Undergraduate Student Research Conference narrows in on sustainability & inclusivity

On Thursday, August 15, Lassonde hosted its fourth annual Undergraduate Summer Student Research Conference. Over 70 students showcased diverse research projects they’ve been working on throughout the summer, with five oral presentation and 53 poster exhibits under various research awards including:

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council: Undergraduate Student Research Awards (NSERC USRA)
• Lassonde Undergraduate Research Award (LURA)
• Research at York (RAY)
• Mitacs Globalink Research Award (Mitacs)
• Dr. James Wu Research Internships for Engineering

This year the Lassonde Research Team committed to executing an event that was as inclusive and sustainable as possible. Using the Inclusion Lens, an event management tool designed to assist York University in engaging all peoples in events, we garnered insight, tips and processes that we could adopt, ultimately leading us to execute the most accessible, inclusive and safest iteration of the conference to date.

Participants were actively encouraged to identify their preferred pronouns on their nametags and The Second Student Centre, where the conference took place, also promotes inclusivity, with gender-neutral washrooms on-site – a key factor in our decision to choose the space.

In addition to fostering a safe and open environment for attendees, our environmental impact was minimized by opting to serve the catered lunch on reusable dishes and cutlery and offering vegan, vegetarian and Halal options.

We would like to thank all 216 individuals who attended the conference for making it such a success and showing support to the students and faculty who have been working hard all summer long on their respective research.

Thank you to all participants, volunteers, organizers, judges and staff and sponsors, including the Office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation (VPRI). Without all of you, this conference would not be possible.

We also wanted to give a special shout-out to Computer Scientist, Dr. Konstantinos Derpanis who was the keynote speaker for the event. Derpanis having received his master’s and PhD from the Lassonde School of Engineering.

Missed the event? Below is a recap of the award winners. Learn more about some of the student researchers and their innovative projects – which explore topics like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Geomatics Science, to name a few – here.

Oral Presentation Winners:

• 1st Place: Mohammadreza Karimi (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science – Supervised by Dr. Hossein Kassiri). Seizure Detection Using Brain EEG Signal Processing
• 2nd Place: Brittany Danishevsky (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science – Supervised by Dr. John Tsotsos). Object Detection in Nursing Homes for Autonomous Wheelchair Guidance
• Student Choice: Daphne-Eleni Archonta (Mechanical Engineering – Supervised by Dr. Pouya Rezai). On-demand Electric Field Induced Egg Laying of Caenorhabditis Elegans.

Poster Presentation Winners:

• 1st Place: Dhruvikumari Desai & Antonia Pennella (Mechanical Engineering – Supervised by Dr. Garett Melenka). Manufacture and Analysis Of Braided Composite Structures.
• 2nd Place: Julia Ferri (Civil Engineering – Supervised by Dr. John Gales). Movement Profiles and Accessible Design.
• 3rd Place: Maeve Wildes, Syyeda Zainab, & Yash Dhamija (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science – Supervised by Dr. Franck van Breugel). PROMISE: The world’s largest benchmark suite for probabilistic model checking.
• Honorary Mention: Constantinos Kandias (Mechanical Engineering – Dr. Ronald Hanson). Design and Optimization of the Contraction and Corner Sections of a Closed Loop Wind Tunnel.
• Session 1 Student Choice: Ariella Kantorowitz (Earth & Space Science & Engineering – Supervised by Dr. John Moores). Illumination Models of Martian Craters to Support Space Exploration.
• Session 2 Student Choice: Ryan Karaba (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science – Supervised by Dr. Ebrahim Ghafar-Zadeh). Non-invasive Micro-Electrode Array Electrophysiological Recordings.

Congratulations to all!