NPA | Science & Technology

2011 | Dr. Mohamed Karmali

Originally from Kenya, Dr. Mohamed Karmali arrived in Toronto in 1976, after completing his medical degree in Scotland and specializing in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Glasgow Teaching Hospitals. Adjusting to life in Canada and to the Canadian medical system was a challenge.

However, with determination, dedication, focus and his sights set high, he overcame many of the common obstacles faced by foreign medical professionals. His hard work paid off. In 1980 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) of Canada with Specialty Certification in Medical Microbiology.

2010 | Jamal Deen

Dr. Deen has become one of the world’s highest-ranked engineering scientists. Awarded seven patents in biomedical systems and innovative electronic devices and circuits, he has published more than 400 peer-reviewed scholarly articles. His inventions, publications, engineering models and innovative experimental techniques have been used by companies and research laboratories worldwide. Dr. Deen’s ongoing collaborations in micro- and nano-systems for environmental and health applications are producing world-class results.

2009 | Hadi Mahabadi

Dr. Hadi Mahabadi, was ranked number one among Print Action Magazine’s 50 most influential Canadians in Graphic Art Communications and the University of Waterloo awarded him Engineering Alumni’s Achievement Medal for his extraordinary professional achievements and for being an exceptional strategic thinker. In fact, XRCC received the 2007 Immigrant Success Award largely due to Hadi’s leadership in building a strong organization of diversified and qualified researchers.

Hadi has published more than 100 scientific papers, holds over 70 US patents and has presented in many major international conferences. In honour of his scientific contributions, he was elected as a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. He has also received many awards for his accomplishments including the Xerox President Award, the corporation’s highest honour for individual achievement and the Xerox Chester F. Carlson Award for the highest number of US patents. 

2008 | Dr. Jianhong Wu

In 2003, Dr. Jianhong Wu was featured in Toronto Life as one of the “Top 18 Scientists in Toronto.” His books and numerous research articles have attracted international attention and recognition. Among the awards is his appointment to the rare honor of a Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Applied Mathematics, Paul Erdos Visiting Professorship from Hungary Academy of Sciences, and Humboldt Fellowship from Germany. In addition, he has held visiting professorships at the Université de Paris Sud in France, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and Hunan and Xian Jiaotong Universities in China.

2007 | Michael Siu

Dr. K.W. Michael Siu is the NSERC/MDS SCIEX Industrial Research Chair, the Director of the Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry, and the Associate Vice-President of Research, Science and Technology at York University. His research in mass spectrometry spans from understanding the physical and chemical processes that are involved in mass spectrometry, to newer mass spectrometric instrumentation.

Dr. Siu helps apply the technology to discover and identify cancer biomarkers with the goal of improving early diagnosis and prognosis of endometrial cancer (the fourth most common cancer in Canadian women).

2006 | Sridhar (Sri) Krishnan

Sridhar Krishnan is the Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Ryerson University and an Associate Professor, Sridhar is the youngest Chair for an ECE Department in Canada, and is a major player in transforming Ryerson University from a primarily undergraduate institution to a full-fledged research university.

In September 2005 Ryerson University awarded the Faculty Research Excellence Award to Sridhar Krishnan.

Sridhar has had 80 research papers published in leading international biomedical engineering conferences and journals. He has a U.S. patent for his research on early detection of arthritis using engineering approaches and is a pioneer in using time-frequency domain analysis – a complex technique exploring non-stationary signals for analyzing biomedical and multimedia signals. This technique is also applied to screen cancer cells, knee joints, monitoring hypertension and stress, and in designing assistive devices for hearing impaired people.

2005 | Dimitrios G. Oreopoulos

In 1998, Dimitrios Oreopoulos received the Belding H. Scribner Award from The American Society of Nephrology and in 1994 he received the American Torchbearer Award from the American Kidney Fund.

A published author and editor, Dimitrios is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Humane Health Care International Journal and Peritoneal Dialysis International Journal. 

Dimitrios is internationally reputed for simplifying and popularizing the technique of peritoneal dialysis and is the Director of the Peritoneal Dialysis Program at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. 

2004 | Andreas Mandelis

Andreas Mandelis owns six patents, published two books and over 215 research papers in international science journals and presented more than 90 keynote plenary papers at international conferences. He has been a visiting professor at universities in Switzerland, Belgium, Cyprus and Germany and a scientific consultant to several high tech companies in Canada, U.S., Israel, Cyprus and Australia.

As an applied physicist, Andreas pioneered the field of Diffusion Waves and has developed laser-based instrumental and analytical diagnostic methodologies which are now spreading worldwide. These are used in fundamental research as well as in diverse application areas including industrial manufacturing, microelectronic and optoelectronic device fabrication, environmental pollution monitoring, dental caries diagnostics and laser biophotonic cancer imaging. In 2000, Andreas established the Division on Instrumentation and Measurement Physics within the Canadian Association of Physicists.

2003 | Elvino Sousa

Dr. Elvino Sousa is a Professor at the University of Toronto and holder of the Bell University Labs endowed chair in Computer Engineering. He is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of wireless communications and the key technology – CDMA, where he has published extensively. These technologies form the basis for the emerging 3rd generation cellular systems that will provide wireless access to the future Internet.

Sousa has developed one of the most active research groups in the Edward S. Rogers, Sr., Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at the University of Toronto. The success of his wireless research group has been a catalyst in the success of the endowed chairs program in the ECE department.

2002 | Alejandro Jadad

Health Canada has awarded Alex with the ‘National Health Research Scholars Award’ and in 1998, he was the recipient of Canada’s ‘Top 40 under 40’ award. In 2001, Time Magazine selected Alex as one of seven new Canadians who will shape the 21st century.

It took Alex four years to obtain a license to practice medicine in Ontario. Through intense lobbying by colleagues and in recognition of his research activities, he was appointed professor at McMaster University. In the fall of 2000, he joined the University of Toronto as a professor in the department of Health Administration and Anesthesiology, and the University Health Network (UHN) as a senior scientist. Additionally, he was appointed the inaugural Rose Family Chair in Supportive Care by UHN and U of T, and the first Director of UHN’s new ‘Program in eHealth Innovation’. As part of the program, Alex developed the Global eHealth Innovation Network, using cancer as its initial focus, and the Centre for eHealth Innovation; a state-of-the-art environment for studying the dissemination of health-related information.

2001 | Ekaterina Rogaeva

Ekaterina Rogaeva joined the University of Toronto's Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular Genetics and is presently working as a senior research associate. Since 1992, Dr. Rogaeva has worked under the world-renowned Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop and has made a major contribution in the discovery of two Presenilins genes in Alzheimer's disease. Presenilins are responsible for the most aggressive form of Alzheimer's disease and symptoms may appear as early as age 30. She also contributed to the discovery of the genes and genetic regions for other disorders, including neurodegenerative Machado-Joseph disease, familial cataract and hyperkeratosis (a rare dermatologic disorder).

Rogaeva's current research focuses on the search for new genes responsible for more common and more complex forms of Alzheimer's disease in which symptoms appear after age 65.

2000 | Samih Mikhail

Dr. Samih (Sam) Mikhail’s efforts in upgrading engineering education in Egypt have been formally recognized by the World Bank and by the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). They presented him with the MOHE Merit Award in 1995. The Brazil National Training System SENAI has awarded Dr. Mikhail with the SENAI-DN Special Merit Award for his 10 years of contributions to the development of technological education in Brazil.

Mikhail’s contributions in the development of science and technology education have had a significant impact in the more than 20 countries that have benefited from his work and consultation on a wide range of projects.

1998 | Norman Salansky

Dr. Salansky is currently Adjunct Professor of the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies and an active lecturer at universities and industries around the world. He received an international award of recognition for research in physics and medicine and Man of the Year Award from the American Biographical Institute.

After surviving a Nazi death camp, Norman Salansky was sent to Siberia where he and his family lived until 1973. He earned a Masters in Physics Mathematics, a Ph.D. in Physics and a Doctorate in Physical and Mathematical Sciences and was appointed Senior Research Scientist at the Physics Institute for the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences. In 1968, he was appointed Laboratory Head and Associate Professor of Physics at Krasnoyarsk State University.

1997 | Samuel Noh

Dr. Samuel Noh is a Senior Research Scientist at the Clark Institute of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He has made significant contributions in the field of social stress, coping and mental health. Dr. Noh has received numerous research awards, including awards from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Medical Research Council (MRC). These research awards were granted for a multi-national study of cross-cultural perspectives on the stress process and for an examination of the adaptation of Asian immigrant and refugee families and their children.

1996 | Malgorzata Zywno

Educated as an electrical engineer at the Technical University of Lodz in Poland, Malgorzata faced gender discrimination as she sought an academic position. She was also discriminated against because of her refusal to become a member of the communist party or to work for the secret police. She left Poland in 1981 and arrived in Canada as a government-sponsored refugee in 1982. 

To fulfill her goal of a career in engineering education, Malgorzata completed the Master of Engineering degree at the University of Toronto. For the past 14 years, she has been teaching at Ryerson Polytechnic University and has published several papers. Malgorzata served on the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) Task Force on Admissions (1991-1993), which reviewed PEO’s procedures to ensure fair and equitable treatment for all applicants to the engineering profession, regardless of their country of origin, race or gender. She administers this philosophy as a member of the PEO’s Academic Requirements Committee. 

1995 | Joseph Svoboda

As Canada’s first full-time Arctic plant ecologist, Dr. Svoboda has made considerable contributions to the understanding of Arctic ecology and his "green igloo" project has demonstrated the possibilities of gardening in the Arctic. In 1993 he received the North Science Award presented by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in recognition of his work. Now retired, Dr. Svoboda continues to contribute to his field as a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto.

1994 | Dusanka Filipovic

Dusanka Filipovic arrived in Canada from Yugoslavia with her husband in 1974 and was the first female professional engineer employed by Linde Division of Union Carbide Canada Inc. Dusanka is the co-inventor of the Blue BottleTM process which recovers, reclaims and recycles halogenated hydrocarbons, such as CFCs, for reuse. In 1991, she received an engineering medal from the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario for the development work conducted in this technology. The same year she started her own business, Halozone Recycling Inc., to commercialize the innovative Blue BottleTM process.

1993 | Phan Dan

In 1969, Phan Dam arrived as one of the first fifty Vietnamese in Toronto. He promptly co-founded the Vietnamese Fraternal Association to help this small fledgling community. Like many other foreign-trained professionals, Phan faced barriers to his accreditation and subsequently returned to school to gain his engineering qualifications. At the same time, he became a laboratory demonstrator at Centennial College.