Two researchers in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies have been named among the 10 new York Research Chairs (YRCs), an internal program that supports outstanding faculty members as they produce research and excel in their wide-ranging areas of study, including cognitive neuroscience, gender justice and molecular ecology, among others.
“The York Research Chairs program enables the University to celebrate and champion our exceptional research community as they pursue discovery, invention and innovation at the highest level in their respective fields, from using artificial intelligence to track and capture space debris to leveraging extended reality technologies for theatre and performance, and so much more,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. “I extend a warm congratulations to the new Chairholders whose leading expertise, bolstered by this program, holds the potential to create significant impacts both in Canada and globally.”
This year’s YRCs are the 11th cohort to be appointed – as of July 1 – since the program was first launched by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) in 2015.
“The new YRC appointments demonstrate the University’s continued commitment to research excellence and scholarship in all its forms, supporting the intensification and application of new knowledge for the benefit of our local and global communities,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “The YRC program also aligns with the University’s Strategic Research Plan, ‘Knowledge for the Future: From Creation and Discovery to Application,’ which aims to enhance York’s research strengths and accelerate the growth of our global impact.”
Five of the 10 new Chairs are funded by VPRI, while the other five are funded by Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society – a major, $318-million, York-led research initiative focused on socially responsible technologies.
The YRC program is designed to offer a similar level of support as the federal government’s Canada Research Chairs program, which funds the work of world-class researchers and their teams at institutions across the country.
The YRC program consists of two tiers, both with five-year terms. Tier 1 is open to established research leaders at the rank of full professor. Tier 2 is aimed at emerging research leaders within 15 years of their first academic appointment.
Below are the new Chairholders from LA&PS and their respective fields of study.
Tier 1 York Research Chair
York Research Chair in International Gender Justice and Peacebuilding
Annie Bunting, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
A professor of law and society, Bunting’s research as a YRC will examine the intersection of gender violence and international justice in conflict zones in Africa, with a particular focus on affected youth, sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers, and issues that involve and centre survivors’ experiences.
Tier 2 York Research Chair
York Research Chair in Philosophy of Representation
Kevin Lande, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
An assistant professor of philosophy, Lande’s research as a YRC explores how the mind works, arguing that humans’ creative ability to combine simple ideas to create more complex ones extends beyond thought and language.
Originally published in YFile.