Another amazing year of research growth at Ontario Tech University

As Ontario Tech University approaches the beginning of just its 20th academic year, the impact of the university’s research imprint on knowledge creation and regional economic development continues on a powerful upward trajectory.

Ontario Tech established a strong foundation for impactful research during formative years, along with a track record that included hundreds of industry and community partnerships. In recent years, the university’s research growth has been rapid: in fact, over the three-year period from 2018 to 2021, Ontario Tech’s research income has doubled in size, to more than $23 million annually.

There’s further evidence of Ontario Tech’s impressive research growth this Spring after Canada’s research funding Tri-agencies announced a further $4.3 million in new grants for nearly 30 new multidisciplinary projects being led by the university’s experts (*see project list below). The support for research exploring solutions to pressing societal problems comes from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC),  Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), and the  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).  

• NSERC news release (June 23, 2022)

Ontario Tech experts advancing discovery and applications of knowledge

Beyond Ontario Tech’s compelling and distinct array of market-driven undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs, the university has emerged as a vital research hub and cluster of expertise anchoring the eastern flank of the Greater Toronto Area. Ontario Tech’s academic roster includes 11 Canada Research Chairs, and its research infrastructure boasts more than 80 specialized labs and super-modern facilities.

Hundreds of top academics from across Canada and around the world call Ontario Tech home, and collectively they make a huge contribution to new knowledge, all while helping drive new regional economic growth and development. These subject matter experts are equally committed to delivering the best teaching and learning to Ontario Tech’s more than 10,000 students and the 25,000-plus alumni now making an impact in the workplace.

Selected Ontario Tech University research highlights from the past year

• Ontario’s Research University of the Year 2021 among the country’s 21 smaller research universities (Research Infosource, January 2022).
• Top 200 international ranking among research universities under 50 years old (Times Higher Education, February 2022).
• Establishing the Brilliant Energy Institute (BEI) under the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI) (Fall 2021).
• Launch of Ontario Tech as Canada’s International Atomic Energy Agency Collaborating Centre (October 2021).
• Six New Ontario Tech Research Excellence Chairs, including two BEI Research Excellence Chairs.
• Completion of the Moving Ground Plane and the formal launch of ACE (Automotive Centre of Excellence) as a Core Research Facility housed in the Office of the VPRI.
• The new-build stage of the Project Arrow Net Zero Emissions Car prototype at Ontario Tech’s ACE.
• 73 per cent increase in Mitacs funding, providing funded research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students ($2.7 million in 2021-2022). Mitacs is  a Canadian non-profit research organization that helps connect academia with industry.
• Establishing of the new Electric Vehicle Battery Centre of Excellence, in partnership with FlexIon.
• Launch of the new pan-university Age with Dignity Research Centre.

*Recent Ontario Tech research projects attracting new federal research funding (by funding category; collectively valued at more than $4.3 million)

• NSERC Discovery Grants
  Design and experiment of resilient hybrid energy systems for interconnected and smart infrastructures

  • Applicant: Dr. Hossam Gaber (Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science (FESNS))

  Inverse problems in mechatronic system integration and control

  • Applicant: Dr. Matthew Harker (Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS))

  Advanced 3D nanonetwork materials induced by ultrashort plasma ionization

  • Applicant: Dr. Amirkianoosh Kiani (FEAS)

  Design and development of AI-enabled framework for Internet of Things networks

  • Applicant: Dr. Qusay Mahmoud (FEAS)

  Flow-sound interaction mechanisms with application to bluff body wakes and separated shear flows

  • Applicant: Dr. Atef Mohany (FEAS)

  Microwave and millimetre-wave active antennas for Internet of Things applications

  • Applicant: Dr. Langis Roy (FEAS)

  Grid integration of renewables

  • Applicant: Dr. Vijay Sood (FEAS)

  Exploring the physiological and molecular responses to environmental cross-acclimation

  • Applicant: Dr. Heather Logan-Sprenger (Faculty of Health Sciences (FHSc))

  Effect of altered neck sensory feedback on brain plasticity and upper limb sensorimotor integration

  • Applicant: Dr. Bernadette Murphy (FHSc)

  Dissecting the molecular determinants dictating red blood cell lifespan

  • Applicant: Dr. Syed Qadri (FHSc)

  The influence of mental fatigue on functional perception-action coupling during skill acquisition

  • Applicant: Dr. Nicholas Wattie (FHSc)

  Development of novel catalytic methodologies

  • Applicant: Dr. Yuri Bolshan (Faculty of Science (FSci))
• NSERC Discovery Development Grants
  Autonomous robotic aerial manipulation

  • Applicant: Dr. Scott Nokleby (FEAS)

  Numerical bifurcation analysis of geophysical fluid systems

  • Applicant: Dr. Gregory Lewis (FSci)
• NSERC Research and Tools Grants
  A high-density electromyography system for non-invasive functional motor unit characterization

  • Applicant: Dr. Nick la Delfa (FHSc)

  A large-scale 3D printer and computer numerical control machine for implementing deformable zoomorphic robots

  • Applicant: Dr. Patrick Hung (Faculty of Business and Information Technology (FBIT))
  • Co-applicant: Dr. Bernadette Murphy (FHSc)
• SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant
  Comparative policy analysis of solutions to the long-term institutionalization of people with serious mental illness

  • Applicant: Dr. David Rudoler (FHSc)
  • Co-applicant: Dr. Sara Allin (University of Toronto)
  • Partner: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
• SSHRC Insight Grants
  Exploring and describing the life experiences of Canadian female veterans during, pre- and post-military service

  • Applicant: Dr. Brenda Gamble (FHSc)
  • Co-applicants: Dr. Adam Dubrowski (FHSc) and Dr. Stephanie Felder (U.S. Office of the Surgeon General)

  Motor-skill intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A five-year follow up

  • Applicant: Dr. Meghann Lloyd (FHSc)
  • Co-applicant: Dr. Vivianne Temple (University of British Columbia)
  • Collaborator: Dr. John Foley (State University of New York - Cortland)

  Evidence-informed parental decision making in relation to sport participation in girls

  • Applicant: Dr. Caroline Barakat (FHSc)
  • Co-applicant: Dr. Efrosini Papaconstantinou (FHSc)

  Examining the physical, social and educational benefits of CLEAN exergame for persons with dementia to promote hand hygiene and influenza vaccine uptake: A feasibility study

  • Applicant: Dr. Winnie Sun (FHSc)
  • Co-applicants: Dr. Adam Dubrowski (FHSc), Dr. Alvaro Uribe (FBIT), Dr. Amer Burhan (Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences), Dr. Bill Kapralos (FBIT), Dr. Brenda Gamble (FHSc), Dr. Manon Lemonde (FHSc)
  • Collaborators: Alex Theodorou and Nuno Rodrigues (Instituto Politecnico do Cavado e do Ave), Roberto Ingino (SenseTech Solutions Inc.), Teresa Shearer (Oshawa Senior Community Centres)
• SSHRC Partnership Grant (Race, Gender and Diversity)
  Carceral intersections of gender identity, sexual orientation and trans experience in confronting anti-Black racism and structural violence in the prisoner re-entry industrial complex

  • Applicant: Dr. Wesley Crichlow (Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (FSSH))
  • Co-applicant: Dr. Brittany Jakubiec (University of Prince Edward Island)
  • Community Partner: Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (EGALE)
• SSHRC Connections Grant
  Advocates assemble: Disability research from the ground up

  • Applicant: Dr. Jen Rinaldi (FSSH)
  • Co-applicants: Dr. Pierre Côté (FHSc), Dr. Toba Bryant (FHSc)
  • Collaborator: Dr. Samantha Walsh (University of Toronto)
• CIHR Project Grant
  Investigating the contextual and behavioural determinants of sodium intake among adult Canadians

  • Applicant: Dr. JoAnne Arcand (FHSc)
  • Co-applicants: Dr. Mavra Ahmed (University of Toronto), Dr. Beatriz Franco Arellano (Postdoctoral Researcher, Ontario Tech), Dr. Sharon Kirkpatrick (University of Waterloo), Dr. Mary L'Abbé (University of Toronto), Dr. Wendy Lou (University of Toronto), Dr. Mahmooda Pasha (University of South Florida)
• CIHR Operating Grant
  Impact of COVID-19: Unmet needs for rehabilitation services among Canadians living with long-term conditions or disabilities

  • Applicant: Dr. Pierre Côté (FHSc)
  • Co-applicants: Dr. Andrea Furlan (University Health Network); Dr. Sheilah Hogg-Johnson (Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College); Dr. Luciana Macedo (McMaster University), Dr. Silvano Mior (Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College), Dan Wang and Jessica Wong (University of Toronto)
  • Collaborators: Alison Dantas (Canadian Chiropractic Association), Dr. Krystle Martin (Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences), Dr. Stefano Negrini (Cochrane Rehabilitation)
• CIHR Operating Grant: Canadian Cancer Society/CIHR Proof of Concept Intervention Grant in Primary Prevention of Cancer
  A pilot project to evaluate the ‘CATCH My Breath’ vaping-prevention curriculum in Canada

  • Applicant: Dr. Adam Cole (FHSc)
  • Co-applicants: Dr. Scott Leatherdale (University of Waterloo), Dr. Sayani Paul (University of Toronto)
  • Collaborators: Dr. Steve Kelder and Dr. Dale Mantey (University of Texas, Austin Campus), Dr. Anne Philipneri (Public Health Ontario)
  • Community Partners: Canadian Cancer Society, Public Health Ontario
• New Frontiers in Research Fund (Special Call)
  Wastewater epidemiology to measure community gastrointestinal disease

  • Applicant: Dr. Jean-Paul Desaulniers (FSci)
  • Co-applicants: Dr. Andrea Kirkwood (FSci), Dr. Denina Simmons (FSci)
  • Collaborators: Mary-Anne Petrusiak and Alexandra Swirski (Public Health Unit, Regional Municipality of Durham)

Related links 

• Archive of research-related news items at Ontario Tech
• Learn more about research at Ontario Tech University’s  Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation
• Ontario Tech University  Strategic Research Plan 2020-2025

Quotes

“Discovery is the foundation of all advancements. Through this major investment in some of Canada's most promising and innovative researchers we are supporting scientists and students to become global leaders in their field. By helping to expand the frontiers of science, we are investing in a better society and a brighter future for Canadians.”
– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Canadian universities and institutions are at the forefront of taking us to the next levels of innovation and play a critical role in fostering discovery, curiosity and exceptional researchers. This $506 million investment in support of researchers across the country will support programs such as the NSERC Discovery research program here at the University of Ottawa. New discovery research leads to modern and diverse innovation, and today’s announcement will support Canada’s world-class researchers in their remarkable work.”
– The Honourable Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board

“At NSERC, we dedicate significant resources to our Discovery research programs precisely because we cannot predict where successes will occur. We foster excellence by providing thousands of exceptional researchers at various stages in their careers with the stable foundation needed to lead thriving research programs and create unparalleled training opportunities for the next generation of scientists and engineers.”
– Alejandro Adem, President, NSERC

Media contact
Bryan Oliver
Communications and Marketing
Ontario Tech University
289.928.3653 (mobile)
bryan.oliver@ontariotechu.ca