A couple of years into their PhD program, Jay Gordon (CivMin PhD student) found themselves going through a tough time. 

“To get support with my mental health, I realized I needed to connect more with people, to build more community,” they say. 

“I think a lot of queer students in science, engineering, technology and math — the STEM disciplines — go through something like this at one time or another. And so QueerSphere Grad was born.” 

QueerSphere Grad built on the success of QueerSphere, a club started by undergraduate students over a decade ago. 

Both groups aim to get people in STEM disciplines involved in and aware of the LGBTQ+ community, and to make engineering at U of T a more welcoming and inclusive place for all. 

“At first, QueerSphere Grad was just me on Friday nights, assembling a newsletter from various resources that I’d heard of around U of T,” says Gordon. 

“I sent it out to whomever I knew that was queer in the faculty, which was only half a dozen people for the first few months. But slowly, people started asking if they could add their friends. We started a WhatsApp group, and a Discord server, and then started hanging out in person. It was casual stuff at first, like lunches. And we’ve built from there.” 

Today, Gordon’s mailing list has grown to over 70 people across U of T Engineering and other STEM departments across U of T. QueerSphere Grad now has official status alongside the original QueerSphere organization, with more than 500 visitors to its website. 

QueerSphere Grad regularly hosts Trivia Nights, mixers and other events that enable queer people in STEM to build connections with their peers in academia and industry. 

With the support of U of T Engineering’s Diversity, Inclusion and Professionalism Office, members of the club have also travelled to conferences such as Engiqueers Canada. 

More recently, QueerSphere Grad has expanded its work into outreach, with booths at science festivals such as Pride in STEM 2024 and Science Rendezvous 2025 — the latter was dubbed ‘Queeriosity Corner.’

Harshit Gujral, a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science, was one of the participants in the Science Rendezvous event. 

“We did presentations and demonstrations related to climate solutions and air quality — for example, raising awareness of the fact that a third of all children’s asthma cases are caused by traffic emissions,” he says. 

“The latter is the foundation of my doctoral research. For me, building sustainable communities and doing science outreach is as important as doing rigorous science.” 

One of QueerSphere Grad’s most recent initiatives is the creation of a small lending library for its members, which they’ve dubbed the Jay Gordon Library for Queer Fiction. 

“We believe that stories build bridges between people,” says the project’s lead, a U of T Engineering graduate student who prefers to remain anonymous. 

“The hope is that queer people will see themselves represented in these stories, and that allies can learn about our experiences.” 

The student says that while U of T libraries have a good amount of queer fiction, the group wanted to create a low-barrier option as well. 

“Many of the students at U of T are international, and many countries have less progressive approaches to queerness when compared to Canada,” the student says. 

“As such, we felt that many students might feel uncomfortable borrowing queer books when their name will be registered in the university system.” 

The collection already numbers around 40 books, including titles such as Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, and The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. Anyone wanting to donate, borrow or exchange a book can email grad@queersphere.skule.ca.

As they near the end of their degree program, Gordon says that being a part of QueerSphere Grad has been one of the most rewarding parts of their U of T experience. 

“One of the things that drew me back into academia in the first place was that I wanted to be in an environment where I could discuss complex ideas with peers, think, be and be seen as a scientist,” they say. 

“At QueerSphere Grad events, we talk about club projects, but sometimes we just talk about scientific ideas, such as how to model sulphur compounds. Talking about science with other bright people, especially from outside your field, is just a cool thing to do. And the fact that we have this shared experience of going through some tough stuff as queer people deepens those conversations with a strong sense of connection.”

Growing up in Hong Kong, Kiki Chan (ChemE MASc 1T8, PhD 2T5) says that food was central to both culture and daily life. 

“In my family, the way my elders showed love to me was to ask: have you eaten yet?” says Chan. 

“It wasn’t until many years later that I realized just how big an impact my chosen field of chemical engineering has on our food systems.” 

Chan is one of more than a thousand students graduating at U of T Engineering convocation on June 17. 

Before coming to U of T, she completed her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at the University of British Columbia and began her career working in Alberta’s oil and gas industry. 

But after a few years, she found herself wanting an escape from the boom-and-bust nature of the oil business. That’s when her passion for food came roaring back. 

“I literally Googled ‘chemical engineering food Canada,’” she says. 

“My future supervisor’s page was the first thing to come up.” 

Professor Levente Diosady (ChemE), along with Professor Yu-Ling Cheng (ChemE) agreed to supervise her master’s thesis, and eventually her PhD. 

Together, they worked on new ways to fortify common foods with nutrients that are often lacking in the diets of people in the developing world. 

“Many of the women in my family are anemic, and I knew it was a common condition in women all around the world,” says Chan.  

Diosady and his collaborators have spent decades developing a technology known as a micronutrient premix. 

Made of multi-layered particles that look and feel like grains of salt, the premix is engineered to deliver nutritionally important substances, such as iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and folic acid.

This micronutrient premix can be added to salt or to other commonly consumed food items as a safe and cost-effective way to help alleviate nutrient deficiencies that are common in many parts of the world. 

For her thesis, Chan focused on how food manufacturing processing conditions might affect the stability of these particles. 

“One of the key things we needed to establish was how these particles would stand up to vigorous mechanical mixing, or high temperatures, or other conditions that are commonly used in food preparation,” says Chan. 

Towards the end of her PhD, Chan applied her findings to fortify bouillon cubes using micronutrient premix particles. 

“My work not only tells us if it’s possible to add premix particles into bouillon cubes — which it is — but also which part of the process is best to add them into.” 

Only a year into her master’s degree, Chan received an invite to present her work at the Bouillon Convening, a nutrition conference organized by the Gates Foundation and Helen Keller International, held in Dakar, Senegal. 

“It was intimidating because there were all these well-established professionals from international development agencies, the private sector, and government health officials from many countries in West Africa, and then there was me: a graduate student, and the only person from academia,” she says. 

“I was inspired by the passion for global health that everyone had, and they welcomed my input, even as a newbie to the field.” 

Later, Chan travelled to India for ten days of field work as part of JCR1000: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Global Challenges, a course offered by U of T’s Centre for Global Engineering. 

“I learned so much on that trip, and I wanted to see more,” she says “so as soon as I arrived back in Toronto, I started looking for opportunities to go back into the field.” 

Chan ended up spending a few months in Coimbatore, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Her research focused on a particular plant called Moringa oleifera, sometimes known locally as the drumstick tree or horseradish tree. 

“We know many parts of the plant are edible and nutritious, particularly the leaves, which are high in iron, vitamin C and other nutrients, but a key barrier for people to consume the leaves is their bitterness,” says Chan.  

“We wanted to see if there was anything we could do to make it more palatable.” 

After trying a variety of different chemical treatments, Chan and her collaborators found that the best solution was the simplest: adding sugar. 

“It was really effective at balancing out the bitterness, but of course, high sugar intake is another thing we are concerned about, so there’s a balance to strike,” says Chan. 

A little over halfway through her PhD, Chan gave birth to her first child. She says it very much drove home the importance of the work she was doing. 

“In Toronto, it was very easy for me to get access to the right nutrients, such as folic acid and iron, which I knew that my baby and I would need,” she says. 

“But I know that just isn’t the case for many mothers around the world. And then you think about that situation at the population level: a nutrient deficiency multiplied hundreds or thousands of times over, and the loss of potential that represents. It just doesn’t seem fair to me, and it makes me want to do what I can to change it.” 

Chan already has a job lined up after graduation, working as a process engineer at Ativa Solutions, an Ontario-based engineering consulting firm for the food industry. She says she’s already applying the new skills she learned, and that she hasn’t ruled out a move back into the world of international development at some point in the future. 

Chan says that one of the most important lessons she learned at U of T was resilience. 

“I am fortunate to have a supportive family who cheered me on all these years, and on top of that, I’ve been privileged to train under Professors Yu-Ling Cheng and Levente Diosady, who taught me how to help solve global challenges as a scientist and engineer,” 

“From them, I’ve learned that you don’t have to be a genius to do a PhD, but you do need determination and a growth mindset. 

“I’ve learned how to identify the limits of my knowledge, how to be humble about that, and how to find the right mentors who can help me learn more.” 

A new commercial product, developed from U of T Engineering research, is poised to enhance durability and efficiency in battery casing for both electric and internal combustion vehicles. 

Having just defended his PhD thesis, Nello D. Sansone (MIE PhD candidate) is also putting the final touches on a new advanced material formulation known as AX Gratek PP40. The material is 18% lighter and enhances structural performance by 20% over industry standards. It offers superior multifunctionality that cuts energy consumption, extends vehicle range and enhances sustainable transportation. 

“AX Gratek PP40 battery casings enter production this spring, and will be integrated into upcoming models of commercial vehicles and available for consumer purchase later this year,” says Sansone, who is supervised by Professor Patrick C. Lee (MIE) in the Multifunctional Composites Manufacturing Laboratory (MCML).  

“This has been a rewarding collaboration, which leveraged the expertise of Professor Lee, postdoctoral researcher Rafaela Aguiar, and Axiom’s leading engineers, managed by Matthew Leroux, to make this project a success.” 

Sansone joined the MCML after earning his B.Eng. from Toronto Metropolitan University. During his graduate studies, Sansone saw his research goals aligning with the automotive industry need for lightweight and mechanically robust multifunctional materials in order to meet net-zero emission targets by 2050.  

His thesis project focused on the design, synthesis, characterization and modeling of advanced hybrid composites and foams. 

This collaboration secured multiple successful funding proposals and ultimately, established a long-term partnership with Axiom, a leading Tier 1 automotive parts manufacturer based in Ontario, Canada, supplying components to major OEMs including Tesla, Volkswagen, and Stellantis. The partnership has now spanned the duration of Sansone’s research work over six years (MASc. to PhD), facilitating applied research and engineering in advanced polymer systems for real-world applications. 

Sansone says that he drew inspiration from nature, and he credits his family for setting him down this path. 

“My drive to understanding intricate systems and material transformation began with hands-on experiences with my grandparents,” says Sansone, who will defend his thesis Harnessing Nature’s Synergistic Hierarchical Architecture for Next-Generation Bespoke Hybrid Composites this summer. 

“Making things like homemade pasta and cured meats using food extruders, molds, and presses, subtly foreshadowed my interest in polymer processing.” 

The experience of working on AX Gratek PP40 has inspired Sansone to continue his entrepreneurial journey. As a co-founder of start-up NanoMorphix, he is working on commercializing another of his patented material formulations: a self-healing transparent armor with applications ranging from automotive and aerospace bullet- and blast-resistant windows to advanced defense shielding technologies. 

“From the incredible support and mentorship to the collaborative environment that fueled my growth, U of T has played a crucial role in shaping my career pathway,” says Sansone.  

“The most rewarding aspect of this experience is not only completing my PhD dissertation but also seeing a commercialized product ready to launch before I even graduate. It’s a surreal and incredibly fulfilling achievement, and one I hope to pay forward through pedagogy and mentorship in the years ahead.” 

Seven members of the U of T Engineering community have been elected as 2025 fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE). Professors Aimy Bazylak (MIE), Paul Chow (ECE), Constantin Christopoulos (CivMin), and Amer Shalaby (CivMin), along with alumni Philip Ferguson (EngSci 0T0), Ming Hou (IndE PhD 0T2), and Winnie Ye (ElecE MASc 0T2) are among the CAE’s 50 new fellows.

The CAE is a national institution through which individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering in Canada provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada and to Canadians.

“Through research, teaching, leadership and entrepreneurship, these exceptional faculty and alumni have had a tremendous impact nationwide in areas ranging from energy to computing to transit to infrastructure,” says U of T Engineering Dean Christopher Yip.

“On behalf of the faculty, congratulations to all our new CAE fellows.”

Our ability to mitigate climate change hinges on producing clean power while slowing the accumulation and increasing the storing of atmospheric carbon dioxide. As the Canada Research Chair in Clean Energy, Bazylak has tackled these challenges by advancing clean electrochemical energy technologies that convert renewable energy into stored fuel through water electrolysis and supply on-demand electricity through fuel cells.

She has partnered with leading automotive and energy companies to accelerate the advancement of fuel cells and electrolyzers for improved performance, efficiency and durability as zero greenhouse gas emission power and energy storage solutions. Bazylak served as Director of U of T’s Institute for Sustainable Energy and has held several leadership roles in her research community. She is a fellow of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Engineering Institute of Canada, and has received several research awards. 

Chow has performed groundbreaking research on the use of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) for reconfigurable computing, and their applications in fields from biomedicine to finance. His early work had an important impact for companies such as Intel, IBM and HP, and his later work on the use of FPGAs for computing has applications for modern data centres striving for the highest performance with the smallest power requirements

Chow co-founded two companies based on his lab’s research: AcceLight Networks and ArchES Computing Systems Corp. He also developed a novel graduate course on the design of Very-Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) systems at U of T — the first course of its kind in Canada. Chow served on the Board of CMC Microsystems for decades and was a leader in their strategic planning, as well as spearheading the creation of several large-scale research networks. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Engineering Institute of Canada.

Christopoulos’s research has earned him international recognition for pioneering a new approach to seismic design and earthquake engineering. He has developed several technologies to enhance the seismic resilience of structures and thus minimize the impact of natural disasters on our infrastructure. As Director of the Structural Testing Facilities, he has led initiatives to transform this lab into a world-leading facility with state-of-the-art equipment.

Christopoulos has co-founded three successful start-up companies and is a named inventor on more than 40 international patents. His work is included in the Canadian Steel Standards Association Design Code. He is also co-author of two textbooks used in undergraduate and graduate programs in multiple universities worldwide. His work has been recognized with awards from Professional Engineers Ontario and Engineers Canada, and he received the inaugural Inventor of the Year Award from the University of Toronto.

Shalaby is the Bahen/Tanenbaum Chair in Civil Engineering. He specializes in transit planning and operations, intelligent transit systems, and transportation planning for large-scale events, making significant contributions that have enriched the state of transit knowledge and practice worldwide. He has also trained many highly qualified personnel in advanced analytical methods for transit planning and operations.

Shalaby has led several research centres and institutes throughout his career. He has been an active member of multiple transit technical committees for the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and has served on editorial boards for international journals as well as advisory panels for transportation projects in Canada and globally. Shalaby is an elected fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE). He has received several awards and honours for his research, including the TRB William Millar Award, the CSCE Sandford Fleming Award, and the ThinkTransit Award of Excellence in Innovation.

Ferguson is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba’s Price Faculty of Engineering. He is an internationally recognized aerospace engineer and researcher who has developed aerospace control and manufacturing technologies for more than 25 active aerospace products and missions, ranging from space robotics to satellites and drones. His important contributions have enabled small space systems and drones to point payloads with ten times more accuracy. His research focuses on aerospace technologies that improve system confidence, enabling widespread adoption by industry, government, academia and communities. His goal is to make aerospace remote sensing technologies more accessible to Arctic communities as climate change alters their traditional way of life.

Hou is a principal defence scientist for Defence Research and Development Canada, and an adjunct professor at UTIAS and at the University of Calgary. He is a world-renowned expert and authority in human-artificial intelligence (AI) interactions, autonomous systems and human-autonomy teaming (HAT). He has made seminal contributions to systems engineering with evolutional interaction-centered design (ICD) theory, methodology and applications in AI-enabled socio-technical intelligent adaptive systems (IAS). The paradigm-shifting ICD approach he developed is instrumental to the development of international academic IAS programs, innovative industrial IAS technologies, international HAT standards, and AI and autonomy policy and regulation frameworks for governments and for the United Nations.

Ye, a full professor in the Department of Electronics at Carleton University, is celebrated for her pioneering silicon photonics research in stress engineering, opto-electronic integration and subwavelength metamaterials. Her research excellence, community service and dedication to diversity distinguish her as an exceptional leader. A fellow of Optica and the Engineering Institute of Canada, Ye’s contributions are highlighted by prestigious honours such as the Canada Research Chair. Her leadership roles in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Optica demonstrate her commitment to advancing the field of photonics on a global scale. Her receipt of the IEEE MGA Leadership Award stands as a testament to her leadership within the engineering community.

Growing up, Armita Khashayardoost (EngSci 2T4 + PEY) did not lack for engineering role models — in fact she almost had too many. 

“Both my parents are engineers, and so are many other members of my family,” says Khashayardoost, who was born in Tehran and moved with her family to Toronto when she was seven years old. 

“As I got into high school, I even found that most of my teachers in STEM were women, which is not a common experience for many young girls.” 

With so many engineers around, Khashayardoost says her first instinct was to rebel; she briefly considered a career in law. What changed her mind was her love of math, and her belief in the versatility of an engineering degree. 

“I figured that even if I ended up not wanting to be an engineer, it’s still a good background to have for any post-graduate program, including medicine or law,” she says. 

“But once I started doing Engineering Science, I found I just really loved the problem-solving aspect of it, and I decided that I wanted to continue.” 

Khashayardoost is among over a thousand students who will receive their degrees at U of T Engineering Convocation on June 17. Approximately three-quarters of them are graduating with practical job experience already under their belts, via the Professional Experience Year Co-op program. 

After her third year, Khashayardoost spent a year working at Alphawave Semi, a Toronto-based technology company that designs and manufactures custom computer chips and other hardware. It was shortly after that that she had a major epiphany. 

“I had always been passionate about dealing with climate change, and I realized that our grid has become dependent on a distributed network of computing devices, such as smart thermostats,” she says. 

“The fact that we now have this network opens up a lot of opportunities to enhance our energy efficiency. But at the same time, it also leaves us vulnerable, because those devices can be hacked.” 

This insight led her to the lab of Professor Deepa Kundur (ECE), who became her undergraduate thesis supervisor, where she worked with postdoctoral fellow Ahmad Mohammad Saber. She says that their expertise in grid resilience and cybersecurity was a major influence, and indirectly led to her landing the job that she will take up after graduation. 

“I’m moving to the Netherlands to take a job with Northpool B.V., which is a major European energy trader,” she says. 

“I’ll be taking a year to get trained up, and then after that, I’ll be moving to Vancouver to work at their Canadian office.” 

Khashayardoost is excited about the role that energy trading can play in building a greener economy. 

“In Europe, they have a lot of energy sources that are renewable, but non-dispatchable — for example, wind turbines that produce a lot of electricity some of the time, and very little at other times,” she says. 

“It’s led to this whole elaborate market where energy gets traded as a commodity in real time. You’re trying to get a good price, but you’re also trying to make sure that you’re not overloading the grid or failing to meet demand. It’s a whole new way to think about how power is created, bought and sold. 

“I think these insights will become critical to us here in North America, as we continue to add new forms of energy generation and storage, including more renewables.” 

Throughout her degree, Khashayardoost made sure to give back to the community. For example, she started a local chapter of Stars for Scholarly Youth. The charity provides tutoring, mentorship and English literacy support to newcomers to Canada, especially youth from grades 1 to 12. 

“Haris Ahmad is the person who originally founded SSY in Alberta. He reached out to me and shared stories about how his group’s mentorship helped students gain confidence, make friends, and feel like they belonged in school,” says Khashayardoost. 

“That really resonated with me—when I moved to Canada at age 7, I struggled with many of the same things. Having a mentor to look up to back then would’ve made a huge difference in helping me feel less alone and more hopeful about my future.” 

Khashayardoost says that last year, SSY created about 100 pairings between students and U of T undergraduates who could serve as tutors and mentors.  

She also joined Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) in her second year, eventually rising to become co-president for 2023–2024, along with Sophie Sun (EngSci 2T4+PEY). 

“I knew off the bat I wanted to be part of the club, as I had heard so much about it from my mom’s work, and I really wanted to make sure that other women got the same opportunities that I did,” she says. 

“What kept me going back was just seeing how much impact we were having. I think a lot of women have the talent, but might lack the confidence to go into engineering. I felt it myself in first year: you get that impostor syndrome, where you feel like you don’t belong. 

“But after five years, I have truly seen that I do belong here, that I am just as capable and can accomplish just as much. I want to help instill that confidence in others.” 

As she heads toward Convocation, Khashayardoost is both nervous and excited, and grateful for all that her degree has provided. 

“I want to thank my mentors — Professor Kundur, my parents and my friends — for all their support,” she says. 

“I think Engineering, and especially Engineering Science, teaches you how to absorb a lot of information in very quickly, in a way that works for you. You learn how to learn, and that can prepare you for anything.” 

Professor Leo Chou (BME) has received an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario to support his work on improving vaccine and immunotherapy delivery using DNA-based nanomaterials.

The award is part of Round 18 of the Early Researcher Awards (ERA), a program that helps early-career faculty at Ontario’s publicly-funded research institutions build their research teams. Chou is one of 54 researchers across the province to receive funding in this round.

His project on enhancing vaccine access into lymph nodes using dynamic DNA materials, aims to address a longstanding challenge in drug delivery: ensuring that therapeutic agents reach the lymph nodes — critical hubs of immune activity — both efficiently and effectively.

By leveraging the biodegradable and tunable properties of DNA, the research team is developing a delivery system that initially behaves like a small particle for rapid entry into the lymph nodes, and then transitions into a larger form to improve retention. The goal is to increase the effectiveness of existing and future immunotherapies, ultimately reducing disease burden and improving health outcomes.

Chou’s work addresses pressing health concerns in Ontario, where cancer accounts for over 30,000 deaths annually and infectious diseases affect hundreds of thousands. Enhanced delivery methods could significantly improve the efficacy of treatments while reducing healthcare costs.

The Early Researcher Award is part of a broader $75 million investment by the Ontario government to support 162 research and innovation projects through the ERA and Ontario Research Fund programs. According to the province, the funding aims to strengthen Ontario’s long-term economic growth by advancing discoveries that improve lives and foster a skilled research workforce.