Capstone 2025 Celebrates Student Creativity and Real-World Solutions

Lassonde Capstone Day & Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) Spring Capstone Day brought together students, faculty, staff, alumni, and both industry and community partners for a remarkable showcase of student innovation.

Throughout these programs, over 500 students worked alongside over 45 external organizations and community partners to co-design solutions to real challenges.

Watch highlights from Lassonde Capstone Day and C4 events in 2025. 

During Lassonde Capstone Day, students from Lassonde’s ENG 4000 and CIVL 4000 courses presented a diverse range of projects, from a heart attack screening tool to  autonomous drone fleet management.

“Capstone day is the culmination of hard work of the graduating engineering students, where engineering imagination is transformed to reality,” reflected Costas Armenakis, a Course Director of ENG 4000.

Lassonde students present their work to guests at Lassonde Capstone Day.

The C4 Spring Capstone Day featured student projects from York University. The projects demonstrated innovative solutions that contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“C4 Spring Capstone Day was, as always, a high-energy experience that showcased the talent, creativity, ingenuity, courage and resilience of C4 students,” said Robin Metcalfe, Co-Director of C4. “C4 is a journey in which students are challenged to try new things, to lead and be led, to problem-solve with students from other disciplines, and to think critically about strategies for making positive change in ethical and sustainable ways. For those of us on the teaching team, it is immensely rewarding to be a part of this character-building experience, and especially to witness the strong connections made by students across disciplines.”

Lassonde Capstone Day and C4 Capstone Days give students a valuable opportunity to present their projects, compete for prestigious awards, and develop essential professional skills that will help shape their future careers.

The Lassonde Capstone team extends a special thank you to their project partners, industry advisors, and especially to the Capstone Day judges: Vidushi Jain, Jushwin Mahal, Farouk Wahsh, Franz Newland, Ridham Patel and Ian Whatmough.

C4 shares their sincere appreciation to the project partners, guest industry specialists, award judges and especially the funders and award sponsors – BHER, Wayble, YSpace, GHD, Quanser, and Martha Jarrell.

See the event photos in our Facebook album.

Left: C4 student awards recipients \ Right: Lassonde Capstone student award recipients

Lassonde Capstone Day Awards

GeoSolv Innovation & Sustainability Award 
For the capstone project with the most innovative and sustainable design solutions in the Civil Capstone course.

Canadian Society for Civil Engineers (CSCE) National Capstone Design Competition Nominee 
For the team nominated to represent York University at the capstone design competition during the Annual CSCE Conference in Whistler, BC.

Winning Team: Team 1 – Glatis
Team Members: Tala Jaroudi, Giovanni De Lio, Ibrahim Sabir, Alliza Frias, Shemar Sesook, and Lamek Berhane
Project Title: Sub-Slab Depressurization System
Abstract:
Soil gases including radon and volatile organic compounds have the potential to impact indoor air quality in buildings. Sub slab depressurization is the most common measure used to protect buildings from potential vapor intrusion of soil gasses into indoor air.

Engineering Capstone Prize
For the project with the potential to positively impact human well-being with maximum and immediate benefit. 

Winning Team: Team 14 - Bamry
Team Members: Abrar Noman, Omar Ali, Harsimrat Dhaliwal, Justin Hendriks, Abiman Thayaparan, and Ion Dobridniuc
Project Title: Second Spark
Project Partner: Sebastien Chabot, Foundation of the Energy Collective (FEC) 
Abstract:
This project promotes sustainability by giving second life to used electric vehicle batteries.

PEO Award
For the project that created, developed and promoted a product/project with the greatest commercial potential. 

Winning Team: Team 13 – SafeScript
Team Members: Abdulghani Jalal, Ajit Sanghera, Humza Inam, Minhyeok An, Fares Trad, and Temitope Ogunsawe
Project Title: SafeScript: AI-Powered Secure Code Auditing
Abstract:
SafeScript is a VS Code extension that identifies security vulnerabilities in code generated by AI models like ChatGPT.

BEST Technology Impact Awards
This prize recognizes student teams whose projects demonstrate exceptional innovation, meaningful social impact and strong potential for real-world implementation.

Winning Team: Team 10 - Heart Force 
Team Members: Shaylin Ziaei, Akmal Arafa, Andres Tinoco, Behrouz H, Adam Clarke, and John Prabahar
Project Title: Wearable Heart Screen
Abstract:
The Heart Attack Screening Tool is an AI-powered wearable device designed to predict heart attacks by analyzing heart sounds in real time.

Winning Team: Team 11 – Phoenix
Team Members: Himmat Sidhu, Solaman Aryobi, Jason Mbaki, Stanley Branin, Faraz Khalilian, Isaiah Chun, and Dave Patel
Project Title: Autonomous Drone Fleet Management System
Project Partner: Sana Srithas at Shift Technologies Canada Inc. (SmartTO collaboration) 
Abstract:
This project introduces an autonomous drone fleet management system capable of coordinating multiple drones across various flight controllers, including both custom-built and commercial platforms.

C4 Spring Capstone Awards

Innovation Award
Winning Team: Team 3 (3.0 credit) 
Team Members: Andrea Stamatopoulos, Bryant Londono-Escobar, Adam Benatar, Sireen Amir, Pushmeen Kaur, Sukhmanpreet Singh, and Rebecca Marquez.
Management Team: Arya Bhosale and Brian Hwang. 
Project Title: Maple and Mingle: A Newcomer Baking Experience 
Sponsor: YSpace 
Criteria: Innovation, creativity, and readiness for the marketplace

Community Impact Award
Winning Team: Team 5 (3.0 credit) 
Team Members: Sania Ravanyar, Celina Virgioni, Neil Gandhi, Aaryan Dalal, Mehedi Hossain Rafi, Hieu Giap. Management Team: Pam Miller and Rojina Pouladi. 
Project Title: Navigating Nature for Mental and Physical Wellbeing: Hike Leader Training for Newcomers 
Sponsor: GHD 
Criteria: “Out-of-the-box” thinking and potential for long-term positive community change

Best Project Award
Winning Team: Team 14 (6.0 credit) 
Team Members: Cindy Hoang, Sophia Niles, Hexuan (Jackie) Gao, Bhavneet Kaur, Ansh Mahajan, Sooa Jo, Alina Khan, and Varun Sharma.
Project Title: Common Keys: Unlocking Accessible, Affordable, and Sustainable Housing in the GTA 
Sponsor: Quanser
Criteria: Creativity, inclusivity, positive change, community connection, and legacy

Jarrell Family Interdisciplinary Award
Winning Team: Team 1 (6.0 credit)  

Team Members: Aadi Gautam, Brandon Bandoo, Christopher Aboona, Daniel Matei, Favour Nweke, Kirti Dhir, Max Neumann, and Viral Patel.
Project Title: Campus Compass: An Integrated Indoor Navigation System Prioritizing Accessibility and Emergency Response 
Sponsor: Martha Jarrell 
Criteria: Creative and compelling exhibit that leverages interdisciplinary breadth

The Lassonde Capstone team is currently welcoming project proposals for the 2025/26 academic year. To submit proposals, please use the project proposal form. For further information on supporting capstone courses, awards, projects, or teams, please contact Claudia Bennett at claudia.bennett@lassonde.yorku.ca.

C4 is preparing for courses in Fall (3.0 credits), Winter (3.0 credits), and a full-year Fall/Winter (6.0 credits). Make connections and enhance your skills by working with students from different faculties. Apply for C4.

Those interested in becoming a project partner with C4 are welcome to contact c4class@yorku.ca for more information.