News & Events

Ryerson’ newest Canada Research Chair (CRC) is Civil Engineering Professor Joseph Chow, who has been named a Tier II CRC in Transportation Systems Engineering. In addition, Sridhar Krishnan and Victor Yang, both of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have been renewed as CRCs, acknowledging all three as world-class researchers addressing critical issues and making major contributions to the advancement of knowledge and the well-being of Canadians and the economy. Ryerson will receive a total investment of $1.5 million.

“Our government is committed to attracting and retaining the world’s best and brightest researchers, supporting innovation, creating jobs and strengthening our economy,” said the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology). “By investing in programs such as the Canada Research Chairs, we are fostering cutting-edge research and the generation of new innovations for the marketplace, which will benefit Canadians.”

“Canada Research Chairs recognize exceptional research excellence. We are delighted that Ryerson researchers are demonstrating that they are among the very best in the country,” said Wendy Cukier, vice-president, research and innovation, Ryerson University. "Our new Canada Research Chair in Transportation Systems Engineering and the two renewals in the area of biomedical engineering will advance knowledge, teaching and training, and will help build Ryerson's reputation nationally and internationally.”

The investment through the CRC program includes more than $350,000 in additional research infrastructure grants through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The awards will be distributed through the CFI’s Leading Edge Fund and Leaders Opportunities Fund.

“World-class research requires world-class research infrastructure,” said Gilles G. Patry, president and CEO of CFI. “With the right tools, Canada Research Chairs can push the boundaries of their work and make the kind of advances and innovations that benefit people in all corners of Canada.”

As a strong transportation system is considered the circulatory system of a healthy economy, Chow is studying ways to modernize aging transportation systems by integrating them with mobile and embedded computing. These cyber-physical systems support the flow of information among travellers, the transit system and businesses. With infrastructure support from CFI, Chow will develop a first-of-its-kind test-bed environment at Ryerson’s Centre for Urban Energy in order to evaluate cyber-physical transit systems.

Krishnan has received a renewal of his Tier II Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Signal Analysis. Krishnan is pioneering new ways to diagnose injuries and illnesses by developing technologies and procedures to analyze physiological signals emitted by the body. With his latest CFI funding, Krishnan will enhance his existing Biomedical Signal Analysis Laboratory, developing facilities for the real-time collection of a broad range of neuromuscular and cardiac data from multiple partner hospitals. This biomedical data will help Krishnan in addressing major issues involving the neuromuscular and cardiovascular systems.

Yang also received a renewal of his Tier II Canada Research Chair in Bioengineering and Biophotonics. Building on Yang’s expertise in optical coherence tomography (OCT), an emerging imaging technology that provides detailed, 3-D images of the tiniest structures and movements within the body, his research team is developing another non-contact imaging technique: optical topographical imaging (OTI). A combination of OTI and OCT imaging will play a critical role in the development of high-precision surgical procedures, enabling surgeons to visualize a patient from a whole body perspective and then zoom down to micron-level resolution.