Recognizing outstanding scholarly, research and creative activity at TMU

February 27, 2024

Students walking on the Toronto Metropolitan University campus.

Nineteen Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) researchers across a diverse range of disciplines will receive recognition for their scholarly, research and creative (SRC) activities as part of the university’s annual staff and faculty awards. Their achievements will be celebrated at the Toronto Met Awards Gala on April 30, 2024.

“Congratulations to all those being honoured with this year’s SRC Activity awards,” said Steven N. Liss, TMU’s vice-president, research and innovation. “I’m delighted to recognize the recipients for their impactful contributions that advance innovation and exemplify research excellence.”

2024 Toronto Metropolitan University SRC Activity Award recipients

These annual university-wide awards are presented to faculty members from across disciplines, nominated by their peers, to honour their exceptional SRC activities.

Sarwan Sahota Distinguished Scholar Award

Sharareh Taghipour is the Canada Research Chair in Physical Asset Management and a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Mechatronics Engineering. She develops state-of-the-art technologies to optimize physical assets, such as turbines and dams, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She uses modelling and data analytics to reduce costs, increase availability and enhance the energy efficiency of assets across a variety of sectors.

Collaborative SRC Award

Elsayed Elbeshbishy is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and a leading expert in wastewater treatment. He has developed patented methods and technologies that reduce harmful substances and greenhouse gasses caused during the treatment process of wastewater and collaborates with a wide variety of industry, government and academic partners.

Early SRC Career Excellence Award

Rania Hamza is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. She is pioneering research in wastewater treatment, designing new systems to recover clean water while extracting valuable resources more efficiently. Professor Hamza has collaborated with a range of government and industry partners and represented Urban Water TMU at the United Nations 2023 Water Conference.

Knowledge Mobilization and Engagement Award

Josephine Pui-Hing Wong is a professor and research chair in urban health at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing who works with systematically marginalized populations to develop community-centred, capacity-building health interventions. Professor Wong organized a multidisciplinary team to co-create an intervention that addresses the acute racism and mental health stress experienced by frontline health-care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic,

Social Innovation and Action SRC Award

Shelagh McCartney is a professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning. Her innovative, partnership-based work focuses on addressing complex housing issues to build community wellness for marginalized communities. Her collaboration with First Nation partners resulted in Canada’s first regional First Nations-led housing strategy.

Dean’s SRC Activity Awards

Also announced are fourteen TMU researchers who have been selected for Dean’s SRC Activity Awards for their outstanding SRC achievements and impact on their disciplines during the previous academic year.

Faculty of Arts: Colleen Derkatch, Paul Moore and Hongbing Yu
Faculty of Community Services: Sandra Juutilainen
Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science: Saman Hassanzadeh Amin, Rasha Kashef, and Mehrab Mehrvar
Faculty of Science: Costin Antonescu
Lincoln Alexander School of Law: Uchechukwu Ngwaba
Ted Rogers School of Management: Burcu Bulgurcu and Laleh Samarbakhsh
The Creative School: Ehsan Behzadfar, Nicole Blanchett and Michele Clark

Learn more about the 2024 Toronto Met Awards.

Learn more about the 2024 Scholarly, Research and Creative Activity Awards recipients.