Safe and Sustainable Water Research Group

Welcome to our website! Our team, founded by Dr. Stephanie Gora, researches many different topics related to Water Resources Engineering. In the page below, you can learn everything there is to know about who we are and what we do.

The underlying goal of our research group is to create a better future through water resources engineering. With many different initiatives and a world full of opportunity, the Safe and Sustainable Water Research Group aims to create a safer and more sustainable future for as many people as possible.

To learn more about our group and our initiatives, contact Stephanie at stephanie.gora@lassonde.yorku.ca

If you are interested in pursuing a MASc or PhD project with Dr. Stephanie Gora, check out this job posting. Closing date for applications is June 26, 2026.

Recent Activity

July 15, 2026 - SSWRG alumni Shapour Jafargholinejad and Stephanie Gora published their paper entitled "Microfluidic Dean-flow enhanced electrochemical detection of lead in water." This research presents a cost-effective microfluidic electrochemical sensor that operates without electrode surface modification, utilizing curved microchannels to promote efficient analyte transport and enhance electrochemical sensing via Dean flow. Through real water sample analysis, this work confirmed the sensor's practicality in complex matrices, reinforcing its utility for real-world applications. Check out the paper here.

June 3-5, 2026 - Mohammad Ibraheem attended the 2026 Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) Annual Conference in Quebec City to present his graduate research.

May 24-28, 2026 - Yeuhyun (Kevin) Kim and Stephanie Gora attended the Canadian Societies for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering 2026 Conferences and Exhibition. Kevin provided a presentation for his research investigating heterostructure nanorods for enhanced photocatalytic water treatment and Stephanie provided a talk about UV advanced oxidation processes from lab to full scale.

May 15, 2026 - Stephanie Gora received a grant from the Government of Canada's New Frontiers in Research Fund 2025 Exploration competition. The grant will be put towards examining drinking water quality in multi unit rental buildings where aging plumbing, water stagnation, and limited tenant oversight create real risks. Read more about this news here.

May 4-7, 2026 - Audrey Tam, Yiqian Wu, Maranath Hormiz, Patrick Di Falco, and Stephanie Gora attended OWWA's NextWave conference in Niagara Falls. Audrey and Stephanie provided a co-presentation based on the Arctic research the SSWRG has done, Maranath presented her research on the integration of machine learning for raw water manganese removal, and Yiqian and Patrick presented their own research on biofilm control using UV light. Patrick was awarded the Provart Award for best student presentation in the university stream.

April 8, 2026 - Caroline Duncan successfully defending her PhD thesis, "Optimizing Drinking Water Safety in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut Using Water Quality Sampling and Participatory System Dynamics." Caroline’s research tackles the complex drinking water challenges faced by Arctic communities, especially in Nunavut where data gaps and aging infrastructure make water safety difficult to manage. She led the first source‑to‑tap water quality study in Cambridge Bay, identifying issues such as low chlorine levels, microbial activity, elevated disinfection byproducts, and lead and copper in some buildings. Caroline paired this sampling with community‑driven insights about source water concerns, infrastructure limitations, and regulatory capacity. By combining Water Safety Planning with Participatory Systems Dynamics, she was able to map and prioritize key water safety hazards and explore high‑level policy options. Her work is also the first to apply a systems‑dynamics lens to Arctic drinking water safety. Caroline's work is already making a difference in Nunavut and has the potential to transform water safety management in Arctic and subarctic regions around the world.

April 1, 2026 - Yeuhyun (Kevin) Kim was awarded a teaching award by the Faculty of Science.

March 27, 2026 - The Water Resources Society of York hosted a movie event in collaboration with Water Environment Association of Ontario (WEAO) for the film "Our Blue World." This film is a follow-up to "Brave Blue World" that explores humanity’s profound relationship with water and innovative solutions for global sustainability.

January 2026 - SSWRG alumni Shapour Jafargholinejad and Stephanie Gora published their paper entitled "Controlled secondary dean flow in curved microchannels to enhance electrochemical sensing performance." This research describes how microfluidic electrochemical sensor performance can be improved by modifying microchannels to encourage the development of secondary vortices (i.e. improved mixing) to substantially increase sensor performance. This work is an important step towards the development of small, inexpensive sensors that can detect water contaminants at concentrations relevant to human and environmental health. Check out the paper here.

January 30, 2026 - Patrick Di Falco successfully defended his Master of Applied Science thesis. He investigated ultraviolet (UV) light for biofilm control inside secondary drinking water storage containers commonly used in humanitarian settings. Patrick's research involved conducting a literature review which informed key research design concepts. He translated these concepts into a ray tracing model using TracePro software to evaluate how effectively UV light irradiates a secondary storage container’s interior surfaces. Patrick carried out experimental validation to confirm the accuracy of the ray tracing model, which led to the identification of UV light treatment locations based on measured UV irradiance. He then treated biofilms at these points, and inactivation was quantified and contextualized through comparison with published studies conducted under similar conditions, enabling a clearer assessment of treatment performance. Patrick's thesis was nominated for "Thesis and Dissertation Prizes."

January 1, 2026 - Caroline Duncan, Mohammad Ibraheem, Audrey Tam, and Stephanie Gora published their paper entitled "Identifying drinking water safety hazards throughout an Arctic community's water supply system." The study conducted extensive water quality monitoring in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut to assess key drinking water hazards across a mixed utilidor and truck‑to‑cistern system with known safety challenges. Seasonal shifts in natural organic matter, chlorine decay, and microbial activity were found, especially during the spring freshet, as well as elevated lead and copper levels in several buildings due to plumbing corrosion. A hazard‑ranking assessment identified multiple high‑risk issues, highlighting the need for further investigation into seasonal water quality dynamics and corrosion in Arctic infrastructure to guide effective interventions. Local students Casey Egotak, Kaniak Maniyogina, and Felicity Klengenberg assisted during the experimental process. Check out the paper here.

November 1, 2025 - Caroline Duncan and Stephanie Gora were featured in a video from York University Research about the team's Arctic research.

October 20, 2025 - Caroline Duncan and Stephanie Gora were featured in a CBC article for Caroline's research in Cambridge Bay, which included work with local students to investigate elevated lead and copper levels in drinking water caused by aging plumbing and corrosive water conditions. Their study highlighted a significant northern infrastructure gap, showing that contamination often occurs inside household tanks and pipes rather than at the community’s treatment plant.

October 15, 2025 - Ammar Mahgoub graduated with his MASc in Civil Engineering.

October 7, 2025 - The Water Resources Society of York, led by Yeuhyun (Kevin) Kim, toured the RC Harris Water Treatment Plant in Toronto, Ontario.

October 5-7, 2025 - Stephanie Gora and Maranath Hormiz attended the Atlantic Canada Water and Wastewater Association Conference. Maranath presented "Machine learning for water and wastewater treatment optimization."

September 7-10, 2025 - Stephanie Gora presented "Ultraviolet light for biofilm control" at the international UV Association's World Congress in Lisbon, Portugal.

August 27, 2025 - The SSWRG hosted a guest talk and campus tour with Professor Erle Robertson from the University of Pennsylvania in collaboration with the One WATER Institute, the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, and the Lassonde School of Engineering.

July/August 2025 - Yiqian Wu successfully completed her PhD comprehensive exam.

July 8, 2025 - Ammar Mahgoub successfully defended his Master of Applied Science thesis. He investigated water safety in a small subarctic Canadian community with a decentralized truck and cistern water system. Ammar travelled to this community in July and August 2024 to collect data on microbial activity inside various household cisterns. Through statistical analysis, Ammar assessed if microbial activity varied due to cistern location, age, cleaning, or other water quality parameters. The microbial activity of drinking water at various stages of the local water treatment plant (WTP) were compared as well. Ammar found that there was no statistical significance between microbial activity and the location or age of cisterns, but did find that cleaning had a significant impact. He also found statistically significant levels of microbial activity at the different stages of the WTP with turbidity demonstrating a moderate correlation.

June 26, 2025 - The SSWRG hosted a guest talk by Professor Sarah Jane Payne from Queen’s University in collaboration with the One WATER Institute.

June 15-19, 2025 - Yeuhyun (Kevin) Kim will be travelling to Ottawa to present his research at the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition.

June 10, 2025 - Stephanie Gora, Maranath Hormiz, Mohammad Ibraheem, and Dr. Usman T. Khan will tour the Tri-County Water Treatment Plant.

June 1-7, 2025 - Caroline Duncan and Stephanie Gora will be travelling to Cambridge Bay to continue the work established in the community through Caroline's PhD project.

May 28-30, 2025 - Caroline Duncan and Ammar Mahgoub will be travelling to Winnipeg to present their respective research at the CSCE Annual Conference 2025.

May 13, 2025 - Stephanie Gora presented at an event co-hosted by One WATER and York Region. Adedapo Adeola and Mohammad Ibraheem attended the event.

May 12, 2025 - Stephanie Gora was awarded the OWWA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award. Check out a post about it here.

May 10, 2025 - Yiqian Wu returned from a research trip to the University of Massachusetts Amherst as part of the Alliance International: UV for Biofilm Control in Humanitarian Settings Project.

May 8, 2025 - Noah Mathi has joined our team as a Research Assistant for the duration of the summer under the co-supervision of Stephanie Gora and Shital Desai from The School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design.

April 29, 2025 - Patrick Di Falco was awarded a Teaching Assistant Recognition Award.

April 25, 2025 - Caroline Duncan, Audrey Tam, Ammar Mahgoub, and Patrick Di Falco presented their respective research at Annual Graduate Research Day 2025.

April 18, 2025 - Caroline Duncan, Elan Chalmers, and Stephanie Gora published their paper entitled "Application of water safety planning to improve drinking water safety in an Arctic community – a case study in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut." This paper presents a case study of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, identifying water quality hazards, outlining operational vulnerabilities affecting drinking water safety, and highlighting how water safety planning could be implemented to better protect drinking water quality in the community. Check out the paper here.

March 27, 2025 - Stephanie Gora provided a presentation entitled "Control of Biofilm with UV Light" as part of the One WATER Seminar Series: In Recognition of World Water Day

February 25, 2025 - Caroline Duncan presented her research as part of the One WATER Seminar Series

February 24, 2025 - Stephanie Gora, Adedapo Adeola, Victoria Carroll, Yiqian Wu, and Patrick Di Falco attended the 60^th Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research at TMU. Check out some pictures from the event here.

January 24, 2025 - Ammar Mahgoub was awarded the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Graduate School Scholarship.

January 24, 2025 - Elan Chalmers, Caroline Duncan, and Stephanie Gora published their paper entitled "Development of water safety risk matrices to improve water safety in Arctic drinking water systems in Nunavut, Canada." The paper proposes a water safety planning (WSP) framework for Nunavut which has been informed by previous Arctic WSPs and existing risk scoring systems. Check out the paper here.

January 3, 2025 - Victoria Carroll has joined our team as a PhD student.

November 29, 2024 - Adedapo Adeola has joined our team as a postdoctoral fellow.