Sustainability Archives - Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS)

91��ɫ alumni recognized for research on refugee leadership, health equity

qings — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:12:03 +0000

Two recent Faculty of Graduate Studies alumni have received national awards from prestigious Canadian scholarly associations for research examining how systems and policies influence access, opportunity and equity in communities affected by global development challenges. Patrick Abure (MA’26), who graduated from the Development Studies (DVST) program, received the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID) Institutional Membership Prize for his student essay Institutionalising Legitimacy: Gendered Gatekeeping, Women Refugee-Led Organisations, and the Limits of Localisation in Uganda. Valerie Lawson (MA’25), also a graduate of DVST, received the 2026 Fraser Taylor Prize from the Canadian Association of African Studies (CAAS), which recognizes the best graduate student paper presented at the previous CAAS conference and supports publication of the winning paper in the Canadian Journal of African Studies.

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Greenbelt critical to Ontario’s ecological future, 91��ɫ U report finds

qings — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:07:22 +0000

Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change Professor Eric Miller as well as lead author and PhD student Peri Dworatzek have published a report titled The Ecological Value of Ontario’s Greenbelt which examines the protected natural and agricultural lands through the lens of biocapacity – the ability of land and ecosystems to provide resources and absorb environmental impacts. Prepared by the 91��ɫ Ecological Footprint Initiative for the Greenbelt Foundation, the report finds the Greenbelt provides significantly greater ecological biocapacity per hectare than the rest of Ontario, averaging 2.8 global hectares versus 1.02.

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Turning food waste into sustainable chemicals: 91��ɫ study investigates

qings — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:02:04 +0000

What if food waste could be transformed into something useful instead of ending up in landfill? A new 91��ɫ-led study suggests carefully selected microorganisms could help recover valuable chemicals from discarded food while reducing the energy needed to produce them. “When we think of environmental sustainability, we often immediately think about newer energy-efficient technologies. Organic waste treatment becomes rather an afterthought,” says Reema Kumar, a PhD candidate at 91��ɫ's Lassonde School of Engineering and lead author of the study.

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AI tool developed at 91��ɫ U signals breakthrough for movement research

qings — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:37:37 +0000

At 91��ɫ, Faculty of Health researchers are addressing this challenge through the development of ATHENA (Automatically Tracking Hands Expertly with No Annotations), an AI-powered motion-tracking system that captures natural hand movements without requiring markers, sensors or wearable devices. The project is led by Jonathan Michaels, assistant professor at the School of Kinesiology and Health Science, alongside Daanish (Dan) Mulla, a postdoctoral fellow and lead researcher on the project. "We wanted a way to measure natural hand movement as it actually happens, without attaching anything to the person," says Michaels.

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Continuing a legacy: A student, a mentor and a study of wild bees

qings — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:31:34 +0000

A new study by postdoctoral researcher Briann Dorin illustrates how agricultural landscapes can support wild bees, and continues the conservation science research legacy of the late Professor Sheila Colla. When Dorin was a doctoral student in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change and began discussing potential PhD research projects with Colla, her supervisor and one of Canada's leading pollinator conservation scientists, she already knew the questions she wanted to pursue. With a background in wildlife biology, Dorin had followed growing concern about bee declines and understood the significance of the issue given the critical role pollinators play in maintaining healthy ecosystems and supporting food production.

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Can AI be trusted to assess climate risks? A 91��ɫ study investigates

qings — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:37:43 +0000

As AI is increasingly applied to fields studying how climate change affects the conditions beneath the Earth's surface, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) postdoctoral fellow Adedibu Sunny Akingboye is helping ensure the technology is used responsibly and reliably. Scientists in environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering study underground conditions that influence groundwater resources, landslide risks and the stability of critical infrastructure. As climate change increases flooding and other extreme weather events, understanding what goes on beneath the Earth's surface is becoming more important.

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Global consumption exceeds Earth’s limits, 91��ɫ researchers find

qings — Fri, 01 May 2026 13:27:59 +0000

Humanity is consuming natural resources much faster than the planet can replenish them, according to��new global data��from 91��ɫ. Eric Miller��is��director��of 91��ɫ’s Ecological Footprint Initiative��– a multidisciplinary group of scholars, students and organizations working to advance understanding of the world’s ecological footprint and biocapacity.��He��warns that data reflects a 70 per cent overshoot of the planet’s renewable capacity.��Along��with Miller,��91��ɫ-based co-authors include��master of environmental studies��(MES)��alums��Kiona Lo��and��Neha Basnet��as well as��MES students��Bumika��Srikanthalingam,��Beatrice Foley��and��Anna Hao Long.��Co-authors from the University of Iceland include Johanna Louise Van Berkum, Petra��Toneva, Marina��Ermina��and Clara Klinkenberg.

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NASA award recognizes 91��ɫ scientists for wildfire air quality research

qings — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:32:28 +0000

Two 91��ɫ chemists are among the recipients of one of NASA's highest honours for their role in a major North American air quality campaign – work that could help improve how wildfire smoke risks are understood and communicated in Canada. Faculty of Science��Professor��Cora Young��and Associate Professor��Trevor VandenBoer��were recognized through the NASA Group Achievement Award for their contributions to the Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA) campaign, a joint effort between NASA and the The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study air quality and climate interactions across North America.

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Researchers examine global politics of waste management

qings — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:09:35 +0000

As cities around the world grapple with mounting waste crises, researchers at the 91��ɫ Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) are exploring a critical but often overlooked question: who does the work of managing waste and under what conditions? At 91��ɫ, this question is shaping an emerging area of interdisciplinary research that connects environmental change with labour, inequality and shared global priorities. Research efforts led by��Shubhra Gururani, a political ecologist, associate professor of anthropology and director of YCAR, examine how waste is a technical or environmental problem, but also a deeply political one, structured by histories of colonialism, race, caste and gender.

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91��ɫ U engineer launches initiative to help public understand EV charging

qings — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:20:17 +0000

91��ɫ has launched a new public resource designed to help people better understand electric vehicle (EV) charging and make practical decisions about where and how to charge. The initiative, led by��Hany Farag, a professor in the��Lassonde School of Engineering, is supported by a $139,294 federal grant from Natural Resources Canada through its Zero Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative, which funds education projects that support cleaner transportation. The project is a 91��ɫ community effort, with��Abdullah Al-Obaidi, postdoctoral fellow, and��Ahmed Abdelaziz, PhD candidate, leading the algorithms and software development that powers its interactive tools.��Paulina Karwowska-Desaulniers��–��executive director of 91��ɫ's��SmartTO��initiative – supports community engagement, events and outreach.

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