Ahead of the curve in teaching and learning
Tanja Tajmel is the Special Advisor, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), for the Gina Cody School.
With the fall academic term underway, the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science community takes pride in a number of recent new achievements and milestones.
Mourad Debbabi, dean of the Gina Cody School, has appointed Tanja Tajmel, associate professor at Concordia’s Centre for Engineering and Society, to the role of special advisor, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). It is the faculty’s first role dedicated to directly addressing recommendations made by the university’s Working Group on EDI, and will support the EDI strategic planning within the faculty.
Tajmel joined Concordia in 2018 and holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Funding and research news
The Gina Cody School’s work on applied artificial intelligence (AI) continues to garner government support. Emad Shihab, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, received a $1.6-million grant to lead the training program for the development and social aspects of AI systems. The program will bridge software engineering and AI.
State-of-the-art materials characterization equipment now has a consolidated home at Concordia, with the recent approval of the university’s 25th recognized research unit.
Located at the downtown Sir George Williams Campus, equipment at the Concordia Materials Characterization Platform (CMCP) will be overseen by Dmytro Kevorkov, a materials characterization specialist who will help users achieve the best possible results for their research. “The new platform will enable world-class research in surface engineering, advanced materials, nanotechnology and environmental sustainability by covering a wide-spectrum characterization of materials,” says Mourad Debabbi. “It will also allow us to train highly qualified personnel who will be a real value-add to the high-tech industry.”
The Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering has a new home with modern workspaces in the ER Building, also located downtown. “Our offices and research labs create an environment where students and professors will each have their own space to conduct cutting-edge research while being close to each other in order to encourage collaboration,” says department chair Lata Narayanan.
Student success
Gala Licheva, an undergraduate student in aerospace engineering, was among the winners of the Government of Quebec’s 2020-21 Hats Off to You! contest. Licheva received the Prix Transports Excelle Science from the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) — awarded to a student who exemplifies a passion for their field. Licheva is part of Space Concordia’s Rocketry Division, where she is collaborating on a liquid-powered rocket project.
When the pandemic thwarted their vacation plans, mechanical engineering students Jérémy Maltais and Jordan Bernier pivoted to create a now thriving startup enterprise. Nav Camper was created using the knowledge Maltais and Bernier gained at the Gina Cody School to develop luxury campervans that offer a next-gen camping experience.
Tristan Gosselin-Hane and Alexandre Lavoie, undergraduate students in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering — and cybersecurity enthusiasts — topped the leaderboard at the CyberSCI national Capture-The-Flag (CTF) competition — an event that requires participants to solve various cybersecurity challenges within a limited time frame. The duo will represent Canada at the European and International CyberSCI competitions in Prague and Athens this fall and winter, respectively.