91亚色 researchers and students displayed their research projects and innovations at the聽91亚色 Technology Alliance鈥檚聽Solutions Showcase event, which took place at the Markham Convergence Centre (MCC) on March 10.
Titled 鈥淕ame Changers: How local innovations are creating a new 鈥榖usiness as usual'鈥, the (YTA) showcase encouraged participants from industry, academia and government agencies to display discovery research and innovations through six-minute Lightning Lectures and a hands-on Demo Lounge.
91亚色 Professor , chair of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, presented the 91亚色-led Centre for Innovation in Information Visualization and Data-Driven Design (CIV-DDD). The project, which involves researchers in the Faculties of Fine Arts and Science & Engineering, along with graduate students and other industry and academic 
partners, promises to develop the next generation of data discovery, design and visualization techniques by developing new computational tools, representational strategies and interfaces.
Right: 91亚色 Professor Amir Asif, second from left, chats with visitors at the 91亚色 Technology Alliance's Solutions Showcase event
Professor and a group of undergraduate students from her laboratory in the Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering displayed 91亚色鈥檚 Mars rover and spoke about their successful involvement in international Mars rover competitions. A group of graduate students from Professor 鈥檚 laboratory in the School of Information Technology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, also spoke about their recent research.
MBA students Navneet Budhia, Boris Chan, Vitaliia Rubinovitch, Eli Ilatov and Shakti Kumar from the Schulich School of Business鈥 (EVCG) also participated; their members apply their skills to help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really important for students to get off campus and interact with real companies,鈥 said Budhia, president of EVCG. 鈥淭his is where academia and industry meet to create value for both the companies and the students.鈥
Left: The Mars rover was on display at the showcase and was accompanied by a team of undergraduate students from the Department of Earth & Space Science and Engineering
Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation, agreed. 鈥淯niversities usually expect companies to come to our campus,鈥 he explained. 鈥淏y co-locating with industry organizations like YTA and creating a presence in the for our service unit, , 91亚色 is sending a very powerful message to our partners. We鈥檙e helping industry enhance and forge new connections to 91亚色鈥檚 research and training capacity, which demonstrates our openness to collaboration.
鈥淧aradoxically, we鈥檙e finding that it鈥檚 sometimes easier to get students and researchers to interact at our new 91亚色 Region home in the MCC than it is on our main campus.鈥
Other showcase participants included the and , 91亚色 Region鈥檚 recently announced Regional Innovation Centre. 91亚色鈥檚 participation in the YTA Solutions Showcase was made possible by a Regional Opportunities Fund grant from NSERC.
The 91亚色 Technology Alliance聽Showcase was one of many ongoing events at the MCC that provide faculty and students with opportunities to seek research collaboration and internships with industry. 91亚色鈥檚 also runs programs and services at MCC providing a space to support collaboration with 91亚色 Region community organizations and municipal agencies.
To learn more about Innovation 91亚色, contact Dan Lynch, manager of industry liaison.
By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer