Next stop, the Lassonde School’s Transportation Research Symposium June 27
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The Lassonde School of Engineering will be hosting the Transportation Research Symposium on Tuesday, June 27, from 8.30am to 3pm in Room 125, Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, Keele campus.
The Transportation Research Symposium is an interdisciplinary conference focusing on rapid urbanization and the resulting congestion, which has significant economic implications, loss of productivity, increased pollution, and health and safety concerns for commuters and residents of urban areas.
Peter Park
Department of Civil Engineering Professor Peter Park will lead the symposium. Park has more than 20 years of experience as a traffic safety analyst, transportation engineer and planner.
“The idea is to bring researchers together to find areas where we can collaborate,” said Park.
The interdisciplinary symposium will bring together Faculty from the Lassonde School of Engineering, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, Schulich School of Business, and Faculty of Environmental Studies. Participants will consider a variety of topics including GIS data analytics, vision-based technologies, electric vehicles, self-driving cars and more.
His work addresses the limitations of magnetic data storage and memory.
Enabling computers to hold more data will revolutionize industries like healthcare, where Artificial Intelligence is playing an an increasingly significant role.
Companies like Google and Amazon, which provide online cloud storage and website hosting, will continue to thrive with increased data storage capabilities.
Pisana’s research proposes a solution to current limitations: a study of the magnetization dynamics in magnetic materials under ultrafast heat transients.
Magnetic memories are pivotal for the storage and processing of data, a need that has increased with the proliferation of digital content, a growing demand for big data analysis and high-performance computing.
Professor Pisana’s research lab is will be housed in the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, the new Laboratory for Ultrafast Thermo-magnetics (LUTher). The lab will notably feature a very versatile ultrafast laser system and a high-field rotating electromagnet.
Professor proposes using artificial intelligence to predict aquatic ecosystem health
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an urban river
Lassonde School of Engineering Professor Usman Khan‘s research on the measurement of aquatic ecosystem health has been published in the journal Water.
In the paper, Khan proposes an approach based on artificial intelligence to predict dissolved oxygen in an urban river environment.
Dissolved oxygen concentration in a water body is the most fundamental indicator of overall aquatic ecosystem health. Having a sophisticated measuring system to assess the health of these precious reserves is essential.
In urban areas, numerous factors, such as land use changes, can contribute to lowering of dissolved oxygen concentration in rivers, which can have devastating effects on ecosystems.
Numerous factors, such as land use changes, can contribute to lowering of dissolved oxygen concentration in rivers, which can have devastating effects on ecosystems.
Using a form of machine learning known as a fuzzy neural network, Khan’s model automatically selects the optimum model structure for best performance.
Due to the highly complex and uncertain physical system, a data-driven and fuzzy number-based approach is preferred over traditional methods.
The model output is used to create a risk analysis tool that municipalities can use to identify the risk of low dissolved oxygen under different circumstances. This will allow cities to better monitor and anticipate the health of their rivers.
This research will change the way cavities are detected by doctors, leading to earlier treatment and better oral health.
Tabatabaei’s work will focus on the development and clinical translation of a high-resolution photothermal coherence tomography clinical device for detection and 3-D mapping of early dental caries.
The proposed device is expected to show areas of dental demineralization at much earlier stages, meaning when the cavity can still be remineralized or healed, creating a painless, cost-effective and non-invasive treatment for tooth decay instead of the conventional drilling and filling approach.
Over the next three years, $300,000 out of the $717,294 funding will support the operation of this project at Tabatabaei’s Hybrid Biomedical Optics laboratory.
Tabatabaei’s research interests are design and development of hybrid biomedical optics imaging technologies for applications in early disease diagnosis and screening. Tabatabaei carried out research for two years at the Harvard Medical School and Wellman Center for Photomedicine as a postdoctoral fellow before joining York University in 2014.
Glacierclean Technologies Inc., an Innovation York supported startup, secures first round of seed funding
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Focused on developing an affordable, rapid and portable water testing and treatment solutions to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases, Glacierclean Technologies Inc. has raised $50,000 in seed funding to further develop and test its technology, Mobile Water Kit 2.0 (MWK 2.0).
Sushanta Mitra
Developed in the laboratory of Professor Sushanta Mitra in the Lassonde School of Engineering, MWK 2.0 is a portable water testing kit that will enable millions of people around the world to test water at the source and determine whether or not it is contaminated. The technology drastically improves on existing technologies, which require water samples to be obtained and tested in a laboratory, both of which require significant time and money.
Mitra says MWK 2.0 is cost effective and enables individuals, municipalities, or industries to test water at the source and receive results within minutes. The technology has the potential to improve the lives of millions, especially in developing countries where water contamination and the resulting outbreak of waterborne diseases is a day-to-day problem. It is equally applicable for rural and Northern communities in Canada and a large number of municipalities across the United States.
Naga Siva Gunda, president and CTO of Glacierclean, is performing test at one of the field locations in Delhi, India
Working with Innovation York over the past two and a half years, Mitra and co-inventor Naga Siva Kumar Gunda, incorporated Glacierclean Technologies Inc. in February 2016, with a view to obtaining investment and taking the development and commercialization of MWK 2.0 to the next level.
“To successfully obtain the first seed investment within ten months of incorporation is very exciting,” says Mitra, “Investment is essential for the completion of our field trials in India, as well as hiring a business development lead for the company”.
Partnerships have been key for the development of MWK 2.0. Glacierclean Technologies is actively working with a number of partners in North America, Europe and Asia, which include Novozymes, Grintex, Development Alternatives, Watermill Express, and ELS. It takes a village to commercialize a technology and Glacierclean is fortunate to have so many strong partnerships and the ongoing intellectual property and business development support from Innovation York, says Mitra.
Up and away part two: York U spectrometer flies high
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The balloon carrying the instrumentation took off from Alice Springs on Sunday, April 9
Alice Springs, Australia was the setting for a successful flight of a stratospheric balloon operated by Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). The balloon carried six Canadian payloads, including one from York University. The mission took place April 9, began at
The mission took place April 9, began at 4:47am local time (3:17pm EDT) and landed about 100 kilometres (km) from the launch site at 17:15pm (3:45am EDT). The balloon carried the instrumentation 37km into the atmosphere.
Photo of York team with the instrument developed at York University contained in a special gondola before the flight. From left: Mike Voutsogiannakis, Ganesh Ramkumar, and Prof. Jinjun Shan.
Carried aloft in the payload was the Imaging Fabry-Pérot Spectrometer from York University. Development of the instrument was led by Jinjun Shan, professor of space engineering in Lassonde School of Engineering at York University. Professors Gordon Shepherd and Chris Sioris, also from Lassonde, are co-investigators on the project.
This is the second flight for this instrument; the first flight took place last September in Kruna, Sweden. The Fabry-Pérot spectrometer is unique says, Shan, because it can obtain very high spectral resolution measurements. It views sunlight that is absorbed and scattered by the atmosphere and reflected by the Earth’s surface.
Why is this important? Shan says the measurements obtained provide information on aerosols, surface pressure and surface albedo (the fraction of solar energy [shortwave radiation] reflected from the Earth back into space).
The small dot in the upper part of the screen is the balloon
Since last flight in Sweden, Shan and his team have made some modifications to the instrument in order to get better observation results. Their work is supported by the Canadian Space Agency, under its Flights for the Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST) program in 2016.
The instrument was able to conduct measurements during the entire 12-hour flight. Preliminary analysis of the observation data showed that the performance of the instrument has been greatly improved.
Mission control
Stratos, the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) stratospheric balloon program, was created in 2011 through the CSA’s collaboration with CNES. The program gives Canadian scientists the opportunity to test and validate new technologies and to perform scientific experiments at an altitude where only balloons can be operated.
A device to improve milk safety and quality is being developed by Lassonde researchers.
Pouya Rezai
Professor Pouya Rezai from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Centres of Excellence for a project that aims to develop a portable biosensor for detection of microbial pathogens in milk and dairy products. Rezai will be working in partnership with Dairy Quality Inc. on the project.
The academic and industrial team are working to bring this technology to market in 2018.
The biosensor will be able to separate different phases of a high-volume milk sample in order to enhance the sensitivity of the detection process. It will also be simple enough to be used by the farmers to evaluate the quality of their raw milk samples.
“With this technology, an off-site process that currently takes three to four days can be performed on a farm in a few hours,” says Rezai.
This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of detection. It will provide farmers with the information they need to take immediate corrective action to save their animals and products.
Rezai’s research explores the development of microfluidics, mechanical systems for applications in medicine and point-of-care diagnostics, biology, environmental sciences and extreme environments. He is also the creator of the Advanced Center for μfluidics Technology and Engineering (ACμTE).
Lassonde students organize engineering event for Rexdale middle-school students
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The student mentors pose with the middle-school students and distinguished guests
A team of Lassonde School of Engineering students hosted the first National Engineering Month “B.U.I.L.D. Your Future” event on Saturday, March 25 at the Rexdale Community Hub. The event was led by female undergraduate students and gathered more than 100 people from the community.
The student mentors pose with the middle-school students and distinguished guests
Middle-school students from local schools came to experience what it is like to be an engineer and how engineering can change the world.
Students spent the day learning about science and engineering through hands-on activities including building challenges and games.
The Lassonde student volunteers work with the middle-school students
The activities were designed and led by three female Lassonde students in the undergraduate engineering program. The middle-school students learned about teamwork and 3D printing and engineering concepts such as how to build sound structures and groundwater filtration.
Local MPP Dr. Shafiq Qaadri, M.D., City Councillor Michael Ford and Deputy Mayor & City Councillor Vincent Crisanti attended the event and spoke to the students.
The event was organized in partnership with Parents Advocating for Student Success, Toronto Community Housing and York University-TD Community Engagement Centre.
York University appoints seven new York Research Chairs
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Research York University
York’s President and the VP Research & Innovation announce seven new York Research Chairs, each outstanding in their respective academic fields, bringing the grand total to 24.
Mamdouh Shoukri
On March 22, York University President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri and York Vice-President Research & Innovation Robert Haché announced seven new York Research Chairs (YRCs). Four years after the launch of the YRC program, it has now grown to 24 Chairs.
The YRCs is an internal program aimed at building research recognition and research capacity, with excellence in research, scholarship and associated creative activity being the selection criteria. Standards, expectations and supports for YRCs are at the same level as for the Canada Research Chairs program.
This program is designed to recognize excellence that’s already in existence at York U and support the programs of the University’s most active researchers.
Tier I YRCs are open to established research leaders at the rank of full professor. Tier II YRCs are aimed at emerging research leaders within 15 years of their first academic appointment.
Robert Haché
“We are delighted to acknowledge these outstanding researchers and scholars with the York Research Chair appointment,” said Shoukri. “These new Research Chairs embody York University’s commitment to research intensification, scholarly excellence and policy-relevant findings.”
“These academics are accelerating research leadership across York. They are undertaking visionary work that has local, national and international impact,” said Vice-President Research & Innovation Haché.
The following appointments are effective July 1, 2017. Note: The two Chairs associated with the Vision Science to Application (VISTA) Program were supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).
Tier I York Research Chairs
Deborah Britzman
Deborah Britzman Tier I York Research Chair in Pedagogy and Psycho-Social Transformations
Britzman’s research interests are in psychoanalysis with education and studies of learning as psychosocial transformation. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, A Psychoanalyst and Distinguished Research Professor in the Faculty of Education, she is the author of 100 articles and eight books.
Eric Hessels
Eric Hessels Tier I York Research Chair in Atomic Physics
Hessels’ area of specialization is in experimental atomic physics and high-precision measurements in excited states of few-electron atoms. A Distinguished Research Professor in the Faculty of Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, he is part of a collaboration whose goal is to use antihydrogen atoms to conduct tests of the physics of antimatter.
Laurence Harris
Laurence Harris Tier I York Research Chair in Multisensory Integration
Harris investigates how we integrate information from our different senses to create the perception of our own body, and our sense of position and movement in the world. He is the Director of the Centre for Vision Research at York, an international leader in biological and machine vision research. He is a professor in Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health and a core member of the Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) program.
George Zhu
Zheng Hong (George) Zhu Tier I York Research Chair in Space Technology
Zhu is the Director of the Space Engineering Design Laboratory at the Lassonde School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests touch on a number of topics including the dynamics and control of tethered spacecraft systems, electrodynamic tether propulsion and space debris removal, space robotics and advanced spacecraft materials.
Tier II York Research Chairs
Kristin Andrews
Kristin Andrews Tier II York Research Chair in Animal Minds
Andrews’ interests are in animal and child social cognition and moral development. She has worked with dolphins in Hawaii and orangutans in Borneo. Her research area is in the philosophy of psychology. Her first book, Do Apes Read Minds?, was published by MIT Press in 2012. She is in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Department of Philosophy.
Sapna Sharma
Sapna Sharma Tier II York Research Chair in Global Change Biology
Sharma, in the Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, is interested in predicting the effects of environmental stressors, such as climate change, invasive species, land use change, and habitat alteration, on ecosystems and improving the use of quantitative approaches used to generate these predictions.
Robert Allison
Robert Allison Tier II York Research Chair in Stereoscopic Vision and Depth Perception
Allison, in the Lassonde School of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and VISTA Program is interested in human perceptual responses in virtual environments and study of stereoscopic vision. He is also interested in the measurement and analysis of eye movements and the applications of this technology.
By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
Prof. Richard Hornsey appointed Interim Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering
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Richard Hornsey
Rhonda Lenton, vice-president academic and provost, has issued the following announcement to the York University community:
Richard Hornsey
I am pleased to inform members of the Lassonde community that Professor Richard Hornsey has agreed to take on the role of Interim Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering. President Shoukri and I have brought this recommendation for Board approval; and the Board of Governors Executive Committee, on behalf of the Board of Governors, has now approved the recommendation of this appointment. Professor Hornsey’s appointment took effect March 21, 2017. Information will be forthcoming through Faculty Council regarding the search for the next Dean of the School.
Professor Hornsey is well known to members of Lassonde and the wider York community. He is a Professor of Computer Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, having joined York University in 2001 from the University of Waterloo as one of the first Engineering faculty members. He was appointed Associate Dean for Engineering in 2005 to lead the restructuring that resulted in the first accreditation of the engineering programs.
In 2011-12, Professor Hornsey was one of a small team developing the Lassonde School of Engineering. Since then, as Vice-Dean of Lassonde, he has led the Faculty’s governance and quality assurance processes and the establishment of the School’s co-op option and initiated significant curricular enhancements. He was also a member of the core project team that designed the new home of Engineering on campus, the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence.
Professor Hornsey earned his MA, MSc and DPhil degrees in Engineering Science from Oxford University in England, and is a licensed Professional Engineer. His research interests include engineering education and electronic camera systems. In 2015, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, and was named a University Professor here at York. Professor Hornsey has served on several government and professional bodies, and since 2005 has represented York University on the Council of Ontario Deans of Engineering (CODE) and the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science (NCDEAS).
I very much appreciate Dr. Hornsey’s willingness to undertake this important responsibility. I know that he will provide outstanding leadership for the School as its Interim Dean, and I look forward to working with him and colleagues in LSE to continue advancing Engineering at York.
Janusz Kozinski
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Janusz Kozinski for his leadership as the Founding Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering, and to wish him well for the future. His accomplishments include the launch and growth of Lassonde, the development of new programming in areas such as Civil and Mechanical Engineering and initiatives such as the Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST) program, and the planning for and opening of the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence.
Lassonde School of Engineering Professor 
