Science

York signs research and exchange agreement with China's Beihang University with emphasis on science and engineering

York University signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Beihang University on Friday. The agreement allows for the exchange of students and faculty across disciplines and offers collaborative opportunities for better research, teaching and faculty development. Above: Standing, from left, Professor Tang Wenzhong, director, Institute for Science & Technology, Beihang University; Professor Wang Huiwen, dean, School of Economics […]

York University invests $5 million in technology to support life sciences research

York University has strengthened its commitment to research in the life sciences by investing more than $5 million for the procurement of high-tech research support tools. The equipment will support advanced research in the Faculty of Science & Engineering and the Faculty of Health. "This unique investment demonstrates the bold new vision for life sciences […]

November is Research Month: York celebrates with a series of events

Research Month celebrates the achievements and diversity of York University’s research community. Throughout November, the Vari Hall Rotunda will play host to displays and demonstrations featuring our faculty and graduate researchers. Drop by between 10 am and 2 pm each Wednesday to learn what York's researchers are doing. The Research Month index on York's Research […]

Dream of exploring shipwrecks? Check out Professor Michael Jenkin's wireless controller and underwater robot

A waterproof controller designed and built by York University researchers is allowing an underwater robot to go “wireless” in a unique way. AQUA, an amphibious, otter-like robot, is small and nimble, with flippers rather than propellers, designed for intricate data collection from shipwrecks and reefs. The robot, a joint project of York, McGill and Dalhousie […]

Institute for Science & Technology Studies launches inaugural lecture series today

Considered to be one of the world’s leading historians of science, University of California, San Diego history and science studies Professor Naomi Oreskes will be at York University today to deliver a special lecture at 12:30pm in 320 Bethune College (The Delaney Gallery) on York’s Keele campus. Left: Naomi Oreskes Oreskes, who is an adjunct professor of […]

Canadian Jewish News covers Sherman Health Science Research Centre opening

It used to be a hockey arena. Now it houses the latest functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, wrote the Canadian Jewish News Sept. 22: Last week, York University officially opened the Sherman Health Science Research Centre, a facility for research in brain and vision, biomechanics, virtual reality and robotics. Planning for the facility, which […]

VIDEO: Professor Michael Jenkin's AquaPad tablet computer allows divers to communicate at depth with underwater robots

You would balk at getting an iPad wet, but a tablet computer has now been designed to work deep under the sea – not to allow divers to check e-mail, but so that they can communicate with underwater robots working in hard-to-reach or dangerous locations, such as the inside of shipwrecks or caves in coral […]

Shermans’ investment made York's state-of-the-art Health Science Research Centre possible

The opening last week of a new state-of-the-art health research centre was made possible by a $5-million investment by York University Foundation board member Honey Sherman and her husband Dr. Barry Sherman, president and CEO of Apotex Inc., wrote the Jewish Tribune Sept. 21: The project brings scientists who study the brain and vision, virtual […]

Video: Professor Laurence Packer on why and how to make your garden bee-friendly

Without bees, we wouldn’t have coffee to drink at breakfast, tomatoes in your sandwich at lunch or fruit for a snack on the go. While bee populations all over the world are in trouble, there are lots of things individuals can do to create bee-friendly gardens — even if your personal green space is limited […]

York opens Sherman Health Science Research Centre, specializing in neuroscience, kinesiology and psychology research

Originally the site of some of York’s most memorable hockey moments and reputed to have the best arena ice in the province, the former York University Ice Arena, known as the Ice Palace, is now home to a new kind of dream team. The Keele campus building's transformation from a hockey rink into an innovative new health science research centre […]

Professor Jim Whiteway recognized for contributions to space science

The Vancouver Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is holding its annual International Astronomy Day event in conjunction with [an event at Simon Fraser University (SFU)], wrote BC’s Burnaby Now Sept. 11. The society will host guest speaker Jim Whiteway of York University for a lecture at 4pm. “He’s a big-time Canadian space […]

Lab technologist brings little pieces of Mars to York, promotes space research

Nick Balaskas is on a mission. He wants to set a world record for the number of people who have walked on Mars. Although technically he would need only one person to achieve his goal, Balaskas has set his sights on 500 – a round number he developed based on the total number of individuals […]

PhD student Jason Gibbs documents 19 new bee species; one discovered during morning commute to York

A York University doctoral student, who discovered a new species of bee on his way to the lab one morning, has completed a study that examines 84 species of sweat bees in Canada. Nineteen of these species – including the one Jason Gibbs found in downtown Toronto − are new to science because they have […]

YORKbiotech and Schulich School of Business launch 2010 sanofi pasteur Healthcare and Biotechnology Venture Challenge

Are you an innovator with a product or service relevant to the health-care industry? Are you having difficulty commercializing? Are you looking for professional help from world-class MBA students? Does competing for more than $10,000 in prize money and a chance to present your innovation to a panel of industry experts sound appealing? We have your […]

North York Mirror covers York's involvement in 2016 Mars mission to search for life

York University researchers will take part in a mission probing Mars’ atmosphere for methane sources in an effort to find evidence of life on the planet, wrote the North York Mirror Aug. 24: Researchers from the Faculty of Science & Engineering will be part of a team of Canadian scientists responsible for a device that […]

York researchers work with National Research Council and Ontario Centres of Excellence to protect provincial forests

For the past century, the Aviation &Forest Fire Management branch of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has kept watch over the province’s forests, trying to keep them safe, wrote The Sault Star Aug. 21: About two years ago, fire staff in Dryden tested night-vision technology and how these goggles could help detect forest […]

Astronomy fiends take note: York University's Observatory is viewable online Monday nights

The York University Observatory is open for online viewing on Monday nights. Visit its Web site from 9 to 11pm to enjoy the telescopic delights of the night sky. You can also visit the observatory in person on Wednesday nights for free public viewings (donations are kindly appreciated at the discretion of visitors). The program […]

York researchers to develop atmospheric modelling instruments for 2016 Mars mission

York University researchers will participate in a mission probing the atmosphere of Mars for sources of methane, part of the ongoing search for evidence of life on the red planet. Researchers from the Faculty of Science & Engineering will be part of a team of Canadian scientists responsible for a device that will measure and […]

Paul Delaney on Canadian aerospace industry's future growth in age of privatized space travel

A controversial decision by Barack Obama to privatize the exploration of space could be a blessing for Canada’s aerospace industry, say experts in the field, who argue that this country’s space agency and its associated industries are in a prime position to hitch their wagon to the US president’s initiative on a ride toward the […]

3D FLIC project brings film studios to York University to work on 3-D technology, writes Toronto Star

Everyone from video game console makers such as Nintendo, to satellite TV services such as Bell TV, is making a bet on 3-D, wrote the Toronto Star July 31: “The studios are realizing there’s a golden goose here because you get all these bums in seats that will pay a 30 per cent premium,” says […]