for the world, accounting for 7 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions globally.
Ikpotokin’s research aims to find solutions to this growing issue with environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional concrete.
Josephine Morgenroth
Morgenroth, who completed her PhD in civil engineering at Lassonde under the supervision of Associate Professor Matthew Perras and Associate Professor Usman Khan, researched combining disciplines of machine learning and rock engineering to predict geotechnical behaviour underground.
Contributing knowledge to an emerging field, her work aims to enhance the underground rock engineering design of structures such as tunnels, in a way that is useful for practical rock engineers.
Both graduates have garnered significant accolades. Ikpotokin has received the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) International Peace Scholarship, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Scholarship and numerous certificates acknowledging her leadership efforts. She is also a highly active member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), an organization that empowers women to achieve their full potential in engineering. Morgenroth has been awarded the Professor Doug Stead PhD Thesis Award from the Canadian Rock Mechanics Association, NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship and Joan Bath Award for Advancement of Mineral Industry.
Ikpotokin and Morgenroth have made an impact too on the industry. Following her undergraduate studies, Ikpotokin began working in the industry as a site engineer, structural engineer and supervisor for various building and construction projects. Morgenroth works as technical services manager at digital mining company RockMass Technologies, supports clients by coordinating fieldwork and providing expertise to help implement solutions for rock engineering problems.
Together their efforts are indicative of a shift in the engineering field. Over the past decades, Canada has experienced its largest growth of women in post-secondary engineering programs and professions through the support of various organizations, events and campaigns addressing underrepresentation. However, with women making up a meagre 14 per cent of practicing engineers in Canada, there is still a need for improvement.
“There was actually a lot of women representation in grad school, but not so much in the mining industry,” Morgenroth says.
Ikpotokin agrees. “There is a low number of women in engineering, the gap is very clear,” she says. “It would be nice to have more peer support and female students. It’s really satisfying and empowering to work alongside other women.”
Despite the need of improvement, there are signs of progress – and hope. Both engineers credit the immense support they received from their Lassonde research and PhD supervisors to contribute pivotal knowledge to novel fields of research. Furthermore, Morgenroth is seeing change through companies like the one that employees her. “Our CEO is a woman of colour, and a lot of our team members are women too. We can talk about someone’s wedding at lunch, and then get into rock mechanics right after – it’s great.”
Looking to the future, it’s situations like hers that are important to highlight, which is why representatives like Morgenroth and Ikpotokin are so important. It’s also why Morgenroth ensures to use her platform to inspire and motivate women in engineering through various talks at Lassonde. “Representation is important in fields like engineering,” says Morgenroth. “Diversity breeds innovation and challenges people to think differently.”
President’s University-Wide Teaching Award recipients honoured
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Five York University faculty members will be recognized during the 2023 Spring Convocation ceremonies with a President’s University-Wide Teaching Award for enhancing the quality of learning and demonstrating innovation in teaching.
The President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards are chosen from four categories: full-time faculty with 10 or more years of teaching experience, full-time faculty with less than 10 years of experience, contract and adjunct faculty, and teaching assistants. They are selected by the Senate Committee on Awards. The goal of the awards is to provide significant recognition for excellence in teaching, to encourage its pursuit, to publicize such excellence when achieved across the University and in the wider community, and to promote informed discussion of teaching and its improvement.
This year, the recipients of the awards are: Professor Kathy Bischoping of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS); Professor Steve Gennaro of LA&PS; Professor Andrea Kalmin of LA&PS; Daphene Solis of the Lassonde School of Engineering; and Farwa Sajadi of the Faculty of Science. The recipients were chosen from numerous nominations, and each winner will have their name engraved on the University-Wide Teaching Awards plaques displayed in Vari Hall. They will each be recognized during a convocation ceremony this spring.
This year’s recipients are:
Full-time tenured faculty with 10 or more years full-time teaching experience
Kathy Bischoping
Professor Kathy Bischoping is the recipient of this award for her impact on student learning in the Department of Sociology as well as the graduate program in sociology. Bischoping is known for her dedication to mentoring and scholarship of teaching and learning, in addition to curriculum and program development. Nominator Professor Lesley Wood, former Chair of the department, credits Bischoping with inspiring passion and relevance in her teaching and the design of her courses, and her critical analysis of pedagogy.
“One such notable project has been her research into how vicarious traumatization affects instructors, specifically in genocide studies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Bischoping played a leading role in mentoring faculty in her department in the transition to online teaching,” reads the notice from the Senate Committee on Awards.
Bischoping has earned a number of honours and awards, including the Parents’ Association University-Wide Teaching Award and the John O’Neill Award for Teaching Excellence.
Contract and adjunct faculty
This award will recognize two faculty members for 2023: Professor Steve Gennaro, Department of Communication Studies/Humanities (LA&PS) and Professor Andrea Kalmin, Department of Social Science (LA&PS).
Steve Gennaro
Gennaro received two separate nominations for this award in recognition of his contributions to teaching, and for his demonstration of a consistent drive to improve his teaching practice throughout his long-term employment at York. He is noted for regularly speaking and writing about pedagogical innovation, with a specific focus on the areas of online and digital learning. Both nominators – Professor Alison Halsall and Professor Rob Heynen – speak to the “immeasurable and long-lasting impact Professor Gennaro had on the University’s transition to remote teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads the announcement from the Senate Committee on Awards. Gennaro has been nominated for multiple teaching awards in the past, including the Minister of Colleges and Universities’ Awards of Excellence and the LA&PS Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
Andrea Kalmin
Kalmin will receive the award for her role as a core member of the C4 (Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom) leadership team, where she was involved in all decision-making processes and led initiatives to support the success of C4. She is a classroom coordinator, and the “primary architect of the structures that undergird C4, including standardizing collective lesson planning processes and syllabi and assignment templates,” reads the announcement from the Senate Committee on Awards. She was nominated by Professor Danielle Robinson, who noted Kalmin’s involvement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research team for C4, which sets the research agenda, oversees the interpretation of data and steers publication. Her contributions have been recognized previously with awards including the 2021 LA&PS Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the John O’Neill Award for Teaching Excellence.
Teaching assistants
Two teaching assistants have been selected to receive this award for 2023: Daphene Solis in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering and Farwa Sajadi in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.
Daphene Solis
Nominated by Professor Aleksander Czekanski, Solis has earned this award for her passion for teaching both in and out of the classroom. She is noted to have a remarkable grasp of technical subjects, as well as being resourceful, and seeks out leadership roles as a TA. “She takes the initiative while being recognized for her empathy and ability to deal with conflict,” reads the announcement from the Senate Committee on Awards. She has participated as a graduate student representation at the Technology-Enhanced, Experiential and Active Learning (TEAL) Committee, and has completed numerous training programs in teaching. In 2022, Solis was the recipient of the Best TA Award from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Farwa Sajadi
Sajadi will be recognized for being a TA who fosters an academically enriched environment for learning, advancing student critical thinking and implementing creative approaches to promote student scholarship and engagement. According to her nominator, Professor Jean-Paul Paluzzi, she has excelled in her roles as lab demonstrator, lab coordinator and course director in biology for undergraduate students. “She is also highly innovative and collaborative in her teaching practices, as is demonstrated by her work during the COVID-19 pandemic to plan for labs being delivered in a hybrid format with limited in-person occupancy and students spread across three different rooms,” the Senate Committee on Awards says in the announcement. She is further known to take initiative to help students and is a leader in volunteerism. In 2022, she earned the Richard Jarrell Excellence in Teaching Award.
Lassonde’s BEST program launches Bridge to Startup initiative
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The Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST) program at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering unveiled the BEST Bridge to Startup (BB2S) program, a new initiative that will run throughout the summer and aims to empower teams of undergraduate and graduate students to develop their capstone projects or research prototypes into successful startups.
The four-month program provides a unique opportunity for students nearing graduation by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills and resources, and enabling them to explore entrepreneurship as part of a team on a full-time basis and receive mentorship, coaching and funding.
With a grant of $10,000 as a salary and $5,000 for project expenses, participating students will have a chance to refine their business strategies, gain valuable insights and contribute to the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem at Lassonde. As part of the program, each team will have the opportunity to work with a Schulich MBA/masters/BBA intern to help develop competitive intelligence reports, go-to-market strategies, fundraising plans and product roadmaps.
By encouraging students to embrace entrepreneurship, the program aims to cultivate a generation of innovative and socially responsible entrepreneurs who will lead the way in creating solutions for a just and sustainable world.
“Our BEST Bridge to Startup (BB2S) program helps students turn their capstone prototypes into successful ventures using cutting-edge technologies,” says Maedeh Sedaghat, BEST program manager. “We provide aspiring entrepreneurs with the necessary skills, resources and mentorship to confidently navigate their entrepreneurial journey. Our goal is to cultivate a community of innovators who use their talent and purpose to build a better and more sustainable future.”
This summer, there are five projects taking part in BB2S:
Reefers Technologies Inc.: An energy recovery system that uses exhaust gases to create electricity to power the refrigeration system of refrigerated truck trailers.
Handi-Fuel: A project that is providing automated, accessible fuelling for mobility-challenged drivers. Mobility-challenged drivers need help getting out of their vehicles to fuel up their vehicles. The team is building a robotic arm that will eliminate this need.
Chatbase: An AI chatbot builder that trains ChatGPT on data and allows users to add a chat widget to their website. Chatbase leverages the power of ChatGPT to create a custom, intelligent chatbot for any website by training it on specific data sources. This results in a highly accurate, responsive chatbot that understands user queries, retrieves relevant information and provides natural language answers.
MechTronX Inc.: is an innovative tech company that specializes in addressing the research and development (R&D) needs of startups. MechTronX’s mission is to provide cost-effective, customized solutions that cater to the unique technical requirements of early-stage companies by offering a comprehensive range of services, including consultation, simulation, prototyping and assistance with mass manufacturing.
PowerRanger Multifunctional Robotic Platform: A project that takes a proactive approach to power line maintenance: enhancing efficiency, reducing downtime, and improving the overall reliability of power infrastructure by using an autonomous power line inspection robot for preventative maintenance. Their robot scans power lines using sensors and cameras to detect potential damage. Images are then sent to a centralized database where machine learning algorithms analyze them, identifying any issues. Geotagging ensures the easy location of areas of concern for ground workers.
Further information those interested can be found here.
Lassonde students receive 2023 Bergeron Medal
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Each year, top graduating students from the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University are awarded the Bergeron Medal by the Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST) program, which recognizes outstanding entrepreneurial achievement throughout their time at the School. This year, the award was presented to Nick Di Scipio and Megan Gran.
Nick Di Scipio
Di Scipio, a mechanical engineering student, received his medal for a number of accomplishments, including completing both the BEST Certificate and BEST Co-op program. The latter led him to put his passion for 3D printing into practice by creating a startup at BEST called Pantheon Prototyping, an on-demand additive manufacturing firm catering to various small to medium-sized organization.
Di Scipio prioritized Pantheon giving back to the Lassonde community by sponsoring technical clubs. He also mentored students, as well as participated in programs like the BEST Startup Experience and UNHack to support teams and guide them through their projects. During his time at Lassonde, Di Scipio also received the BEST Award in 2021 for his exceptional achievements.
Megan Gran
Gran, a space engineering student, has been an active participant in the BEST program throughout her degree, having engaged in various BEST initiatives and completed the BEST Certificate. Gran took part in Lassonde’s co-op program, where she had the opportunity to work for KPM Power. Throughout her time at Lassonde, she has been recognized as a Lassonde Scholar and a BEST Entrance Award Recipient.
Gran supported experiential education activities as a mentor, providing guidance and support to fellow students, by hosting tutoring sessions, participating in the York University Robotics Society and taking on leadership roles in various campus activities such as WeekZero. Additionally, she volunteered for several community events, including Innovire’s Annual Summit and various FIRST Robotics competitions. In her second year, she was one of just 24 students selected worldwide by the European Space Agency to participate in building and launching a rocket in northern Norway, through the “Fly a Rocket” program.
Find out more information about Lassonde’s BEST program here.
York Capstone Day awards recognize SDG innovation
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A total of 16 awards were given to teams of upper-year students based on their presentations at Capstone Day, an annual showcase hosted by the York Capstone Network (YCN) and the Lassonde School of Engineering.
Capstone Day offers upper-year students the chance to share capstone and pre-capstone projects focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to fellow students, faculty members and off-campus project partners.
“This exciting event serves as the culmination of their capstone projects, as well as their degree and university experience. It is also a pan-campus, community-building event, as it brings together hundreds of students, professors, and their on/off-campus partners into one virtual space, within which we can connect, share ideas, and imagine new ways to create impact on our world together,” Danielle Robinson, co-founder and co-lead of the University’s Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4), has said of the occasion.
This year’s Capstone Day saw more than 200 members of the York community and external visitors learn about the work of 517 presenting students focused on real world issues and creating positive change. The projects collectively represent innovative and sustainable design solutions, the addressing of societal issues, advancement of SDGs or creation of long-term positive change. That is especially true for the award winners, determined by a committee of 20 judges.
For example, the winners of the Tech Stewardship Prize – awarded to the work with the greatest commercial potential – went to a team project called KROP Vision, an indoor farming system meant to promote sustainable agriculture and reduce crops losses.
Another team, which received York’s Office of Sustainability SDG Award, developed a curriculum made up of four lessons that target various facets of sustainability to support creating a culture of sustainability among York’s residences.
“Through our meetings with senior residence staff, we learned that within the residence education plan, there’s little to no emphasis on sustainability,” said Ravi Mahadeo, a biology student and team member of Sustainable 7. “We believed that building that culture of sustainability through education would be effective.
“Our goal was to educate students in these areas, all while equipping them with the knowledge to act more sustainability in their everyday lives.”
Faculty members can learn more about capstone courses, C4, the Project Commons and implementing experiential education into their classrooms by connecting with members of the York Capstone Network.
The full list of awards and project titles are:
Engineering Capstone Prize: “Smart Nordic Walk” by ENG Team 21 – The Pole Walkers
Honorable Mention: “Drone Range Extension (D.R.E.)” by Team 36a – Aerial-Electro-Claw
CIVL GeoSolv Innovation & Sustainability Award: “Timber Pedestrian Bridge” by Team 7 – Sapling Solutions
CSCE – CSCE National Capstone Design Competition Nominee: “Integrated Water Systems Design at Downsview Taxiway West District” by Team 2 – IRD Engineering
CIVL: Student Choice Award: “Integrated Water Systems Design at Downsview Taxiway West District” by Team 2 – IRD Engineering
Technology Impact Award (BEST Lab): “Modular Smart Home” by ENG Team 38 – Modular Smart Home
Technology Impact Award (BEST Program for C4): “Nordic Walking Poles” by Team BE
Office of Alumni Engagement, Alumni EDI Award: “DiaSol” by Team CA
Office of Alumni Engagement, Alumni Engagement Award: “Sustainable 7” by Team AF
YSPACE General Innovation Award: “Building Cents” led by Munzungu Nzeyedio, Team BC
YSPACE Black Entrepreneurship Alliance Award: “Financial Education” led by Bobby Lewis, Team BI
C4 Community Impact Award (Positive Change Initiative): “ECO6IX” by Team Cj and “YU Waste” by Team AD
C4 Pivot Award: “The Pivoteers” by Team BB and “DiaSol” by Team CA
C4 Partner Choice Award: “RydUp” by Team AB
For more on these projects, the winners and other C4 information, contact with the York Capstone Network at ycn@yorku.ca.
Four projects receive funding through York’s Sustainability Innovation Fund
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A selection committee from the President’s Sustainability Council identified projects that advance climate action at the University for the second round of funding from York’s Sustainability Innovation Fund (SIF).
The Sustainability Innovation Fund provides funding to support campus sustainability projects that help build a culture and practice of sustainability at York University and advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This round of funding awarded over $50,000 to projects that contribute to the University’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 and achieving net zero and advancing SDG 13 (Climate Action).
The winning projects reflect various ways to utilize the campus as a living lab and address direct or indirect emissions through activities such as commuting, energy use, food consumption, waste management, behaviour change, awareness and engagement, and nature-based solutions.
“By supporting these projects, we are making significant strides towards creating a more sustainable community at York University and beyond,” said Mike Layton, chief sustainability officer. “We’re also breaking down financial barriers to empower students, staff and faculty to become agents of positive change and take meaningful steps to reduce our impact on the planet.”
The four winning projects are:
Living Learning Community – Sustainability
Project team: Aaron Brown and Melanie Howard, Residence Life, Division of Students
Residence Life will pilot a Living Learning Community (LLC) specific to sustainability during the 2023-24 academic year. The program seeks to address SDG 12 (Ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns) and 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts).
York University Composting Centre
Project lead: John Simoulidis
Project team: Andrew Maxwell (Lassonde School of Engineering), Dean J.J. McMurtry (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS)), Dean Alice Hovorka (Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC)), Tom Watt (Ancillary Services), Calvin Lakhan (EUC), Mark Winfield (EUC), Karl Karvonen (Facilities Services), Sabine Dreher (Glendon College), Nicolas Cabal (student), Ronon Smith (student), Sabrina de Losada Casab (student)
This project began through the first round of SIF. It will continue to develop an on-site composting centre to divert organic waste away from landfills, process it on site and turn it into useful compost that can be applied at Maloca Garden (Keele) or Glendon Garden, two spaces well situated as ”living labs.”
Green Career Fair: Exploring Climate Careers to Achieve Net Zero
Project leads: Lauren Castelino, Joanne Huy and Rosanna Chowdury (EUC)
This project will host an annual Green Career Fair at York University to engage students and GTA youth. The fair will lead discussions on transitioning to net-zero emissions and showcase green career paths and organizations championing initiatives towards this goal. It aims to prepare underrepresented youth for green careers through nurturing a stronger sense of connection, inclusion and well-being.
Determining the merits of large battery electricity storage at York University
Project lead: Tim Hampton (EUC)
Project team: Mark Winfield (EUC), Hany Farag (Lassonde), Steven Prince (Facilities Services)
This project will assess the desirability (environmental impact reduction), feasibility (fit with existing campus infrastructure and staffing) and viability (whether the system will reduce overall costs) of a large battery storage system at York University.
The next round of SIF funding is planned for Fall 2023. To learn more about the Sustainability Innovation Fund, visit the Office of Sustainability website.
Lassonde professor elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering
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Jinjun Shan, a professor and Chair of the Earth and Space Science and Engineering Department at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, has been elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) in recognition of his outstanding work and research on space and autonomous systems.
Each year, the CAE invites a small number of highly accomplished individuals demonstrating extraordinary contributions in engineering to become Fellows of their organization.
Jinjun Shan
An ambitious researcher, internationally recognized for his achievements on space and autonomous systems, Shan’s research extends across diverse areas including spacecraft dynamics, control and navigation, as well as space instrumentation, multi-agent systems and smart materials and structures. His ongoing research has resulted in over 200 publications, two books and two patents, as well as enabled many industrial applications and collaborations, addressing numerous challenges. He is also a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), as well as an associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
Among his many projects, Shan developed an imaging spectrometer to monitor and evaluate climate change through the measurement of greenhouse gases. This instrument has been validated through two high-altitude balloon flights organized by the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Shan and his research team are currently working on a miniature version of this instrument that will provide long-term observations to help the world better prepare effective actions against global climate crises.
Among recent work, Shan is leading various projects focused on technologies for autonomous systems, including self-driving cars, with the support of over $2 million in research grants.
As a newly appointed CAE Fellow, Shan will contribute to the role’s commitment to shaping the future of engineering, exemplifying leadership, integrity and strategic applications of knowledge. Becoming a distinguished member of this organization also provides opportunities to form valuable partnerships with Fellows who share a unified goal of tackling complex and emerging challenges in engineering through collaborative work.
