What the Step 2 reopening means for York University
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The following is a message to the University community from Provost and Vice-President Academic Lisa Philipps:
The province officially moved into Step 2 of its Roadmap to Reopen on Wednesday, June 30. Last week as well, all Ontarians aged 18 years and up became eligible to receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This was very exciting news for the York community, as it means that all who are able can access first and second doses before a return to campus in September.
We are thrilled to announce that there will be another pop-up vaccine clinic on the Keele Campus this week on Tuesday, July 6 and Thursday, July 8 from 12 to 6 p.m. Our partners at Humber River Hospital will be administering the Pfizer vaccine and more details, including time and eligibility criteria (if applicable), will be shared with the York community.
A preliminary review of the impacts of Ontario’s Step 2 for York suggests that there are no major impacts posed to the University’s operations. The Summer term will continue to be delivered for the most part remotely as planned, with the following in place:
While gathering limitations now allow up to 50 people indoors, indoor gathering for in-person instruction will continue to abide by existing gathering limitations (10-person maximum), with a maximum of 50 persons allowed in the School of Nursing.
All indoor gatherings must still abide by two-metre physical distancing, masking/face covering requirements and/or the proper use of personal protective equipment.
Students filming outdoors or undertaking other activities outdoors must abide by the 25-person outdoor gathering limit.
In-person research involving human participants continues to be suspended at this time.
If you do need to come to campus, please request access through the Campus Access system or have pre-existing approval to access campus spaces. Completion of daily screening is also part of this process.
We continue to await guidance from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) on what will and will not be permitted for the Fall 2021 term and anticipate that this information will be shared with Ontario’s post-secondary sector in early July. As soon as this information is available, we will be sure to update you on any impacts this may pose for the York community.
In the coming weeks, more information will be shared via weekly Wellness Wednesday Return to Campus Special Issues and on the Better Together website. Please stay tuned for updates on our plans for a safe return to campus this fall.
Lisa Philipps Provost and Vice-President Academic
York faculty recognized with President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards
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Vari Hall new image
This year’s recipients of the 2021 President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards are being honoured for their innovation and commitment, as well as for having significantly enhanced the quality of learning by York students.
The President’s University-Wide Teaching Awards are chosen from four categories: full-time faculty with 10 or more years of teaching experience, full-time faculty with less than 10 years of experience, contract and adjunct faculty, and teaching assistants. They are selected by the Senate Committee on Awards. The goal of the awards is to provide significant recognition for excellence in teaching, to encourage its pursuit, to publicize such excellence when achieved across the University and in the wider community, and to promote informed discussion of teaching and its improvement.
Receiving the awards this year are Hossam Ali-Hassan, Gordana Colby, Sofia Noori and Michael Kenny. They were chosen from numerous nominations received by the awards committee. Each award winner will have their names engraved on the University-Wide Teaching Awards plaques displayed in Vari Hall.
Glendon international studies Professor Hossam Ali-Hassan has been named the recipient of the 2021 President’s University-Wide Teaching Award in the full-time tenured faculty with 10 or more years full-time teaching experience category. Ali-Hassan’s nomination highlighted his balanced approach to teaching, with a mix of technology and human abilities, with approachability and generosity that inspires student success and well-being. In addition, his colleagues mention the complementary relationship between his research, teaching and service to the University in administrative roles. More broadly, his continual self-development through perfecting his pedagogical approach and updating courses to incorporate in-demand skills and real-life experience improve the student experience at York University.
Gordana Colby, assistant professor of economics (teaching stream), is the recipient of the 2021 President’s University-Wide Teaching Award in the full-time faculty with less than 10 years teaching experience category. A York alumna, Colby is the Department of Economics’ first full-time faculty member in the teaching stream. In their submission to the awards committee, Colby’s nominators highlighted her passion for teaching and improving the student experience at York University, which they note promotes excellence in teaching and learning. Her nominators spoke of her commitment to enhancing student experience and engagement in academics and curricular activities. They praised the many innovative and transformative ways she has fostered student success while promoting York’s instructional priorities in first-year experience and e-learning.
The 2021 President’s University-Wide Teaching Award in the contract and adjunct faculty category has been awarded to Sofia Noori, a course director in the Faculty of Education. Noori was praised by her nominators for her commitment to creating an academically rigorous learning environment that is also a safe and inclusive space for students to express and hear a wide range of perspectives. Student letters in support of her nomination for the award speak about how Noori’s approach to teaching has inspired them to further their critical and imaginative capacities in ways that cultivate social and political awareness and justice. More broadly, her nominators spoke of her exemplary commitment to curricular development, innovative teaching and inclusive student engagements, all of which promote excellence at York University.
York Teaching Assistant Michael Kenny received the 2021 President’s University-Wide Teaching Award in the teaching assistant category. Kenny is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education and a research associate with the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies. In their submission to the awards committee, Kenny’s nominators praised his leadership as a teaching assistant and his ability to empower his students to seek positive change in addressing today’s environmental and social concerns through advocacy, policy change and community service. His nominators expressed their high regard for his support of students by fostering a respectful and inclusive environment in his classrooms, and despite the challenges of the pandemic, promoting excellence among his students.
Like mother, like son: Introducing the first mother-son MFA screenwriting graduates in York history
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As many York University graduates geared up for the final hurrah of their academic careers this month, one soon-to-be grad who won’t don her cap and gown until fall breathed a big sigh of relief, having just defended her four-years-in-the-making master’s thesis. Nicole Alexander has now all but convocated with her master of fine arts (MFA) in screenwriting from York’s Department of Cinema & Media Arts. She follows rather untraditionally in the footsteps of her eldest son, Morgan Fics, who accepted the very same degree five years ago – making them the first mother-son MFA screenwriting graduates in York history. And the story of how they got here – together – is definitely one worth telling.
Morgan Fics (left) and Nicole Alexander (right)
The son
Growing up in Winnipeg, Fics wanted to be a writer for as long as he can remember, penning short stories every chance he got and imagining his bright future as a novelist. After high school, he took some time off to travel and write before realizing that he should pursue post-secondary education to help improve his craft. He soon enrolled at the University of Winnipeg, where his interests shifted from English literature to film after a professor pointed out that his work was better suited to scripts than prose. And after completing his first screenwriting course, he knew it was a perfect fit.
The poster for Morgan Fics’s 2018 short film Tick Tock
Encouragement from a trusted mentor led Fics to then decide to apply for a master’s program next. York’s was the only graduate screenwriting program in the country at the time, so he applied and was thrilled to be accepted.
“I remember the day they called me,” he says. “I was at work and I basically broke down crying in the middle of this tech support call centre I was working at. It was very, very exciting.”
Fics happened to know three people from Winnipeg who were going through York’s small but mighty graduate film program at the same time, in different streams. “And because of that, I had a really strong connection between all three aspects of the department,” he explains, “so I spent a lot of time on set, I got to do a lot of producing and a lot of story editing.”
His many fond memories from York University centre around the mentorship and collaboration among his fellow students, spending a lot of time workshopping and getting to know each other really well. He is still in contact with some of them today.
Since graduating in 2016, Fics has been busy. He has made several short films, the most recent of which, Tick Tock (2018), qualified for both the Canadian Screen Awards and the Academy Awards, and won best drama at the Toronto Shorts International Film Festival and an award of excellence at Canada Shorts. Finding the Restorative Narrative (2015), which he worked on with another York MFA grad, is part of the late York University Professor Amnon Buchbinder’s interactive website Biology of Story. And a new screenplay that he cowrote and hopes to co-direct is currently being shopped around to North American production companies.
Fics has also been exploring his interest in teaching by working as a teaching assistant for the Biology of Story course at York for several years and instructing a screenwriting course in the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. “I think teaching is one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever gotten to do with my life,” he says, “and I think that’s a lot of influence from my mom, for sure.”
Looking ahead, Fics hopes to have a varied career that includes making independent Canadian feature films and teaching part-time, while doing some script-doctoring and story editing on the side. “I basically want to do a million things at once so I’m always fresh for whatever is going on,” he says with a laugh.
The mother
Alexander, who earned her bachelor of education from the University of Manitoba and graduated from Chicago’s Second City sketch comedy writing program, kept her passion for writing mostly on the back burner as she raised her young family and worked as a teacher. But once her three kids reached their teenage years, she decided to take a crack at her first film script, something she had always dreamt of doing. She submitted that debut screenplay, The Suicide Club, to the WFF Praxis Screenwriters Lab – 21 years ago now – and, to her surprise, it was selected. But with a full-time job and three kids at home, there still wasn’t much time for her to pursue writing in any significant way. However, with her interest piqued, she went on to complete two more feature scripts in her stolen moments, plus a funny book on internet dating called Cyber Love Muse.
When all three of Alexander’s adult children left Winnipeg for graduate programs, she decided to head overseas to teach. She spent two years in Thailand and a year in South Korea, and it was then, when she was really missing her family and not knowing where to settle next, that Fics encouraged her to apply for the MFA in screenwriting at York. She hadn’t previously considered it, but she liked the idea.
“I think I needed a break from teaching and I’ve always wanted to become a better writer. I still do,” she says. “And I was shocked they let me in but they did.”
She lived on campus for two years and loved every minute of it. “Because I had my kids so young, living on campus was just so much fun,” she says. “I was really quiet and I had a cat, so I wasn’t like a usual college student, but I really appreciated the experience. Just having the time to explore the writing was such a privilege.”
The most memorable part of the program for Alexander was the short film she created, as it was her first time experimenting with other aspects of filmmaking outside of writing. “I got to write, direct and shoot, and that was an absolutely amazing experience,” she recalls.
After a difficult final year spent finishing her thesis, returning to teaching and moving back to Winnipeg to take care of her elderly father, who recently passed, Alexander is now beginning to feel like she can start to enjoy the fruits of her labour. “Now I can say that I have my MFA from York in screenwriting,” she says excitedly. “I’m relieved. There’s a real jubilance underneath that is starting to come out.”
She will be moving back to Ontario this summer, and although she’ll still be teaching, Alexander hopes to spend the next year finishing up the two scripts she has on the go and trying to do something with her thesis script, which she has already submitted to some competitions. “My goal is to segue from teaching to writing full-time, if that’s possible,” says Alexander. “I’m aiming for a new career – why not, right?”
Nicole Alexander (left) and Morgan Fics (right)
A family affair
Top of mind for both mother and son is to work on a project together now that Alexander is finished her MFA and finally able to dedicate her attention to something other than her thesis. “We’ve still got some time before the school year kicks off and I have a feeling that we’ll probably pound out a script ASAP,” says Fics assuredly.
But this won’t be the first time this mother-son duo collaborates on work. The pair has a long history of working together – while Fics completed his MFA studies, and while Alexander went through hers.
“When I would write a script, I would send it to my mom and she would read it and help with the editing,” explains Fics. “It was back and forth like this, with her stuff too. I actually edited her short film, the one that she shot at York. We’ve been working together for 15 years.”
Their tight-knit bond became especially important as they both navigated through some very heavy and interconnected material for their master’s theses. “We got really lucky to have each other during both of our journeys,” says Fics, “especially because we both did very personal thesis topics that centred around one particular individual from our lives, my father and my mom’s ex,” who passed away during the first year of Alexander’s MFA.
“It was very healing, writing that script,” Fics says. “I honestly don’t think I could have done it without my mom. It was a long process of, I guess I would call it grieving, of trying to move through the story of my relationship with my father and how that ended up playing out within the script. And something I always wished is that he could have read it.”
“It was quite the journey,” Alexander agrees. “I call it my personal therapy.”
By Lindsay MacAdam, communications officer, Communications & Public Affairs, York University
Psychology Professor Heather Prime wins Mitacs-Banting Research Foundation Discovery Award
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Heather Prime
To mark the 100th anniversary of Frederick Banting and Charles Best’s historic discovery of insulin, the Banting Research Foundation has partnered with Mitacs to double the number of Banting Research Foundation Discovery Awards it could present this year. Amongst those recognized with the jointly funded award is Heather Prime, assistant professor in York University’s Department of Psychology, for her study evaluating an innovative program to help families recover from the pandemic, with the aim of reducing child mental health problems by strengthening relationships and reducing conflicts in families.
The Banting Research Foundation Discovery Award is a one-year grant of up to $25,000 for innovative health and biomedical research projects by outstanding new investigators at universities and research institutes in Canada who are within the first three years of their first academic appointment. This year, 12 investigators – 50 per cent of whom are women – have been awarded the grants, the intent of which are to provide seed funding so that applicants are able to gather pilot data to enhance their competitiveness for other sources of funding.
“Since 1925, the Banting Research Foundation has been a unique, talent-spotting organization,” said Catharine Whiteside, Chair of the Board of the Banting Research Foundation. “Our mission is to fund young investigators, the future Banting and Bests, at the beginning of their careers when they have a bold idea with potential for having a major impact on improving health. On behalf of the Banting Research Foundation, I would like to congratulate our new awardees and wish them well on their pathway to discovery.”
Prime joined the Department of Psychology in York University’s Faculty of Health as an assistant professor and clinical psychologist in 2020. Her research program uses a family-based approach to understanding and supporting child and youth mental health from an early age. Her focus is on understanding how family relationships and real-time interactions impact a child’s well-being, and the ways families can come together to show resilience in the face of adversity.
“I am so pleased to receive this Mitacs-Banting Discovery Award,” Prime said, “which will support our research team to help children and their families recover from the stressors of the pandemic.”
At present, Prime is part of several initiatives aiming to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families, as well as to develop evidence-based approaches to supporting recovery during this time.
“Families have experienced unprecedented levels of stress, and through this project we hope to strengthen family relationships and as such children’s mental health during and after the pandemic,” she said. “SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health provides wonderful services to support child and youth mental health. I am grateful to have this partnership with them so that we can work together to enhance access to evidence-based care.”
About the Banting Research Foundation
The Banting Research Foundation has been identifying young rising stars in health science across Canada since 1925, and mentoring them the way insulin-discoverer and Nobel laureate Sir Frederick Banting was encouraged.
To date, the foundation has supported 1,341 young health and biomedical researchers across the country (totalling $8.3 million) through its annual Discovery Award Program.
The foundation’s alumni have gone on to secure major research funding, make outstanding discoveries, and have emerged as Canada’s leaders and luminaries in medical science.
Two extraordinary professors recognized with title of University Professor
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Two professors from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) have been honoured with the title University Professor. This year’s recipients are professors Carl S. Ehrlich and Carolyn Podruchny.
A University Professor is a member of faculty recognized for extraordinary contributions to scholarship and teaching and participation in university life. The award is conferred upon long-serving tenured faculty members who have made extraordinary contributions to the University as colleagues, teachers and scholars.
Such achievement fulfills the following requirements: significant long-term contribution to the development or growth of the University or of its parts; significant participation in the collegium through mentorship, service and/or governance; sustained impact over time on the University’s teaching mission; and recognition as a scholar.
Carl S. Ehrlich
Carl S. Ehrlich of the departments of Humanities and History is a highly influential scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Israelite civilization who has published extensively in these fields. He has held several appointments as visiting professor at institutions in the United States, Germany and Switzerland. As director of the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies, Ehrlich has demonstrated outstanding leadership in building scholarship and research in Jewish Studies at York, and in creating and fostering greater links between Jewish communities and the University. Throughout his university career, Ehrlich has twice served as Chair of the LA&PS Faculty Council and he provides ongoing contributions to the departments of Humanities and History. More recently, Ehrlich served as Chair of the Academic Policy, Planning and Research Committee, which, in 24 Senate Committee on Awards Report to Senate 2019-20, was tasked with the responsibility of developing and shepherding the approval of the new University Academic Plan 2020-25.
Carolyn Podruchny
Carolyn Podruchny of the Department of History is an award-winning scholar, teacher, practitioner of community outreach and engagement with Indigenous peoples, and a leader in building Indigenous studies at York University. She has produced groundbreaking and award-winning scholarship for more than 20 years, including a serious and important body of scholarship in Indigenous and colonial histories of northern North America before 1900, published in books, articles and book chapters, blog posts, media interviews, newsletter contributions and webcasts. This scholarship has earned awards and award nominations from the lieutenant-governor of Ontario, the Canadian Historical Association and the Manitoba Historical Society. York University has also recognized Professor Podruchny with eight Faculty of Arts Awards of Merit and a Dean’s Award for Outstanding Research.
York University’s Schulich Leader Scholarship recipients share passion for solving global challenges
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Two graduating high-school students from the Greater Toronto Area are headed to York University this fall to begin their studies in engineering with the help of the Schulich Leader Scholarship program.
Above, from left: Aryan Soni and Kiara Mavalwala
Incoming Lassonde School of Engineering students Aryan Soni and Kiara Mavalwala are among the 100 students chosen from across Canada this year to receive the Schulich Leader Scholarship for undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). There were 1,400 nominations this year, from a larger pool of 350,000 high-school candidates. The Schulich Leader Scholarship is awarded to students entering university studies in science, technology, engineering or math who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, charisma and creativity.
Soni is receiving $80,000 over four years to pursue computer science studies at Lassonde. As student body president at Heart Lake Secondary School, he launched a school-wide charitable initiative in collaboration with Samsung to support SickKids. He also co-founded a charity that sponsors underprivileged students in India, raising enough funds to sponsor tuition for 15 students to date. In 2020 he founded Ultrain Athletics, an e-commerce business that addressed the rising demand for at-home fitness products during the COVID-19 pandemic. Soni hopes to one day launch an artificial intelligence startup to democratize algorithmic investing.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the Schulich Foundation, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and the Lassonde School of Engineering for this incredible opportunity,” said Soni. “With the backing of this scholarship, I look forward to employing my passion for computer science to facilitate positive change.”
Mavalwala is receiving $100,000 over four years to pursue engineering, also at Lassonde. A graduate of St. Augustine Catholic High School, Mavalwala was an executive at her school’s chapter of Best Buddies and was instrumental in transitioning its activities online. This ensured students with and without disabilities remained engaged at a time when they most needed an inclusive space. In her role as president at youth organization Project 5K, she championed several volunteer events, resulting in more than 70 students participating in free online tutoring, more than 850 items being donated to local shelters and 1,200 Valentine’s Day cards being sent to essential workers – all while challenged with the pandemic. A decade from now, Mavalwala hopes to be working as an engineer and to be the CEO of an engineering startup to eradicate water advisories in Indigenous communities across Canada.
“I’m excited to be working alongside bright minds at the Lassonde School of Engineering where the sky is the limit,” said Mavalwala.
“We are proud to celebrate 10 years of Schulich Leader Scholarships, the premiere STEM scholarship program in Canada and the world,” said the program’s founder Seymour Schulich. “This group of 100 outstanding students will represent the best and brightest Canada has to offer and will make great contributions to society, both on a national and global scale. With their university expenses covered, they can focus their time on their studies, research projects, extracurriculars and entrepreneurial ventures. They are the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded technology innovators.”
Schulich Leader Scholarships Canada
Recognizing the increasing importance and impact that STEM disciplines will have on the prosperity of future generations, businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich established this $100+ million scholarship fund in 2012 to encourage our best and brightest students to become Schulich Leader Scholars: the next generation of entrepreneurial-minded technology innovators.
Through the Schulich Foundation, these prestigious entrance scholarships were awarded to 100 high-school graduates this year, enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics undergraduate program at 20 partner universities in Canada. Every high school in Canada can submit one Schulich Leader nominee per academic year based on academic excellence in STEM, entrepreneurial leadership and financial need.
Lisa de Wilde appointed Schulich’s Bell Media Professor in Media Management
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Lisa de Wilde
Lisa de Wilde
Media and business executive Lisa de Wilde has been appointed Bell Media Professor in Media Management in the Arts, Media and Entertainment Management (AM&E) program at the Schulich School of Business at York University. The appointment by Interim Dean Detlev Zwick is effective July 1 and was announced by program co-directors Ken Rogers and Trina McQueen.
She succeeds McQueen, who in the role initiated the Bell Media Chair in 2004. McQueen will continue her service to AM&E as co-director of the program.
De Wilde’s Order of Canada citation calls her work in media “transformative.” She has been a pioneer in both television and digital media, most recently leading a fundamental reset of TV Ontario (TVO) as its CEO. The creator of TV Ontario, former premier William Davis, called her “a pivotal leader … who transformed TVO into a modern digital, online and on-demand leader in learning and current affairs, at a time of significant transition for the entire broadcast and educational sectors.” At TVO, de Wilde also set and achieved significant objectives for diversity, in programming and in staffing.
Earlier in her career, at Astral Television Networks, she played a central role in the development of Canada’s pay TV system with the introduction of movie channels and the launch of pay-per-view products.
As a current board member of TELUS Inc., she is part of critical decisions that are shaping Canadian access to the digital world.
“The world’s next great set of leaders in digital, media and creative industries are emerging from programs like the AM&E MBA at Schulich,” says de Wilde. “To have the opportunity to learn with, work with and grow with these outstanding future leaders is something I have looked forward to. Thank you to Schulich and to those who’ve come before us here to help establish such a world-class program.”
After graduating from McGill Law School, de Wilde joined the legal department of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission and after seven years left to join a major law firm, before moving to Astral.
She has been a strong advocate for Canadian cultural industries, and served for 19 years on the Board of the Toronto International Film Festival, including a three-year term as Chair of the Board. Her current board memberships include the Asia Pacific Foundations of Canada, Toronto global and École de danse comtemporaine de Montreal. She is regularly called on as an adviser to industry groups.
De Wilde was named to the Order of Canada in 2016, and has received two honorary LLDs from Ryerson University and Brandon University. Other honours include WXN “Most Powerful Women: Top 100” and the Queen Elizabeth 11 Diamond Jubilee Award.
“The appointment of Professor de Wilde brings a tremendous amount of talent to the table,” said Rogers. “Her breadth of knowledge combined with her extensive experience and creativity will inspire students, enrich our program, forge fresh relationships with the arts and media community, and help take the program in exciting new directions.”
President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton congratulates York’s Class of 2021
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The following is a message from President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton to York University’s newest alumni:
On behalf of the entire York University community, I would like to offer my sincerest congratulations on your graduation, and to welcome you to the York alumni family.
York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton
Although the circumstances you are graduating into today are truly extraordinary, I am confident that your education at York has prepared you to succeed, whether you choose to pursue a career, further education or another endeavour. While the pandemic has had profound effects on the ways we live and work, many of the changes we have experienced over the past year were underway long before the first lockdown – the pandemic has simply exposed them or increased the speed at which we felt their effects.
Trends in automation and artificial intelligence, for example, were already changing the ways we looked at work, and the types of roles we were preparing our students to take on. The abilities you have developed during your time at York – like problem-solving, critical thinking and language skills – are broad and transferable, and will serve you well no matter your path through life.
Similarly, York’s commitment to excellence, access, connectedness and impact has ensured that you are graduating as a globally minded citizen with a strong appreciation for serving the public good. Throughout your time at York, you have also demonstrated courage, perseverance and resilience in myriad ways, never more so than over the past year. I hope you will maintain these values throughout your lives and careers, and that you will continue to draw on them to help address the complex global challenges we face today, from homelessness to inequality to climate change, and of course the pandemic.
I look forward to seeing the many ways you will continue to drive positive change in the future, and remain confident that you possess the skills and experience necessary to navigate any challenges you might encounter along the way.
As our university motto reminds us, Tentanda Via: the way must be tried.
Congratulations once again to all of our Class of 2021 graduates, and all my best for a healthy and prosperous future.
Sincerely,
Rhonda Lenton President and Vice-Chancellor
Three York graduate students awarded Governor General’s Gold Medals
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Three York University graduates are the recipients of this year’s Governor General’s Gold Medals, which recognize the outstanding scholastic achievements of graduate students in Canada. This year’s recipients are Gehrig Carlse, Junjie Kang and Jordana Waxman.
About the recipients
Gehrig Carlse earned a BSc (Honours) in biophysics from York University before continuing on to earn his MSc in physics and astronomy. His master’s thesis investigated the kinematics of airborne microparticles on timescales at which diffusive motion transitions to ballistic motion. By confining these tiny particles with free-space optical tweezers – essentially holding particles at the centre of a focused laser beam – he developed a new technique to rapidly characterize and measure their masses with high levels of precision.
“I am very grateful to be receiving the Governor General’s Gold Medal,” says Carlse. “I know the award is an individual honour, but in my case, I think the recognition really reflects the contributions of my family, friends and colleagues, who have all helped put me in a great position to succeed.”
Interestingly, the microparticle measurement technique that Carlse created was made possible due to a new class of high-power diode laser systems that he also had a hand in developing in conjunction with an industrial project that he worked on during the summers of his undergraduate studies. But despite his direct role in these scientific breakthroughs, Carlse insists on sharing the credit.
“There are so many exceptional graduates at York who likely all deserve this distinction just as much as I do,” he says. “It is really the efforts of the people supporting me who have helped me stand out in any way that I have.”
After finishing his master’s degree, Carlse decided to continue his education at York, this time to pursue a PhD in physics and astronomy with his supervisor, Professor Anantharaman Kumarakrishnan. He is continuing to work with high-power lasers, but now he is trying to perform precise measurements of the Earth’s gravitational acceleration using ultracold atoms.
Junjie Kang earned a PhD in earth and space science and engineering from York University under the supervision of Professor Zheng Hong (George) Zhu, Tier I York Research Chair in Space Technology and academic director of the Research Commons. Kang’s research focused on tethered space systems and their application in space debris removal.
“I am really honoured to receive the Governor General’s Gold Medal,” says Kang. “This medal is a recognition of my research in the journey toward my PhD. I will take this medal as encouragement to continue my research about dynamics and control of tethered space systems.”
In 2018, during his studies at York, Kang received the highly prestigious Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Outstanding Paper Award for Young Scientists for a paper he co-wrote with Professor Zhu and published in COSPAR’s flagship journal, Advances in Space Research. The winning paper, titled “Fractional order sliding mode control for tethered satellite deployment with disturbances,” which sought a fast and stable way to deliver a satellite into lower Earth orbits using a tether, was also deemed one of the “Most Cited Advances in Space Research Articles” since 2017. In 2021, Kang received the Faculty of Graduate Studies Dissertation Prize.
Kang credits the mentorship from his supervisor, the valuable advice from supervisory committee members Professor Dan Zhang and Professor Franz Newland, and the support from the Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering for getting him to this point.
“I am also grateful for the opportunities I have had within the York University community,” he says.
Speaking of opportunities, during his PhD studies Kang participated in a CubeSat mission called DESCENT, led by his supervisor and sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency. With Kang as one of the primary researchers, together with his supervisor they successfully conducted the tether deployment in a microgravity environment by the parabolic flight campaign in Ottawa in 2018. The satellite was successfully deployed from the International Space Station on Nov. 5, 2020.
After graduation, Kang went on to share his wisdom with fellow space enthusiasts as an associate professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China.
Jordana Waxman earned her PhD in clinical developmental psychology and a specialized graduate diploma in health psychology from York University in October 2020. Her dissertation research, supported by institutional, provincial, and national granting bodies, focused on better understanding how behavioural and physiological pain-related distress regulation develops across the second year of life.
“I am thrilled and honoured to receive the Governor General’s Gold Medal,” says Dr. Waxman, “given the number of talented and hard-working doctoral students at York University.”
Dr. Waxman credits her research supervisor, Professor Rebecca Pillai Riddell, as well as the many graduate and undergraduate students in the Opportunities to Understand Childhood Hurt (OUCH) Laboratory for supporting her academic journey.
“Without their support and collaboration, my doctoral research would not have been possible,” she says.
Currently a pediatric health psychology Fellow at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, Dr. Waxman is working in the areas of oncology, pediatric obesity and eating disorders, as well as conducting clinical research in neonatal neurology.
About the awards
For more than 140 years, the Governor General’s Academic Medals have recognized the outstanding scholastic achievements of students in Canada. They are awarded to the student graduating with the highest average from a high school, as well as from approved college or university programs. Pierre Trudeau, Tommy Douglas, Kim Campbell, Robert Bourassa, Robert Stanfield and Gabrielle Roy are just some of the more than 50,000 people who have received the Governor General’s Academic Medal as the start of a life of accomplishment.
Today, the Governor General’s Academic Medals are awarded at four distinct levels: Bronze, at the secondary school level; Collegiate Bronze, at the post-secondary, diploma level; Silver, at the undergraduate level; and Gold, at the graduate level. Medals are presented on behalf of the Governor General by participating educational institutions, along with personalized certificates signed by the Governor General. There is no monetary award associated with the medal.
Three undergraduate changemakers receive Governor General’s silver medals
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Silver Medal recipients FEATURED image for YFile
Three undergraduate students at York University have been awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal. The medal recognizes the outstanding scholastic achievements of undergraduate students in Canada. Receiving the medals are changemakers Alina Kuimova, Amirarsalan Rahimian and Katelyn Conferido.
Alina Kuimova
Alina Kuimova is graduating with a Specialized Bilingual B.A. (Hons.) in linguistics and language studies, which she completed in three languages: English, French and Spanish. Kuimova also served as the president of the Glendon Linguistics Club this year (2020-21) and is currently employed as a teaching assistant in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in the Linguistics program. During her undergraduate studies, she contributed to several faculty-led research projects and was able to work on an array of little known and fascinating languages, such as Mambila (Cameroon), Kwak’wala (British Columbia) and Samoan (Polynesia).
“It’s been a true privilege to learn from – and work with – our excellent, productive and incredibly supportive faculty. I was also lucky to study under Professor Chandan Narayan, who helped me discover a passion for working at the language-brain interface. As part of his lab, I investigated perception of noise-vocoded speech (an artificially distorted speech that simulates the signal transduced by cochlear implants) to improve the listening experience of people with hearing loss,” says Kuimova. “Prof. Narayan and I are currently revising a manuscript that was based on this research. I am planning to build upon this work, as I work towards my master’s degree in linguistics (also under supervision of Prof. Narayan).
“For me, this award is a measure of effort and dedication – not only mine, but that of everyone who guided me along the way. I am indebted to my family for making this journey possible and to my faculty for always inspiring me to do my best. Thanks to them, studying at York has been a truly exceptional experience,” adds Kuimova.
Amirarsalan Rahimian
Amirarsalan Rahimian says he is grateful for the opportunity to study kinesiology and health science in the Faculty of Heath at York University. During his undergraduate studies, Rahimian says he was surrounded by amazing instructors, peers and experiences that will stay with him for the rest of his life.
He also pursued volunteering and found the experience enriched his undergraduate experience. “I was so passionate about the material I was learning in my kinesiology courses that I decided to become a volunteer peer note sharer from 2017 to 2020 for Student Accessibility Services, to share my passion and provide lecture notes for students with disabilities,” says Rahimian. “I was also able to further expand my knowledge and experience through extracurricular activities such as research and shadowing medical practitioners. For instance, in my third year of undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to volunteer in Professor Dorota Crawford‘s Developmental Neuroscience Lab at York University and support her graduate team in projects such as dendrite and dendritic spine measurements in mice. Furthermore, in summer 2019, I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant in Dr. Rezai’s Biomedical Engineering Lab at York University and research the effects of heavy metals and neurotransmitters on the cardiovascular system of Drosophila larvae.
“I am truly honoured to be receiving this award, and I am motivated to continue putting my best effort to accomplish my goals in the upcoming chapters of my life,” says Rahimian. “I really am grateful for experiencing undergrad at York University.”
During his undergraduate studies at York University, Rahimian had an opportunity to shadow Dr. Arsha Karbassi at the McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ont. “One of the most valuable shadowing experiences I had was with Dr. Karbassi at McMaster Children’s Hospital, where I gained significant knowledge regarding the field of cardiology and the patient-doctor relationship,” says Rahimian. “I was truly fascinated by how professional, friendly and caring Dr. Karbassi was towards his patients, and I strive to be like him. My dream is to become a medical practitioner one day and change as many lives as possible.”
Katelyn Conferido
Katelyn Conferido is graduating from the Children, Childhood and Youth program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS). During her undergraduate studies, Conferido used qualitative focus groups to explore how five youth in the Greater Toronto Area experience music-focused participatory fan cultures for an honours research project.
Her research proposal for the project earned her an honourable mention in the 2020 LA&PS Writing Prize. Conferido also received the 2021 Herbert and Violetta Halpert Writing Prize in Children, Childhood and Youth Studies for her final report of the project. She was awarded the 2019 LA&PS Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence for obtaining the highest sessional grade point average in the second-year level.
Most recently, Conferido has also worked as a research assistant with LA&PS Assistant Professor Abigail Shabtay in organizing the 2021 Children, Youth and Performance Conference, which is the largest academic conference in Canada focusing on children, youth and the performing arts. It was hosted by York University in partnership with Young People’s Theatre.
“The support of staff and students in the Children, Childhood and Youth program has encouraged me to pursue valuable learning experiences in and beyond the classroom and has helped me foster my passion for this field in such a rewarding way,” says Conferido. “To receive the Governor General’s Silver Medal in recognition of my work is an incredible honour.”
With a passion for teaching and researching child-centred pedagogies and rights-based practices, Conferido will be pursuing a master of arts in child study and education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
About the awards
For more than 140 years, the Governor General’s Academic Medals have recognized the outstanding scholastic achievements of students in Canada. They are awarded to the student graduating with the highest average from a high school, as well as from approved college or university programs. Pierre Trudeau, Tommy Douglas, Kim Campbell, Robert Bourassa, Robert Stanfield and Gabrielle Roy are just some of the more than 50,000 people who have received the Governor General’s Academic Medal as the start of a life of accomplishment.
Today, the Governor General’s Academic Medals are awarded at four distinct levels: Bronze, at the secondary school level; Collegiate Bronze, at the post-secondary, diploma level; Silver, at the undergraduate level; and Gold, at the graduate level. Medals are presented on behalf of the Governor General by participating educational institutions, along with personalized certificates signed by the Governor General. There is no monetary award associated with the medal.
