Municipal, Provincial & Other Federal Funding

During the 2018-19 fiscal year, Ryerson saw an increase in research support from our non-Tri-Council government partners. This accelerative growth marks an estimated 283% increase from federal partners, an estimated 23% increase from provincial partners and an estimated 130% increase from municipal partners.

Deborah Fels (Information Technology Management) received federal support from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Accessible Technology Program to develop a toolkit that allows the Tecla system — an assistive device that helps persons with disabilities to use touch screen mobile devices — be adapted into a centralized system that can switch between connected devices such as computers, televisions and wheelchairs.

Usha George (Social Work) received support from Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Service Delivery Improvement program to explore the entrepreneurial activities of refugee newcomers in the Greater Toronto Area, and the incentives and impediments to immigrant economic security and integration.

Matthias Sweet (Urban and Regional Planning) is investigating the use of driverless vehicles in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area and how automated vehicle technology might affect the travel behaviour of residents, such as the use of ridesharing programs, in order to see how cities can develop better public policies. The City of Toronto sponsored this research.

Jeff Xi (Aerospace Engineering) received support from the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade to research responsive hardware and software designs to enhance the modularity of airplane cabin interiors for traveler comfort and aircraft sustainability.

Through the support of the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, the Early Researcher Awards enable emerging scholars to embark on new research and to build a student team to support the groundwork, in turn creating valuable training opportunities for the next generation of research talent. The further impact of this research is its benefit to the province, fostering new knowledge that can lead to policies or processes that improve the social, health or economic well-being of Ontarians.

This year, four Ryerson researchers were recipients of this highly regarded, peer-adjudicated award.

Idil Atak (Criminology) is examining the complex phenomenon of irregular migration, which has led to some countries deploying securitization measures such as border controls, criminalization and detention. The research will investigate whether such measures work in intended ways and if they balance security and human rights.

Elsayed Elbeshbishy (Civil Engineering) is developing techniques to utilize municipal solid wastes for natural gas production, work that has tremendous economic and environmental benefits by reducing the carbon footprint of solid waste management and creating a sustainable energy supply.

Shelagh McCartney (Urban and Regional Planning) is working with First Nations partners like the Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory to develop strategies and community-created policies that address the housing and homelessness crisis in northern Ontario. This work will also lay the foundation for Indigenous youth to enter the fields of architecture and planning.

Sharareh Taghipour (Mechanical and Industrial Engineering) is developing intelligent predictive and analytics tools to help Ontario’s manufacturing sector transition to Industry 4.0, wherein manufacturing is driven by emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence. This may result in cost-savings for manufacturers through increased efficiencies and reduced downtime.