Gina Cody School Day: student showcase

Gina Parvaneh Cody was the first woman awarded a PhD in building engineering at Concordia. She has more than 30 years of professional practice as a professional engineer, corporate executive and principal shareholder of an engineering firm. 

In 2018, Gina made an historic $15 million gift to Concordia's Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science. In honour of her professional accomplishments and her generosity, the faculty was renamed the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. It is the first engineering faculty in Canada, and one of the first internationally, named after a woman.

Gina sits on several private boards and is a member of Concordia's Board of Governors and the chair of the Gina Cody School Advisory Board. She is also the co-chair of the Campaign for Concordia, the university’s most ambitious fundraising initiative ever.

She was awarded the Order of Montreal in 2019, named one of 2020's Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada and appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in December 2020.

Mourad Debbabi is the dean of the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. He currently holds the NSERC/Hydro-Québec Thales Senior Industrial Research Chair in Smart Grid Security and the Honorary Concordia University Research Chair Tier I in Information Systems Security.

Mourad is also director of Concordia’s Security Research Centre and one of the five co-founding executive directors of the National Cybersecurity Consortium and the new Cyber Security Innovation Network — a $160-million Canadian cybersecurity innovation network.

Ruchika Sardana is pursuing a master's degree in Information Systems Security at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. She also recently completed the Professional Scrum Master™ I certification course, as well as the Scrum Foundation Professional Certificate - SFPC™.

Ruchika works as the department representative of the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE) for the Concordia University Engineering and Computer Science Graduate Students Association. Her responsibilities include sitting in on the CIISE's faculty status update meetings, organizing CIISE events and bridging communication between the CIISE and Concordia students.

Ameer Nizami is a PhD student in the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering from McGill University and is now pursuing a chemical engineering doctorate in Concordia's Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering (CME).

His research takes a multidisciplinary approach to improving lithium sulfur batteries, a next-generation battery. Ameer's work involves experimental and computational components to help solve key issues inside the sulfur cathode. His supervisors are Xia Li, assistant professor in the CME and Concordia University Research Chair, and Gilles Peslherbe, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. His conducts his laboratory work at the new Applied Science Hub on the Loyola Campus.

Sierra Campbell is in her final year in the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science’s co-op program in civil engineering. She is the president of the Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Student Association and is in her third mandate with the association.

Sierra is an engineering intern at Genesee & Wyoming Inc., a short line railroad holding company. During her time at Concordia, she has won numerous merit-based awards, including the Concordia Student Union's Outstanding Contribution to Student Life Bursary, the Oscar A. Pekau Undergraduate Scholarship in Civil Engineering and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada's Undergraduate Student Research Award. 

Owen Hellum is a fourth-year computer science undergraduate student in the computer applications – computation arts program. He is the undergraduate student representative of the Technoculture, Arts and Games Institute (TAG).

Owen's work and research lie primarily between game design and human-computer interaction (HCI). For the past few years, he has been working with Yiming Xiao, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, to develop virtual reality (VR) planning and education systems for neurosurgery. His research work has led to two journal publications and one pending patent.

Rewan Toubar is a doctoral researcher in building engineering and is a member of the Concordia Acoustics Lab. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering, specializing in building, energy and environment.

Rewan’s research focuses on developing a comprehensive and comparative framework for quantifying speech privacy (SP) in office spaces, the most common indicator of indoor environmental quality. Her research will help provide insights into the impact of noise discomfort on the health, well-being and productivity of office occupants. By quantifying speech privacy in various office layouts and environments, her research could provide evidence to support the development of policies and guidelines that promote healthy and productive work environments.

Rewan has held multiple positions as a teaching assistant at Concordia and an intern at an acoustical consultancy firm in Quebec. She received various accolades for her research work, including the Best Student Presentation Award across Canada at the Canadian Acoustical Association 2022 Conference. 

Alexander Demishkevich holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Concordia. During the last year of his undergraduate degree, he completed a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council summer internship testing the mobility of different grousers in single wheel and full rover test conditions.

Alexander continues to examine space robotics and terramechanics in his graduate-level research work in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Grecia Olano specializes in web services and applications. With a deep passion for aerospace, technical consulting and entrepreneurship, Grecia has held significant roles at companies like Boeing and Bombardier. She is currently working on establishing her own consulting practice, and serves as vice-president of marketing and chief of business development for Space Concordia.

Grecia has also on represented Concordia at various national and international competitions. Among her many successes, she placed first in the software category at the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, second in the SEDS Canada’s Young Space Entrepreneurship Competition and among the top 16 at the International Astronautical Congress. Grecia also received the Concordia LIVE Centre Volunteering Group Award two years in a row for her dedication towards promoting space education among Canadian youth.

Grecia is an ambassador for Canada's Information and Communication Technology Council. She is highly dedicated to promoting women and minority inclusion in STEM fields and uses her platform to encourage the next generation of students to pursue careers in technology.

Andréa Cartile is a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering. She holds bachelor degrees in biology specialization and mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in quality systems engineering from Concordia.

Andrea’s research focuses on modeling the aircraft design and development process. The objective of her work is to develop a modeling framework to inform a software tool that could better support the aircraft design process.

Andrea is fortunate to work with researchers at Concordia and the Royal Military College of Canada, with the researchers examining different aspects of the aircraft design process. Her research is sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and two industrial partners — Cascade Aerospace and Marinvent Corporation.