The , published in Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, shows that municipalities may not need new infrastructure to become 鈥渟marter鈥� and explores how to use the city itself as the sensor.

Urban planners depend on data to support decisions ranging from parking management and road maintenance to traffic operations and environmental monitoring, explains Elham Heydari-Gharaei, the study鈥檚 first author and 91亚色 PhD alum. Collecting that information across an entire city, however, can require expensive networks of fixed sensors.

鈥淚t struck me that while municipalities spend millions installing and maintaining fixed sensors, thousands of vehicles are already travelling through urban streets every day,鈥� says Heydari-Gharaei, who is now an assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. 鈥淭hat made me wonder: What if the city itself could become the sensor?鈥�

By strategically coordinating vehicles equipped as mobile sensors, bicycles, maintenance vehicles, municipal fleets and shared mobility services could gather and share information as they move through urban areas.

鈥淭he key challenge is coordinating those vehicles efficiently, so the data remains reliable while keeping costs manageable,鈥� says Heydari-Gharaei. 鈥淏y solving that coordination problem, cities can collect reliable, up-to-date information while making better use of existing resources.鈥�

In response, the research team developed algorithms to help planners evaluate operational scenarios. They assessed factors such as sensing frequency, fleet size and service routes, while scaling solutions for large urban networks.

One finding that stood out emerged from a Toronto case study. Researchers found that only about one-quarter of Toronto鈥檚 Bike Share fleet could monitor the entire permit parking network if equipped with sensors and strategically routed. The result highlights how optimization can significantly reduce the resources needed for city-wide monitoring.

Mehdi Nourinejad, associate professor at the and Heydari-Gharaei's doctoral supervisor, says the implications for mobile sensing systems could enhance data retrieval for infrastructure inspection, environmental monitoring, traffic management and other smart-city applications.

鈥淐ities already have thousands of vehicles moving through their streets every day and the key is to develop optimization methods that determine how those vehicles should be routed and deployed to collect reliable data,鈥� says Nourinejad. 鈥淚f cities can collect reliable information using resources they already operate, they may be able to improve services without major new expenditures.鈥�

The findings could also help address financial barriers experienced by municipalities seeking to expand data collection without making large investments in smart-city infrastructure.

Reliable urban data, says Heydari-Gharaei, supports everyday decisions, from helping drivers find parking to monitoring road conditions, air quality and public infrastructure. Better data, says Heydari-Gharaei, can support better planning, reduced congestion, improved sustainability and more responsive public services.

鈥淎s sensing technologies continue to improve, there is enormous potential to rethink how cities gather information without continuously investing in new infrastructure,鈥� says Heydari-Gharaei.

During the project, 91亚色 researchers collaborated with Professor Matthew Roorda from the University of Toronto, who contributed expertise in freight transportation and urban mobility.

With files from Alex Huls

The post 91亚色 study finds smarter way to collect city data appeared first on YFile.

Bankes graduated from 91亚色 with both an LLB and MBA in 1977 before going on to become a respected leader in law and finance. After practising law in Toronto and New 91亚色 and working with international investment banking firms including Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston, he founded Artemis Management Group, a private investment bank that advised clients around the world on mergers, acquisitions and other major transactions.

Throughout his career, Bankes maintained a strong connection to 91亚色. Appointed a student member of the University's Board of Governors in 1974, he returned to the board in 1985 as an alumnus and business leader. He served for more than three decades and became the longest-serving active member of the Board of Governors.

He contributed to the University in numerous other ways over the decades. He served for more than 15 years as an executive member of the 91亚色 Alumni Association and, in 1995, was co-chair of a national fundraising campaign in support of the University.

His involvement at 91亚色 also included teaching as a sessional lecturer at , where he taught an advanced corporate law seminar in the joint law and MBA program, and supporting students through scholarships, bursaries and awards.

His commitment to service extended far beyond 91亚色. Volunteerism and philanthropy were defining features of his life, reflecting a deeply held belief in giving back to the community.

He lent his leadership and expertise to a wide range of charitable, educational, health care and cultural organizations, serving as a board member of the Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation and co-chair of the Scarborough Hospital Foundation. He also served with the Prince of Wales Charities Advisory Committee, PREVNet, a national organization dedicated to preventing bullying, and arts organizations including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Canadian Stage.

In recognition of his contributions to business, philanthropy and community service, Bankes received numerous honours throughout his lifetime, including the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Centennial Medal.

Among his proudest honours was receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws from 91亚色 during Spring Convocation in 2014.

Speaking to graduands at the ceremony, Bankes encouraged them to see volunteerism not as an obligation but as an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others and their communities.

Quoting inventor and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller, he said, 鈥淔ind a cause that needs your involvement, your integrity, loyalty, intellectual capacity, passion and most importantly your commitment to give back to society.鈥�

He challenged graduates to recognize the impact they could have through service, arguing that volunteerism remains a powerful force for addressing societal challenges and strengthening communities. He also shared his belief in their potential to bring about change.

鈥淚 think about what young people who have more tomorrows than yesterdays are to make of the world they have inherited,鈥� he said.

Through a lifetime of leadership, philanthropy and service, Bankes now leaves a better inheritance for those who follow.

The post Passings: John Frederick Bankes appeared first on YFile.

Patrick Abure (MA鈥�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.

The paper explores why women refugee-led organizations in Uganda are trusted by the communities they serve while continuing to face barriers to direct funding, partnerships and participation in decision-making processes.

Abure drew on interviews with leaders and community members served by three women refugee-led organizations in the Bidibidi and Imvepi refugee settlements, located in northwestern Uganda. His research examines how factors such as registration requirements, audits, reporting expectations, budgets, infrastructure, networks and gendered expectations can affect the recognition and support women refugee-led organizations receive.

鈥淩eceiving the CASID Institutional Membership Prize for my paper is a deeply meaningful honour,鈥� says Abure. 鈥淭his recognition affirms the importance of research that centres refugee knowledge, leadership, and lived experience, especially the work of women refugee leaders serving communities affected by humanitarian crises.鈥�

He hopes that more refugee-led research like his can help challenge assumptions about 鈥渨ho is seen as an expert, a leader and a legitimate actor in humanitarian response.鈥�

Valerie Lawson (MA鈥�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.

Lawson was awarded for her research, Health Care Access: An Analysis of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Accra, Ghana, which investigates how people enrolled in Ghana鈥檚 public health insurance program can still face out-of-pocket health-care costs and how those expenses affect health-care-seeking behaviour and financial well-being.

Through interviews with National Health Insurance Scheme subscribers, Lawson examines how systemic inefficiencies, coverage gaps and socioeconomic factors influence access to care and public trust in health-care systems. By situating these challenges within broader policy and political-economic contexts, her research contributes to discussions on universal health coverage and the impacts of health reforms across Africa.

Lawson鈥檚 work was supported by 91亚色 through the Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship from the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and the Greta Coger Travel Fund from the Harriet Tubman Institute. She also credits the Development Studies program for how it 鈥減layed a central role in shaping my academic foundation and professional direction.鈥�

鈥淭he program equipped me with a strong interdisciplinary understanding of global development grounded in equity, critical analysis and policy informed thinking,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hrough DVST, I developed essential skills in research, communication, coordination and stakeholder engagement.鈥�

Both Abure and Lawson were supervised by Associate Professor Mohamed Sesay from the Department of Social Science, who praises their recent recognitions, which will see their award-winning papers considered for publication in their respective associations' journals.

鈥淭heir achievements reflect the strength of graduate education and mentorship within the Development Studies program while demonstrating how 91亚色 researchers are contributing to conversations on refugee leadership, health equity and social justice鈥� says Sesay.

The post 91亚色 alumni recognized for research on refugee leadership, health equity appeared first on YFile.

Understanding how climate change affects Arctic wildlife is becoming urgent as the North warms faster than the rest of the planet.

鈥淐limate warming is a global problem but it鈥檚 most severe in the North, where the climate is warming about four times faster than the global average,鈥� says Gregory W. Thiemann, a professor in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change.

Rising temperatures are driving declines in sea ice and reshaping Arctic marine ecosystems. Species such as ringed seals and polar bears depend on sea ice for habitat, but scientists are working to understand exactly how climate-driven changes affect these species and the food webs that support them.

Ringed seals, in particular, play a vital role in the Arctic food web as consumers of smaller, fat-rich food sources such as fish and plankton. Their fat-rich diet makes them a primary food source for polar bears.

Despite the importance of ringed seals in the Artcic habitat, how they respond to climate-driven changes in ice and prey availability, and the ripple effects of those changes through the ecosystem, was not fully understood.

Katie Florko, a 91亚色 biology alum, was inspired to find a way to change that.

鈥淏y tracking shifts in their diet and body condition over nearly two decades, we can better understand how environmental change is affecting a species that is central to both the food web and subsistence,鈥� she says.

The project began while Florko was completing her master's degree in biology at 91亚色 under Thiemann's supervision. Although Florko graduated in 2018 and continued her research through a PhD at the University of British Columbia and a postdoctoral fellowship, she and her collaborators continued developing the study.

In published in Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, Florko and Thiemann drew on a long-standing collaboration between 91亚色 and Fisheries and Oceans Canada that has worked with local Inuvialuit hunters in the Northwest Territories to monitor ringed seal populations in the Amundsen Gulf.

For the study, local hunters collected measurements and samples from 236 ringed seals harvested between 1996 and 2015. Small pieces of blubber were sent to the researchers, who analyzed the fatty acids they contained. Because those compounds provide clues about what an animal has been eating, the team was able to reconstruct the seals' diets. They then combined those dietary indicators with environmental data and measures of seal and polar bear body condition to understand how climate, habitat and food availability influence Arctic predators.

The analysis revealed that ringed seals were generally in better shape when they were feeding on prey associated with sea ice, particularly Arctic cod, an important source of energy in the area. Seals also tended to be healthier during years when ice dynamics made productive feeding areas easier to access.

The findings suggest that sea ice influences more than just where ringed seals live; it can also affect their access to food and ability to build the energy reserves needed to survive, reproduce and raise their young.

Because ringed seals are the primary prey of polar bears, researchers also wanted to know whether environmental conditions affecting seals could influence the predators that depend on them.

鈥淪tudying both predator and prey offered a rare opportunity to link changes at multiple levels of the Arctic food web and better understand how climate-driven changes in sea ice can ripple through the food web,鈥� says Florko.

The research also examined body-condition data from 108 polar bears collected in the same region between 1999 and 2015. By comparing those records with the ringed seal data, they hoped to determine whether environmental factors affecting seals could also be affecting the bears that depend on them.

While the relationships between habitat, diet and seal health proved complex, one result stood out. Among female polar bears, which tend to feed on a less varied diet than males, their body health closely tracked that of ringed seals.

"Female polar bear body condition tended to be high when ringed seal condition was also high," says Thiemann. 鈥淚n other words, healthier prey were associated with healthier polar bears.鈥�

The findings offer a clearer picture of how climate change can affect Arctic ecosystems. Rather than influencing individual species in isolation, changes in sea ice can alter prey availability, affect the health of ringed seals and ultimately influence the predators that depend on them.

The team says continued monitoring will be essential for understanding how a rapidly changing Arctic affects wildlife in the years ahead.

"I think this area is important to continue studying because understanding climate impacts requires looking beyond individual species. Changes in sea ice, prey availability and predator body condition are all interconnected, and we need to understand those relationships to predict how Arctic ecosystems may change in the future," says Florko.

The post 91亚色 research reveals climate change impact in Arctic appeared first on YFile.

is an AI platform built for real estate and asset management co-founded by Gaurav Madani and Arunabh Dastidar, who met as Schulich MBA students in 2017 and graduated together in 2019. The tool鈥檚 third co-founder, Zain Nathoo, is also a Schulich alum.

The platform was created to solve fragmented data challenges in real estate investing by using AI to organize information and provide customizable systems that help investment teams analyze data, automate tasks and make faster decisions. These were challenges both Dastidar and Nathoo encountered while working in real estate investment and helping to manage more than $1 billion in property assets.

Frustrated by delays in financial reports 鈥� which often arrived in spreadsheets weeks late and slowed decision-making 鈥� they turn to Schulich for guidance and support to bring their solution to market.

Early on, the founders brought their idea to Chris Carder, executive director of Schulich's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Madani recalls approaching Carder, who at the time was alone in the Schulich cafeteria, and sharing the team鈥檚 idea. Carder offered the team direction, facilitated important connections and amplified the company within his own network.

"He was a sounding board, which is what founders need in the early days," Madani says. "Especially in the early days when no one knows you, those kinds of things are really important."

Beyond Carder, the company drew on other forms of support at Schulich. Andre Kuzmicki, retired professor, introduced the team to senior professionals at large Canadian institutions who would become some of Leni's first clients.

As well, Schulich's Entrepreneurial Studies program has partnered with Leni to create student internships.

"Schulich gave us a community of people who believed in what we were building and opened doors that would have been much harder to access on our own," says Dastidar. "That early support was instrumental in helping us gain traction and credibility as we scaled."

While Leni began by connecting industry systems to track performance in real time, it evolved to integrate AI, which became central to its development from 2022 onward.

Today, it helps investment teams evaluate deals, conduct research and automate reporting tasks that would otherwise take days.

Madani says Leni stands out for its focus on accuracy. It is trained to break complex questions into parts, route them across multiple AI models, evaluate whether the responses meet its threshold, and surfaces an answer only when it passes 鈥� along with the reasoning and source data behind it.

"Leni will always treat any output as a hypothesis that needs to be proven," he says.

As the company expands, the relationship with Schulich continues in both directions. Leni's founders now serve as mentors, judges and guest lecturers with Schulich Startups, where they contribute to the same ecosystem that helped them get started.

For students who are thinking about building their own tool, Madani's advice is simple: "No two entrepreneurial journeys look the same," he says, adding that Schulich鈥檚 support was instrumental to Leni鈥檚 success.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

The post Schulich alumni scale AI real estate investment tool appeared first on YFile.

The 91亚色 graduate, who received a BSc in kinesiology and exercise science in June, discovered her early interest in health science had deepened after taking Regional Human Anatomy 3460 and 3465 with Assistant Professor Nicole Ventura.

鈥淗er teaching style just really resonated with me,鈥� says El-Dassouki.

A professor at 91亚色鈥檚 , Ventura creates opportunities for students to understand the human body using virtual dissection tools and synthetic cadavers.

She joined 91亚色鈥檚 School of Kinesiology & Health Science in Fall 2025 and now teaches courses on advanced regional anatomy using modern technology.

In the anatomy lab, Ventura is precise, direct and calm, pushing students to get every detail right without losing sight of the individuals who donated their bodies to science.

That mix of respect and rigour earned her major teaching awards during her nearly 10 years on faculty at McGill University.

There, Ventura taught labs using real human cadavers, an experience she describes as 鈥渁 privilege.鈥� Like many institutions, 91亚色 does not have a human body donor lab 鈥� but it does have a wealth of virtual dissection tools and synthetic cadavers for physiology and anatomy students to work with.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really given me a new opportunity and a new challenge to teach and think about anatomy in a different way,鈥� Ventura says.

Still, there are limitations to teaching with virtual bodies. For example, dissecting a flesh-and-embalming-fluid cadaver forces students to confront death at a very personal level, Ventura says. It can be difficult 鈥� or impossible 鈥� to get the same depth of emotional resonance working with a virtual or synthetic body. And for those who go on to work in surgical medicine, donor bodies offer a very realistic window into what they can expect when operating on a patient, from the colour of organs to the thickness and texture of tissues.

But virtual dissections also offer serious advantages. For one, they are much more accessible. With online tools, students can 鈥渄issect鈥� a body anywhere, anytime, for as long as they need. 鈥淚 could just open it at home and study it for hours, which was great,鈥� El-Dassouki says.

When 91亚色 moved courses online during COVID-19 lockdowns, those virtual tables went from an add鈥憃n to a lifeline, says Professor Nicolette Richardson who teaches anatomy alongside Ventura. The software also allows for bigger class sizes while ensuring that each student still gets direct lab experience.

The virtual software is updated regularly, which gives students access to a wider range of bodies than they might see in a more standard lab setting. They can learn about 鈥渇olks of different ethnicities, different genders, and get access to things like clinical case studies,鈥� Richardson says.

For Ventura, this is an important feature. She says it helps students, especially those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, better connect to the material.

Synthetic cadavers 鈥� or 鈥渟yndavers鈥� 鈥� are also a crucial part of 91亚色鈥檚 anatomy and physiology labs. These synthetic bodies are extremely lifelike, and give students a tactile experience. 鈥淚t allows them to actually get their hands in there,鈥� Richardson says.

And this approach, too, has some advantages: unlike real bodies, where the organs and tissues all tend to be a similar shade of pinkish-brown, the syndavers are brightly coloured, enabling students to easily distinguish between different structures. As well, the models can be reused because they don鈥檛 need to be removed after dissection and pose no biohazard risks. 91亚色 currently has one full-bodied synthetic cadaver, as well as several independent lower and upper limbs.

According to a 2025 comparative study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal , students using virtual dissection tables achieved learning outcomes comparable to those in traditional cadaver laboratories, though each method provided distinct educational experiences.

Ultimately, the key to successful physiology instruction lies in cultivating genuine student engagement, regardless of the type of cadavers they practice on. 鈥淚 just think anatomy is really cool,鈥� Ventura says. 鈥淚t allows people to have a better understanding of their own bodies, which is pretty unique in itself.鈥�

El-Dassouki agrees. She plans to pursue a career in physiotherapy, and credits her enthusiasm for the field to professors like Ventura and Richardson.

鈥淚 have recommended 91亚色 to so many people applying to universities, just because I loved it so much.鈥�

With files from Joanna Thompson鈥�

The post Virtual anatomy tools expand learning at 91亚色 appeared first on YFile.

This summer, YFile examines how 91亚色-led researchers move ideas into impact through the Connected Minds Prototyping Awards. This series shows innovation in practice 鈥� how socially responsible technologies are tested in real-world settings and how this work drives meaningful change.

In the field of mental health care, administrative pressures take valuable time away from patient care.

Many independent mental health care providers, including therapists and counsellors, face growing clerical demands. From scheduling and intake forms to documentation and follow-ups, when these responsibilities are managed through fragmented systems it creates inefficiencies for practitioners and patients.

At 91亚色, M. Murat Kristal, professor of operations management and information systems and director of the MBA in technology leadership at the , is working to address this challenge. Kristal is the founder of HazelCare, a digital health platform designed to support mental health practitioners through responsible AI, privacy-by-design principles and human-centred technology.

HazelCare brings together core administrative functions 鈥� including appointment booking, patient onboarding, documentation and communication 鈥� into a single, user-friendly system. The integration of AI tools offers enhanced operations by using natural language processing to support clinical notetaking, predictive analytics to reduce missed appointments and virtual assistants to guide patients through onboarding.

鈥淗azelCare emerged from my long-standing interest in understanding how technology can be used to solve meaningful societal challenges while preserving trust, empathy and human connection,鈥� says Kristal.

Rather than simply digitizing administrative tasks, HazelCare is designed as an AI-enabled practice platform that augments practitioner workflows while preserving the human relationship at the centre of mental health care.

Working alongside Kristal to bring this innovation to market are team members across various disciplines and diverse expertise. Longtime Schulich instructor Altay Aksulu, a solutions portfolio manager with the Ontario Public Service, brings industry experience to the team, helping ensure the platform meets real-world needs. Alex Volkov, a 91亚色 computer science graduate and senior software developer, leads the platform鈥檚 technical direction and architecture, bringing more than 15 years of experience building full-stack applications across government, enterprise and SaaS environments.

Murat and his team received the Phase 1 Connected Minds Prototyping Award, which provides up to $20,000 to support early-stage prototype development. Connected Minds is a $318.4-million transdisciplinary research program led by 91亚色 in partnership with Queen's University focused on the study of human-AI interactions to ensure future technologies are ethical, healthy and equitable.

Backed by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund and a network of more than 50 industry, hospital and community partners, the program funds transdisciplinary teams to move ideas beyond research into tangible prototypes though these awards.

With this support, Kristal's team has advanced HazelCare from a concept into a functional, pilot-ready platform. The funding enabled the development of core features, system architecture and testing processes.

鈥淏eyond the financial support, the award provided important validation of the project鈥檚 vision and potential societal impact,鈥� says Kristal.

Through the prototyping process, the team learned the value of designing technology around real user workflows. In a complex, highly regulated field like health care, this means balancing usability, privacy, security and regulatory requirements while ensuring the platform remains intuitive for both practitioners and patients. The result is a system that supports end-to-end workflows and is positioned for pilot testing.

By reducing administrative strain on independent providers, HazelCare could help expand access to mental health services, enabling practitioners to take on more clients while maintaining quality of care.

While practitioners benefit from more integrated workflows, the impact is also felt by patients. Instead of navigating multiple platforms to book appointments, complete intake and receive updates, patients can move through a more streamlined process from initial contact through ongoing engagement.

Kristal says HazelCare bridges new technologies and the human-centred nature of care resulting in a more connected and equitable mental health care system.

Moving toward implementation, the team will test HazelCare by working with practitioners to evaluate how it performs in real-world settings. Future enhancements to the platform include improving practitioner support tools, strengthening analytics and exploring responsible AI additions.

鈥淥ur goal is not simply to build software, but to demonstrate how responsible AI can strengthen the relationship between practitioners and patients while expanding access to mental health care,鈥� says Kristal.

The post How an AI tool is improving human-centred health care appeared first on YFile.

The 91亚色-affiliated recipients are among 61 new appointments announced this year. The Order of Canada recognizes individuals whose service and contributions have had a lasting impact on communities across Canada and beyond.

Officers

Niv Fichman, alumnus and honorary degree recipient
A film producer and founder of Rhombus Media, Fichman has helped shape Canadian cinema over nearly five decades. His body of work includes internationally recognized films such as The Red Violin, Enemy and BlackBerry, reflecting a career marked by innovation and mentorship in the screen industries.

Duke Redbird, alumnus
An Elder of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Redbird has spent more than 60 years advancing Indigenous arts and ways of knowing through poetry, visual art and performance. His work has influenced artists, educators and communities across the country, foregrounding the relationship between people and the land.

Mayann E. Francis, honorary degree recipient
Francis is a former lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia and a long-standing advocate for human rights. In 2006, she became the first African Nova Scotian and the second woman to serve in the role, and has since continued her public service and writing, including publishing a memoir.

Members

Tim Whiten, professor emeritus
Artist and member of the (AMPD), Whiten has built an influential career spanning five decades. Working across sculpture, drawing, performance and installation, his practice explores spirituality and transformation while his teaching has shaped generations of students.

Nancy Nicol, professor emerita and senior scholar
Nicol (AMPD),聽is a documentary filmmaker, researcher and writer whose work documents the history of 2SLGBTQIA+ activism in Canada and internationally. Through her participatory research project, Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights, she fostered international collaboration and advanced equity and human rights.

Duane D.O. Gibson, alumnus
Gibson is a hip-hop artist, author and educator who engages students through music and literacy-focused programming. Through his initiative Stay Driven, he has reached thousands of young people with messages centred on perseverance, leadership and positive decision-making.

Harvey Skinner, professor emeritus
Skinner, founding dean of the Faculty of Health, has made significant contributions to the study of behaviour change and addictions. He is known for developing the Drug Abuse Screening Test, a widely used tool that has informed clinical practice, policy and broader approaches to health innovation.

For more information about the Order of Canada or to view the full list of this year鈥檚 appointees, visit the .

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John Brown, a BEng mechanical engineering graduate who also completed a certificate in entrepreneurship, and Mehakdeep Singh, who earned a BSc (Honours) in computer science, are the 2026 recipients of the Bergeron Medal.

The award is presented by Lassonde and recognizes top graduating students who have demonstrated outstanding entrepreneurial achievement throughout their studies by applying their ideas through research, design and real-world work.

About the recipients

John Brown
Brown came to the University as a member of the 91亚色 Lions men鈥檚 basketball team. Off the court, he explored microfluidics projects, designing devices that produce tiny droplets to mimic cellular interactions. This focus has potential applications in medical and biological research.

鈥淚 do all this for a simple reason,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want to understand how things work and find a way to leave some kind of impact on society while I am at it.鈥�

After three years on the varsity basketball team, Brown turned his attention to academic efforts, taking on research opportunities, securing grants and stepping into a leadership role with Lassonde Motorsports, a student-led Formula SAE team that designs, builds and competes with a race car. In his final year, he led the body and aerodynamics team as the club built its own chassis for the first time.

Brown finished top of his graduating class while building a record that included two conference papers and a patent filing on polymer science and microfluidic processes.

He also contributed to student-led innovation through initiatives such as TranReality, a virtual reality platform that helps new employees bridge the gap between knowledge and practical, on-the-job training.

Brown credits the scope of his accomplishments to the flexibility of 91亚色鈥檚 learning environment. 鈥�91亚色 gave me room to be a few things at once,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淣ot many schools would have let me be an athlete, a researcher and a builder at the same time.鈥�

He says balancing these roles wasn't always easy, making this recognition especially meaningful. 鈥淚 am honoured to receive this,鈥� Brown says of the Bergeron Medal. 鈥淚 think it reflects the effort I put into leaving a small mark on Lassonde, through seasons that ended in losses, research that failed more than it worked and plenty of late nights that went nowhere.鈥�

Brown sees the medal as a starting point rather than a culmination, saying it 鈥減oints toward where I am headed next, and I am at the start of that path, not the end. That is the part I am most excited about.鈥�

Now a mechanical engineering specialist at Ekstera, an early-stage energy startup, Brown hopes to learn firsthand about how companies are built. While he is also working toward his professional engineering licence, his longer-term goal is to found a company of his own.

Mehakdeep Singh
Singh joined 91亚色 with an interest in AI and machine learning. Through his studies, he became increasingly focused on how these systems often operate as 鈥渂lack boxes,鈥� where the inner workings and decision-making processes are not easily visible or fully understood by non-experts.

鈥淭his sparked my interest in understanding how AI systems function and how governance, accountability and transparency can be strengthened to support their responsible development and use,鈥� he says.

Singh explored these questions through a combination of research opportunities and experiential learning, including collaborating with other students during UNHack to apply his ideas to today's challenges. His academic achievements were also recognized through scholarships, including the Lassonde Entrance Scholarship and several continuing student awards.

鈥淭hese experiences allowed me to grow both academically and personally while building skills that will continue to serve me in my future career,鈥� he says.

Singh credits access to opportunities and an academic environment that enabled practical learning and professional development for his accomplishments at 91亚色 鈥� and for this award.

鈥淩eceiving the Bergeron Medal is a tremendous honour for me,鈥� Singh says. 鈥淭he award reflects not only my individual efforts, but also the support and mentorship I have received from faculty members, family and fellow students.鈥�

The award, he notes, has motivated him to pursue a master鈥檚 degree exploring AI governance and policy as evolving technologies continue to influence regulation and use. He hopes to develop frameworks that guide the responsible use of AI while balancing innovation with transparency, fairness and public accountability.

The post Lassonde graduates recognized for entrepreneurial leadership appeared first on YFile.

The following is an edited version of the speech delivered by 91亚色 Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lisa Philipps to the Class of 2026 at this year鈥檚 convocation ceremonies 

To the exceptional Class of 2026, my warmest congratulations to you all. I am thrilled to join with you in celebrating your achievement, your perseverance and your potential for the future.  

Behind every graduate is a story of hard work and determination. Of overcoming obstacles and moments of self-doubt. Of stretching yourself beyond your comfort zone. Many of you balanced your studies with employment, caregiving responsibilities and financial pressures. Some of you moved far from home to pursue your education here. 

You should be enormously proud of what you have accomplished and how you have grown during your time at 91亚色. I know that your families, friends, professors and the many people who supported you along the way are extremely proud of you as well. 

You are graduating at a remarkable time of change, disruption and reinvention. It鈥檚 a time when the world very much needs your talents, your energy and the new ideas you will inject.  

One of the most interesting parts of my job is to meet with 91亚色 alumni from all generations and with our community partners. And, what I am hearing so often is that every organization across the public and private sector, from the smallest to the largest, within Canada and beyond, is struggling to keep up with the pace of change and to navigate the new questions and uncertainties that the world keeps throwing at all of us. I also hear a strong recognition that it is the next generation of talent that will help bring the innovation that is needed to renew our industries and institutions.     

During your time here, you did far more than complete courses or acquire technical knowledge. You learned how to learn, how to think critically, independently, rigorously and from multiple perspectives.   

I am proud to be a 91亚色 alumna myself. One of the greatest gifts my education gave me was exposure to perspectives and experiences very different from my own. It broadened how I understood the world and gave me a wider range of viewpoints to draw upon throughout my life and career. I have never stopped drawing on it. 

As 91亚色 graduates, you carry something with you that cannot be downloaded or automated: the capacity to build human relationships, to navigate complexity with integrity and to bring people together around difficult problems. In a world too often marked by polarization and injustice, those qualities are not just valuable 鈥� they are essential. 

Technology will continue to evolve. Industries will shift. Some roles will change in ways none of us can fully anticipate. But the foundation you have built here 鈥� the habits of mind, the networks, the resilience 鈥� that is yours. And it will serve you across every stage of what comes next. 

Thank you for choosing 91亚色. We are immensely proud of you, and we cannot wait to see what you do next. 

Congratulations, Class of 2026. 

Bonne chance. Merci. Miigwetch.

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