Markham Campus opens with new Science programs for career success
The York University Markham Campus officially opened in fall 2024, and with that, Science students arrived to begin their studies in new, innovative programs featuring state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces, industry-informed curricula and enhanced experiential education opportunities.
Graduate-level Biotechnology programs
The Faculty of Science’s Master of Biotechnology Management and Graduate Diploma in Biotechnology programs welcomed their first cohort of students eager to undergo practical, interdisciplinary training for jobs in the biotechnology industry.
Professor Jade Atallah, graduate program director of biotechnology at Markham and Professor Luz Puentes Jácome, both based in the Department of Biology, developed the curricula and pedagogical approaches of the biotechnology programs after consulting with industry partners. Both programs incorporate immersive and multimodal experiential learning, such as industry workshops, participation in biotechnology conferences, industry challenge questions, interdisciplinary capstone projects and industry internships.
Micro-credential in Vaccine Production and Quality Assurance
The Faculty of Science opened registration for a new micro-credential in Vaccine Production and Quality Assurance, starting January 2025 at the Markham Campus. Spearheaded by Hovig Kouyoumdjian, associate dean of curriculum and pedagogy at the time, and Atallah and Puentes Jácome, the micro-credential is an eight-week blended program that provides accelerated, experiential and industry-centred training on the fundamentals of vaccine production, including emerging technologies.
First Year Science at Markham
With the opening of the new campus, undergraduate Science students in the life sciences and chemical sciences programs were also able to choose to complete their first-year studies in Markham, benefitting from innovative course designs, flexible learning formats, and smaller class sizes that promote networking and collaborative learning. In their second year, students transition to the Keele Campus to complete their degree requirements.
New Chair of Dean’s Special Advisory Board
In May 2024, the Faculty of Science Dean’s Special Advisory Board held its third annual meeting to discuss and advise on pressing issues relevant to science education, including industry demand for science programs; equity, diversity, and inclusion; challenges and opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship, and the successful community integration of the Faculty.
During the meeting, Dean Rui Wang also announced that current Board Member Mark Lievonen will take on the role of Chair from Reza Moridi, who served as Chair since the Board’s inception in February 2021.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Lievonen moving into the role of Chair of our Advisory Board,” said Wang. “Mark is a passionate supporter of Canadian science, innovation, and economic development, having served as President of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, Co-Chair of Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, and within numerous high profile industry boards and organizations.
I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Reza Moridi for his service to this Board over the past three years. His insightful and forward-thinking guidance has been deeply valuable to our Faculty.”
$1.6M donation from Dr. Taihua Wang funds New Student Success Centre
SUCCESS CENTRE
In 2024, the Faculty of Science embarked on construction of its new Taihua Wang Science Student Success Centre, thanks to a generous $1.6 million donation from Dr. Taihua Wang, CEO of Cell Biotechnology Co. Ltd.
Located on the main floor of the Life Sciences Building (LSB), the 3,843 square foot centre, opened in early 2025, creates a welcoming, accessible and more functional hub for student advising and support, along with bookable study spaces.
Wang is a medical doctor who is considered to be a pioneer of the clinical application of stem cells in China. His company has advanced research and technology in the fields of regenerative medicine, stem cell-based cancer prevention, and stem cell storage. Wang is also president of the Interventional Hospital of Shandong Red Cross Society, and president of Shandong New Medicine Integrated Institute of Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
“This incredible gift by Dr. Wang, a Chinese Canadian business leader and stem cell scientist, will benefit all Faculty of Science students, said Rui Wang, Dean of the Faculty of Science.
“It will help us to continue strengthening our advising and counselling supports to create an accessible environment where students can flourish academically and socially. In doing so, it will help accelerate our mission of educating our students to become active members of our global scientific community, who will tackle the pressing challenges of our time.”
Open house events attract future Science students and families
Future students and their families were invited to the Faculty of Science for on-campus events to get a firsthand look at the vibrant community and cutting-edge facilities at York University.
The Faculty hosted "Brunch at York Science" in April 2024 for admitted students, and a larger open house event for prospective students as part of York University’s Fall Campus Day in November 2024. For the latter event, the Faculty of Science had the highest number of registrants amongst all Faculties at York, with more than 1,200 RSVPs.
Both events featured sessions to meet York Science professors and current students and learn about the variety of programs offered through the Faculty. Attendees were also invited to go on tours of our laboratories to learn more about undergraduate lab courses, experience our leading-edge facilities, and watch lab demonstrations. As well, the Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory hosted tours of its facility, which is home to the biggest telescope on a Canadian university campus.
Global virtual exchange project brings students together
Established during the pandemic but still going strong to this day, the Faculty of Science’s globally networked learning (GNL) program is providing students with opportunities to engage on a global scale and learn from one another.
GNL is a collaborative online international learning virtual exchange (COIL-VE), with an approach to research, learning and teaching that enables students, faculty and non-academic researchers from different locations around the world to participate in, and collaborate on, knowledge-making processes and concrete research projects.
In 2024, the Faculty of Science partnered with Shandong Second Medical University (China) to bring together students from both institutions. The program was led by Director of International Collaborations & Partnerships Hugo Chen and undergraduate student Amna Imran, also a member of the Global Leaders of York Science, a volunteer group that supports the Faculty’s international initiatives. They began conducting a series of virtual sessions in August 2024 (running to April 2025), focused on exploring the intersections of culture, healthcare systems, education, medical students' career development, tourism, and technology through a cross-cultural lens. Students participated in discussions and activities that highlighted the influence of artificial intelligence on daily life, education systems, and traditional practices in both countries.
Pioneering York physicist honoured with memorial fund
In 2024, York Science alumni Itay and Mina Yavin donated $200,000 to the Department of Physics & Astronomy in honour of late Professor Helen Freedhoff, a pioneering theoretical physicist at York. The gift created the Helen Freedhoff Memorial Fund, with a focus on supporting student mentorship and research at the undergraduate level.
The donation was celebrated with a plaque-unveiling ceremony and a dedication of the Helen Freedhoff Meeting Room in the Petrie Science & Engineering Building.
“We are thrilled to give back to York University, where we spent formative years, and to collaborate with the Faculty of Science to memorialize Professor Freedhoff’s life and work,” said Itay Yavin, who was personally mentored and supervised by Freedhoff. “We hope the funds will foster excellence in students’ research at the physics and astronomy department. We are excited that the funds will also support the lab of Professor Anantharaman Kumarakrishnan, whose devotion to students’ research and development over the past two decades truly exemplifies Professor Freedhoff’s legacy.”
When she joined York University in 1967, Freedhoff was the first woman physics faculty member on a Canadian University campus. She worked to develop a new theory to describe novel physical phenomena in strongly coupled light-plus-atom systems. Her research focused on the areas of co-operative atomic effects, intense field resonance fluorescence and two-photon transitions. These remain important contributions to the field today.
Newton tree descendants continue their legacy at York
Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity was inspired by watching apples fall from a tree in his garden in England in 1666. More than three centuries later, a descendant of Newton’s apple tree was planted at York University in 2000, and was the first in Ontario to take root and blossom. It has birthed offspring donated to another research institution and its seeds have travelled into space.
In 2024, two more descendants were planted in the courtyard outside the physics building from grafted cuttings. Professor Cody Storry, Department of Physics & Astronomy, who was a PhD student at the University around the time of the first descendant planting, spearheaded the grafting and planting of the new additions. It will take a few years to see if the new plantings, or scions, will also bear fruit like York’s first tree, which produces a rare, old variety of cooking apple, Flower of Kent, like Newton’s original tree.