Ontario Tech University Recognizes 2024 Research Excellence Chairs and Award Recipients in Oshawa
Ontario Tech University in Oshawa has named the recipients of its 2024 Research Excellence Chair (REC) positions and Research Excellence Awards (REA), with appointments effective July 1, 2024. According to the university, honourees were recognized at an on-campus event on October 29.
The university states these annual appointments and awards are given to faculty members in order to acknowledge research in six strategic priority areas. These include autonomous vehicles and systems; energy and the environment; data science, artificial intelligence and new technologies; healthy populations and social justice; manufacturing innovation; and social innovation.
For 2024, Ontario Tech reports that three-year Transform appointments were awarded to Dr. JoAnne Arcand (Faculty of Health Sciences) and Dr. Jean-Paul Desaulniers (Faculty of Science). Two-year Ignite appointments were given to Dr. Ahmad Barari (Engineering and Applied Science), Dr. Lindsay Malloy (Social Science and Humanities), Dr. Bobby Stojanoski (Social Science and Humanities), and Dr. Winnie Sun (Health Sciences). In the Social Innovation stream, Dr. Amirali Salehi-Abari (Business and Information Technology) received a two-year appointment.
The university announced that Dr. Ibrahim Dincer (Engineering and Applied Science) was named the 2024 recipient of the Richard Marceau Chair in Clean Energy Research. Ontario Tech states this chair was established to support research related to the growth of atmospheric greenhouse gases and climate change.
Research Excellence Awards for 2024 were presented to three faculty members. According to the university, Dr. Robyn Ruttenberg-Rozen (Education) received the Emerging Researcher award, Dr. Olena Zenkina (Science) received the Mid-career Researcher award, and Dr. Bill Kapralos (Business and Information Technology) was recognized as the Established Researcher.
Ontario Tech reports that it secures more than $28 million in research income annually. The university lists areas such as advanced manufacturing, transportation, health promotion, and environmental sustainability among its research priorities.