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Professor recognized for exemplary lifetime contributions to the study of Earth

View of the Earth from space

York University Professor Spiros Pagiatakis received the Canadian Geophysical Union’s J. Tuzo Wilson Medal, which recognizes a Canadian scholar’s outstanding contributions throughout their career to the geosciences – the study of the Earth – and counts as the highest national honour earned by those in the field.

“I am deeply honoured and privileged to be awarded the highest accolade of geosciences and join the previous 45 laureates,” says Pagiatakis of the medal, which was given to him in recognition of a lifetime of contributions to the advancement of knowledge and education in Canadian geosciences. He is only the third York-affiliated person to receive the award.

Spiros Pagiatakis
Spiros Pagiatakis

Pagiatakis joined York U in 2001, after already having made a nearly decade-long impact in the field as a lead senior research scientist for the federal Department of Natural Resources Canada. In both his professional and academic careers, Pagiatakis has dedicated himself to the study of the Earth as observed from terrestrial and space platforms, with highly innovative work and discoveries starting from the Earth’s inner core motions. He has specialized in measuring and understanding the planet’s geometric and physical shape, and how its internal forces – like plate tectonics – bend form, deform and more, as well as how its atmosphere and gravity operate.

Pagiatakis has tackled innovative research questions across the spectrum of geodesy and Earth sciences, with groundbreaking findings that led to the recent recognition.

Among Pagiatakis’s innovations in the field, he pioneered a better understanding of deformation of the Earth due to the dynamics of ocean tides, as well developed the first map of Canada and the U.S. showing how gravity changes with time due to the rebounding of the Canadian land mass due to climate change and the melting of the ice since the last ice age glacial maximum, some 23 thousand years ago.

Since joining York U, his interests have shifted to space science, which has led to important discoveries highlighting how dynamics in the Earth’s lower and upper atmosphere influence, impact and shape climate science.

Pagiatakis’s work has been recognized and funded by the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada, the GEOIDE National Centre of Excellence, the Carbon Management Canada National Centre of Excellence, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation Trust and Natural Resources Canada.

Pagiatakis’s impact has also extended beyond research by influencing future generations in the field, notably at York University. He was one of a handful of pioneers who created the first engineering programs and accreditation at York U, which ultimately led to the founding of the Lassonde School of Engineering, where he served as the inaugural associate dean of research and graduate studies for five years. He has also led the development of innovative methods of teaching in a virtual classroom environment and in blended course delivery to university students and engineering professionals before online teaching became commonplace.

A lifetime of efforts aren’t limited to the administrative, however. Pagiatakis has been a passionate teacher, deeply invested in collaborating and supervising graduate students to help guide the next generation of pioneers in the field of geophysics. Former students – many of whom now work for top organizations like NASA, the European Space Agency and the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, and in academia in Canada and abroad – credit him for providing high-quality graduate education, training and mentoring opportunities in an equitable, safe, welcoming and encouraging environment built on trust, where acceptance, openness, motivation, enthusiasm and curiosity have been paramount.

For his part, Pagiatakis is reluctant to take too much credit for what he has accomplished. “My graduate students are the heart, the soul and inspiration of our research; without them nothing would be possible” he says.

Nonetheless, as one of his J. Tuzo Wilson Medal nominators emphasized, Pagiatakis “is one of those exceptional scientists who do not shy away from various administrative and organizational duties someone has to undertake in order to keep science healthy.” His dedication to doing just that – keeping his field of science thriving with his career, academic work and mentorship – are what now have earned him the recognition his students would agree he’s long deserved.

New funding supports training in vaccine production at York U

test tube vaccine production

Thanks to new funding from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges & Universities, the Faculty of Science is launching a new micro-credential in Vaccine Production and Quality Assurance in Winter 2025 at York University’s Markham Campus.

The provincial funding comprises $50,000 from the Micro-credentials Challenge Fund (Round 2) and $75,000 from the Training Equipment and Renewal Fund, which will go toward the creation of the new micro-credential that will prepare trainees for jobs in vaccine biomanufacturing and processing.

Hovig Kouyoumdjian
Hovig Kouyoumdjian

“Our new programs in vaccine production and biotechnology aim to bridge talent gaps in the pharmaceutical industry in Canada and to offer students and professionals a variety of training options for upskilling for industry jobs,” says Hovig Kouyoumdjian, associate dean of curriculum and pedagogy in the Faculty of Science.

Spearheaded by Kouyoumdjian and faculty members Jade Atallah, the Markham biotechnology graduate program director, and Luz Adriana Puentes Jácome in the Department of Biology, the micro-credential in Vaccine Production and Quality Assurance will provide accelerated, experiential and industry-centred training on the fundamentals of vaccine production, including emerging technologies.

“It will be offered as an eight-week, blended program, shaped by input from a variety of industry partners,” says Jácome. “The micro-credential offers more rapid, vaccine-focused training relative to the new Graduate Diploma in Biotechnology and Master’s in Biotechnology Management programs, which are broader in scope and completed in one year or two, respectively.”

With the new funding, the Faculty of Science will also purchase new equipment that will not only benefit student training in the micro-credential but also the Master’s in Biotechnology Management and Graduate Diploma in Biotechnology programs starting this fall at Markham Campus. The equipment will include cell culture tools for various expression systems (bacterial, yeast, insect and mammalian cells) and novel vaccine platform technologies (DNA, RNA and recombinant proteins) that are highly aligned with current advancements in the vaccine industry.

“Given the focus of these biotechnology postgraduate programs on applied training, the new equipment will support a curricular delivery that is hands-on and highly experiential in nature,” says Atallah. “Our students will complete their training with the knowledge and skills they need to secure in-demand jobs in the biotechnology and vaccine production industry.”

“We are grateful to the Ontario Ministry of Colleges & Universities for supporting the creation and enhancement of these important programs at York University,” says Kouyoumdjian.

York U researchers awarded seed grants for global health projects

artistic crafts earth hands heart BANNER

Following the fifth annual Critical Social Science Perspectives in Global Health Research (CPGH) Workshop, York University’s Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and the CPGH steering committee have awarded four York U researchers this year’s $7,000 CPGH Seed Grants to initiate novel and innovative ideas that take a critical social science approach to global health research.

The recipients and their projects are:

  • Agnès Berthelot-Raffard, a professor in the Faculty of Health, “Towards Gender-Inclusive Social Innovation in Community Care: Lessons from Experiential Knowledge in Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Caribbeans”;
  • Christo El Morr, a professor in the Faculty of Health, “An AI-Driven Tool for Disability Rights Monitoring”; 
  • Andrew Dawson, a professor in the Department of Sociology at Glendon College, “Trust and Compliance: A Cross-National Investigation of the Relationship between Trust in Political Institutions and Healthcare Systems”; and
  • Raju J. Das, a professor in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, “Scorching Sites: Examining the Health Impacts of Climate Change on Construction Workers.”

The CPGH Seed Grants support York University-based research that contributes to the research themes of the Dahdaleh Institute: planetary health; global health and humanitarianism; and global health foresighting. The grants are meant to encourage faculty to develop fuller grant proposals for fall Tri-Council funding and other grant deadlines. This year’s recipients will present the progress of their research at next year’s CPGH Workshop. 

Watch a full recording of the workshop on YouTube. For more information about CPGH, visit the project page.

York University announces new cohort of York Research Chairs

Lightbulb with orbs over an open book

Ten York University researchers have been named new York Research Chairs (YRCs), an internal program that supports outstanding faculty members as they produce research and excel in their wide-ranging areas of study, including cognitive neuroscience, gender justice and molecular ecology, among others.  

“The York Research Chairs program enables the University to celebrate and champion our exceptional research community as they pursue discovery, invention and innovation at the highest level in their respective fields, from using artificial intelligence to track and capture space debris to leveraging extended reality technologies for theatre and performance, and so much more,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. “I extend a warm congratulations to the new Chairholders whose leading expertise, bolstered by this program, holds the potential to create significant impacts both in Canada and globally.”  

This year’s YRCs are the 11th cohort to be appointed – as of July 1 – since the program was first launched by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) in 2015.

“The new YRC appointments demonstrate the University’s continued commitment to research excellence and scholarship in all its forms, supporting the intensification and application of new knowledge for the benefit of our local and global communities,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “The YRC program also aligns with the University’s Strategic Research Plan, ‘Knowledge for the Future: From Creation and Discovery to Application,’ which aims to enhance York’s research strengths and accelerate the growth of our global impact.”

Five of the 10 new Chairs are funded by VPRI, while the other five are funded by Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society – a major, $318-million, York-led research initiative focused on socially responsible technologies.

The YRC program is designed to offer a similar level of support as the federal government’s Canada Research Chairs program, which funds the work of world-class researchers and their teams at institutions across the country.

The YRC program consists of two tiers, both with five-year terms. Tier 1 is open to established research leaders at the rank of full professor. Tier 2 is aimed at emerging research leaders within 15 years of their first academic appointment.

The new group of York Research Chairs. Top row, from left to right: Annie Bunting, Pina D’Agostino, George Zhu, Rabiat Akande and Erez Freud. Bottom row, from left to right: Jack Jiang, Sandra Rehan, Laura Levin, Kevin Lande and Amy Muise.

Below are the new Chairholders and their respective fields of study.

Tier 1 York Research Chairs

York Research Chair in International Gender Justice and Peacebuilding

Annie Bunting, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
A professor of law and society, Bunting’s research as a YRC will examine the intersection of gender violence and international justice in conflict zones in Africa, with a particular focus on affected youth, sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers, and issues that involve and centre survivors’ experiences.

York Research Chair in Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

Pina D’Agostino, Osgoode Hall Law School
As a YRC, D’Agostino, an associate professor of law and director of Connected Minds, will explore the role of intellectual property law in society’s increased adoption of emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI), and the potential benefits and harms of a technology-driven society.

York Research Chair in Space Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

George Zhu, Lassonde School of Engineering
Zhu, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Space Engineering Design Laboratory, aims to develop swarm robotics technology through his YRC program. This technology involves a group of robots working together to autonomously clean up space debris in Earth orbits, which can negatively affect space exploration and satellite safety.

Tier 2 York Research Chairs

York Research Chair in Law and the Histories of Empire

Rabiat Akande, Osgoode Hall Law School
Akande, an assistant professor of law, will conduct research that examines how 19th- and 20th-century colonial powers governed racial and religious difference and explores the living legacies of that history. Her YRC program seeks to advance the understanding of the law’s role in European imperialism.

York Research Chair in Visual Cognitive Neuroscience

Erez Freud, Faculty of Health
Through the YRC program, Freud, an associate professor of psychology, will investigate the developmental brain processes that enable tasks such as hand movement and grasping in children. His research will examine how these processes might differ in children with autism, providing new insights into brain specialization.

York Research Chair in Software Engineering for Foundation Model-powered Systems

Jack Jiang, Lassonde School of Engineering
Jiang, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, will use his YRC position to develop advanced engineering tools and processes aimed at facilitating the construction and enhancing the quality and trustworthiness of various generative AI systems like ChatGPT and Copilot.

York Research Chair in Molecular Ecology and Behavioural Genetics

Sandra Rehan, Faculty of Science
Rehan, a professor of biology, researches the evolution of bees and their role in biodiversity. As a YRC, Rehan will employ advanced DNA technology to investigate bee behaviour and genetics. 

York Research Chair in Art, Technology and Global Activism

Laura Levin, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
An associate professor of theatre and performance studies, Levin’s YRC program explores the artistic use of emerging technologies, like extended reality and AI, to address growing political polarization and misinformation and to develop imaginative methods for bridging political divides.

York Research Chair in Philosophy of Representation

Kevin Lande, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
An assistant professor of philosophy, Lande’s research as a YRC explores how the mind works, arguing that humans’ creative ability to combine simple ideas to create more complex ones extends beyond thought and language.

York Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality

Amy Muise, Faculty of Health
An associate professor of psychology, Muise’s research as a YRC tests high-quality listening and leverages interdependence in romantic relationships to combat sexism and reduce harmful gender-based attitudes.

In pictures: Spring Convocation celebrates Class of 2024

convocation

Spring Convocation for York University’s Class of 2024 ran from June 7 to 21, and featured ceremonies at both the Keele and Glendon campuses.

This year’s Spring Convocation began on June 7 with a ceremony at York University’s Glendon Campus, and continued with a dozen more in the following weeks at the Keele Campus. More than 7,000 graduands received their degrees during ceremonies overseen by the 14th chancellor of York University, Kathleen Taylor.

View photos from the Class of 2024 ceremonies below:

York Spring Convocation Class of 2024

York U student research reveals importance of native shrubs to wildlife

Joshua trees in the desert pexels

A research paper by master’s student Ethan Owen, from York University’s Faculty of Science, was recently published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation. Titled “The importance of native shrubs on the distribution and diversity of reptiles and amphibians in the central drylands of Southwestern USA,” Owen’s first-ever published study involved scouring 43 sites across California’s deserts with his team to understand how the density of native shrubs affects local wildlife.

Armed with high-resolution satellite images and citizen science data sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) – an international, open-access network and data infrastructure funded by the world’s governments – the researchers set out to uncover hidden patterns in these rugged landscapes.

The team’s findings showed that areas with higher shrub density had significantly more abundant, rich, and diverse reptile and amphibian communities, proving the shrubs are indispensable for the creatures’ survival by creating microhabitats that offer cooler temperatures and crucial hiding spots.

Mojave Desert sidewinder (venomous) with foundational shrub Larrea tridentata in the background.

“These shrubs are more than just plants; they are lifelines,” explains Owen. “In the central drylands of California, they provide essential shelter, food, and protection for a variety of reptile and amphibian species, helping them survive the extreme conditions.”

But the study didn’t stop at counting reptiles and amphibians. Owen’s team looked at different levels of aridity to see if the relationship held up. “It was fascinating to see that regardless of how dry the area was, the presence of these shrubs consistently boosted the diversity and abundance of the local wildlife,” he says. “It really underscores their importance in these arid ecosystems.”

Owen believes the implications of this research are profound, offering valuable insights for conservationists and land managers alike. “By maintaining and promoting native shrub species, we can support biodiversity, even in the face of climate change,” he says.

As the natural world continues to suffer the consequences of global warming, Owen hopes that research like his will serve as a reminder that even small interventions – like protecting existing shrubs or planting new ones – can have significant positive impacts on the health and diversity of the Earth’s ecosystems.

Mike Wessinger shares with graduands the secret to success

Mike Wessinger address BANNER

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.”

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.

Students present sustainable solutions, enhance career-readiness at Spring Capstone Day

Photo by Singkham from Pexels

Five monetary awards were presented to teams of upper-year students at York University’s 2024 Spring Capstone Day, a public event hosted by the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) in celebration of innovation, creativity, ambition and impact.

Held on April 26, this year’s Spring Capstone Day drew more than 350 members of the York community and external visitors to York’s Scott Library Collaboratory. There, attendees learned about the work of the 225 presenting students, whose capstone projects – finishing-year projects where student teams work with external clients to solve real-world problems – focused on innovative and sustainable design solutions, aiming to address societal issues, advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and create positive change. This biannual project showcase is an invaluable opportunity for students to share their experience and develop professional skills to enhance their career-readiness.

“For three hours, the entire Collaboratory was sparkling with conversations between project partners; York staff, professors and librarians; and students from every Faculty at York,” said Danielle Robinson, co-founder and co-lead of C4, a high-impact experiential education course intended to uniquely prepare students for the next phase of their career. “Our collective focus was on launching these students out into the world as the powerful changemakers they are ready to be.”

An important day for all participating students, Robinson described it as similar to a graduation or a professional debut, where students get dressed up and present their work to attendees and judges.

The Innovation Award-winning team, Team BF, with David Kwok from YSpace.
The Community Impact Award-winning team, Team BE, with Tina Marano from GHD.
The Sustainability Award-winning team, Team AA, with Mike Layton and Nicole Arsenault from the Office of Sustainability and Lassonde Professor Hovig Kouyoumdjian.

According to Mahogany Lopez, a Faculty of Science student whose team won the Sustainability Award, the day was bittersweet. “It marked the end of my journey with the C4 class, where I made new friends and had an amazing time,” she said. “However, I was happy to see our project well-received and to witness the impressive work of different groups. This experience emphasized the value of interdisciplinary learning and collaboration in solving real-world problems.”

Donna Nguyen, a student in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, whose team won the Community Impact Award, appreciated the event for shining a spotlight on student work: “This event and this win was important to me as a student because our hard work was acknowledged and it signified that our ideas genuinely made an impact on the community,” she said.

Faculty of Health Professor Asal Moghaddaszadeh, who acted as a project shepherd, guiding students through their project journey in the C4 class, believes the Capstone Day event is pivotal for the University.

“It’s about instilling teamwork, fostering community partnerships and preparing students to tackle workforce challenges boldly,” she said. “Additionally, by working in interdisciplinary teams, students learn the importance of collaboration across diverse Faculties, enriching their problem-solving skills.”

Lassonde School of Engineering student Mehrshad Farahbakhsh agreed, calling Capstone Day a “transformative experience.”

“It taught me the value of collaboration and how diverse perspectives can lead to innovative solutions,” said the international student, whose team won the Innovation Award for their project focused on making the automotive industry more sustainable. “Each member of our group brought a unique background and approach to the table, which allowed us to brainstorm innovative solutions.”

The awards students were competing for included the YSpace-sponsored Innovation Award, with a prize of $100 for the winning student team; and the GHD-sponsored Community Impact Award and Honda Canada Foundation-sponsored Sustainability Award, both offering prizes of $1,500 to the winning teams and $500 to the runners-up.

The day’s award winners were determined by a committee of 16 York University judges – from YSpace, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Sustainability. The full list of award winners and project titles are as follows:

  • Innovation Award winner: “Finding Our Way through Sustainable Choices (Weins Auto Group)” by Team BF;
  • Community Impact Award winner: “Fostering Food Sovereignty (HiGarden)” by Team BE;
  • Community Impact Award runner-up: “Policy Pal (Engage)” by Team AC;
  • Sustainability Award winner: “Reconstructing Education (Sensorium)” by Team AA; and
  • Sustainability Award runner-up: “Saving the Planet (Independent)” by Team BD.

For more information about these projects, the winners and the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom, visit the C4 website or email c4class@yorku.ca.

Don’t look up: how to safely view upcoming solar eclipse

Solar eclipse

Looking directly at the sun is never safe, says Elaina Hyde, an assistant professor in York University’s Faculty of Science and director of York’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory. But that is especially true during a solar eclipse, like the one expected in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on April 8.

A total solar eclipse is a rare celestial event that occurs as the moon aligns perfectly between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face and casting its shadow onto Earth, resulting in brief moments of temporary darkness. In Ontario, the eclipse’s path of totality – the locations where the moon’s shadow covers the sun in its entirety – includes Niagara Falls, Hamilton and St. Catharines.

Although Toronto will only experience a partial eclipse, with the moon covering 99.6 per cent of the sun, the sun’s brightness will still be strong enough to cause eye damage – and potential blindness – to anyone who looks directly at it. This can occur even if direct exposure only lasts a few seconds.

“People, especially young children, may be tempted to look up during the eclipse, but it’s not safe to do so without proper protection,” says Hyde. “Sunglasses are definitely not protective and shouldn’t be used when viewing the eclipse, but there are safe ways to do it.”

Those safe ways of viewing the eclipse – either total or partial – include using ​solar viewing glasses that have been certified by the International Organization for Standardization (labelled ​​ISO 12312-2 certified), a pinhole camera (a type of projector), or solar filters specifically designed to be used with telescopes or binoculars. For more safety tips, see the Observatory’s Eclipse Safety flyer.

In the days leading up to the big event, York’s Observatory will be hosting a pre-eclipse solar viewing on the first clear day between April 2 and 6. Join York astronomers as they take solar-appropriate telescopes outside to view the sun, demonstrate pinhole cameras and pass out free solar viewing glasses. Experts will answer frequently-asked questions about the eclipse and discuss how to enjoy the partial eclipse from Toronto. Good solar views require clear weather, which makes this event especially challenging to plan. Those interested in participating should check the Observatory’s Solar Eclipse 2024 web page daily at 10 a.m. between April 2 and 6 to find out if the event is on or off that day. For more information about the event, and to register for free tickets and daily updates, visit the York University Events Calendar listing.

On April 8, eclipse timing will vary depending on location. At York University, the partial eclipse will begin at 2:04 p.m. and end at 4:31 p.m., reaching its maximum expression at 3:19 p.m., which will be the best time to view it. Wherever you are during those times, Hyde stresses the importance that you do not – under any circumstances – look directly at the sun without the proper eye protection listed above.

Since York’s campuses are not located on the path of totality, the University won’t be hosting any public viewing events that day; however, York staff, faculty and students at the Keele Campus are invited to safely observe the partial eclipse atop the Arboretum Lane Parking Garage, near the Allan I. Carswell Observatory atrium.

Solar viewing glasses will be available, while supplies last, at multiple distribution sites on campus – during the First Clear Day pre-eclipse event, in the Department of Physics & Astronomy office on the first floor of the Petrie Science & Engineering Building; and on April 8, at the observing station on the fifth floor of the Arboretum Lane Parking Garage and at a smaller viewing area near York University Station in Harry W. Arthurs Common.

To learn more about the upcoming solar eclipse, visit the Allan I. Carswell Observatory’s Solar Eclipse 2024 web page for more information and resources, including blog updates from professors Robin Metcalfe and Bruce Waters, sharing their solar eclipse experiences.