Celebrating excellence: Lassonde School of Engineering announces 2024 Innovation Award winners

York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering announced the winners of its 2024 Innovation Awards, recognizing the dedication of faculty members in shaping the future of science and engineering. The awards celebrate a wide range of achievements, including research impact, student mentorship and community engagement. Awardees, who are full-time or contract faculty, represent innovation and the advancement of knowledge at Lassonde. They embody the School’s commitment to creating meaningful opportunities and solutions for a more just and sustainable world.

The awards honour efforts carried out in the last three years and faculty are eligible to receive an award in each category once every 10 years. Recipients recognized for research impact are nominated by their faculty peers, while those celebrated for student mentorship are nominated by their students. Professors receiving the community engagement award can be nominated either by a fellow faculty member or through self-nomination.

This year’s accolades include one innovation award, two graduate mentorship awards and one public engagement award:

Ping Wang – Innovation Award: Established Researcher

Professor, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Professor Wang is a pioneering researcher in the field of wireless communications – and an instrumental part of the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science department at Lassonde. Since joining the School in 2018, she has made tremendous impact on both Lassonde and York’s research capacity, while continuing to push boundaries and redefine her field.

Her recent efforts to shape the future of AI-powered next-generation communication networks, secured Professor Wang a position as a tier-2 York Research Chair, enabling her to further advance this cutting-edge field. With over 250 high-impact publications in top-tier journals and 28,000 citations, she has also played a pivotal role in propelling York to a top spot in ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects list for telecommunications engineering – a first-time achievement for the School!

Professor Wang’s visionary research embodies the spirit of innovation and excellence, spanning from performance modelling to cutting-edge AI-enabled resource allocation technologies for mobile communication networks. Her contributions have garnered widespread acclaim, including being named an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) Fellow in 2022 and earning recognition on N2Women’s List of Stars in Networking and Communications. Beyond her academic achievements, Professor Wang has significantly impacted the field through her role as an editorial board member for IEEE and as chair for numerous prestigious conferences.

Regina Lee – Graduate Mentorship Award

Professor, Earth & Space Science & Engineering

In the dynamic realm of space science and engineering, creating a nurturing and inclusive environment is as crucial as the technical breakthroughs that drive the field forward. At the heart of such an environment is the leadership of Professor Regina Lee, director of the Nanosatellite Research Lab at Lassonde and one of this year’s recipients of the Graduate Mentorship Award.

Under her guidance, the lab has become a hub where students of diverse backgrounds not only excel but are also supported in their pursuit of groundbreaking research and personal growth. This positive atmosphere includes collaborative meetings where students present their research and receive constructive feedback, creating a space for continual learning and improvement. Professor Lee’s students consistently rave about her support, insightful guidance and encouragement to pursue countless academic and professional opportunities, like participation in prestigious research conferences. She has also facilitated numerous industry, leadership and experiential learning opportunities, equipping her students with the skills and experiences needed for successful careers after graduation.

In an example of her commitment to student growth, Professor Lee encouraged her students to participate in a crucial part of her nanosatellite research through the Canadian Space Agency’s STRATOS campaign. This project provided students with a unique opportunity to contribute to her research while integrating findings into their final thesis and gaining exposure to a realistic space mission. Professor Lee’s dedication to education and mentorship serves as inspiration for her students to contribute meaningfully to the field of space science and engineering. Bottom of Form

Satinder Kaur Brar – Graduate Mentorship Award

Professor, Civil Engineering

Receiving the Graduate Mentorship Award, Professor Brar is celebrated for her profound impact on her students’ academic and professional journeys. As the James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering and Director of the One WATER Institute at York, she serves as an exemplary and supportive guide for her students.

Despite overseeing numerous student researchers, Professor Brar continues to demonstrate unwavering commitment to mentorship by providing personalized support and valuable insights to each student. Her extensive professional network grants students access to cutting-edge resources and exceptional opportunities, like industry internships and participation in esteemed guest lectures.

Beyond her technical guidance, Professor Brar prioritizes her students’ well-being, advocating for a balanced lifestyle that supports both health and research excellence. She also fosters an environment grounded in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles, using innovative teaching methods to enhance the student experience.

Under her guidance, many students have achieved notable success and transitioned into impactful roles in academia, government research and industry – her mentorship serves as both a catalyst and guide for the personal, professional and academic growth of her students.

Matthew Perras – Public Engagement Award

Associate professor, Civil Engineering

Professor Perras was honoured with the Public Engagement Award in recognition of his exceptional efforts to make complex geological concepts accessible to the broader public. His work has not only fostered community engagement but has also become a valuable asset in teaching civil engineering courses at Lassonde.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when traditional classroom settings were disrupted, Professor Perras seized the opportunity to enhance learning by creating engaging video content. His initiative began with short, informative videos for his course on geological processes and quickly evolved into a dynamic project on YouTube. Now in its third season, this project known as the Welcome to the Classroom series, provides students with captivating insights into geological phenomena, supporting their academic journey and growth.

In 2022, he expanded his YouTube channel to create, GeoMechanic, to enhance public engagement and extend educational outreach beyond Lassonde and York. His efforts are supported by his student, Bora Suda, who helps lead recording and editing tasks. By adding new and engaging segments, Professor Perras has effectively mobilized knowledge through videos covering a range of topics from detailed explorations of metamorphic rocks to timely updates about earthquake and volcanic activity on the channel’s weekly Geo-Roundups. His videos have captivated viewers around the world, garnering more than 1,000 subscribers, 130,000 views, 4,000 hours of watch time and 990,000 impressions to date. Building on this success, he recently launched GeoMechanic on TikTok, where he shares bite-sized educational clips, further connecting with a wider audience and inspiring curiosity.

Congratulations to all recipients of the 2024 Lassonde Innovation Awards!