Q. Happy fifth birthday to Innovation York. You were there at the start. Tell us about a pivotal moment at the very beginning.

A. When I first began working at �첥��Ƶ, in my role as associate director, Intellectual Property & Research Agreements, I recognized that there were service gaps at the University relating to innovation – industry liaison, commercialization and entrepreneurship. And what services there were, weren’t easy to access.

The turning point for Innovation York, when it effectively transformed into the innovation office, was when Dr. Robert Haché came on board as vice-president research and innovation. He gave me the impetus and support that I needed to create the vision for Innovation York. I began to work with him to build something new.

Q. What would you say was the biggest challenge that Innovation York has faced in five years?

A. Resources are always a challenge. In a time when no university is flush with cash, it’s difficult to build a new unit. However, I’ve been able to leverage external funding opportunities and make some key business decisions that have allowed me to increase resources.

I must say, the key is patience. I’ve worked very hard to slowly grow the unit.

The focus on providing high-quality services has led to success stories that, through word of mouth and marketing, go a long way to promoting Innovation York. And with success, we’ve been able to grow the team. It’s like a snowball, gathering momentum and building on its own success.

Q. In what ways has the innovation environment changed since 2012?  

A. The environment has changed significantly since 2012. Where the emphasis used to be on commercialization, it’s grown to include entrepreneurship and industry partnerships. Today, almost every university and college campus has entrepreneurship programs. It’s imperative that Innovation York maintain a very strong entrepreneurship program in order for York to remain competitive.

“The turning point was when Dr. Robert Haché came on board as vice-president research and innovation. He gave me the impetus and support that I needed to create the vision for Innovation York.” – Sarah Howe

A second major change in the environment is that funders are increasingly asking the University to partner with industry. Our industry liaison unit has been extremely active in supporting the development of academic research partnerships at York with all sizes of companies.

A great example is the Advanced Disaster, Emergency & Rapid-Response Simulation project – a $3 million research project under the Ontario Research Fund. Innovation York played a key role in developing the industry partnerships for this project, with IBM and 15 others.

“I feel great pride that I’ve played a key role in building something that has become part of the fabric of York. It’s my passion for Innovation York that drives me to work hard, to dream big and to keep pushing.” – Sarah Howe

Q. What is one success that stands out for you personally?

A. The creation of LaunchYU, the University’s entrepreneurship program. This has driven much of the entrepreneurship culture at �첥��Ƶ and has worked with more than 1,000 entrepreneurs.

In creating LaunchYU, I had the chance to lead colleagues from the Faculty of Health, the Lassonde School of Engineering and the Faculty of Science in developing a program and obtaining more than half a million dollars to support that program over two years.

To see that program come to life and become one of the most successful programs funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence is incredibly rewarding.

Q. How has your role at Innovation York changed over time?

A. My role has certainly become more strategic. Here, I am referring to issues like the branding, strategic marketing, sustainability, industrial and international partnerships.

An overall strategy that integrates services between units is essential in providing high-quality services. The office is striving to integrate these services so that faculty members who approach Innovation York for assistance with an agreement are also introduced to supports to create effective industry and community partnerships or commercialize their intellectual property.

I’ve also been able to shift from providing services to managing the team.

Q. What does Innovation York mean to you personally?

A. I am personally invested in Innovation York. I feel great pride that I’ve played a key role in building something that has become part of the fabric of �첥��Ƶ.

It’s my passion for Innovation York that drives me to work hard, to dream big and to keep pushing. �첥��Ƶ is a great place to work and has so many exciting stories to tell – I love that Innovation York has a role to play in telling and supporting those stories.

Q. Tell us a never-before-heard story: What is the best thing anyone has ever said about Innovation York, and how did it make you feel?

A. One of the best emails I received came from an entrepreneur who graduated from the LaunchYU program where he received support to grow his company that has developed a technology that acts like a bed sheet and monitors a baby’s vital signs through a fabric sensor.

When asked by an independent party to comment on their experience with Innovation York, he said: “We would gladly speak about the amazing experience we had and have with Innovation York and LaunchYU, and the support we are receiving from the whole organization. It all started from first meeting Innovation York’s Industry Liaison Manager, Cheryl Giblon, [who] guided us the whole way in reaching our goal for an academic/industry collaboration.” He summed up his experience: “There are plenty of opportunities that have opened up and we are looking forward to building a long-term relationship!”

“Innovation York is like a snowball, gathering momentum and building on its own successes.” – Sarah Howe

This makes me very happy and so proud − not only of the work that each team member is undertaking, but of Innovation York as a whole. We have a great team. I am excited to see what the future holds.

To learn more, visit the Innovation York website:

By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, �첥��Ƶ, muellerm@yorku.ca

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The instrument will also help to guide the spacecraft on the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission to a safe spot, where it will grab a sample to bring back to Earth.

“From a science perspective, we need to understand the current state and the evolution of the asteroid,” said Daly, a Lassonde School of Engineering professor, noting one of the goals of the mission is to understand the organic material content of asteroids.

“The sample will provide a snapshot of materials available during the formation of the solar system.”

By contributing the instrument – the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA), an advanced LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) – to the mission, Canada will get a portion of that sample. The mission is expected to return 60 grams of the asteroid, but more than a kilogram is hoped for. It will provide Canadian scientists the first-ever direct access to a pristine asteroid sample, according to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which funded the instrument.

OLA is more accurate and has a higher resolution than previous altimeters that have been aboard any previous planetary missions, which means better mapping of the asteroid’s topography.

“A lot of LIDARs stare straight and depend on the spacecraft to move around and provide mapping, but we actually do a raster scan, like the way an old cathode-ray tube TV works,” said Daly. “It’s more like taking a range picture than getting a single measurement. The fidelity of information will be higher.”

Bennu, which is about 500 metres in diameter, is of particular interest because it is one of the most potentially hazardous asteroids presently identified, with a small chance of hitting Earth in the 22nd century. The mission will allow the team to study and track the asteroid’s orbit, as OLA will provide precise distance measurements from the spacecraft to the rocky surface.

“That’s important, as an asteroid’s orbit is difficult to predict over the long term; because asteroids are so small, they get pushed around by small forces,” said Daly. “Understanding how this asteroid has been pushed around, along with its surface and shape properties, will help us to track asteroids better in the future. And thereby we can provide improved predictions about probability of collisions with the Earth.”

OLA, about the size of two bread boxes, will also help navigate the spacecraft to the best location for grabbing a sample. But that won’t happen for a while.

“The main part of the mission, the proximity operation, starts seven or eight kilometres from the asteroid,” said Daly. “Then, it’s a long process of getting to know the asteroid well enough and its non-uniform gravity field well enough to be able to get down and touch the surface and grab a sample.”

That phase will start in late 2018.

As the prime contractor for the CSA, MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates (MDA), together with its industrial partner Optech, designed, built and tested the instrument.

�첥��Ƶ’s Daly is the lead instrument scientist for OLA. The team also includes professors Alan Hildebrand, University of Calgary; Ed Cloutis, University of Winnipeg; Rebecca Ghent, University of Toronto; and Catherine Johnson, University of British Columbia.

Recently delivered to Lockheed Martin in Denver, OLA will now be integrated with the NASA spacecraft for launch in September.

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“Professors Jennifer Chen and Sean Kheraj are among the faces of the future of research at York. As early career researchers, they are being recognized for the excellence and promise of their research programs,” said Robert Haché, York’s Vice-President Research & Innovation. “The funding provided by Petro-Canada and �첥��Ƶ will support these outstanding researchers in the building of their programs. The awards are most well-deserved.”

Jennifer Chen, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, studies nanomaterials for sensing and solar applications. Solar is poised to be an abundant clean-energy alternative that can be harvested to generate electricity and produce chemical fuels such as hydrogen. Currently, the adoption of solar processes for large-scale applications is hampered by low efficiency and high cost per energy density produced.

Chen will explore novel, innovative and cost-effective strategies for light management to boost the efficiency of solar processes by employing nanomaterials and structures that can slow light or localize electromagnetic fields. The Petro-Canada funding will support both fundamental and applied science aspects of her research program.

, a professor in the Department of History, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, will explore the history of oil pipeline spills in Canada from the construction of the first interprovincial oil pipeline from Alberta in 1949 to the present. The study will assist in risk assessment for future oil pipeline development proposals and help to improve the current environmental assessment processes of the National Energy Board and other pipeline regulators in Canada. The data and insights provided by this study will have implications both for the historical understanding of pipelines, as well as the policies and practices with which they are managed by government and industry today.

In past years one award valued at $7,500 has been presented, but in consideration of the large number of excellent nominations received, this year’s adjudication committee recommended that two awards valued at $5,000 each be given. The awards provide support for new full-time faculty members who are at the beginning of their academic careers. Nominations are adjudicated by a panel consisting of the associate vice-president research and senior faculty members from various disciplines.

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The Connected Health and Wellness Project is a collaborative project led by a partnership of �첥��Ƶ, NexJ Systems and McMaster University. All together the project includes 16 Ontario private sector, academic and not-for-profit research partners. In addition to the federal funding, the project has leveraged more than $23 million in private-sector investments.

From left, York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri; Dr. David Price, chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University; Harvey Skinner, dean of York's Faculty of Health; Gary Goodyear, minister of state for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario; William M. Tatham, CEO of NexJ Systems Inc.; and Mark Adler, MP for York Centre. 

This project will involve cloud-based software will allow patients to access and share their health records with their family, friends and care teams, including a health coach, to collaboratively manage their health and wellness. The new profession of health coaches will be trained at York’s Faculty of Health. This technology will also allow hospitals, physicians and other healthcare professionals to access and update this information on an ongoing basis.

For example, patients with diabetes will be able to track their biometric measurements, such as meals and exercise, using smartphones and share this information easily with their medical teams.

Gary Goodyear, minister of state for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, makes a funding annoucement at York

“�첥��Ƶ is proud to partner with the government of Canada, industry, academic and healthcare providers to deliver a new people-centred, technology-enabled health and wellness model,” said York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri at the funding announcement at York’s Life Sciences Building. “York's creation of a training program and professional standards for the new health coach profession is a first inCanadato combine multiple skill sets in health promotion, disease prevention and behaviour change that highlightYork's breadth and depth in health expertise.”

Announced by Gary Goodyear, minister of state for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and Mark Adler, MP for York Centre, the project is a technology platform containing an integrated suite of compatible technologies and apps designed to improve the health of Canadians.

“Our Government is committed to helping personalize health care for Canadians,” said Goodyear. “Our investment will bring integrated health and wellness solutions to market that will provide Canadians with new solutions to better manage their own health using innovative technology developed in our region.”

Harvey Skinner, dean of York's Faculty of Health at the announcement

Goodyear went on to say that we are at the forefront of the next generation in health care management, which will not only reduce costs of delivering health care to our citizens, but it will improve the health care that they receive and ultimately that is what’s it’s all about. He also said that the government’s investment will help �첥��Ƶ and its partners to undertake a collaborative project that may in fact revolutionize health-care delivery, not only in Canada, but ultimately around the world.

As the amount of people with chronic medical conditions grows, along with the need to manage these conditions, the need for this kind of project is clear.

"The combination of mobile technology, electronic health records and behaviour change supported by a health coach will help more people live healthier, longer, and receive timely access to effective health care when needed. This is the essence of people-centred health,” said Harvey Skinner, dean of York's Faculty of Health. "This partnership is an important step forward for transforming and sustaining health-care and wellness systems in Canada and globally.”

More than five billion people globally now have access to mobile technology and that presents a huge opportunity to reach out to people in poorer and remote communities, said Skinner.

The project will help create the conditions to make southern Ontario’s businesses and not-for-profit institutions global leaders in the development and delivery of integrated electronic health-care software. It is also positioning the region as a leader in advancing health coaching, which is intended to help Canada and other countries around the world find new ways to decrease health-care costs.

Mamdouh Shoukri talks with Gary Goodyear following the announcement at York

Other partners in the project include:

Academic: George Brown College, Seneca College and Centennial College

Industry: RIM; Rogers; Tyze Personal Networks; OSCAR Service Providers; PryLynx Corporation and Trivaris

Healthcare providers: Southlake Regional Health Centre; North York General Hospital; Centre for Global eHealth Innovation (University Health Network) and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical School

Republished courtesy of YFile– �첥��Ƶ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Here are Professor Emeritus of Space Science Gordon Shepherd, Professor of Space Science Ian McDade and Project Scientist Brian Solheim speaking about the space shuttle program, what it has meant for their research and the future.

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The space shuttle Atlantis landed this morning at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis lifted off July 8 on the final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis carried a crew of four and the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station.

The STS-135 astronauts flying the final mission are: commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.

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Above: Members of the �첥��Ƶ Rover Team pose for a group photo in the cool of the evening at the Mars Research Station, Hanksville, Utah

York first entered the challenge, sponsored by TASC (The Analytic Sciences Corporation) Inc., four years ago and has finished in the top three every year, including a first-place finish in 2009. The challenge: "Design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside human explorers in the field."

Above: EVE travels the hostile clime of the Utah desert

The closest race came between the second and third place teams, and Oregon State University, who were separated by only 16 points.  All together, the top three teams of 2011 were the same top three from 2010, but with different results.

“The level of sophistication shown by these teams was overwhelming,” remarked URC director Kevin Sloan.  “These teams poured themselves into their rover projects over the past year, and it clearly showed.  The level of competition was taken to an entirely new level this year.”

Above: EVE (Enhanced Vehicle Explorer)

The York team left Toronto with its EVE (Enhanced Vehicle Explorer) on May 27 and drove for three days to Hanksville, Utah, arriving early to ensure they could put in some field test time in the environment.

“The past few days have been intense with emotional highs and lows,” said team member Shailja Sahani. “Every team member has been putting in at least 20-hour days to make the competition a success, with some sleeping only five hours in the last three days.

“Everyone came together as a team with no prodding from the leadership; they simply picked up tools and got to work. Although we were well prepared before the competition, the desert environment and harsh operating conditions required many last-minute repairs and alterations.

"Our success came from our ability to fix the rover in situ and get back to the task, while other teams were left stranded,” said team member Jordan Bailey.

Bailey, one of two students responsible for the team's finances and marketing, told CBC News he thinks the current rover is the team's "best one yet." Last year, the team faced multiple equipment failures as a result of the record temperatures, which soared to 38 C in the shade. This year's model has a more robust suspension, a finer control system and better temperature regulation than its predecessor, Bailey said.

Above: Jordan Bailey & Isaac DeSouza work into the night to get EVE ready

The rover cost about $13,000 to build, slightly below the $15,000 maximum allowed. The YURT is sponsored by �첥��Ƶ, and . The faculty advisers from York’s Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering, Faculty of Science & Engineering were Professor Michael Daly and Professor . The engineering adviser was graduate student Mark Post.

The participants included three teams from Poland, three from the United States and two from Canada. By the end of the competition, one team from each country had placed in the top three.  The Magma2 team from the Bialystok University of Technology in Poland pulled away from the other two teams to an impressive victory.

Magma2 was the first European team to win URC.  They also were the first team to ever deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of the competition.

For more information, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– �첥��Ƶ’s daily e-bulletin.

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IP Osgoode, Osgoode Hall Law School’s Intellectual Property & Technology Law Program, and OCE, a not-for-profit corporation that drives the commercialization of Ontario academic research, recently signed a memorandum of understanding to solidify the program.

Above: From left, Trish Barrow (director of Commercialization & CCR, Ontario Centres of Excellence), Osgoode students Shirley Bai, Rita Gao, Sebastian Talluri, Andrea Dias, Hashim Ghazi and Professor Giuseppina D'Agostino (founder & director, IP Osgoode). Missing from the photo is student Jeremy Loeb.

“Intellectual property law is a key component in Ontario’s and Canada’s innovation agendas,” said Stan Shapson, York’s vice-president research and innovation. “The IP Osgoode/OCE project reflects our expanding research partnerships with industry and community partners and will further stimulate knowledge transfer between academia, government and industry groups pursuing innovative agendas.”

The IP Osgoode/OCE project will be launched as a 12-month pilot program with approximately six Osgoode students assisting OCE-supported companies with numerous IP matters – from patents to trademarks to copyright. The program will provide students with a combination of IP law theory and practical experience, while OCE is better able to support promising new companies, including helping them reduce start-up costs.

“This is a groundbreaking initiative for a law school to have a formal collaboration with a proven innovation driver such as OCE, at this level,” said Osgoode Professor , founder and director of IP Osgoode.

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“These companies are at the early growth stage,” D’Agostino said. “They need help from a very early point without having legal fees and various other costs choke them before they can get up and running. Having our IP students involved with these OCE-supported start-ups while at the law school will minimize the companies’ IP costs because our students will be working pro bono.”

Initially, the students will explore general areas of IP, with a special focus on patent law. The students will then be engaged in a variety of IP activities such as reviewing IP licensing transactions, performing prior art searches, reviewing patent specifications, performing freedom-to-operate and clearance searches, assisting with the preparation and filing of provisional patent applications, and conducting legal research.

To better enable the students, OCE’s CCR will provide $30,000 for the project’s operating budget. OCE will work with IP Osgoode and a clinical supervisor to select the most suitable OCE-supported companies, based on the skills and knowledge of the participating students, the scope of potential projects that may come from a particular company, and other factors that are consistent with the program’s overall goals.

“OCE’s Centre for Commercialization of Research is delighted to be working with IP Osgoode on this initiative,” said Tom Corr, OCE president & CEO. “Starting with a solid IP strategy is essential to the successful commercialization of leading-edge discoveries. The companies we work with have limited resources, but tremendous potential. This partnership with IP Osgoode will solve problems at a crucial time for start-up companies that are poised to create jobs and strengthen Ontario’s economy.”

“For many high-potential start-ups, their IP is their most precious commodity,” said Mario Thomas, senior vice-president, Ontario Centres of Excellence, and managing director, Centre for Commercialization of Research. “IP protection is vital for technology companies to get their products to market, so the value of this legal expertise and guidance provided by IP Osgoode cannot be stressed enough.”

Osgoode Dean also applauded the partnership, describing the IP Osgoode/OCE project as “a robust collaboration that will extend the classroom into the realm of real-world IP issues and benefit both Osgoode IP students and the start-up companies.”

Republished courtesy of YFile– �첥��Ƶ’s daily e-bulletin.

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The first of its kind in Canada, the Toronto International Stereoscopic 3D Conference is organized by the 3D Film Innovation Consortium (3D FLIC), and researchers from �첥��Ƶ.

See the for start times, remarks and speakers.

Bridging academia and industry, the event is designed to create dynamic synergies to funnel cutting-edge research into 3D production and best practices, to continue to improve the stereo 3D experience and respond to the growing audience appetite for 3D entertainment across all platforms.

The conference will offer film and TV production companies, 3D practitioners and enthusiasts the opportunity for far-ranging discussions about contemporary challenges and possibilities in stereoscopic 3D. It will feature keynotes, panel discussions and presentations, with screenings and master classes rounding out the program.

Keynote presenters include renowned German director , who will discuss the creation of his 3D documentary , about the influential choreographer Pina Bausch; Irish director and stage designer Catherine Owen, who will share her experiences co-directing U23D, the first film shot in digital 3D; Graeme Ferguson, co-founder of IMAX and one of the filmmakers behinds some of its most successful films, and Thomas Elsaesser, renowned international film historian.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaB5Nc0XNOY&feature=player_embedded

The live-action nature drama Bugs, the science-fiction action blockbuster and , the IMAX exploration of the profound impact of the Hubble Space Telescope on the way we view the universe, will all be screened and introduced by their producers.

Panels include Stereography and Cinematography, Producing and Directing Stereo 3D, Expanding the Tool Set: Post-production and visual effects, Shooting for Conversion, Stereoscopic Perception and Cinema, History of Experiments in 3D Film and Photography, and many more.

All panels, presentations, keynotes and screenings will be held at the 350-seat 3D-capable cinema at TIFF Bell Lightbox, giving all speakers the possibility to show footage during their presentations.

The Toronto International Stereoscopic 3D Conference runs immediately prior to , June 15 to 19, allowing for synergies and exchanges between the two international events.

The conference is produced and presented by 3D FLIC and �첥��Ƶ. Presenting partners: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Graphics Animation and New Media (GRAND) NCE, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC). Supporting partners: City of Toronto, Canadian Digital Media Network, Goethe Institute Toronto, IMAX, Cinespace Film Studios, 3D Camera Company, Creative Post, Studio SysAdmin and Geneva Films. Additional support from: FilmOntario and Computer Animation Studios of Ontario (CASO). Master classes co-presented by TIFF Bell Lightbox.

A full conference pass is $180. Passes for students and seniors are $60. A day pass is $75, with student and senior day passes priced at $25. Tickets for the Wim Wenders master class are $25 each, and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets for other master classes are $15 each, with students and seniors tickets priced at $10 per class.

Information and conference registration forms can be found on the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– �첥��Ƶ’s daily e-bulletin.

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The movie, which unites new research into visual perception with the practical aspects of 3D filmmaking, is part of an attempt to boost the local film economy and improve the 3D viewing experience – with less nausea, eye strain and headaches.

The computer-generated animation portions were created by Starz (which did the 3D animation for the Disney feature ). The live-action set was shot by �첥��Ƶ professor using a LiDAR device (light detection and ranging, or laser radar) to create a 3D map of the set. The information was integrated into the software with the animated images to ensure accurate placement of the birds against the backdrop and to study depth perception.

Kazimi, whose background is in documentary filmmaking, is cautious about the kind of sweeping generalizations being thrown around about 3D film language, but he believes it heralds fundamental changes in film storytelling, especially in slowing down the pace of films. "There's a lot more visual information for the viewer to absorb and you need to provide the time," he says.

His York colleague, psychologist , is studying how people see 3D, including issues of ghosting, image disparity and motion that can make the experience unsatisfying. Simple things such as screen size and even where you sit in the theatre make a big difference. By sitting at the middle, or toward the back, the viewer can enjoy the most comfortable experience. Seats on the aisles, she suggests, "should probably be discounted."

Complicating 3D experience is the issue of "vection" or the illusion of self- motion which can occur while watching 3D. For some, it may create motion sickness.

Lovebirds will get its world premiere at the Toronto International Stereoscopic 3D Conference, June 11-14 at the Toronto International Film Festival Bell Lightbox.

The 3D FLIC project is led by Professor Nell Tenhaaf; the includes filmmakers, vision scientists, psychologists and industry partners.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– �첥��Ƶ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Titled “Game Changers: How local innovations are creating a new ‘business as usual'”, the (YTA) showcase encouraged participants from industry, academia and government agencies to display discovery research and innovations through six-minute Lightning Lectures and a hands-on Demo Lounge.

York Professor , chair of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, presented the York-led Centre for Innovation in Information Visualization and Data-Driven Design (CIV-DDD). The project, which involves researchers in the Faculties of Fine Arts and Science & Engineering, along with graduate students and other industry and academic partners, promises to develop the next generation of data discovery, design and visualization techniques by developing new computational tools, representational strategies and interfaces.

Right: York Professor Amir Asif, second from left, chats with visitors at the York Technology Alliance's Solutions Showcase event

Professor and a group of undergraduate students from her laboratory in the Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering displayed York’s Mars rover and spoke about their successful involvement in international Mars rover competitions. A group of graduate students from Professor ’s laboratory in the School of Information Technology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, also spoke about their recent research.

MBA students Navneet Budhia, Boris Chan, Vitaliia Rubinovitch, Eli Ilatov and Shakti Kumar from the Schulich School of Business’ (EVCG) also participated; their members apply their skills to help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses. “It’s really important for students to get off campus and interact with real companies,” said Budhia, president of EVCG. “This is where academia and industry meet to create value for both the companies and the students.”

Left: The Mars rover was on display at the showcase and was accompanied by a team of undergraduate students from the Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering

Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation, agreed. “Universities usually expect companies to come to our campus,” he explained. “By co-locating with industry organizations like YTA and creating a presence in the for our service unit, , �첥��Ƶ is sending a very powerful message to our partners. We’re helping industry enhance and forge new connections to York’s research and training capacity, which demonstrates our openness to collaboration.

“Paradoxically, we’re finding that it’s sometimes easier to get students and researchers to interact at our new York Region home in the MCC than it is on our main campus.”

Other showcase participants included the and , York Region’s recently announced Regional Innovation Centre. York’s participation in the YTA Solutions Showcase was made possible by a Regional Opportunities Fund grant from NSERC.

The York Technology Alliance Showcase was one of many ongoing events at the MCC that provide faculty and students with opportunities to seek research collaboration and internships with industry. �첥��Ƶ’s also runs programs and services at MCC providing a space to support collaboration with York Region community organizations and municipal agencies.

To learn more about Innovation York, contact Dan Lynch, manager of industry liaison.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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