Fueled for Success: Lassonde Professor receives Petro-Canada Emerging Innovator Award

Cuiying Jian, associate professor in the Mechanical Engineering department at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering recently received the Petro-Canada Emerging Innovator Award – making her the first researcher at Lassonde to receive this honour.

“This award means much more to me than the funding it provides,” says Professor Jian. “To me, it’s about the recognition. Knowing my peers value my research is both motivating and inspiring; it gives me a sense of belonging within the engineering community.”

The Petro-Canada Emerging Innovator Award honours researchers whose work benefits the learning environment of their department and drives positive change in society. This award encourages excellence in teaching and research, while fostering further innovation.

“This funding will support my work on transforming petroleum into something useful, in a very green way,” she says. “As someone who has been in this field for a long time, it means a lot to have my efforts recognized.”

Professor Jian is collaborating with Professor Gerd Grau in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department to tackle challenges within the petroleum and water industries. Together, they are working to convert asphaltenes – heavy, toxic molecules that are abundant in Canadian oil sands – into valuable materials that can be used in environmental applications.

“Asphaltene disposal is difficult and can lead to harmful contamination,” explains Professor Jian. These molecules also pose significant risks to human health and the environment. “Since asphaltene needs to be broken down and separated, removal is also expensive and creates a lot of waste.”

Fortunately, asphaltenes share structural similarity with graphene, a highly versatile material that is particularly useful for water purification applications. Drawing on this, Professor Jian is developing a laser-based method to turn asphaltenes into graphene-like materials that can effectively remove metal pollutants from contaminated water.

This groundbreaking research offers a dual solution, addressing both the environmental hazards of asphaltene disposal and the pressing need for cleaner water. The project also provides a cost-effective alternative to traditional asphaltene removal methods.

“This work is multidisciplinary,” says Professor Jian. “We have students working on the laser technology, field applications and energy storage solutions. I truly appreciate the support that Lassonde and the Mechanical Engineering department have given me to succeed in my research. I’m also grateful for Lassonde’s dedication to creating an environment rooted in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). As a female professor in engineering, it can be difficult to navigate the field. Together, we need to continue to support and elevate minority groups, not just for ourselves, but to motivate and inspire future generations.”

As Lassonde’s first recipient of the Petro-Canada Emerging Innovator Award, Professor Jian exemplifies the power of perseverance and the growing impact of women in engineering. Her achievements highlight the importance of diverse perspectives in creating solutions for the world’s most pressing challenges.