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U of T Scarborough researchers receive Governor General’s Innovation Award

lanthierj — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 18:34:28 +0000

U of T Scarborough researchers receive Governor General’s Innovation Award

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Wed, 06/28/2023 - 14:34

Faculty

Alumni

Scarborough

Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences

Governor General

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(L-R) David McLagan, Carl Mitchell and Frank Wania (supplied images)

Researchers from the ��Ƶ Scarborough who developed an innovative air sampler that can monitor mercury pollution without using electricity or gas have won a Governor General’s Innovation Award.

The award celebrates excellence in innovation across all sectors in Canada and is given to individuals or teams whose innovations are “truly exceptional, transformative and positive in their impact on quality of life in Canada.”

Professors Carl Mitchell and Frank Wania of the department of physical and environmental sciences and former grad student David McLagan – now an assistant professor at Queen’s University – designed, developed and tested the Mercury Passive Air Sampler (MerPAS), which has been commercialized and is now being used in Canada and around the world.

Unlike active air samplers that rely on electricity and a supply of gas to run, MerPAS uses the natural movement of air and a carbon material to capture airborne mercury.

The real benefit of this design is that it can be used with almost no training and can be deployed in remote locations around the world, says Mitchell, who is an expert on pollution and mercury cycling in the environment.

“We are really pleased with the performance of MerPAS. For a long time, we were confident that it was going to be broadly useful and beneficial, so it’s really satisfying that others hold our work in high regard,” he says.

Read the U of T Scarborough story

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John Kim Bell and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee receive Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards

lanthierj — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 21:38:06 +0000

John Kim Bell and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee receive Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards

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lanthierj Tue, 03/07/2023 - 16:38

Alumni

St. George

Governor General

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John Kim Bell and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (photos by Tony Hauser and George Pimentel)

Two members of the ��Ƶ community are being recognized with Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, the country’s highest honour in performing arts.

John Kim Bell, who received an honorary degree from U of T in 1999, is recognized with the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts for his activism, entrepreneurship and philanthropy. An internationally renowned conductor, Bell, who was born on the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve, established the Indspire charitable organization and awards in celebration of Indigenous achievement.

“No person’s success is theirs alone and I share this award with hundreds of individuals who have helped and supported me over many years, and continue to do so today,” Bell said in a video.

Writer and actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who studied drama at University College, is recognized with the National Arts Centre Award. Lee is best known for his role as “Appa” on the television show Kim’s Convenience, which brought the Korean-Canadian immigrant experience into the cultural conversation.

“Growing up as a chubby Korean kid in Calgary, Alta, who didn’t even know I could be an actor for a living – this comes as a tremendous surprise,” Lee said in a video.

Douglas Knight, chair and CEO of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation (GGPAAF), and Anik Bissonnette, co-chair of GGPAAF, praised the winners in a joint statement, saying, “The arts play a vital role in our lives, which has been made powerfully evident as we faced great challenges during the pandemic.”

The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala takes place at the National Arts Centre on May 27.

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Graduate students, alumnus awarded Governor General’s gold medals

lanthierj — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:35:51 +0000

Graduate students, alumnus awarded Governor General’s gold medals

Academic Achievement

lanthierj Mon, 06/14/2021 - 07:35

Students

Alumni

St. George

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Law

Governor General

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(L-R): Ido Katri, Mingyang Wei, Kieran Quinn

Ido Katri, Kieran Quinn, and Mingyang Wei have each been awarded the prestigious 2020-2021 Governor General’s Gold Medal for academic excellence.

The medal, awarded each year to three students determined to have the highest academic standing, is one of the highest honours reserved for graduate students in Canada.

A long-time advocate for trans rights, Katri will receive his Doctor of Juridical Science in June from the Faculty of Law, where he studied under the supervision of University Professor Brenda Cossman. Katri's dissertation explored gender self-determination, laws and policies that allow for the reclassification of sex based on self-identification of gender.

“I examine sex reclassification policies on a global scale to show the rise of a right to gender identity,” Katri says. “Looking at the limits of gender identity as a legal right, I use critical race, queer, trans and post-colonial theories to offer new imaginaries for trans legal engagements. “

Quinn, who practises general internal medicine and palliative care at Sinai Health system, completed his PhD in the clinical epidemiology and health care research program at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, under the supervision of Dr. Chaim Bell. He wrote his dissertation on how patients with non-cancer illnesses receive end-of-life care.

“Observing this on a day-to-day basis really drove me to try and think about ways we can change our health care system to minimize these disparities and improve the quality of end-of-life care.” Quinn says. “I believe that research is one of the ways we can enact meaningful change.”

Wei’s research in the department of electrical and computer engineering focused on the development of tandem solar cells made out of metal halide perovskites that can convert sunlight into electricity without needing the area required by silicon solar panels.

Under the supervision of University Professor Ted Sargent, Wei developed a semi-transparent solar cell that looks like glass and can be incorporated into modern-day building facades.

“I find the whole process of discovering things and exploring things very exciting,” says Wei, who graduated last fall. “It gives me a sense of satisfaction, like I am doing something creative.”

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Shaf Keshavjee wins Governor General's Innovation Award

lanthierj — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 12:29:11 +0000

Shaf Keshavjee wins Governor General's Innovation Award

Research & Innovation

Community

lanthierj Fri, 08/07/2020 - 08:29

Department of Surgery

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(photo courtesy Shaf Keshavjee/UHN)

Dr. Shaf Keshavjee of the ��Ƶ’s Faculty of Medicine has received the fifth annual Governor General’s Innovation Award – which celebrates transformative innovation that improves the lives of Canadians.

The award recognizes Keshavjee’s development of the Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) system. The EVLP allows doctors to recondition and repair injured donor lungs, significantly increasing the number of available donor lungs for transplantation. It is used by transplant surgeons around the world to assess donor lung function outside of the body, and determine whether to use a donor lung for transplant – saving the lives of hundreds of patients.

A professor in the department of surgery, Keshavjee was appointed surgeon-in-chief for University Health Network in 2010. He is the director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program and the Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratories – the largest lung transplant research centre in the world – and has served on the board of directors of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the Canadian Society of Transplantation and on the Governing Council of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received the Lister Prize in Surgery among other honours.

Susan Chatwood receives Governor General's 2019 Polar Medal

s.anderson — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 14:57:05 +0000

Susan Chatwood receives Governor General's 2019 Polar Medal

Research & Innovation

s.anderson Wed, 10/30/2019 - 10:57

Faculty

St. George

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Community

Governor General

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(Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor General)

Susan Chatwood, an associate professor at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, has received the Governor General’s 2019 Polar Medal for a lifetime of work on public health in the Arctic. Her work has focused on improving access to culturally appropriate care.

Chatwood says understanding Indigenous perspectives about health means looking at wellness holistically. It means not only treating diabetes, but also looking at food security and asking, for example, if the caribou decline has affected community health. At an international level, Chatwood also shares research and information related to climate change and public health among the eight Arctic states.

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Governor General

U of T Scarborough researchers receive Governor General’s Innovation Award

Read the U of T Scarborough story

John Kim Bell and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee receive Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards

Graduate students, alumnus awarded Governor General’s gold medals

Read the School of Graduate Studies story

Shaf Keshavjee wins Governor General's Innovation Award

Read more about Keshavjee

Susan Chatwood receives Governor General's 2019 Polar Medal

Read the U of T News story