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John Ralston Saul urges graduands to be engaged citizens

John Ralston Saul

John Ralston Saul, an award-winning essayist and novelist who is often referred to as one of Canada’s leading thinkers, received an honorary degree from York University during a June 19 convocation ceremony for the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

“It’s amazing looking around at all the faces and thinking about the future,” Saul said after approaching the podium and taking a moment to acknowledge the number of graduands around him. Then, he explained how this large convocation ceremony is representative of a major shift in Canadian society that he believes requires addressing.

“We are the best educated society in the history of the world – Canada, in particular,” he explained. “And we’ve gradually evolved over 100 or so years … from a small, educated elite to the conviction that everyone has to have a serious education.”

To loud cheers from the crowd, he argued that undergraduate education should be well-enough funded to eliminate the need for student loans, debts and hardship.

Pictured, from left to right: Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, John Ralston Saul, President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton.
Pictured, from left to right: Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, John Ralston Saul, President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton.

Saul then commended the graduands for the years of hard work that led them to this particular moment, but he cautioned that hard work of a different kind now awaited them.

“You, for better or worse, are graduating into tough times. There’s no point in pretending that isn’t the case,” Saul said. “We live in an era of uncertainty where democracy is being threatened, authoritarianism is on the rise, access to education needs to be improved and engaged citizenship is lacking.”

Facing the current and coming challenges, Saul stressed, will require more active participation – in society, in government, in debate – even if it might feel risky. “The problem today is that there’s an atmosphere out there, including in universities, that if we’re serious then we should all keep our heads down. We should be careful. We should be intellectually polite,” he said. “We don’t go anywhere if we’re intellectually polite all the time. That’s not the nature of debate.”

To challenge, change and course-correct society, he said, requires a thick skin. “You have to go out there and be ready to knock things down and therefore be knocked back,” he urged.

Saul warned about those – especially in politics – who urge efficiency and speed. Democracy should not be fast, he said, because that speed excludes key components of the democratic process.

“What could be slower than a society which takes the time to have citizens involved in the process? A society, at its best, listens and acts on the opinions of non-experts,” he said. “I would say we need to go even slower. We need more participation, more listening, much more participation, much more speaking up.”

He noted, too, that while over the past decades there have been world-changing advancements of knowledge that have led to a rise of expertise and efficiency, that should not shape our society. “The citizenry – all of us, through our democracy – we have to do the shaping.”

Saul acknowledged that wouldn’t necessarily be easy. “It’s going to be hard work … to rebuild the reality of the engaged citizen who believes in the shared public good, and hard work to build new coalitions of engaged citizens,” he said. “In other words, exciting times, demanding lives, high risk. All of that to say, I envy you.”

Arnold Auguste reflects on career spent sharing marginalized voices

Arnold Auguste

By Lindsay MacAdam, communications officer, YFile

At York University’s Spring Convocation ceremony on the morning of June 20, an honorary degree was presented to Arnold Auguste, president and publisher of the newspaper Share, which has been serving the Greater Toronto Area’s Black and Caribbean communities since 1978.

Born and raised in Trinidad, Auguste always had a fondness for Canada, so when he had the opportunity to move to Toronto in 1970, he didn’t hesitate. Two years later, a friend asked him if he would be interested in writing a column for community newspaper called Contrast, which covered issues affecting the Black community. And although writing was not something he had ever contemplated or felt capable of doing, he agreed. That was 52 years ago.

Pictured, from left to right: Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, Arnold Auguste, President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton.
Pictured, from left to right: Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, Arnold Auguste, President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton.

“Today, I am proud to say that I’m a journalist,” said Auguste. “But this profession found me; I didn’t go looking for it.”

Growing up in Trinidad, Auguste naturally gravitated towards news media. He had access to three daily newspapers and three weekend tabloids, and he read every one. “I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would ever write for one – let alone own one,” he admitted.

As Auguste became more involved with Toronto’s Black community, he learned that people were raising funds to provide university scholarships for ambitious youth. He felt a pull to pursue that path, to gain the skills necessary to help him tell the stories of his community in the most compelling way possible. “I felt that if stories needed to be told, they needed to be told well,” he said. “So I entered university to study journalism, where I had the privilege of learning from some of the best people in the business.”

After completing his studies, Auguste worked briefly as an editor at two Black community newspapers, before differences of opinion led to a parting of ways and to Auguste’s eventual decision to start his own publication. Looking to provide a forum where important issues affecting his community could be discussed and debated, he launched Share.

“I never wanted to own a newspaper,” he said, “but if I was to continue working in the Black community, I didn’t see another option.”

Before long, Share took over the market, and the other two publications went out of business.

Auguste was adamant that his newspaper would be free; that it would only publish positive news; that it would not accept any advertising that wasn’t in the best interests of its readers; and that it would not accept government funding. “If the paper was to be successful, it should be supported by the readers,” he believed. And supported it was.

Over the years, Auguste has considered closing his paper several times, but each time that decision has been met with resistance from its steadfast supporters. Last year, he decided again that, after 45 years, it was time to cease publication. This time, he didn’t tell anyone – “I thought I would just sneak out the back door and nobody would notice,” he said.

After the first few weeks, people started calling to find out why they couldn’t find the paper anywhere. Then, the number of calls increased. Eventually, people began offering financial support, thinking that was the reason for the shutdown. Others said they were willing to start paying for the paper that had been free for 45 years. The community had spoken: Share wasn’t going anywhere.

“This experience has instilled in us a renewed sense of Share‘s relevance,” said Auguste, finally realizing how critical his publication is to his community.

With people of colour now working in important positions in Canadian media, academia, the labour movement, police services, the medical profession, as lawyers and judges, at every level of government and in just about every walk of life, Share‘s role, Auguste explained, is to honour those who sacrificed to make that happen.

“As a dear friend reminded me,” said Auguste, “if our history is not written, it is as though we did not exist. Share proves that we existed.”

To conclude his speech, Auguste left graduands with some sage words of advice.

“You have been educated by one of the top universities in the world,” he said. “You are ready to take your place among the movers and shakers. Accept the challenge. Go forward with confidence in yourself and in your training. Be good people. Be honest people. Be kind. Be generous of spirit. Live a life of purpose and help make this world a better place.”

Undergraduate students receive Governor General’s Silver Medals

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Three undergraduate students at York University have been awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal, which recognizes the outstanding scholastic achievements of undergraduate students in Canada.

The Governor General’s Academic Medals are considered the highest honour that can be earned by exemplary Canadian scholars throughout every level of academia. This year’s recipients are:

Vo Dinh Huy Nguyen

Vo Dinh Huy Nguyen

Nguyen is graduating from the Bachelor of Business Administration program at York University’s Schulich School of Business, specializing in accounting, with the highest grade point average among his cohort.

His time at the University has been distinguished by winning several University and national business competitions and being actively involved within the Schulich community. He served as executive for a wide range of clubs – notably as president of the Schulich Accounting Society – and as a mentor for hundreds of lower-year students.

He credits his academic success and the Governor General’s Silver Medal, in part, to his Vietnamese parents for their support across a notable geographical distance. He also welcomes the award as a testament to the sometimes challenging journey of an international student living alone in Canada.

“Balancing school, work, and extracurricular activities while navigating life independently has often been overwhelming and, at times, daunting. However, this award validates that every effort and sacrifice has been worth it. It serves as a powerful reminder that, together with the right mindset, perseverance, commitment and gratitude can lead to remarkable achievements,” Nguyen says. “It is my immense honour to be recognized as part of the legacy of excellence by the governor general of Canada.”

Nguyen is currently enrolled in the Master of Accounting program at Schulich, with the goal of obtaining his chartered professional accountant designation, and is starting a full-time job at Deloitte Toronto in September.  

Parker Grant

Parker Grant
Parker Grant

Grant is graduating from the Faculty of Health with a bachelor of science (specialized honours) in psychology.

During her time at York U, she says she fell in love with conducting research – notably, examining inequities in health and well-being, with a particular focus on substance misuse. She credits professors Kerry Kawakami, Heather Prime and Jeffrey Wardell for the mentorship that helped kindle that passion.

“I’m incredibly proud to be receiving the Governor General’s Silver Medal,” she says. “This award represents all of the hard work and late nights I’ve dedicated to my degree and serves as an inspiration to continue pursuing my studies.”

Grant will next pursue her research interests at the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, where her master’s thesis will examine sex and gender differences in response to an extended period of cannabis abstinence in individuals with major depressive disorder and cannabis use disorder. She will also continue research and advocacy work with the Queer & Trans Health Collective as a research assistant for the National 2S/LGBTQIA+ Substance Use Study.

Michele Bars

Michele Bars
Michele Bars

Bars is graduating from Glendon College with a specialized bachelor’s degree in French Studies, which allowed her to pursue an interest in a wide range of topics relating to French literature, language and linguistics, as well as culture and history in French-speaking countries.

“Receiving the Governor General’s Silver Medal is an honour and is very special to me,” she says. “It not only reflects my hard work and progress in my chosen field of study but also represents my overall student experience at Glendon and the wonderful professors from whom I learned so much over the years.”

Reeta Roy urges Faculty of Education graduands to ‘make a difference in the lives of learners’

Reeta Roy

Reeta Roy, president and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation – an international non-governmental organization focused on empowering young Africans with education – offered several calls-to-action to Faculty of Education graduands to help shape the future of education.

“You have an entire lifetime of impact ahead of you,” Roy promised graduands during their June 17 convocation, as she began her address to them. “Whether you stand in front of the classroom or you get to decide what is taught in the classroom, whether you focus on expanding access to education or you set standards of education, you will make a difference in the lives of learners.”

An advocate for the transformational power of education through her work at the Mastercard Foundation, Roy made several requests of graduands as they move ahead in their careers.

She urged them to lean into one of the most important qualities teachers can possess. “As educators, one of the most important things you do – and you will do – is to recognize promise and talent in others, even before they may perceive it in themselves,” she said. “You have the opportunity to truly see the whole person – not the boundaries and not the limitations around them.”

That, she explained, can lead to something educators are uniquely positioned to do. “More than just see them, you will enable their passions, develop their confidence and help them believe in themselves so they can walk their own journeys and create their own opportunities,” said Roy.

Kathleen Taylor, Reeta Roy, Rhonda Lenton copy
Pictured, from left to right: Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, Reeta Roy, President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton.

She also called upon graduands to transform the reality of who deserves an education, as she noted there are many who struggle to access learning due to poverty, conflict, distance, disability, lack of teachers, gender and more.

Roy noted she has seen – and worked to change – this directly, through her work with the Mastercard Foundation, which advances the development of educational opportunities for African youth and their families, and looks to empower 30 million young Africans by 2030 with the creation of educational and economic opportunities.

Roy delivered her final call to action in the form of an anecdote. She recounted a trip to Moosonee, a small town in northern Ontario sometimes referred to as “the gateway to the Arctic.” She was doing work there with the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, training Indigenous young people to become health professionals who would help the larger medical system embody Indigenous knowledge and world views about what is healthy and what is wellness.

During her visit, she encountered – in person, for the first time – an ice road.

She learned that during winters, communities transform rivers, lakes and other bodies of water into ice that’s strong enough to sustain trucks and cars transporting food, fuel and necessities to otherwise isolated communities. “I was just stunned by the sophistication and the technical know-how to create these roads,” Roy said. “The ice road reflected Indigenous technology based on traditional knowledge of living with the natural environment.”

At the same time, she marvelled at the cutting-edge knowledge being integrated into the unique type of infrastructure. As climate change threatens those ice roads, making it hard to predict where dangerous cracks might form, she learned that university researchers are applying emerging technologies – like sensors and artificial intelligence – to create better predictive models that can identity where cracks and ridges may form.

The ice road – its past, present and future – reminded Roy of education. “The ice road isn’t just a bridge across waters,” she said. “It’s a bridge connecting communities and cultures. It’s a bridge connecting traditional knowledge with new forms of knowledge, connecting the past and the present.”

In that realization, she found the lesson she wanted to impart on the Faculty of Education graduands she was addressing. “You can be that bridge,” she urged. “Be that bridge.”

Faculty of Health grad recognized with Murray G. Ross Award

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Nathaniel “Yochanan” Goldstein, who is graduating with an honours bachelor of science in psychology with a Certificate in Quantitative Methods & Data Analysis, was given the Murray G. Ross Award in recognition of his accomplishments over the course of his time at York University.

Nathaniel Goldstein
Nathaniel Goldstein

“Receiving a personal phone call from President Lenton informing me of my selection was a surreal experience,” Goldstein says. “I am grateful to the selection committee as well as to my dear family, friends, mentors and colleagues for all their support. Above all, this award is a product of all their guidance and encouragement.”

Goldstein joined York University with a fascination with what is known about the brain and how modern-day tools and technologies could be used to advance that understanding. His interest led him to York’s psychology program and its emphasis on teaching quantitative research methods and applied statistics.

He was primarily drawn to York’s Centre for Vision Research – a highly interdisciplinary cohort of researchers in fields like psychology, neuroscience and engineering who conduct applied research on the brain in some of the best laboratories and facilities available in Canada.

“[York] seemed to be the perfect fit to equip me with the necessary skills to advance my understanding of this exciting topic,” Goldstein says.

Over the past four years, Goldstein has taken strides in doing that through his involvement in quantitative research on how the brain perceives visual depth in 21st-century tech, like virtual and augmented reality – and disseminating these findings at local and national conferences.

He also advanced his standing in the scientific community by writing magazine articles for the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, one of the country’s oldest scholarly societies, that showcased inspiring research across the country – including at York.

Goldstein credits his positive academic experience not just to York’s commitment to fostering critical thinking, academic integrity and a wide range of impactful pedagogical approaches, but to those who teach and work at the University.  

“It is so much more than just an academic institution. It’s a community that fosters excellence,” Goldstein says.

The Murray G. Ross Award winner is especially grateful for those within the York community who served as mentors to him along the way. He expresses profound gratitude to Erez Freud and Laurie Wilcox, professors in the Department of Psychology and members of the Centre for Vision Research, with whom he has worked closely for several years on research projects studying visual perception using augmented reality. He credits, too, Linda Farmus, a lecturer and course director in the Faculty of Health, who he notes went “above and beyond in helping to explain difficult course concepts and providing guidance and support.”

Beyond academic pursuits, Goldstein has also been involved in other programs, activities and extracurriculars. A member of the President’s Ambassador Program, he worked closely with senior administrators – including President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton – to provide novel suggestions to improve the student experience on campus.

Goldstein was also a committee lead for a recent project that combated food insecurity at York by promoting nutrition-based education through resourceful, hands-on seminars. He cites Judith Owusuaah, a co-ordinator of special projects and events and collaborator for the initiative, as another key mentor during his time at York.

Goldstein was also involved in the non-profit Project START! Science at York, which provides engaging and interactive science, technology, engineering and mathematics modules to underfunded schools in the Greater Toronto Area and central Africa. Outside of York, he worked with Yachad Toronto as a mentor and counsellor for teenagers and adults with cognitive and developmental limitations to provide emotional and social support through inclusivity-based weekly programming.

“Being involved in these initiatives has been beneficial in developing my collaboration and networking skills and allowing me to make a tangible difference at the level of student and community leadership,” he says.

Before receiving the Murray G. Ross Award, Goldstein’s achievements were recognized in other ways, too. He earned the 2024 Faculty of Health Gold Medal for Academic Excellence & Outstanding Leadership and was a 2023-24 McCall MacBain Scholarship nominee. He has received several Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada student awards for research excellence, and has been recognized several times in competitive public speaking and essay-writing competitions.

Looking ahead, Goldstein will be continuing his studies at York U through a master’s in brain, behaviour and cognitive sciences this fall. He hopes to continue his involvement in vision science and immersive technology research by collaborating with new academic and industry partners.

Mike Wessinger shares with graduands the secret to success

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Mike Wessinger, co-founder and executive Chair of PointClickCare, the most widely used cloud-based health-care software provider in long-term and post-acute care, spoke to Faculty of Science graduands about his path to success, and offered advice on how they might navigate their own way to a life of accomplishment.

Wessinger shared with graduands that a question he is often asked is, “What is the secret to success?” With the aim of leaving graduands with advice to take with them on their journey ahead, he shared that the answer – for him – is hard work and determination, above all else.

“Intelligence and emotional quotients do matter,” he stressed. “But, in my experience, the people [with great success] are those people who have the highest grit quotient. If they see a wall, they go over, under, around or through it.”

As Wessinger shared his professional journey, he illustrated how he faced – and overcame – some walls himself throughout his career. Among the first barriers was when he graduated from university as young man with no prospects, no money and the feeling that he was unemployable. He knew he wanted to be a success at something, but was unsure what direction to take. “I had to figure out how I was going to make something of myself,” he said. A break came when his brother helped him find a sales job in the long-term and post-acute care industry. He seized the opportunity and began applying himself. “I knew it was time to really buckle down and really get to work,” he said.

Mike Wessinger with Kathleen Taylor, Lisa Phillips
Pictured, from left to right: Chancellor Kathleen Taylor, Mike Wessinger, Provost and Vice-President Academic Lisa Philipps.

Wessinger familiarized himself quickly with everything he could about the industry he’d joined in order to not only excel in his sales job but find a way to revolutionize it. He hustled – often sleeping at the office and rarely taking time off – until he felt he was successful enough for a new challenge: starting his own business.

Initially, that business was selling existing electronic health records and financial software technology to nursing homes across Canada, but over time he found himself underwhelmed by the product he was selling. This technology is just not working, he thought at the time. It’s not making a big impact on these organizations. He believed the long-term and post-acute care space – and especially the seniors who lived within – deserved something more.

Wessinger and his partners decided to build their own solution, one that was ahead of its time: an electronic health records software that wouldn’t be installed on-site, but hosted on servers with clients accessing them through the internet. “We had no idea we were talking about software as a service (SaaS),” Wessinger said. “People couldn’t sell SAS back then. Nobody was talking about the cloud. We fundamentally changed the game.”

Not everyone shared that sentiment at the time. As Wessinger moved ahead with PointClickCare, it was the year 2000, shortly after the infamous dot-com bubble had burst, a time when many were wary of internet-based businesses. As Wessinger approached venture capitalists and banks with his startup idea, he joked that doors tended to close the instant he explained his mission to put seniors’ health records online.

Wessinger had to find a financial solution somehow, and he found it close to home. “The only people that were kind of enough to fund us go by the name of ‘Mom,’ ‘Dad,’ ‘Uncle,’ ‘Aunt’ and ‘Friend from Hockey Team,’” Wessinger said. With that came not just the usual high financial stakes of making a startup succeed but personal stakes, too. “I felt this enormous obligation to be successful,” he said.

Two decades later, PointClickCare is now one of the largest privately held software companies in Canada, with over 1,500 employees, and serving over 22,000 skilled nursing facilities across North America. “The thing I’m most proud of is that there are some two million seniors today that I know are getting the right care because they’re utilizing our software,” he said.

While the journey of a startup firm may be succinctly summarized in an honorary degree recipient’s address, the reality is a long road full of challenges, long hours and – sometimes – sacrifices. While Wessinger told graduands hard work is the “hack to success,” he offered some cautionary advice as well, for the ambitious. “People that are like me – forward-looking, a leader of an organization, trying to do something incredible – live in the future,” he said. While that can help those looking to advance their careers and businesses realize their goals, it can come with a risk, he noted.

Living, mentally, in the future all the time can remove a person from the present. “You have to stop and live in the now because that’s all you have,” he said. “I can remember my family would see me at the dinner table and sometimes say, ‘Where are you?’ I’d say, ‘I’m right here.’ They’d say, ‘No you’re not.” They were right. I wasn’t. I was somewhere else. Along the way, as you’re achieving great things, remember to stop and celebrate and live in the present.”

President’s University-Wide Teaching Award recipients honoured

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Three York University faculty members will be recognized during the 2024 Spring Convocation ceremonies with President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards for enhancing quality of learning and demonstrating innovation and excellence in teaching.

This year’s President’s University-Wide Teaching Award recipients – selected by the York University Senate – are representative of three categories: full-time faculty with 10 or more years of teaching experience; full-time faculty with less than 10 years of experience; and contract and adjunct faculty.

Each winner will not only be recognized during a convocation ceremony this spring but will have their name engraved on the University-Wide Teaching Awards plaques displayed in Vari Hall on the Keele Campus.

This year’s recipients are:

Full-time tenured faculty with 10 or more years of full-time teaching experience

Danielle Robinson, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD)

Danielle Robinson
Danielle Robinson

Robinson received the award in recognition of her ability to create an interdisciplinary learning environment where students from diverse academic backgrounds can work collaboratively and approach problems from contrasting directions. That ability has, in part, been channelled into her leadership around the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) initiative, an experiential education opportunity for students that allows them approach real-world challenges with social impact in interdisciplinary ways. 

“In my collaboration with Danielle, I find her a passionate advocate for our students, excellent at organization, caring and interested in those she works with and one of the most hard-working colleagues I know,” said Robinson’s nominator, Professor Franz Newland, a C4 co-founder and co-academic lead. “She achieves this with a sense of fun, recognizing its importance when doing hard work. I believe she is an irreplaceable asset to York.”

Robinson has been the recipient of several other awards, including the Dean’s Teaching Award for Junior Faculty (from AMPD), and the Airbus and Global Engineering Dean’s Council’s Diversity Award.

Full-time faculty with less than 10 years of teaching experience

Vidya Shah, Faculty of Education

Vidya Shah
Vidya Shah

Shah received the award for her collaborative approach to pedagogy, which looks to honour students’ voices and recognize their needs, interests and agency – often by incorporating their views into the content of her courses. The award also acknowledges Shah’s ongoing efforts to address inequities within the larger academic community, often through inspiring a rethinking of practices in the areas of racial and social justice, as well as teaching and learning.

Her nominator, Myrtle Sodhi, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education, said of Shah, “Her ability to support a large number of students who are under-represented through various stages of their academic career speaks to Dr. Shah’s commitment to student learning, mentorship and social change.” She added: “Dr. Shah’s research, teaching, collaboration and mentorship has changed the landscape of the York University academic community in profound ways. She continues to inspire leadership, social justice action and academic pathways.”

Shah is also the recipient of the Faculty of Education Graduate Teaching Award. In 2022, she was awarded the Leaders and Legends Award for Mentor of the Year by the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education.

Contract and adjunct faculty

Heather Lynn Garrett, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Heather Lynn Garrett
Heather Lynn Garrett

Garrett was honoured in recognition of her her ability to engage with and motivate her students, incorporating story, anecdote, music and various media to bring course material to life. She has provided valuable mentorship to students in her program, notably through her support of the Sociology Undergraduate Student Association (SUSA). She has served as a faculty mentor of SUSA’s annual Falling in Love with Research project, guiding students in conduction sociological research on a topic chosen by SUSA members.

Garrett has twice received the John O’Neill Award for Teaching Excellence by the Department of Sociology, and has been nominated for the Ian Greene Award for Teaching Excellence.

Toolkit helps celebrate latest THE Impact Rankings

THE 2024 General_YFile Story

As shared by News@York, as well as President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton, York University has jumped five spots to 35th in world in this year’s 2024 THE Impact Rankings, and a comprehensive toolkit is now available to help the community share and celebrate the news.

THE Impact Rankings assess universities around the world against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in research, stewardship, outreach and teaching, and stand as an important indicator of post-secondary leadership.

Notably this year, York’s overall ranking increased despite stiffer competition than last year, with about 2,100 participating universities – approximately 300 more universities than previously. York also shot up 19 spots for No Poverty (UN SDG 1) to number two in the world and number one in Canada, and ranked first in Canada for Reduced Inequalities (UN SDG 10).

“This is a University-wide achievement by our students, staff and faculty to demonstrably make a positive impact to the Sustainable Development Goals through research, teaching, creativity and innovation,” noted Lenton.

As the rankings are a result of the work done by those throughout the University, community members are encouraged to update their email signatures with the latest rankings. They can do so by visiting the comprehensive THE Impact Rankings Toolkit, which – in addition to instructions for updating email signatures – provides guidelines for other ways the York community can celebrate the latest ranking news.

York University scientists, engineers receive more than $3.3M from NSERC

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Fifty-four researchers from York University have been awarded more than $3.3 million combined from the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in support of ongoing research programs across multiple disciplines, including biology, geography, physics and more.

The latest NSERC funding, announced by the Government of Canada on June 14, includes Discovery Grants, Discovery Launch Supplements, Sub-atomic Physics (SAP) Discovery Grants, Northern Research Supplements, and Research Tools and Instruments Grants.

“NSERC’s latest investment in York University’s research excellence strengthens the institution’s leading position in the natural sciences and engineering and reflects the high-calibre talents of our researchers,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “York continues to increase its annual research revenue on a consistent basis and this year’s NSERC Discovery awards are the highest in the University’s history. Congratulations to all of York’s recipients, especially to the 15 early career researchers, for their dedication to advancing new knowledge and shaping the future of their fields.”

Forty-six researchers from York U received Discovery Grants, totalling $2,043,366. Some of the research programs awarded include: studying the genomics and social evolution of bees, by Sandra Rehan in the Faculty of Science ($65,000); building computer systems to control and guide spacecrafts, by Zheng Hong (George) Zhu in the Lassonde School of Engineering ($99,000); and investigating how the human brain manages breathing during physiological stress, by Devin Phillips in the Faculty of Health ($33,000).   

Four researchers from the Department of Physics & Astronomy in the Faculty of Science received more than $1.4 million in SAP Discovery Grants, including Nikita Blinov, Deborah Harris, Eric Hessels and Randy Lewis.

A full list of recipients across the country can be found on the Government of Canada’s website.

For a complete list of York University’s recipients, see below.  

Discovery Grant (including Discovery Launch Supplements and Northern Research Supplements) recipients:

Andrew Donini, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Salt and water balance in aquatic insects
$47,000 per year for a five-year term

Gordon Fitch, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Tritrophic interactions in a changing world: understanding how urbanization shapes plant-pollinator-parasite interactions to influence pollinator health and pollination services
$38,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Katalin Hudak, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Regulation and activity of plant ribosome inactivating protein
$48,000 per year for a five-year term

Kohitij Kar, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Probing the mechanisms of primate visual intelligence
$38,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Terrance Kubiseski
Regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans Stress Response
$40,000 per year for a five-year term

Raymond Kwong, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Understanding the homeostatic regulation and neurophysiology of essential trace metals in zebrafish
$39,000 per year for a five-year term

John McDermott, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Nucleolar Regulation and Function in Myogenic Cells
$48,000 per year for a five-year term

Eryn McFarlane, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
The interplay between genetics and the environment on hybrid fitness
$29,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Sandra Rehan, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Integrative genomics for pollinator health and social evolution
$65,000 per year for a five-year term

Gary Sweeney, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Examining cellular consequences of excess iron on skeletal muscle
$33,000 per year for a five-year term

Yongjoo Kim, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Methods to Create Mutations in Cells to Understand and Improve Protein Function
$37,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Arturo Orellana, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Modern Approaches to Electrocyclization of Heptatrienyl Anions
$36,000 per year for a five-year term

Derek Wilson, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Advancing Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry to Explore the Dynamic Origins of Protein (mis)Function
$36,000 per year for a five-year term

Cora Young, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Characterizing the abundance, sources, and fate of fluorinated gases in the atmosphere
$62,000 per year for a five-year term

Tao Zeng, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
Theoretical studies of vibronic and spin-vibronic couplings: methodological development and applications in materials science
$36,000 per year for a five-year term

Michael Bazzocchi, Department of Earth & Space Science, Lassonde School of Engineering
Intelligent and Autonomous On-orbit Robotics for Inspection, Assembly, Manufacturing, and Servicing
$32,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Sunil Bisnath, Department of Earth & Space Science, Lassonde
Resilient satellite-based precise positioning and navigation
$43,000 per year for a five-year term

Jianguo Wang, Department of Earth & Space Science, Lassonde
Intelligent Data Fusion Methodology for Multisensor-Integrated Kinematic Positioning and Navigation
$43,000 per year for a five-year term

Joann Jasiak, Department of Economics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Advances in Inference Methods for Stationary Martingales and Non-Gaussian Processes
$11,966 per year for a five-year term

Elisabeth Burjons Pujol, Department of Electrical Engineering, Lassonde
Online Algorithms with Reservation and Preemption
$25,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Viet Hung Pham, Department of Electrical Engineering, Lassonde
Leveraging Model Interactions to Improve the Reliability of Machine Learning Systems
$24,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Ali Sadeghi-Naini, Department of Electrical Engineering, Lassonde
Smart ultrasound platform for tissue characterization and monitoring
$41,000 per year for a five-year term

Ping Wang, Department of Electrical Engineering, Lassonde
AI-empowered Intelligent network management for next generation wireless communications networks
$55,000 per year for a five-year term

Jennifer Korosi, Geography, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Lakes as sentinels and agents of environmental change in rapidly thawing discontinuous permafrost peatlands
$43,000 per year for a five-year term
*Northern Research Supplement ($15,000)

Joshua Thienpoint, Geography, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Reconstructing disturbance regimes and aquatic ecosystem impacts of permafrost thaw slumping
$26,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Supplement ($12,500)
**Northern Research Supplement ($15,000)

Ali Abdul-Sater, Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Exercise mediated training of tissue resident macrophages
$40,000 per year for a five-year term

Tara Haas, Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Regulation of angiogenesis in skeletal muscle and adipose tissues
$33,000 per year for a five-year term

Devin Phillips, Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
The neural control of breathing during physiological stress in humans
$33,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Dan Palermo, Lassonde School of Engineering
Resilient and Sustainable Concrete Structures: Mitigation of Residual Displacements and Concrete Damage
$43,000 per year for a five-year term

Nantel Bergeron, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Quasisymmetric varieties, Schubert polynomials and other algebraic combinatorial systems
$27,000 per year for a five-year term

Miles Couchman, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Turbulent mixing in stratified flows
$26,000 per year for a five-year term
Discovery Supplement

Ilijas Farah, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
K-theory reversing automorphisms of the Calkin algebra. Disintegration of von Neumann algebras
$48,000 per year for a five-year term

Xin Gao, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Statistical learning methods for multi-task and network data
$27,000 per year for a five-year term

Jane Heffernan, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Towards an immuno-epidemiological framework: Tradeoffs between biological detail and mathematical complexity
$31,000 per year for a five-year term

Paul Skoufranis, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Linearization in Bi-Free Probability
$24,000 per year for a five-year term

Jianhong Wu, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Delay Differential Equations: Theory of Global Dynamics with Applications to Public Health of Zoonotic Diseases
$60,000 per year for a five-year term

Kaiqiong Zhao, Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Novel statistical methods for complex data-enabled learning and causal discovery
$23,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Paul O’Brien, Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Development of Photothermal and Radiative Cooling Surfaces and Structures for Environmental Sustainability
$32,000 per year for a five-year term

Zheng Hong Zhu, Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Computational Control Framework and Application for Flexible Spacecraft
$99,000 per year for a five-year term

Scott Beattie, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Optical Frequency Combs and Atomic Clocks for Frequency and Time Metrology
$19,900 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Charles-Eduoard Boukaré, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Solidification Dynamics of Rocky Planets Interiors
$28,500 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Eric Hessels, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Tests of Fundamental Physics Using Atoms and Molecules
$61,000 per year for a five-year term

Matthew Johnson, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Fundamental Physics from Microwave Background Secondary Anisotropies and Quantum Simulation of Vacuum Decay
$75,000 per year for a five-year term

Rahul Kannan, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Modelling high redshift structure formation and reionization
$39,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Adam Muzzin, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Resolving Galaxy Growth with Canadian-Built Astronomical Instrumentation
$50,000 per year for a five-year term

Paul Scholz, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Revealing the nature of Fast Radio Bursts and unlocking their potential as probes of the Universe
$33,000 per year for a five-year term
*Discovery Launch Supplement ($12,500)

Sub-atomic Physics Discovery Grant recipients:

Nikita Blinov, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Three Directions Toward the Discovery of Dark Matter
$55,000 per year for a five-year term

Deborah Harris, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Paving the way for Neutrino Oscillation Measurements at DUNE
$300,000 per year for a three-year term

Eric Hessels, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Probing PeV-scale physics: Measuring the electron electric dipole moment using barium monofluoride embedded in an argon solid
$165,000 per year for a three-year term

Randy Lewis, Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Lattice gauge theory on classical and quantum computers
$90,000 per year for a five-year term

Research Tools and Instrument Grant recipients:

Zheng Hong Zhu, Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Ground Experiment System of Free-Floating Dual-Arm Space Robot for Autonomous On-Orbit Service
$150,000

Christopher Perry, Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
A core high-frequency ultrasound imager for non-invasive measures of cardiac structure and function as well as muscle structure in mice
$150,000

Richard Murray, Psychology, Faculty of Health
Display calibration for virtual and augmented reality
$148,410

Ronald Hanson, Mechnical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Camera System for Particle Image Velocimetry with Upgraded Stereo Measurement Feature
$127,979

Marina Freire-Gormaly, Mechnical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Fast Mobility Particle Sizer Tool for Effective Particulate and Aerosol Emissions Characterization
$150,000

New, renewed Canada Research Chairs advance neuroscience, disability studies at York U

innovation image

York University neuroscientist Jeffrey Schall has been appointed a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Translating Neuroscience, alongside two renewals – Gillian Parekh and Joel Zylberberg – for existing CRCs, announced by the Government of Canada on June 14.

The CRC program is a major investment by the federal government (up to $300 million+ per year) to attract and retain world-class talent at Canadian universities. The program also provides training opportunities for the next generation of highly skilled personnel through research, teaching and learning.

The new and renewed CRCs at York University are:  

Jeffrey Schall
Jeffrey Schall

Jeffrey Schall is a newly appointed Tier I CRC in Translating Neuroscience and a professor in the Faculty of Science

Schall’s research aims to further understand the complexities of the brain and how it enables decision-making processes for actions and experiences: how people decide what to do, how people control when they do it and how people know if they did what they meant to do. Insights from Schall’s research could improve the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions like dementia and schizophrenia.  

Gillian Parekh
Gillian Parekh

Gillian Parekh is a renewed Tier II CRC in Disability Studies in Education and an associate professor in the Faculty of Education

Parekh is examining how schools respond to disability in order to improve student success. She and her research team are gathering and analyzing new data to develop strategies that will shed light on how “ability” is used to justify student organization within schools and the inequitable distribution of in-school resources and opportunities.

Joel Zylberberg
Joel Zylberberg

Joel Zylberberg is a renewed Tier II CRC in Computational Neuroscience and an associate professor in the Faculty of Science

Zylberberg and his research team train artificial intelligence (AI) to see and respond to images in the same way as the human brain. By teaching AI to process visual information like the brain’s visual cortex, deep learning algorithms could lead to the creation of devices that help visually impaired or blind people see again, in addition to potentially advancing technology for self-driving cars. 

York’s Chairholders received $2,400,000 and are part of a $94,500,000 investment in 121 new and renewed CRCs at 39 institutions across Canada. For the full list, visit the Government of Canada’s website.