York University becomes 17th member of MaRS Innovation

York University has become the latest member of MaRS Innovation, the commercialization agent for many leading Toronto-based universities, hospitals and research institutes. “York has become one of Canada’s fastest-growing centres for research and innovation,” said Stan Shapson (right), vice-president research & innovation at York University. “We typically get 10 to 20 discovery disclosures a year. […]

Professor Rod MacRae co-authors study that finds organic farms are more energy efficient

Organic farms can be more energy efficient than conventional farms that mass produce crops using unsustainable practices, a surprising result from a study co-authored by a York University professor. Researchers analyzed 130 studies to compare the energy use and global warming potential of organic versus conventional farming. They concluded that organic farms were more energy […]

IRIS launches book calling for systemic changes to fight climate change

It's not enough to plant trees in exchange for carbon emissions in the fight to mitigate climate change, say York environmental studies Professor Anders Sandberg and York environmental studies master’s student Tor Sandberg in their new co-edited book Climate Change – Who’s Carrying the Burden?: The Chilly Climates of the Global Environmental Dilemma. Nor is […]

Professor Mark Winfield says Ontario needs new electricity plan to meet demand and develop renewable energy

Ontario’s electricity system will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis until a long-term strategy focused on environmental and economic sustainability is adopted, concludes a study led by York environmental studies Professor Mark Winfield. It was published in the international journal Energy Policy this month. The study finds that the conventional approaches to electricity system planning […]

Professor Mark Winfield speaks to Globe and Mail about local pushback to Ontario's green energy plans

Residents of Bala, located about a two hours drive north of Toronto, say they have nothing against hydro power, but fear the $23-million facility and its construction will destroy the tiny town’s main attraction: the falls that lure curious eyeballs and day-tripper cash, wrote The Globe and Mail Aug. 2: This is one local battlefield […]

York welcomes Professor Janusz Kozinski, Faculty of Science & Engineering's new dean

York University has appointed Janusz Kozinski as dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering. Kozinski will begin a five-year term at York on July 1. He has been dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan since 2007, but spent much of his career at McGill University. A widely acknowledged expert […]

Passings: Chemistry Professor Michael Pollard showed great promise as a researcher

Michael Pollard, a chemistry professor in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, died suddenly of an aneurysm on Saturday, Feb. 27, in Toronto. He was just 36. Left: Professor Michael M. Pollard In Prof. Pollard's honour, York's flag will be lowered to half-mast at sunrise on Friday, March 5, until sunset on Saturday, March 6. Although he was […]