鈥淲hen we think of environmental sustainability, we often immediately think about newer energy-efficient technologies. Organic waste treatment becomes rather an afterthought,鈥� says Reema Kumar, a PhD candidate at 91亚色's and lead author of the study.

That perspective is beginning to change as researchers look for new ways to recover value from organic waste. Instead of sending food waste to landfill 鈥� where it can contribute to greenhouse gases and other forms of pollution 鈥� scientists are exploring how it can be converted into useful resources.

One promising approach uses microorganisms to break down discarded food and produce chemicals that are typically made from petroleum-based sources, creating an alternative to landfill disposal and fossil-based production.

While researchers have tested adding microorganisms to increase the production of useful compounds from discarded food, most of that research has focused on systems that operate at relatively warm temperatures. Much less is known about whether the same process can selectively produce compounds under colder, lower-energy conditions.

According to Kumar, maintaining warmer operating conditions can require significant energy input, particularly in colder climates. Seeking a more energy-efficient approach, Kumar and her colleagues turned their attention to lower-temperature systems.

鈥淲e were inspired to optimize this natural system of microorganisms using food waste to produce volatile fatty acids under lower temperature conditions to make it more energy efficient as well as provide a targeted approach for production,鈥� says Kumar.

They honed in on Clostridium butyricum, a bacterium known for generating butyric acid and a commercially valuable chemical commonly used in food, pharmaceutical and industrial products. Yielding such chemicals from organic waste could provide a more sustainable alternative to conventional manufacturing methods that rely on fossil-fuel-derived raw materials.

Their work questioned whether introducing the bacterium into a low-temperature food-waste fermentation system could increase production of butyric acid.

In a study published in , Kumar and her collaborators tested the idea using food waste and wastewater sludge. The research was co-supervised by Lassonde Professor Satinder Kaur Brar, along with Guneet Kaur, associate professor at the University of Guelph.

The team created a series of small-scale experiments using food waste collected from restaurants in 91亚色 Lanes and sludge sourced from the Humber Wastewater Treatment Facility. Together, the food waste and sludge created conditions that allowed naturally occurring microorganisms to break down the waste.

Clostridium butyricum was then introduced into some of the samples to see if the bacterium could steer the process toward producing more butyric acid.

鈥淲e wanted to show that you can 鈥榞uide鈥� a complex microbial community, made up of many different bacteria naturally found in wastewater sludge, toward a specific, useful outcome just by introducing one well-chosen microorganism,鈥� says Kumar. 鈥淚t's a bit like steering a crowd by adding a few people who know where they're going.鈥�

The approach worked even better than the researchers expected. The system that received the bacterium produced more than twice as many acids overall and more than five times as much butyric acid compared to the control.

鈥淲e didn't expect such a strong response at a temperature of 17 C," says Kumar. "That was a genuinely exciting result."

The findings, she adds, point to a future where discarded food can be viewed as a resource rather than waste.

Increasing the production of commercially valuable compouds at lower temperatures could pave the way for more energy-efficient waste-treatment systems that recover greater value from discarded food. Over time, it may help keep organic waste out of landfills while creating renewable alternatives to some petroleum-derived chemicals.

鈥淲e hope it helps move the needle toward low-cost, low-energy ways of recovering value from food waste, especially in colder countries,鈥� says Kumar. 鈥淥nce this approach can eventually be scaled up, it could support local biorefinery systems that turn organic waste into useful chemicals without requiring expensive heating infrastructure. That has real implications for both sustainability and economics.鈥�

The post Turning food waste into sustainable chemicals: 91亚色 study investigates appeared first on YFile.

Clark, associate director, program development and academic integrity in 91亚色鈥檚 Office of the Vice-President Academic, will lead 鈥檚 work to support evidence-informed practices across Canada鈥檚 post-secondary sector.

As Chair, Clark will work with colleagues across the country to support institutions, academic integrity practitioners and educators responding to emerging challenges in teaching, learning and assessment.

鈥淧ost-secondary institutions are navigating significant changes in assessment, student learning and academic misconduct, alongside the growing influence of generative AI and other emerging technologies,鈥� says Clark. 鈥淭his environment highlights the need for coordinated approaches that support student success while maintaining public trust in the value and integrity of academic credentials.鈥�

Her appointment reflects her extensive experience leading academic integrity education and prevention initiatives at 91亚色, including collaborating with campus partners, co-facilitating 91亚色 Libraries鈥� Academic Integrity Workshop for Students (offered several times during the year), and delivering workshops and presentations to 91亚色 community members.

As Chair of the University鈥檚 Academic Integrity Community of Practice, Clark works with faculty members, academic units and institutional partners to develop resources, programs and strategies that foster integrity in teaching, learning and research. Her work includes advancing educational approaches that respond to evolving student needs and emerging issues, including the responsible use of new technologies.

"Academic integrity is fundamental to academic quality," says Clark. 鈥淚CAI Canada provides an important space for collaboration, professional learning and the sharing of effective practices."

Clark recently completed a PhD in higher education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Her research examined the roles and experiences of academic integrity practitioners working within post-secondary institutions and contributed to scholarship on how institutions build and sustain cultures of integrity through policy, practice and collaboration.

"I'm looking forward to supporting ICAI Canada's continued growth,鈥� she says, 鈥渁s well as the work to strengthen connections among academic integrity practitioners across Canada.鈥�

Those interested in becoming a member of the Academic Integrity Community of Practice at 91亚色 can reach out to Clark at angclark@yorku.ca.

The post 91亚色 expert takes on national academic integrity leadership role appeared first on YFile.

When聽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.

鈥淟ike many others, I was deeply concerned about the declines we were seeing,鈥� Dorin says. She considered such question as: 鈥淲hat does effective pollinator conservation look like? How can we engage landowners in taking action to protect pollinators?鈥�

For many doctoral students, refining broad interests into a focused dissertation project can be one of the most challenging parts of the process. Dorin says Colla鈥檚 guidance was instrumental in helping her navigate that challenge.

鈥淪he had an incredible ability to ask the right questions and encourage me to think more deeply about the science,鈥� says Dorin.

With Colla's mentorship, those questions eventually led Dorin to explore what she saw as an overlooked area.

She explains that while a lot of research focuses on crops that depend on animal pollination, such as apples and blueberries, crops that do not require pollinators cover larger areas of agricultural land.

鈥淚f we assume those landscapes don't matter because the crops themselves don't need bees, we're overlooking millions of acres that pollinators may still use,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wanted to understand what role these pollinator-independent crops play in supporting wild bee populations across agricultural landscapes.鈥�

That realization led Dorin and Colla to take a closer look at vineyards. Although grapes do not require animal pollination, vineyards represent large agricultural infrastructure and could provide important habitat for wild bees.

To explore that possibility, Dorin and Colla studied wild bee communities in 26 commercial vineyards in Niagara Region over two growing seasons. In addition to sampling bees, they examined factors including vegetation between vineyard rows, surrounding land uses, soil characteristics and topography.

The approach reflected one of Dorin's guiding principles throughout the project.

鈥淏ees don't recognize farm boundaries or distinguish between crop types,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey move freely across the landscape 鈥� nesting, foraging and dispersing where suitable habitat and resources exist.鈥�

For Dorin, taking that broader perspective is essential to developing conservation strategies that reflect how pollinators experience the landscape. The findings, now published in , reinforce that outlook.

鈥淥ur research found a very high abundance and diversity of wild bees in vineyard agroecosystems, showing that these independent crops can support thriving bee communities,鈥� says Dorin.

The study found that bee communities were shaped by a combination of local and landscape-level conditions. Bee abundance and diversity were typically higher in vineyards surrounded by semi-natural habitats such as forests and treed areas. Taller vegetation between vineyard rows was also linked to healthier bee communities.

Another finding involved nesting habitat. Soil conditions were linked to different types of bees, suggesting conservation efforts must consider not only where pollinators find food, but also where they live and reproduce.

The results were the culmination of years of work for both Dorin and Colla.

Finishing the project, however, was not without its challenges. Examining wild bee communities across vineyard environments from multiple angles was an ambitious undertaking. But Dorin says Colla never made anything feel impossible for her students.

鈥淪he genuinely believed we were capable of succeeding,鈥� says Dorin. 鈥淪he trusted her students with meaningful responsibility, but she was always there when we needed guidance.鈥�

And because research rarely goes exactly as planned, she says, there were plenty of moments when that support was needed. Dorin recalls that whether challenges emerged during fieldwork, in the lab or during data analysis, Colla consistently offered advice, reassurance and a fresh perspective.

That commitment to her students remained unchanged, even as Colla faced significant health challenges.

By then, much of the project's fieldwork had been completed and the focus had shifted to data analysis and writing. Dorin says Colla remained actively involved throughout that stage of the research, continuing to meet with her to discuss results and provide feedback.

鈥淓ven during such a difficult time, she was still thinking about her students,鈥� says Dorin. 鈥淭hat says a great deal about the kind of mentor she was.鈥�

After Colla's death in 2025, finishing the project 鈥� even though much of the work had already been completed 鈥� was difficult for Dorin. She says it was impossible not to think about how much Colla would have enjoyed seeing the final dissertation and the resulting publications.

Dorin also believes Colla would have been especially excited by opportunities to share the findings with farmers, land managers and policymakers.

鈥淪he recognized that good science alone isn't enough,鈥� says Dorin. 鈥淪he believed that meaningful conservation requires research, but also policy, community engagement, education and action.鈥�

That way of thinking continues to shape Dorin's own approach to conservation and her goals for this latest study. She hopes the findings will help bridge the gap between science and on-the-ground land management, and encourage new ways of thinking about how wild bees can be supported 鈥� even in landscapes not traditionally considered pollinator habitat.

The work also contributes to a more nuanced understanding of pollinator conservation. Ontario is home to hundreds of species of wild bees, each with different nesting and foraging requirements, making a one-size-fits-all solution for supporting pollinators unlikely. Instead, Dorin says, understanding how different habitats benefit different species can lead to more informed conservation decisions across agricultural ecosystems.

That includes, she says, thinking beyond individual farms. Pollinator conservation occurs at the landscape scale, meaning it is not only how a vineyard is managed that matters, but also how nearby forests, hedgerows, roadsides, neighbouring croplands and even soils are managed.

Dorin sees those ambitions as a continuation of Colla's influence.

鈥淭hroughout her career, she showed us that conservation is not something achieved in isolation. It requires connecting science with communities, research with action and people with the ecosystems they depend on,鈥� says Dorin.

Dorin was among the many students, researchers and conservation advocates influenced by that philosophy. The vineyard study 鈥� and the hopes she has for its impact 鈥� reflect lessons Colla instilled throughout her career.

鈥淐ompleting this project without her was bittersweet. I wish she could have been there for my defence and to celebrate these publications, but I feel incredibly grateful that I had her mentorship for so much of this journey,鈥� she says. 鈥淪heila was simply one of the best people I've ever known.鈥�

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

While every effort is made to minimize the disruption of operations on the Keele Campus, the following parking and traffic modifications will be in effect.

Reserved parking for tennis pass holders: 

• Founders Road East Lot 
• Northwest Gate Lot (north/middle) 
• Arboretum Lane Parking Garage 
• Student Services Parking Garage 
• Shoreham Drive Lot 

Patrons and participants are required to have a virtual Tennis Parking Pass to access these lots/garages.

All lots, with the exception of the Shoreham Drive Lot, will be occupied for this event from Saturday, Aug. 1 at 6 a.m. until Thursday, Aug. 13 at midnight.

The Shoreham Drive Lot will be closed for this event from Friday, July 31 at 6 a.m. until Friday, Aug. 14 at 6 a.m.

91亚色 U parking permit holders

Permit holders with the exception of Shoreham Lot permit holders, will not be displaced during this event. A predetermined quantity of parking spaces have been reserved for community members who must be on campus during this time. Shoreham Lot permit holders will be moved to Arboretum Lane Parking Garage starting on Friday, July 31 until Friday, Aug. 14 inclusive.

91亚色 U visitor/short-term parking

Visitor and short-term parking will be available in the following places:

• Vanier Lot 
• Founders Road East Visitor Lot ($10 flat rate) 
• Founders Road West Lot ($10 flat rate) 
• Northwest Gate South Lot ($10 flat rate) 
• Calumet Lot ($15 flat rate) 
• 91亚色 Lanes Parking Garage 
• Atkinson Lot 
• Passy Crescent 
• Assiniboine Road 
• Fine Arts Road 
• Physical Resources Building Lot South 
• Thompson Road Lot West 
• Thompson Road Lot East 
• University Street 
• Lumbers Visitors Lot 
• Student Services Parking Garage 

There will be no short-term parking in the following places: 

• Arboretum Lane Parking Garage 
• Northwest Gate Lot (north/middle) 
• Shoreham Lot 

Traffic restrictions on campus

Shoreham Drive will be fully closed for the duration of the event at these times: 

• Saturday, August 1 to Sunday, Aug. 9: Road restrictions will be in effect daily from 9 a.m. to midnight.聽
• Monday, August 10 to Thursday, Aug. 13: Restrictions will apply daily from 4 p.m. to midnight.聽

For more information or if any special parking arrangements are required, contact Parking Services at parking@yorku.ca.

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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.

To do that, researchers collect large volumes of information using seismic surveys, ground-penetrating radar, environmental sensors, satellite observations and borehole testing. Each source provides different information. Integrating and interpreting those datasets, however, can be a complex and time-consuming challenge.

"We now collect large amounts of geophysical, geotechnical and environmental data, but these datasets are often analyzed separately," says Akingboye, whose research in EUC focuses on climate-related hazards and infrastructure resilience.

That is one reason AI is steadily being applied in the field, he says. The technology improves how researchers merge datasets, analyze results and identify patterns. This provides a clearer understanding of subsurface conditions to assess landslide risks, monitor infrastructure and evaluate groundwater systems.

With AI expanding into environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering, Akingboye paused to assess how the technology was being used.

"A question I had been thinking about for some time was, with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, are we actually using it in the most meaningful way in environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering?" he says.

That question became the starting point for a new co-authored by Akingboye and Professor Adeyemi Oludapo Olusola, who supervises his work in EUC. The paper examined hundreds of recent studies to assess how AI is being used in environmental geophysics and geotechnical engineering, evaluating both the progress being made and the challenges that remain.

鈥淭he sheer range of AI applications was surprising. We found AI being used for subsurface imaging, groundwater assessment, soil-rock characterization, landslide and slope instability prediction, and infrastructure monitoring, among many other applications,鈥� says Akingboye.

The review shows AI improves subsurface research by integrating multiple data streams to deliver detailed underground maps and efficient estimates of soil, rock and groundwater properties.

For Akingboye, documenting AI's growth was only part of the story; it was also about whether the technology could be trusted in environmental and engineering decision-making.

鈥淎 high-performing model is not automatically a useful or trustworthy one. We wanted to ask broader questions: Does the result agree with what we know about the subsurface? Can we explain it? Can we account for the uncertainty?鈥� says Akingboye.

The answer, the review found, is not always clear-cut. Across studies from around the world, researchers encountered recurring challenges including limited data, uncertainty, difficulty applying models across different geological settings and understanding how AI systems arrived at their conclusions.

Akingboye notes the challenges identified in the review are not simply technical problems. Inaccurate or poorly understood predictions can influence decisions about environmental hazards and critical infrastructure, making reliability as important as performance.

鈥淭hese are important gaps because a wrong interpretation can have serious consequences for environmental and engineering decision-making,鈥� says Akingboye. 鈥淭he impacts can be catastrophic and are often felt most severely by vulnerable and marginalized communities with fewer resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from environmental or infrastructure failures.鈥�

As well as identifying challenges, the authors also sought to outline a path forward. They advocate for future AI-driven tools that merge diverse environmental and geological datasets, account for uncertainty and respect established scientific laws governing geological systems.

To advance AI tools, the authors recommend developing systems with more robust prediction rationale and stronger validation benchmarks. They also call for closer collaboration between researchers, industry and policymakers to ensure future models combine sensor and monitoring data to provide near real-time pictures of changing underground conditions.

Ultimately, the review argues that the next step lies in engineering complex AI models capable responding beyond the datasets and conditions on which they were trained.

鈥淭here is still a significant gap between a model that performs well in a research study and one that can be trusted and applied in real-world practice,鈥� says Akingboye. 鈥淚 think closing that gap, while ensuring that these technologies ultimately support safer, more resilient and equitable communities, is one of the most important areas for future work.鈥�

The post Can AI be trusted to assess climate risks? A 91亚色 study investigates appeared first on YFile.

Drawing on recent research findings, usage statistics and her own work, Badawi has observed that chatbot use is increasing, with many people turning to these tools not only for information and practical assistance, but also for advice, emotional guidance and support with personal decisions.

Badawi's interest in the issue grew out of her work with Kids Help Phone, Canada's national 24/7 e-mental health service for young people. While working at the Vector Institute, she gained exposure to the mental health challenges facing youth and saw firsthand how digital tools were increasingly being used to provide support.

The experience led her to pursue postdoctoral research at 91亚色 through the Connected Minds program with a focus on mental health and AI safety. Supervised by Assistant Professor Elham Dolatabadi and Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari from the , as well as Frank Rudzicz of Dalhousie University, Badawi鈥檚 research finds that youth, in particular, are turning to AI systems for help navigating everyday challenges, relationships and emotional concerns 鈥� even when they may not explicitly describe those interactions as mental health support.

Badawi's findings reinforced a growing concern about the role AI plays in people's lives. Chatbots, such as ChatGPT, are increasingly serving roles once filled by family members, friends and other trusted sources. Whether youth describe it that way or not, Badawi believes many of these exchanges have begun filling an emotional support role in people's lives.

鈥淓ven if they don't define it as mental health support, they are still using it as a type of mental health support,鈥� she says.

The concern, Badawi says, is that AI chatbots were not designed to serve that purpose.

Unlike therapists and other mental health professionals, general purpose large language models like ChatGPT are not designed to provide clinical care. As a result, users may receive advice or validation before sufficient context is gathered or alternative perspectives are explored.

鈥淵ou can end up with a system that always agrees with you,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t doesn't challenge you or ask questions in the same way a person would.鈥�

That dynamic can have consequences, she notes. Someone discussing a conflict with family, for example, may receive responses that validate their feelings without fully exploring the situation or offering alternative perspectives. Over time, Badawi worries that constant affirmation could contribute to overconfidence, one-sided thinking and an increasing reliance on AI systems.

Her research examines what she and her colleagues call 鈥� a potential pattern of interaction in which repeated reliance on AI may shift reflection, coping, emotional regulation and decision-making away from individuals and toward AI systems.

The concern, however, extends beyond questions of decision-making or dependence. She worries the same behaviours that encourage people to rely on AI for advice and emotional guidance may, in extreme cases, contribute to more serious harm. Models that consistently validate users, reinforce their perspectives and foster emotional attachment can become particularly problematic when people are vulnerable or in distress.

The issue became an important focus for Badawi following reported cases in which AI chatbot interactions were examined in connection with youth suicide. For her, these cases raised urgent questions about how chatbots respond when vulnerable users express distress, form strong emotional attachments to the system or require support beyond what an AI tool can safely provide. They also highlight the importance of designing models that recognize risk and encourage users to seek appropriate human help.

Those cases helped inform a research project supported through OpenAI's AI and Mental Health Grant Program, an initiative aimed at supporting research into how AI systems affect mental health and how they can be designed more safely.

As principal investigator, Badawi is leading Preventing Cognitive Atrophy in LLM Mental Health Support Through Psychometric Evaluation and Therapist-Aligned Design, a project that aims to better understand how AI systems can support mental health while reducing the risk of emotional dependency.

The team is developing new ways to measure how AI behaves in emotionally sensitive conversations. The goal is to design technology that will encourage users to seek help from people they trust and provide resources and responses that support independent coping and problem-solving.

To do that, researchers are analyzing conversations between users and chatbots and are working with experts in psychology and mental health to examine whether models gather sufficient context, encourage independent decicion-making, ask appropriate clarifying questions and respond with empathy.

One goal is to identify conversational patterns that can steer interactions into increasingly risky territory. Ultimately, Badawi hopes the work will help create safeguards that prevent AI systems from reinforcing harmful ideas, fostering unhealthy emotional attachment or encouraging dependence.

The obstacles, however, extend beyond the technology itself.

With more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of AI and health care, Badawi has collaborated with clinicians, mental health professionals and researchers across disciplines. Those experiences, she says, have underscored the importance of collaboration while also revealing how difficult it can be.

One obstacle is determining what a "good" response from an AI system actually looks like. As part of the project, and assess how the models respond in emotionally sensitive situations. Those evaluations help researchers identify the kinds of behaviours they want these tools to emulate 鈥� and those they want to avoid.

But unlike many areas of health care, there is no single correct answer. Different experts can interpret the same interaction in different ways, making it difficult to establish clear standards. A response one psychologist considers appropriate may prompt debate from another, not because either is wrong, Badawi says, but because they are approaching the situation from different perspectives.

鈥淚f humans don't agree, how are you expecting the model to follow a pattern?鈥� she asks.

Despite those challenges, Badawi believes progress is possible. She is also quick to emphasize that AI tools can still provide value.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 stop people from using AI tools,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he question is how to make them safer.鈥�

Her long-term goal is to develop AI-driven tools specifically , with safeguards that recognize when interactions are becoming problematic and encourage users toward reflection, autonomy and real-world sources of support.

鈥淭he real measure of progress is whether AI can recognize danger early, interrupt harmful patterns and connect a vulnerable person to human help before it is too late,鈥� she says.

Ultimately, the objective is simple: people are already using these systems every day. The task now is ensuring they can do so safely.

The post 91亚色 researchers explore AI safeguards for youth mental health 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.

That question is at the heart of 91亚色 PhD student Ayesha Menezes鈥� doctoral research. Through her work, Menezes explores how mud play helps children see themselves as part of the natural world, fostering care, responsibility and belonging.

Her research comes as many children have fewer opportunities for unstructured outdoor play and engagement with nature. Risk-averse settings and busy urban lifestyles have reduced interaction with the natural world, prompting Menezes to understand how learning might look different if it emerged through children鈥檚 relationships with the land, water, weather and natural materials around them.

To explore this idea, Menezes took her research outside the University for Mud Day 2026, an event developed as part of her doctoral work. Held at Evergreen Brick Works children鈥檚 garden, the Mud Day invited children and caregivers to explore and create with mud.

Instead of planning structured activities with predetermined outcomes, the event invited children to engage in open-ended play experiences that included a mud kitchen, construction site, gardening, seed bomb making, beading and a collaborative mural. An interactive performance also encouraged participants to explore relationships between the sun, wind, rain and mud.

For Menezes, the goal was to encourage outdoor play and shift how children experience the natural world.

鈥淚nstead of learning about nature, participants were learning with nature,鈥� she says. 鈥淐hildren shaped their own experiences by choosing the activities they wanted to participate in.鈥�

The event demonstrated how nature-based play can strengthen relationships and foster a sense of belonging. Menezes observed that children who typically play independently began playing collaboratively, while parents engaged as co-creators rather than observers.

Parents noted the atmosphere nurtured connections among children, caregivers, educators as well as the natural materials and environment.

Menezes says that of the 47 participating children 鈥� ranging in ages from 11 months to 11 years 鈥� only one had previously experienced muddy play. This, she says, shows how uncommon the experience is and reinforces the importance of spaces where children can explore freely, take manageable risks and build relationships with their environment.

The activities also encouraged children to see themselves as active participants in caring for the environment, says Menezes, which resulted in a child-led land acknowledgement during the event鈥檚 closing circle 鈥� a moment that one parent described as particularly meaningful.

鈥淩eflections shared during the鈥痗losing circle suggested that children left with a greater sense of connection to their environment,鈥� she says.鈥�

Developed as part of Menezes' doctoral research and dissertation, Mud Day 2026 was supported by a cross-Faculty team of 91亚色 student collaborators from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Science, with mentorship from Professor Lucy Angus and support from Evergreen Brick Works. Collaborators also included undergraduate, master鈥檚 and doctoral students: Ari Para, Catalina Ramirez, Ian Chan, Tristan Castro Pozo, Elise Nicolas and Rachel Leveille.

Moving forward, Menezes is working to develop what she calls a 鈥渃urriculum of muddy worlding鈥� 鈥� a relational framework that reimagines learning through children鈥檚 encounters with mud and the natural world. She is also expanding the Mud Day model into a co-design approach that brings together educators, researchers, families and local communities.

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After two years of inactivity, the Google Developer Group (GDG) chapter at 91亚色 has been revived by a first-year student focused on hands-on learning and long-term leadership.

Soroush Baraouf, a computer engineering student at the , was appointed by Google's regional program team as the founder and organizer of the newly relaunched GDG on Campus at 91亚色 chapter earlier this year.

Part of a global Google-supported network, GDG chapters are student-run organizations that host workshops, project-based learning experiences and hackathons, giving students hands-on exposure to technologies such as cloud computing and AI. The 91亚色 chapter shut down after previous student leaders graduated or moved into upper-year studies.

Baraouf, who moved to Canada from Iran where he had spent years following the GDG network, hoped to be a part of 91亚色鈥檚 chapter. When he arrived at the University, however, he learned the chapter was inactive 鈥� so he took action to relaunch it.

"I could feel the bulb kind of turn on in my mind," he says. "Maybe I can be the person who can build this community."

Beyond his own ambitions, Baraouf saw a broader need: a stronger technical community that could help 91亚色 students make their work more visible to employers 鈥� especially in a competitive recruitment landscape.

"There are so many students at universities like U of T or Waterloo who just get more exposure simply because they attend those schools," he says. "What I wanted to fix was to create a serious community and do serious stuff so recruiters and employers can understand that people at 91亚色 can also get things done."

The chapter's programming is built around that goal. Rather than hosting speaker panels that students leave with little to show, Baraouf is centring the group on what he calls a builder mindset: workshops that begin with a real problem, guide participants through Google tools like Firebase and Google Cloud Platform, and end with a working project students can add to their portfolios.

First-year students are a particular focus, since many are entering the workforce without practical project experience.

"We want to help people actually build solutions 鈥� real-world stuff that solves real problems that they can showcase," he says.

The chapter's scope extends beyond engineering students. Baraouf sees tools like Google's Gemini AI models and cloud hosting as relevant across disciplines 鈥� for business students exploring fintech ideas, arts students using image generation tools or students who want to build and host a portfolio without a technical background.

"No matter what discipline you're in, what level you're at, there's still something you can do with AI," he says.

To keep the chapter from repeating the previous group's fate, Baraouf has built in structural safeguards. The executive team of approximately 23 students is organized into five groups 鈥� technology, academics, operations, finance, and outreach and growth 鈥� each deliberately staffed with both junior and senior students. If upper-year leaders graduate, there are always newer members ready to step into leadership roles.

The relaunch would not have happened without external support. Professor Jeff Harris helped Baraouf navigate 91亚色's club ratification process, while Adeola Omojola, former student and the previous chapter lead, shared key documents and guidance on the Google application process. Becky Phan, Google's regional program lead for North America, helped guide the Google collaboration.

For Baraouf, long-term success of the program means helping 91亚色 students build a stronger technical profile with employers and creating a club that continues well after he graduates. He envisions the club as one that contributes to students鈥� academic experience by partnering with professors on hands-on course projects.

On July 3, the group hosted the Engineering & AI Innovation (EAII) Case Competition at Google's Toronto headquarters 鈥� an event where students learn how Google is evolving in engineering, and then pitch AI-based solutions to Google engineers for feedback and discussion.

"We set out to prove GDG 91亚色 U is different: a club built on real technical depth, real ambition, real standards," says Baraouf. "Judging by the room that day, we made our case."

Students interested in joining can become members through the chapter's website at .

Executive applications for the current cycle are now closed, but general membership is open and a new round of leadership recruitment is planned for September.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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