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At this year’s Fall Convocation, graduands from 10 York Faculties received their degrees during ceremonies overseen by the chancellor of York University, Kathleen Taylor.
View photos from the Fall Class of 2023 ceremonies below:
As urgency around climate action continues to build, Canada and other nations are becoming more attuned to the role of nuclear energy in curbing emissions. The push is on to transition away from coal and fossil fuels, while at the same time meet rising demand for energy in the era of electrification. Provinces such as Ontario are investing in new nuclear development and interest is growing in small modular reactors for industry and to shift remote communities off diesel.
Join the Globe and Mail and Winfield for a discussion on nuclear energy in view of net-zero emissions goals, electrification and the shift away from fossil fuels.
Winfield is a professor and the co-chair of the EUC’s Sustainable Energy Initiative and co-ordinator of the Joint Master of Environmental Studies/Juris Doctor program offered in conjunction with Osgoode Hall Law School. He has published articles, book chapters and reports on a wide range of climate change, environment, and energy law and policy topics. Winfield has acted as an advisor to the environmental commissioner of Ontario and federal commissioner for environment and development. He is a member of the Conseil d’administration (board of directors) of Transitions energetique Quebec, a Crown corporation established in 2017 to implement a low-carbon energy transition strategy for Quebec.
For more information about the event series and to register, visit globeandmailevents.com/newnuclearlive/speaker. Event registration will close at 9 a.m. on Oct. 20.
By Alexander Huls, deputy editor, YFile
During her opening remarks, Vice-Chancellor and President Rhonda Lenton urged graduands to consider a critical question as they move forward in their lives and careers. “It’s … imperative that we ask ourselves, ‘How do we function in … society?'” Lenton would go on to introduce Bassey as an example of someone who has been guided by that question for decades, praising him as “a dedicated advocate for the environment … whose gift to future generations is contributing to a more sustainable world.”
During his address to graduands, Bassey recounted his journey to becoming an advocate, driven by the mission to leave society with a more sustainable future. Born in Nigeria, he spoke of growing up during the Nigerian-Biafran war, a time he described as “disruptive and traumatic,” leading him to be exposed to human rights abuses, hunger, disease and more. Those experiences, as well as living under the oppression of a series of military authoritarian dictatorships, led Bassey to develop a desire to change the world around him. “As a young adult, I could not escape being a part of the human rights and anti-dictatorship movement,” he said.
Inspired over time by anti-colonial leaders throughout the Global South, he came to adopt a cause. He felt that protesting dictatorships was not the zenith of standing against injustice, but rather protesting something else he saw at work under the radar.
“The wheels of oppression at home were crude oil and extractivism activities. Capital trumped concerns for the health of Mother Earth and her children … and complaints against the destruction of the ecosystems and livelihoods were met with brute force while communities were crushed,” he said. “The judicial models and assault on communities were the red lines that dictatorships crossed, and that set me on a lifelong journey of standing for environmental rights as the key basis for the enjoyment of the right to life.”
Over the course of his career, Bassey has become one of Africa’s leading advocates and campaigners for the environment and human rights. He founded Nigeria’s first environmental rights organization in the early 1990s, proceeding to inspire activists to stand up against the malpractices of multinational corporations, which eventually led to the formation of Oil Watch International in 1996, a network resisting fossil fuel expansion in the Global South. Later, he founded the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, an environmental justice organization.
He has also received several accolades, including the distinguished Right Livelihood Award, the Rafto Prize and he was named one of Time magazine’s Heroes of the Environment in 2009.
Despite a lifetime of accomplishments, Bassey spoke of the vital work still left at this critical moment for his work and the world. “It is clear we cannot afford linear growth on a finite planet,” he said. “While record temperatures, wildfires, floods and other stressors raged across the world, leaders are engrossed in xenophobic nationalism, building barriers against climate refugees, and promoting fictional, false and risky climate solutions.”
Despite the challenges, he expressed hope: “The milestones in my journey and the successes in the midst of continual battles have come by the resilience of the peoples and communities. We see expanding movements, readiness of communities to certify conveniences today for the sake of building a safe future for those yet unborn. I have seen the power of traditional wisdom and cultural production in building hope and strengthening alliances against oppression.”
Bassey extended that hope to graduands, urging them to action. “This is a time to stand together to demand justice in all circumstances, to call for an end to genocide, to build solidarity, and not walls, and to restore hope in our time.”
The $1-million fund, announced Oct. 12, will support the development of the Climate and Equity Lab at York to better understand the impacts of climate change on vulnerable Canadians in urban environments.
In Canada, climate change is imposing an increasingly disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups, and factors such as poverty significantly impact the likelihood of recovering from extreme weather events.
As part of the project, EUC has appointed Niloofar Mohtat, a full-time postdoctoral Fellow, to work to identify gaps through existing research and assist in developing new research to explore how the effects of climate change may exacerbate inequalities faced by Canada’s most disadvantaged populations. A small team of EUC graduate students will also be engaged in the project, which will include research design, scoping reviews and facilitated discussions with participants in Canada.
“In Canada, low-income communities are at a disproportionate risk of loss and damage due to extreme climate events, such as heat and flooding,” said Mohtat. “Many of them live in old rental buildings with old infrastructure, located in neighbourhoods with limited access to green spaces and services. They spend a high proportion of their income on housing, so they do not have sufficient financial resources to invest in insurance or retrofit their settlements.”
The collaborative project aligns with the University’s Academic Plan and priorities for action, and supports its commitment to build a more just and sustainable future.
This year, Gore Mutual Foundation introduced its $1-million Equity Acceleration Fund to support charitable organizations focusing on the interconnection of poverty, equity and climate change.
“We quickly identified a troubling lack of investment in the understanding of the impact climate change is having on vulnerable groups,” said Gaby Polanco Sorto, vice-president and head of purpose and sustainability at Gore Mutual Insurance Company. “Our partners in the Climate and Equity Lab share the same values, urgency and vision to make our findings public and inspire others to take action alongside us. We are thrilled to embark on this journey together.”
Gore Mutual Foundation will act as the lead sponsor of the Climate and Equity Lab, while SI Canada, a national charitable organization working to address complex challenges and create transformational change, will act as the project lead, responsible for the management of the project’s deliverables and leading the facilitation of the labs. As the academic partner, EUC will provide the research team that will work to mobilize research into climate action.
“The research from the Climate and Equity Lab will serve as a crucial tool to inform policymakers, offering clear innovation and investment opportunities developed in collaboration with the communities most affected by climate change,” said Alice Hovorka, dean of EUC.
After a year of planning, phase one of the Climate and Equity Lab’s multi-year initiative has begun, with stakeholder workshops set to take place in Vancouver, the Waterloo Region and Toronto over the next nine months.
“This collaborative effort marks a significant step toward comprehending the complex connection between climate change and vulnerable groups. In collaboration with these communities, we will work towards creating a more equitable and resilient future for all Canadians,” said Andrea Nemtin, chief executive officer of SI Canada.
Bosworth, an assistant professor of international studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, will present a talk titled “Pipeline Populism and the Climate Cycle of Struggles: 2010-2020,” which will describe the rise and demise of left-populist environmentalism as one tendency within the “cycle of struggles” over climate in the 2010s. This tendency, he says, can be found in Upper Midwest pipeline opposition movements, in moves towards mass mobilization such as the People’s Climate March, and in student and youth movements advocating for a Green New Deal.
Bosworth’s book, Pipeline Populism: Grassroots Environmentalism in the 21st Century (University of Minnesota Press, 2022), examines pipeline opposition movements in the central U.S. and the ways they have transformed the politics of climate justice. It argues that while a form of environmental populism challenges the climate movement’s history of elitism, it also remakes hierarchies of race, class and nation to compose its political subjects.
York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change is bringing climate crisis scholars and activists to the University on a regular basis through its Climate Seminar. All are welcome to attend, either in person or virtually via livestream. Those interested in attending can register at tinyurl.com/4zshzzw5.
This tradition of recognizing the remarkable accomplishments of alum will continue Nov. 15, when this year’s distinguished awardees will be honoured at a ceremony.
Each year, the York University Alumni Awards recognize outstanding alum who have achieved the extraordinary and are working to right the future by creating positive change in their fields. The Awards celebrate the broad York alum community of innovators, activists and researchers and its long-standing commitment to the public good.
This year’s recipients are Harry S. LaForme (LLB ‘77, LLD ‘08), Fatima Israel (MBA ‘06), Flavien P. Joubert (MES ‘03) and Temo Primrose Gare (BA ‘12).
“This year’s recipients represent the positive contributions York alumni are making around the world,” says Julie Lafford, assistant vice-president, Alumni Engagement. “In addition to their many accomplishments, exceptional leadership, philanthropic support and meaningful engagement with the alumni community, the 2023 award recipients continue to set an example for future generations of students and alumni alike. It will be a pleasure to honour them this fall at the Alumni Awards ceremony.”
This award goes to an alum who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of York and its students through exceptional service, commitment and/or philanthropic contributions.
Harry S. LaForme is a retired judge who received a bachelor of laws and a doctor of laws from Osgoode Hall Law School. In 1994, he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice, making him one of three Indigenous judges to be designated to this level of trial court in Canada at the time. He dedicated his career to furthering the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canada’s 2SLGBTQ2IA+ communities and the rights of all other marginalized groups living in Canada. In 2004, LaForme became the first Indigenous judge to be appointed to an appellate court in Canada with his appointment to the Ontario Court of Appeal.
During his tenure, LaForme specialized in Indigenous law with a focus on Constitutional and Charter issues and represented Canadian Indigenous interests internationally. In 2018, LaForme retired from the judiciary and currently works as senior counsel with Olthius Kleer Townshend. LaForme has received honorary degrees from various universities and numerous accolades, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in Law & Justice and the Order of Canada. He’s also published numerous articles on issues related to Indigenous law and justice and speaks frequently on Indigenous issues, Indigenous law, constitutional law, and civil, equality and human rights.
This award goes to an alum who has achieved distinction in their field and whose integrity and ability inspire alumni, faculty, staff and students.
Fatima Israel is a marketing officer with a master of business administration degree from the Schulich School of Business who is transforming the industry with her expertise in professional services, telecommunications, technology, health services and fintech. Israel is an advocate for putting people at the heart of transformation to drive innovation, catalyze progress and deliver on purpose. She boldly combines ambitious ideas with insights to build a better working world for her clients and communities.
Her passion for leadership and advancing the marketing community has earned her awards from the Canadian Marketing Association and the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business. Israel strives to channel this passion to support the next generation as an executive mentor and advisory council member for the American Marketing Association, a mentor for the EY Women’s Athlete Business Network and a regular judge for marketing industry award programs.
This award goes to an alum who has demonstrated innovative, unconventional, and daring leadership and success, reflecting the University’s motto “The way must be tried.”
Flavien P. Joubert currently serves as the minister for agriculture, climate change and environment on the island of Seychelles. Before attaining his master’s degree in environmental studies at York University, Joubert completed his higher national diploma and graduate studies at the Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. During his studies, Joubert rediscovered one of the rarest bat species in the country and co-wrote two research papers on the subject. In his role as minister, Joubert has continued to promote research and conservation on bat species.
Joubert’s career with the Ministry of Environment began in 1996, where he held several key positions, including director general for Wildlife Enforcement and Permits, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Seychelles National Parks Authority and CEO of the Landscape & Waste Management Authority. Internationally, Joubert has represented Seychelles in many fora related to chemicals and waste, and he served as a prominent figure in the Basel and Stockholm Conventions. He also played instrumental roles in initiatives around chemical safety in Seychelles. In 2015, Joubert was recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme for his leadership at the Eighth Conference of the Parties to the Nairobi Convention. In 2020, he was appointed minister for agriculture, climate change and energy.
This award goes to an alum who has made a significant impact in their field and/or community within 15 years of a bachelor’s degree or 10 years of a professional/graduate degree.
Temo Primrose Gare is a journalist, accomplished television host and executive producer with years of experience in the media industry. Gare received a bachelor of arts from York University, where she laid the foundation for her passion for journalism and communication. She later pursued her master of media in journalism and communication at Western University. In 2018, Gare was honoured with the Raveena Aulakh Memorial Award in recognition of her academic achievements and contributions to journalism and communication.
Since completing her studies, Gare has worked at CTV News, BNN Bloomberg and NewsTalk, and produced two television shows for Rogers Communications and Bell Media. Gare currently serves as the host and executive producer of the television show “Our Stories” and is the founder of Okavango Media, her production company that provides a space for her to shape and amplify compelling stories that resonate with audiences on a deeper level.
The York U Alumni Awards were inspired by Bruce Bryden, who was an exceptionally committed and influential leader at York University for many years. He was a member of York’s first undergraduate class, was the founding president of the York University Alumni Association (now the York University Alumni Board/YUAB) and was a member of the York University Board of Governors. The York U Alumni Awards recognize and honour his vision, exemplary leadership and extraordinary achievements.
For information about The York U Alumni Awards, visit yorku.ca/alumniandfriends/connect/events/yorku-alumni-awards.
The program was created to support graduate research and related scholarly and creative activities in line with the three themes of the Dahdaleh Institute: planetary health; global health and humanitarianism; and global health foresighting. The scholarship is granted annually to graduate students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement in global health research.
This year, the Dahdaleh Institute renews seven exceptional scholars and welcomes three new graduate students from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Lassonde School of Engineering and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Alexandra Scott – The Myth of “Good Enough”: Law, Engineering, and Autonomous Weapons Systems
Scott is a PhD student, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council doctoral Fellow at the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. Scott’s work explores the development and deployment of autonomous weapon systems (also known as “killer robots”) under international law and the role that engineers play in both.
“Beyond providing me with the financial means to pursue my PhD studies, my involvement with the Dahdaleh Institute has already allowed me to not only collaborate with and learn from esteemed academics, but become involved with research areas I had long hoped to delve into but could never quite figure out how,” says Scott. “The Dahdaleh Institute has already opened several doors to me and I am thankful to be part of such a welcoming and supportive program.”
Caroline Duncan – Optimizing Water Safety in Cambridge Bay Using Participatory System Dynamics
Duncan is a PhD candidate in civil engineering with a strong focus on optimizing drinking water in the Arctic using participatory approaches to system dynamics modelling. As part of the Lassonde School of Engineering, and under the guidance of Professor Stephanie Gora, her research seeks to understand the complex factors that affect the quality and accessibility of drinking water in the Arctic using an interdisciplinary and participatory approach.
Through her research, Duncan will work closely with the Municipality of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, collaborating with community members, government and non-governmental organization stakeholders involved with drinking water from source to tap. Through this collaboration, a model will be developed to test treatment and policy interventions to optimize drinking water safety.
Eyram Agbe – Digital deprivation: ICT education and social vulnerability in Ghana
Agbe is a master’s student in the Development Studies program. Her research seeks to understand the diverse psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 on basic school teachers in Accra, Ghana, and how these factors affect their ability to support new curriculum implementation as schools have returned to in-person classes. This study seeks to centre the critical role that social vulnerability plays in education, specifically how teachers’ health outcomes are situated within contentions over techno-political visions by stakeholders.
With the commencement of a new school year, the Dahdaleh Institute is excited to see the continued excellence and remarkable research of all the Dahdaleh Graduate Scholars. Those renewed will be exploring the following research areas:
To learn more about the research projects graduate student scholars are undertaking, visit yorku.ca/dighr/ten-exceptional-scholars-awarded-2023-2024-dahdaleh-global-health-graduate-scholarships.
This fall, York welcomes new faculty members in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design; the Faculty of Education; the Faculty of Health; the Lassonde School of Engineering; the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies; the Faculty of Science; the Schulich School of Business; and Glendon College.
Liberal Arts & Professional Studies welcomes 34 new faculty members
Faculty of Health professors bring new perspectives on well-being
New Faculty of Science members to further York’s scientific innovation, impact
AMPD professors to shape the future of art
Schulich welcomes four new faculty members
New Lassonde faculty to advance cybersecurity, artificial intelligence
Faculty of Education’s new faces to shape future of teaching, learning
Glendon welcomes faculty member focused on translation studies
The funding, announced on Aug. 29 by the Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages, on behalf of the François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry, goes towards 33 projects, ranging from research on migrant labour and gender inequality in retirement to heritage design in Canada.
“This week’s funding announcement highlights the council’s faith in the high calibre of our researchers’ work, ranging from Indigenous circumpolar cultural sovereignty, ecological footprint, to renewable greener transition and policy gaps in international mobility, in collaboration with other local and international subject experts,” says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation at York. “I thank SHHRC for their support and I commend York’s research community for their ongoing commitment to creating positive change, both locally and globally.”
The new round of grants will support 605 social sciences and humanities research projects across Canada. Learn more about the York-led projects below.
SSHRC Partnership Grants support teams of researchers from post-secondary institutions working in new and existing formal partnerships with public, private or not-for-profit organizations. Through collaboration, sharing of intellectual leadership and resources by cash or in-kind contributions, the grants support work for four to seven years to advance research, training and knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities.
Four York-led projects received a combined total of almost $10 million ($9,978,586) in funding.
Peter Victor, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
The International Ecological Footprint Learning Lab: Training, research and novel applications
$2,486,161
Richard Saunders, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
African Extractivism and the Green Transition
$2,498,948
Leah Vosko, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Liberating Migrant Labour?: International Mobility Programs in Settler-Colonial Contexts
$2,499,975
Anna Hudson, Department of Visual Art & Art History, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Curating Indigenous Circumpolar Cultural Sovereignty: advancing Inuit and Sami homelands, food, art, archives and worldviews
$2,493,502
To learn more about the York-led projects, click here.
To view all Partnership Grant recipients, click here.
Partnership Development Grants support teams of researchers from post-secondary institutions working in a formal partnership with public, private or not-for-profit organizations for one to three years. The grants support research development, existing and new partnerships, knowledge mobilization, and related activities in the social sciences and humanities.
Eight York-led projects received a combined total of more than $1.5 million ($1,514,498) in funding.
Anna Agathangelou, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Building an International Partnership to Research and Address Reparative Justice in Post-Conflict Situations: Canada, Africa and Europe
$176,127
Thi Viet Nga Dao, Department of Social Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Slow violence and water (in)justice: Feminist political ecologies of intergenerational struggles in the Mekong region
$199,689
Anne MacLennan, Department of Communication & Media Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Interrogating Canadian Identities/ L’identités canadiennes – une interrogation (ICI)
$173,836
Jan Hadlaw, Department of Design, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
The xDX Project: Documenting, Linking, and Interpreting Canada’s Design Heritage
$193,400
Christopher Kyriakides, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Refuge, Racisms, and Resistances: A Co-Created Analysis of the Experiences of Syrian and Ethiopian Refugees in Canada
$196,426
To learn more about this project, click here.
Abigail Shabtay, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Strengthening Participatory Drama-Based Research in Institutional, Community, and Educational Contexts
$199,341
Susan Winton, Faculty of Education
The Public Education Exchange
$175,679
Debra Pepler, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Walking the Prevention Pathway for Indigenous Communities’ Journey of Change
$200,000
To view all Partnership Development Grant recipients, click here.
Insight Grants are awarded to emerging and established scholars in the social sciences and humanities to work on research projects of two to five years.
21 York-led projects received a combined total of more than $4 million ($4,048,259) in funding.
Tasso Adamopoulos, Department of Economics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Inequality and Productivity in Developing Countries
$125,669
Kee-hong Bae, Department of Finance, Schulich School of Business
Incentive-focused corporate culture
$74,440
Anh Nguyen, School of Administrative Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Labour force aging and business vibrancy: Evidence and solutions for businesses and workers in Canada and around the world
$193,356
Thanujeni (Jeni) Pathman, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
How accurate is memory for time across childhood and adolescence? Theoretical and practical implications for forensic settings
$240,030
Alexandra Rutherford, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Intersecting difference: Gender, race and sexuality in 20th century U.S. psychology
$134,090
Robert Savage, Faculty of Education
Tackling two of the most important unresolved tasks in reading intervention
$278,472
Marlis Schweitzer, Department of Theatre, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Decoding the Lecture on Heads: Performing Objects and Satire on the 18th-Century Stage
$99,923
Simon Adam, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health
Entangled identities: Exploring neurodiversity through social media expression
$103,553
Kean Birch, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Digital Data Value Paradox: An Empirical Investigation of Personal Data Valuation
$328,946
Antony Chum, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Social and policy determinants of self harm across gender identities in Canada
$328,104
Julia M. Creet, Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Digital Afterlives
$283,757
Robert Cribbie, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Extensions of Negligible Effect Statistical Testing
$251,006
Ganaele Langlois, Department of Communication & Media Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
The Art of Necessity: Making Sustainable and Just Worlds through Local Textiles
$228,206
Brenda Longfellow, Department of Cinema & Media Arts, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Abolition Feminism: Collaborating Across Communities
$352,679
Kinnon MacKinnon, School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Detransition: Examining pathways and care needs
$112,113
Jonathan Nitzan, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
The capital-as-power fractal: toward a general theory of the capitalist mode of power
$111,766
Yuval Deutsch, Schulich School of Business
Social capital, corporate social responsibility and corporate irresponsibility
$133,799
Caitlin Fisher, Department of Cinema & Media Studies, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Mobilizing the arts for global health: a virtual museum of antimicrobial resistance
$236,457
Kamila Kolpashnikova, Department of Design, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Gender Inequality in Retirement: Understanding Social Organization in Domestic Tasks
$88,145
Palma Paciocco, Osgoode Hall Law School
The Gatekeeper and The Timekeeper: Regulating Expert Evidence and Trial Delay in Criminal Courts
$51,777
Yan Shvartzshnaider, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering
Virtual Classrooms Privacy
$291,971
To view all Insight Grant recipients, click here.
Reza Rizvi, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering, will oversee the facility alongside co-principal investigators Stephanie Gora, an assistant professor of civil engineering, and Marina Freire-Gormaly, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
The JELF investment, totalling $138,585, will enable the York engineers to utilize cutting-edge scientific techniques and conduct the precise analysis needed to develop innovative nanomaterials that address energy and environmental challenges, like climate change, clean energy generation and storage, e-waste, and water treatment and monitoring. The project is titled “Infrastructure for Innovative Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment.”
“I am grateful for CFI’s investment in our applied research to create a more sustainable future for Canada and the world,” said Rizvi, who specializes in the scalable manufacturing of advanced materials. “Nanomaterials have a critical role to play in technological solutions that will help protect our planet.”
The facility will be housed in a shared lab space at Lassonde and will feature: a confocal Raman microscope (a Bruker Senterra II), a laser-based device that allows for microscopic examination; and an infrared spectrometer (Bruker Alpha II), an instrument used to measure light absorbed by a material sample. The facility will also be used to train highly-qualified personnel, including graduate students and postdoctoral Fellows.
“Every day, researchers dedicate their knowledge and skills to addressing issues that are important to Canadians, including improving the environment, health care and access to education. They contribute to a better future for all Canadians,” said Roseann O’Reilly Runte, president and CEO of CFI. “At the Canada Foundation for Innovation, we are proud to support their efforts with well-designed labs and necessary equipment placed in the communities and environments where they will be the most effectively employed.”
The nanotechnologies developed by Rizvi, Gora, Freire-Gormaly and their teams will advance several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including: good health and well-being (SDG 3); clean water and sanitation (SDG 6); affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9); responsible consumption and production (SDG 12); and climate action (SDG 13).
Three other York researchers also received funding: Shooka Karimpour, an assistant professor of civil engineering at Lassonde, for “Infrastructure for High-Definition Microplatic Detection (HD-MPD) and Identity Analysis” ($126,254); and Adeyemi Oludapo Olusola and Joshua Thienpoint, assistant professors in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, for “Landscapes in Transition: Environmental Sensitivities Due to Climate Change” ($198,161).
The York-led projects are among 396 research infrastructure projects to receive more than $113 million at 56 universities across Canada.
The CFI funding is part of a wave of recent investments made by the Government of Canada, supporting 4,700 researchers and research projects with more than $960 million in grants, scholarships and programs. “Through this funding, the Government of Canada is investing in the next generation of researchers and inspiring them to continue to think outside the box and tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow,” said François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry.
For the full CFI announcement, visit innovation.ca/news/jelf-august-2023.
