Dear colleagues,

As we progress through another vibrant year at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, I am delighted to reflect on our collective achievements and milestones. Allow me to highlight some recent accomplishments that underscore our commitment to excellence and innovation.

Research Funding and Collaborations

The school continues to grow with a +29% increase in external research funding compared to last year. Our R&D collaborations with both the Quebec and Federal Governments have been exceptionally successful, contributing to the school’s achievements.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion is evident in the rise of women students from 22% to 27%. The Women in Engineering Career Launch Experience (WIE-CLE) has successfully placed over 320 women students in internships at leading private institutions.

Teaching and Accreditation

Teaching remains a priority, with initiatives aimed at enhancing quality, delivery and advising. We are preparing for a successful Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board accreditation visit in the Fall and have invested over $1M to refresh the teaching labs. Thanks to a special allocation from the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, we have secured additional spaces in the ER building, enhancing the overall experience of our students, faculty and staff.

Student Achievements

This semester alone, our students have shown impressive ingenuity and dedication:

• Jiami Yang received the NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, supervised by Dr. Yong Zeng and Dr. Abdessamad Ben Hamza. Jiami will receive $50,000 per year for three years during her doctoral studies.
• Gloria Anastasopoulos received 1st place in the Scientific Communication category at both the Canadian and Quebec Engineering Competitions.
• Our SAE Aerodesign team secured 2nd place overall and 1st in Oral Presentation at the SAE Aero Design East Competition.

Research Initiatives

Our research initiatives continue to make substantial impacts, with the VOLT-AGE project advancing our goals in electrification and sustainability through collaborative and visionary efforts.

Faculty Members Recognition

Congratulations to:

• Professors Roch Glitho, Christian Moreau, and M.N.S. Swamy for being elected Fellows into the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
• Assistant Professor Mahdi S. Hosseini for receiving an Amazon Research Award.
• Assistant Professor Anil Ufuk Batmaz for being awarded a $60,000 USD grant from the Google Research Scholar Program.
• Professor Muthu Packirisamy who was designated a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom.
• Professor Ayhan Ince for being awarded a Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship for his contributions to solid mechanics research
• Professor Karim Zaghib who has been awarded the 2024 Battery Division Research Award by the Electrochemical Society (ECS).

Notable Visit

One of the highlights of the past few months was hosting Charlie Kawwas, President of the Semiconductor Solutions Group at Broadcom and a Concordia alumnus. His visit provided invaluable insights into innovation, leadership, and the future of technology.

Thank you, Martin!

I would also like to express our gratitude to Professor Martin Pugh, who ended his term as Chair of MIAE on May 31, 2024. During his 18 years as chair, Dr. Pugh has been an exemplary leader and colleague. I profoundly thank him for all he contributed to the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, the Faculty, and Concordia University.

As we continue to foster growth and pursue new opportunities, I am deeply grateful for the unwavering support and engagement of our entire community. Your commitment is pivotal to our success and continues to propel the Gina Cody School to a position of global leadership in engineering and computer science education and research.

Thank you all for your ongoing contributions and dedication. Together, we are setting new standards of excellence and innovation.

Best regards,

MD
Dr. Mourad Debbabi, Dean & Professor

Student achievements

Congratulations to the students of who showcased their startups at the Innovation Fund Demo Day on May 27. Notably, QuoteNet and Ploomba captured the coveted Judge’s Award, earning a spot in the next competition phase.

QuoteNet, led by Alexandre Tashdjian and Kevin Kazarian, is transforming the painting industry with augmented reality, while Ploomba’s team, including Andrew Kappert and Nicolas Fortin, is revolutionizing farming productivity with robotics and AI. These teams, along with others like Abraider, HomeEatz, and Lodavo, exemplify the impactful and transformative work being driven by our students.

Thank you to Emad Shihab and the Research and Innovation Partnerships team for organizing and spearheading this initiative.

Congratulations to all Capstone students who presented outstanding projects, and special thanks to Ali Akgunduz for his leadership.

Congratulations to our PhD candidate Zhikun Chen who won the February’s Prix Relève étoile Louis-Berlinguet from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT).

He is studying under the co-supervision of professors Chunjiang An and Maria Elektorowicz in BCEE. He was recognized for his recent paper on how plastic properties and environmental factors, such as water salinity and turbulence, affect the transport and behaviour of microplastics in cold regions.

Congratulations to the student associations that organized the following successful, competitions: ENGComm, the first @Hack Cybersecurity Hackathon, the Hacktaton and the Troitsky Bridge Competition!

The SAE Aerodesign team ranked 2nd place in the overall category and ranked 1st in Oral Presentation at the SAE Aero Design East Competition held from March 8-10, 2024, in Lakeland, Florida. Congratulations!

Back in April, Space Concordia announced they had begun their most ambitious phase of rocket testing yet: cryogenic flow testing. This more advanced test marks a significant leap forward in their journey towards the maiden space-bound launch of the Starsailor launch vehicle. Congratulations!

Congratulations to the IISE Concordia Chapter for their performance at the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) National Conference back in January. The group secured second place in both the Simulation and Case Competition and the e-games event, and third place for conference spirit.

Honorory doctorates

This spring, we are proud to have celebrated two leaders with honorary doctorates during our convocation ceremonies.

Mallikarjun Tatipamula, a visionary in telecommunications and a driving force in the development of mobile technologies, will be honored for his significant contributions to the field. From pioneering work in 2G to leading early 6G research, his career reflects a commitment to advancing technology that connects the world.

Frances Northcutt, a trailblazer for women in engineering, made history as NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s first female engineer. She played a role in the Apollo missions, particularly Apollo 11—the first moon landing—and the safe return of the Apollo 13 crew. Beyond her technical achievements, Northcutt championed women's rights, transitioning to a career as a criminal defense lawyer where she focused on civil rights, defending pregnant minors and victims of domestic violence.

Co-Chancellor Gina Cody

Gina Cody, our esteemed alumna Concordia Alumni, philanthropist, and advocate, has stepped into the role of co-chancellor at Concordia University! Congratulations, Gina, on this well-deserved appointment. We're incredibly proud to see our namesake taking on such a prestigious position.

Gina Cody School News

We are excited to unveil a new Makerspace, exclusively for our students. Located on the 10th floor of the Hall Building, this cutting-edge workshop is designed to support your innovative projects in 3D printing, woodworking, metalworking, and electronics. This facility underscores our commitment to hands-on learning and providing students with the resources they need to succeed and innovate.

Highlights of the Makerspace:

• Equipped with over $1 million in modern machinery and tools.
• Provides free materials for 3D printing endeavors.
• Offers professional support and training from our skilled student staff.
• A dynamic environment fostering creativity and collaboration among students.

We're proud to recognize the achievements of our remarkable researchers and staff members at our latest Dean’s Excellence Awards:

Staff Awards

• Ricky Gioia, Manager, Building Operations and Infrastructure, Dean’s Office
• Min Ning, Engineer in residence, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Ana Pena, Advisor, Retention & Success, Student Academic Services

EDI Award

• Lyes Kadem, professor, Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering

Gina Cody School Research Awards

• Tier 1: Wenfang Xie, professor, Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering
• Tier 2: Fuzhan Nasiri, professor, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Tier 3: Mohamed Ouf, professor, Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Congratulations to our new Gina Cody School fellows: Khaled Galal, Mohsen Ghafouri, Govind Gopakumar, Abdelwahab Hamou-Lhadj, Mahdi S. Hosseini, Jerin John, Ida Karimfazli, Sébastien Le Beux, Arash Mohammadi, Fuzhan Nasiri, Nhat Truong Nguyen, Jinqiu Yang.

Faculty Members Achievements

I want to congratulate three of our professors who have been elected as Fellows into the Canadian Academy of Engineering as these are impressive achievements and highlights their exceptional contribution to their fields:

• Roch Glitho from CIISE
• Christian Moreau from MIAE
• M.N.S. Swamy from ECE

We would like to express our gratitude to Martin Pugh who ended his term as Chair of the Department Mechanical, industrial and aerospace engineering.  A colleague who is well-respected and liked across the Faculty and University alike.

Martin joined Concordia as an Assistant Professor in 1998, promoted to Associate Professor in 2001 and finally in 2008 to Professor. In June 2006, he became MIAE chair and has served in that role for the last 18 years. Before becoming MIAE Chair in June 2006, he served as Undergraduate Program Director from 2002-2006, and has been an active contributor for CEAB since 2005 and has made a promise to be available for our upcoming accreditation in November.

He has served on Faculty Council since 2002, he may be the longest standing member of GCS Faculty Council having served a total of 22 years!  And on the executive committee since becoming chair in 2006, for a total of 18 years! In his time at Concordia, besides serving the faculty, he also served on Senate from 2007-2010, and again from 2017-2020, among several others.

During his time as Chair, Martin was at the helm of the development of both the Industrial and Aerospace programs, which were huge achievements for the faculty and the university at large. He has been a strong supporter of CIADI since its inception in 2001, first as a faculty member and then in his capacity as Chair. In its current state, MIAE has 50 faculty members and 25 staff members.  He has seen the department grow and his leadership brought MIAE to where it is now.

We are thankful for his service as Chair and look forward to continue collaborating for Accreditation.

Thank you Martin, we will never thank you enough!

Congratulations to Alex De Visscher, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, for winning one of Concordia University’s Academic Leadership Awards, and to Aiman Hanna, senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, for winning a Concordia President’s Excellence in Teaching Award!

Events

On April 4, 2024, we had the privilege of hosting Charlie Kawwas, President of the Semiconductor Solutions Group at Broadcom and Concordia Alumni, for an enlightening discussion. A heartfelt thank you to Charlie for sharing his incredible journey from a Concordia University engineering student to leading some of the most significant acquisitions in tech industry history. His insights into innovation, leadership, and the future of technology provided invaluable perspectives for our students, faculty, and friends in attendance. We are incredibly grateful for Charlie's willingness to inspire and guide the next generation of tech leaders.

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the success of our inaugural Advanced Air Mobility Symposium at Concordia, organized by CIADI in partnership with ICAO on April 2! This day brought together industry experts, academia, and students to discuss cutting-edge innovations and the transformative impact of advanced air mobility on the future of transportation. Your commitment to dialogue and innovation enriched every discussion and presentation, strengthening the foundation for future advancements in this exciting field.

The open house was on Saturday, February 17, 2024. With the support from the departments this year’s lab tours were very successful. Lots of positive feedback was shared from both prospective students and parents. Thanks to everyone involved including our student volunteers, lab technicians, and Gina Cody School staff, Sarah Makhlouf and Gabrielle Robinette.

We hosted Law Meets Engineering events throughout the semester, spearheaded by Judge Morton Minc and Ali Akgunduz. Thank you to everyone who attended. The speaker series will be back next fall.

On May 7, at Concordia’s Next-Generation Cities Institutes, we were honored to host a discussion on sustainable urban development with distinguished guests: German Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Buildings, Klara Geywitz, and the Mayor of Lachine borough, Maja Vodanovic. A special thank you to Professor Ursula Eicker for her role in organizing this event, and to all participants for engaging in today’s discussions on creating carbon-neutral solutions for our cities.

I want to congratulate the Research Partnership team and Emad for their event on May 1st. It was a networking event on medical technologies with presentations from industry partners and from funding agencies such as MEDTEQ+, NSERC and Mitacs.

The event was a huge success as 82 people attended:

• 38 people from industry representing 18 companies.
• 26 professors who were interested in networking.
• 12 members of Concordia staff.
• 6 members of the agencies.

This really showcases our interdisciplinarity and our research capacity in this area. I look forward to further collaborations and innovations stemming from the connections made during this event.

We had the pleasure to hear multiple speakers this semester including Deepa Kundur, Electrical and Computer Engineering Cahir at UofT and David Lie from Electrical & Computer Engineering at U of T. I would also like to express my gratitude to Professors Carol Fung, Mohsen Ghafouri and Jun Yan for making these events possible.

During the Expo-sciences Hydro-Québec Montreal regional finals, our Dean Mourad Debbabi was thrilled to award on behalf of the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science a $2,500 tuition bursary to support the education of young inventors. This scholarship reflects our commitment to fostering innovation among the next generation of engineers and scientists.

Concordia University showcased on January 31^st the collaborative efforts towards Quebec’s green energy solutions. A special thanks to Karim Zaghib from Volt-Age, and professor in our Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, and Ursula Eicker from the Next Generation Cities Institute and our Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering for their pioneering work. This event underscored the synergy between municipal leadership and academic innovation in driving sustainable urban development.

Ideas for Innovation Lunch Series

The Dean has attended a lunch with faculty members on the topic of Biomedical engineering in April. There will other similar lunches as well in the future on a variety of topics. I’ll keep you up to date when the dates are set.

As part of the accreditation, the chair Samuel Li and Ali Akgunduz participated in a meeting on April 23 of their External Advisory Board. The external members present were:

• Billy Malenfant, Directeur, Civil - Génie routier, Est du Canada, at AtkinsRéalis
• Julie Lavoie, Vice-President of Health, Safety and Sustainable Development at Canam Group
• Nabil M. Habib, Managing Director of Eastern Canada at Hatch
• Sonia Couture, Cheffe expertise soutien technique bâtiments et aménagements civils-DSBI at Hydro-Québec.