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Ryerson professors receive Early Researcher Awards

Initiative funds projects related to autonomous vehicles and traffic, and city politics
By: Carrie Duncan
March 23, 2018
From left: Professors Michael McGregor and Bilal Farooq receive Early Researcher Awards

Photo: Professors Michael McGregor (politics and public administration) left, and Bilal Farooq (civil engineering) are among the recipients of this year's Early Researcher Awards.

Two Ryerson professors are among this year’s recipients of Early Researcher Awards (ERA), a highly competitive provincial program juried by academic and industry experts that recognizes Ontario’s emerging researchers. The funding provided by the ERA program enables faculty members to pursue innovative projects, and hire students to help conduct and facilitate research.

Professor Bilal Farooq (civil engineering) will investigate the behavioural modelling and simulation of mixed-traffic environments for human-driven and autonomous vehicles. With the advent of connected and automated vehicles (CAV), Ontario’s transportation networks and infrastructure will need to reflect upon these forthcoming technologies. Professor Farooq’s pioneering use of virtual and augmented reality for travel behaviour analysis will provide the province’s policy makers with much-needed tools in order to optimize transportation planning, design and operations.

Professor Michael McGregor (politics and public administration) will study eight Canadian cities in order to inform a broader understanding of Canadian voting behavior. Despite the importance and ubiquity of municipal elections, very little is known about how electors reason and act at the local level of government. By looking into topics such as incumbency, partisanship and the lower levels of civic participation among immigrant and racialized communities, the hope is that this undertaking will ultimately lead to the greater involvement of all Canadians in local politics.

“I’d like to congratulate professors Farooq and McGregor on their respective awards,” said Steven N. Liss, vice-president, research and innovation. “As ERA recipients, these two researchers are a testament to Ryerson’s ability to attract and retain top talent. Professors Farooq and McGregor’s disciplines, while vastly different, intersect in the realm of city building. Their framework will facilitate the integration of emerging technologies and incite change in civic engagement within our cities.”

Find more information about the Early Researcher Awards (external link) .

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