On Wednesday, August 17, Climate Positive Energy hosted its inaugural Research Day project showcase and student awards event. We were pleased to welcome more than 120 students, faculty, staff, and experts from partner organizations to Myhal Auditorium and online for an exciting day of presentations. Graham Takata, Director of Climate Change for BMO, opened the afternoon with a keynote on how BMO Global Asset Management is engaging companies on the road to net-zero. The keynote was followed by multidisciplinary presentations from our 20 student researchers from 16 different departments, who received graduate scholarships and summer research awards from Climate Positive Energy. These presentations were observed by a panel of judges who awarded prizes to researchers who demonstrated exceptional capabilities to advance CPE themes.

“Our first Research Day was an important opportunity to organize around the topic of climate change and energy,” says David Sinton, professor of mechanical engineering and academic lead at Climate Positive Energy. “I was impressed to see student researchers from across different schools and faculties united to tackle this giant, multidisciplinary challenge — and to have our audience connect with this diverse network of individuals who have dedicated their research to de-carbonization. Everyone benefits from this level of collaboration, whether it be through conversations that create lasting impact, or knowledge that inspires hope for the future.”

Congratulations to our student award winners:

Undergraduate researchers:

  1. Katherine Liang, “48V-to-1V Converter for Improved Efficiency in Automotive Applications”
  2. Karen Chen, “The Holiday Effect: A Natural Experiment to Understand Anthropogenic Emission”
  3. Amalie Wilkinson, “The Dynamics of Lithium Mining for a Clean Energy Transition in Québec, Canada”

Graduate researchers:

  1. Nina Farac, “Harnessing More Solar Energy: The Sustainable Design of Hybrid Organic Materials for Next-Generation Organic Solar Cells”
  2. Laura Jones, “Resilient Forests in a Changing Climate”
  3. Charlie Bain, “The Political Economy of Convertible Firms: Electric Utilities and Automakers in Climate Politics”

Please join us in thanking:

Our judging panel:

  • Graham Takata, Director of Climate Change, BMO Global Asset Management
  • Ahmed Khalil, National Development Lead, Siemens Canada
  • Irene Lam, Manager of Climate Projects, MaRS Discovery District
  • Feiran Zhou, Business Development and Commercialization Manager, Ontario Centre for Innovation

Our student volunteers:

  • Tina Ham
  • Tiange Yuan
  • Mengqing Kan
  • Sepehr Saber

Our generous Research Day awards sponsor:

  • Ridout and Maybee LLP