A year of excitement and transition at the university

The university’s 15th anniversary was among many campus milestones and success stories of 2017. Here’s a selection of 10 highlights from the year:

University introduces Steven Murphy, PhD, as its fourth President

• Business dean and management scholar, Steven Murphy, PhD, named the university’s fourth President and Vice-Chancellor, succeeding Tim McTiernan, PhD.

University earns national ranking in Maclean’s survey

• The new Maclean’s survey puts the university in the top 10 of Canada’s primarily undergraduate universities.

Board of Governors names engineering executive Doug Allingham as Chair

• Senior engineering expert and community leader Doug Allingham to lead university’s Board of Governors.

Software and Informatics Research Centre opens

• The new advanced research facility supports collaborative learning, e-learning, entrepreneurship and scholarship.

University joins City of Oshawa’s living laboratory initiative

• The City of Oshawa, along with local and regional partners (including the university), will develop the city as a ‘living laboratory’ to address and study complex urban issues and identify opportunities.

Mental health takes centre stage at 2017 Futures Forum

• Academia experts gathered for the annual Futures Forum to discuss strategies for improving community mental health. Keynote speakers were Lieutenant-General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, and renowned Canadian author Neil Pasricha (The Book of Awesome).

Three Minute Thesis winner competes at national final

• After winning the on-campus competition, Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD candidate Ololade Sanusi wowed the judges at the Ontario Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition. Sanusi placed fourth and became the university’s first 3MT representative to compete in the national final.

Life Sciences students shed new light on brain tumours and win research competition

• Faculty of Science students Mahmud Ali, Melanny Barrios, Shreya Jain, and Tejus Tuppal entered the 2017 Students Advancing Brain Cancer Research Undergraduate Research Competition at McMaster—and won.

Engineering student’s water management startup ranks among top in the world

• Even before he completed his Software Engineering degree, Mohamad Vedut was helping develop innovative solutions for water management, through the application of artificial intelligence.

Researchers named among Canada’s best

• Markus Piro, PhD, Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science, became the university’s newest Canada Research Chair (Nuclear Fuels and Materials). Also, Isabel Pedersen, PhD, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, began her second term as Canada Research Chair in Digital Life, Media and Culture.