In its 17th year, the Science Explorations Summer Day Camp offers week-long camps exploring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through hands-on experiments, connected to the Ontario science curriculum, and led by undergraduate and graduate science or engineering students, teacher candidates, Ontario certified teachers and professors.

For this year’s camp sessions, the program team has continued to evolve the curriculum to reflect York’s ongoing commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Among the new additions is Sustainable Science, a Grade 7 to 8 camp, which runs from July 24 to 28 and Aug. 21 to 25. The new program will explore the science behind climate crises, while also empowering campers to use their STEM knowledge to design solutions for a healthier planet.

Sustainable Science may be dedicated to looking at the SDGs, but other programs will address them as well. “All of our curriculum will touch on some aspect of the SDGs,” says Cora Reist, manager of science engagement programs, of the more than a dozen camps being offered this summer. “Some of our programs are pre-existing programs, but we will have activities that lend themselves towards talking and discussing certain UN SDG goals.”

The camp team aims to do so by providing training to instructors on the SDGs and how to utilize the York toolkits on integrating the SDGs into the classroom, and encouraging Instructors to organically adapt camp programs to address them.

The evolving curriculum is not just reflective of the University’s priorities, but those attending the camp. “We see that a lot of kids are pushing for learning more about conservation, biodiversity and how can they become global citizens even at an early age,” Reist says. The evolving programming is meant to provide that, but also something else: hope. “The youth that I speak to sometimes get very sad about the state of things. By integrating ideas of sustainability and becoming a global citizen into our program, I’m hoping to put a positive spin on how we can take action and how there is hope for the future.”

Science Explorations Summer Camp will run weekly from July 4 to Aug. 25 with each camp one week in length, running from Monday to Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Further information about programming can be found here. Those interested in registering can do so .

The post Science Explorations Summer Camp offers new sustainability programming appeared first on Faculty of Science.

York Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell, a renowned physicist and changemaking philanthropist, was recently named the Philanthropist of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

The AFP award, which was presented to Carswell in November 2022, recognizes “an individual or family that has demonstrated outstanding civic and philanthropic leadership through a proven record of exceptional generosity and financial support.”

“Dr. Carswell’s support for student scholarships, research, community outreach and groundbreaking technology has had a lasting and transformational impact at żě˛ĄĘÓƵ and beyond. Congratulations and thank you, Allan, for your many acts of generosity,” said żě˛ĄĘÓƵ President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton.

More than 50 years ago, Carswell joined żě˛ĄĘÓƵ as a professor of physics. He is credited as a pioneering researcher in the use of laser radar or LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology, which maps the physical features of Earth and other planets. This development also has numerous applications in remote sensing and environmental diagnostics.

His research at York led Carswell and his late wife, Helen Carswell, to found Optech Incorporated in 1974, which would enable more practical applications of LiDAR systems. For the first several years of business, the couple operated Optech out of their family home. Helen oversaw the company that would evolve into an organization of more than 300 employees, which became a world leader in the provision of lasers for airborne surveying, 3D-imaging, atmospheric measurements, process control applications and space systems.

After 30 years at York, numerous senior leadership and research roles, and founding his own company, Carswell retired to run the Carswell Family Foundation, which funds education and health-care causes. Carswell and Helen contributed to numerous initiatives at York and beyond. The Carswells have funded three Research Chair positions in the School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD), Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Health, along with the Allan I. Carswell Observatory.

From his first gift in 1986 to honour the life of York student Denise Hobbins, to supporting the Helen Carswell STEAM Program that connects students who are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), including women, Black and Indigenous high school students, with meaningful research opportunities, the Carswells’ legacy at York has become synonymous with positive change.

“It was actually my wife, Helen who started it all off,” said Carswell, reflecting on how the couple began their first major philanthropic efforts. “She trained as a nurse at what was the [Toronto] East General Hospital. When we toured that hospital, she was so taken with it that she decided to award them with $1 million to set up a special program there. I think one of the by-products of that was that it made both Helen and myself feel so good to give away money, especially when you saw the results in terms of people.”

In July of 2022, Helen died after almost 20 years of living with Alzheimer’s Disease. In her memory and in honor of World Alzheimer’s Month, the Carswell Family Foundation recently funded a $2.26 million partnership between żě˛ĄĘÓƵ and the Alzheimer Society of York Region to lead an evaluation research program of Alzheimer’s and dementia care programs.

The post Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell wins award for outstanding philanthropy appeared first on Faculty of Science.

In York’s Faculty of Science, our Dean’s Scholarship for Women in Science was originally inspired and launched in honour of this special day. The $10,000 scholarship supports domestic female students entering a graduate program in the Faculty of Science who demonstrate leadership skills, academic excellence, and research potential. The most recent recipients of our Dean’s Scholarship for Women in Science are advancing the fields of mathematical modelling, cosmology and neuroscience. Read more about their work below.

MSc student Tamara Kostyuk

One contributor of climate change is the fast accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While there is a general understanding of the large-scale processes that drive these increases (e.g., use of carbon-based fuels), less is known about the contributions from microscale processes such as those from bacteria. For example, nitrogen oxide gases are released as the result of bacterial nitrogen conversion due to agricultural overfertilization, or methane released as a result of wastewater processing. These processes have considerable impact on global warming and climate change and mathematical models can help to quantify these processes and develop new procedures reducing the greenhouse effects. During her graduate studies, Kostyuk is planning to build a mathematical model to account for the NOx gases released from fertilizers degradation and quantify rates of soil denitrification that results from chemical processes and bacterial activities. Her research is supervised by Professor Iain Moyles (Department of Mathematics & Statistics).

PhD student Jordan Krywonos

The field of cosmology explores the large-scale properties of the Universe. Questions such as how the observed structures (i.e. galaxies) emerged in the Cosmos and evolved throughout its history are what cosmologists are mostly puzzled with. To answer some of these, Krywonos works at the interface between theory and observation. In particular, she is trying to improve methods of analyzing data obtained from large-scale structures in two ways: first, by studying the statistics used in the analysis and, second, by accounting for effects that can distort their observed shapes. Another aspect of her work relates to dark matter: an invisible type of matter that emits no light, making it impossible to view with standard astronomical techniques. However, galaxies tend to form in regions in the Universe that are rich in dark matter. Thus, using machine learning techniques, she studies how galaxy surveys can provide information about dark matter. Her research is supervised by Professor Matthew Johnson (Department of Physics & Astronomy).

PhD student Riya Shanbhag

Shanbhag’s research area is molecular neuroscience and neurological disorders. In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of central nervous system disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Her project is investigating the proteins that have a crucial role in neuronal communication and synaptic plasticity, and involves characterizing proteins and studying their behavior within experimental model organisms. Using an interdisciplinary approach, she aims to answer questions about how specific pathways contribute to the nervous system and how they might be altered with the onset of disease. By increasing an understanding of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to Parkinson’s disease, she hopes to facilitate the development of more effective treatments to combat the disease. Her research is supervised by Professor Georg Zoidl (Department of Biology).

The post International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023 appeared first on Faculty of Science.

“At the beginning of this term, we conducted a survey asking our community to outline what supports they most needed to reconnect with their Faculty of Science community members for a successful return to campus,” says Faculty of Science Dean Rui Wang. “Many expressed a sense of disconnection stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the community feedback, we collectively created this Faculty-wide, year-long initiative.”

Survey respondents overwhelmingly asked for more opportunities to connect in person within the Faculty, according to Melissa Hughes, senior advisor, Strategic Engagement & Policy in the Faculty of Science. “Our community also wanted more streamlined access to information on health and well-being and University policies related to COVID-19, seminars on research office policies and procedures and hybrid remote work, and improved technological supports for teaching.”

The Dean’s Office kicked off this community reconnection initiative with a Faculty-wide barbecue for the start of the fall semester. For some faculty and staff hired during the pandemic, it was their first time meeting colleagues in person; for others, it was an emotional reunion with colleagues they hadn’t seen since 2020.

The Community 2022 website, launched on Tuesday, Nov. 1, features events and supports for faculty, staff and students:

• Events for social reconnection amongst faculty, staff and students, including Faculty-wide social gatherings open to faculty, staff, and graduate students, a monthly Dean’s Luncheon, and forthcoming events for undergraduate and graduate students to connect with their peers.
• Initiatives to welcome community members who joined the Faculty during the pandemic, such as guided Faculty of Science tours and a Dean’s Luncheon for new faculty.
• Supports for the return to more robust in-person teaching, with improved access to information on COVID-19 policies and procedures, teaching and learning supports, as well as improved channels to address technology support issues, including a forthcoming information technology roundtable.
• Faculty of Science-led seminars on research office policies and procedures and promotion of University-led seminars to help with the transition to hybrid remote work.
• Promotion of health and well-being through more streamlined access to information on University resources for faculty, staff and students, and forthcoming resources to help instructors support students’ well-being within their courses.
• Upcoming improvements to the physical environment of the Faculty to encourage in-person connection, including a renewed student gathering space, improvements to the staff lunchroom and Dean’s Office reception area, and other improvements as needed.

The initiatives will be rolled out through the 2022-23 academic year. The Community 2022 website will be updated as events and resources are added. Wang notes that the initiatives support and are in alignment with the Faculty’s five-year strategic plan, Science for the Future.

“I want to thank our community for their feedback that informed the creation of this initiative, and for all they bring to their work within the Faculty of Science every day,” says Wang. “Community 2022 builds on our Faculty’s strong sense of belonging, togetherness and commitment to support one another. We are excited to continue building our Faculty of Science community together.”

The post Faculty of Science launches Community 2022 initiative appeared first on Faculty of Science.

Nguyen has demonstrated proactive leadership in improving student life. As she pursues a bachelor of science, Nguyen advocates for undergraduate students within her role as the only first-year executive on the elected Science Student Caucus and the FSc Academic Policy and Planning Standing Committee. She also supports involvement in clubs through her leadership positions with the York Pre-Medical Association and the Women Empowerment Club.

Brar’s passion for helping fellow students is exemplified by taking on many positions helping her peers, including being a peer mentor, peer tutor, student science ambassador and peer tutor coordinator. She has been involved at York since her undergraduate years and continues to support the community as a graduate student member of the żě˛ĄĘÓƵ Tribunal at the Office of Student Community Relations, while pursuing a graduate degree in biology. She has also received the Norman Bethune College Outstanding Contribution to College Life Award and the Peter Moens/AGSBS Graduate Award in Biology.

Read the full announcement in .

The post Two students receive Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award appeared first on Faculty of Science.

Speakers Bureau

Schools and other community organizations can schedule talks by our professors on a wide variety of scientific topics. Book your speaker now! 

Learn more about our Speakers Bureau

Observatory

The Allan I. Carswell Observatory is home to a one-metre telescope, the largest on a Canadian campus. It hosts public viewings, tours, an online radio show and more.

Learn more about the Observatory

Science Rendezvous

We participate in the annual nation-wide Science Rendezvous, a public science event with demonstrations and hands-on activities for all ages. 

Learn more about Science Rendezvous

Let's Talk Science

The Faculty supports a student-run Let’s Talk Science chapter, which delivers a wide variety of STEM learning experiences in school and community settings.

The post Community Outreach appeared first on Faculty of Science.

Community Outreach

We bring science out of the lab and into the community by conducting outreach with schools, hosting public lectures and more.

Learn more about our outreach

Youth Programs

We offer a variety of programs for youth, including march break and summer camps for elementary and high school students.

Learn more about our programs

Observatory

The Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory is home to a one-metre telescope, the largest on a Canadian campus. It hosts public viewings and tours, and an online radio show.

Learn more about the observatory

Alumni

York Science is home to more than 20,000 alumni who have gone on to become scientists, entrepreneurs and more.

Learn more about our alumni

Support us

There are so many ways to support us, including by volunteering, making a donation or planned gift, and more.

Learn more about supporting us

News

Stay up-to-date on the latest from York Science, including stories about new research, teaching innovations, student achievements and more.

Visit our news page

The post Community & Alumni appeared first on Faculty of Science.