Professor Jasminka Kalajdzic of the Faculty of Law received the 2019 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Mid-Career Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Professor Kalajdzic is widely recognized as Canada’s leading class action scholar. She has earned a national and international reputation for the excellence of her research, which has expanded our understanding of access to justice, mass litigation, evidence and proof, and lawyer’s ethics. Cited by scholars, tribunals and courts, invited to speak in prestigious proceedings around the world, and entrusted by Canadian justice sector leaders to develop evidence-based policy analysis, Professor Kalajdzic is heralded for her remarkable ability to harness law to improve lives. Not only has her research transformed knowledge of class actions as a theoretical construct, but her work has helped shape policy debates and has spearheaded North America’s first class actions clinic. A reviewer shared that “Professor Kalajdzic exemplifies the very best of the legal academy. She combines excellent academic research with a practical relevance to the improvement of the justice system that we all care about.”

Dr. Cheri McGowan of the Department of Kinesiology received the 2019 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Mid-Career Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. McGowan is widely acclaimed for the sustained excellence and ongoing impact of her contributions to kinesiology research. Her innovative research aims to maximize wellness by reducing disease-related morbidity and mortality. She is recognized internationally for her seminal work on isometric handgrip training and her pioneering studies have contributed to its inclusion in international hypertension management guidelines. As co-founder of the cross-border Great Lakes Cardiac Rehabilitation Consortium, she is optimizing programming and improving the quality of life of cardiac patients both in Canada and the United States of America. Not only does Dr. McGowan’s work benefit our community, but her mentorship provides our students with high caliber training and opportunities for global exposure. In the words of a reviewer, “Cheri leads by example in everything that she does; she sets ambitious goals and achieves them with a quiet determination, often deflecting the credit for her accomplishments to others.”

Dr. Kim Nelson of the School of Creative Arts received the 2019 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Mid-Career Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Nelson has established herself as a preeminent artist-researcher and a leading voice in the emerging field of live documentary film, where live narration, video mixing, music, and audience participation combine to create a unique experience for the viewer. Her creative work has been presented internationally at important festivals and conferences, and her growing body of critical work is shaping the understanding of scholars interested in this exciting new medium. In the words of one reviewer, Dr. Nelson’s work is “provocative and unique, with a strong global perspective. Her academic and creative inquiries [put] important questions about history, temporality and the question of technology into play.”

Dr. Reza Riahi of the Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering received the 2019 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Mid-Career Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Riahi is a leader in tribology and lubrication whose innovative and interdisciplinary research has impacted industrial and academic knowledge of engineering materials. He is recognized for the significance and impact of his many contributions to tribological design in metal forming processes, environmentally friendly aviation industry metalworking fluids and polymer bearing, engineering of materials for powertrain components and system for next-generation electric vehicles, and Lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications. A reviewer said that Dr. Riahi is “an outstanding researcher, mentor, and educator who is most deserving of this award.”

Dr. Sarah Woodruff of the Department of Kinesiology received the 2020 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Mid-Career Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Woodruff is a leader in the field of public health whose work continues to have a substantial impact on both academic scholarship and public policy. She is recognized nationally and internationally for the significance of her work on the health of children and adolescents and is widely acknowledged for her ability to effect meaningful change. She has worked collaboratively with a broad range of community organizations, to better understand and promote a healthy active lifestyle. Her influential work with school-based nutrition programs, prevention of eating disorders, and physical activity behaviours has been instrumental to improving health in our region and beyond. In the words of a reviewer, “Through her development of innovative interventions and knowledge mobilization tools, Dr. Woodruff is making meaningful improvements to the health of Canadians.”

Dr. Arezoo Emadi of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering received the 2019 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Emerging Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Emadi has established herself as a rising star in the emerging field of biomedical engineering. Her highly innovative, multidisciplinary research focused on Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), nanofabrication, and micromachined smart sensor systems has attracted significant attention and promises to be game changing. In particular, her outstanding work using MEMS and resonators for biomarker sensing applications has contributed to her growing reputation for excellence. Dr. Emadi is a skilled collaborator who has already developed a broad array of successful academic and industrial partnerships. In the words of a reviewer, “Dr. Emadi is an outstanding, exceptionally able, and talented individual with great promise for the highest quality research and scholarship in the future.”

Dr. Adrian Guta of the School of Social Work received the 2019 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Emerging Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Guta is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on health equity and access for marginalized communities. His innovative interdisciplinary research intersects social work, public health, and ethics. His ground-breaking, community-engaged work has informed understanding of the health needs and applied health issues of diverse and marginalized communities, resulting in important policy and programmatic changes that are impacting lives in Canada and around the world. A reviewer said that Dr. Guta’s work “consistently reveals unique and compelling insights on substantive and methodological questions that figure prominently in mainstream social work, bioethics, and critical public health scholarship”.

Dr. Simon Rondeau-Gagné of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry received the 2019 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Emerging Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Rondeau-Gagné is quickly becoming a leading materials chemist who has already reached an unprecedented level of excellence at an early stage of his career. Dr. Rondeau-Gagné’s is widely recognized for his game-changing work on stretchable polymers and organic materials and the approach pioneered by he and his team, bridging supramolecular chemistry and organic electronics to prepare electronic active polymers that are not only deformable but also healable, has created an entirely new paradigm for materials design in electronics. From synthetic challenges to real devices, it is abundantly clear that he has a wealth of creativity and drive and has already had an important impact on his field from a global standpoint. In the words of a reviewer, Dr. Rondeau-Gagné “is off to an explosive start to his research career…” He “is working along a very steep trajectory that will see him emerge as an international leader in the years to come.”

Dr. Jalal Ahamed of the Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering received the 2020 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Emerging Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Ahamed has quickly established himself as a leading researcher who has established a highly successful comprehensive and multifaceted research program in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microsensors, microfluidic devices, and very recently, COVID-19 sensing technologies. His innovative work has placed him in the international spotlight and his finding are being adopted by prominent research groups around the world. Dr. Ahamed’s research has resulted in numerous high-quality publications, patents, and successful industry collaborations. In the words of a reviewer, “He is clearly an up-and-coming star and his work has cleared the bar to demonstrate research excellence.”

Dr. Sara Wharton of the Faculty of Law received the 2020 UWindsor Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity in the Emerging Researchers, Scholars, and Artists category.

Dr. Wharton is garnering considerable attention for her unique, significant, and impactful contributions to legal scholarship in the fields of international and transnational criminal law. Her outstanding research focuses on accountability for “core international crimes” of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and sexual and gender-based violence, as well as transnational criminality as regulated under international law through suppression treaties. In addition to publishing book chapters alongside leading experts in her field and articles in her field’s top journals, Dr. Wharton is putting her research into practice through collaborating on a Latin American and Caribbean Criminal Court against Translational Organized Crime. In the words of a reviewer, “Dr. Wharton has already achieved a measure of international recognition in international criminal law and has already made a significant contribution to it. She will…emerge as one of the major scholars on transnational criminal law as this field develops…”