The 2024 cohort features 10 new appointments, five of which are powered by partnerships with leading companies and community-based organizations — plus a renewed Chaire de recherche sur le monde francophone (CRMF) — highlighting the dynamic synergy between academia and industry.
Whether pushing the boundaries of quantum photonics with Iridian, exploring Antarctic permafrost with the SETI Institute or examining school attendance factors with Ottawa’s Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre, our chairholders are tackling key questions across the research spectrum.
Partnered University Research Chairs (Stream 2)
Burak Kantarci, Faculty of Engineering
University Research Chair in AI-Enabled Secure Networking for Smart Critical Infrastructures
Sponsored by Edge Signal
As an expert on how to drive technology, Professor Burak Kantarci is both a founding director of the Smart Connected Vehicles Innovation Centre, located on uOttawa’s Kanata North campus, and holder of a research chair on artificial intelligence sponsored by Edge Signal. The chair aims to position the University and Canada at the forefront of research on 5G/6G infrastructures and on reliable, secure AI solutions. His work focuses on improving the security of AI-enabled critical infrastructures, developing ultrafast wireless communications, and creating bias-free, decentralized, assisted AI solutions.
Denis Lacelle, Faculty of Arts
University Research Chair in Sustainable Permafrost Environments
Sponsored by the SETI Institute
Professor Denis Lacelle studies Arctic and Antarctic permafrost environments and their transformations due to global warming in partnership with Dale Andersen and Carl Sagan at the SETI Institute. His work involves analyzing the impacts of thawing on water quality, soils and infrastructures. By partnering with Indigenous communities, he will develop maps of permafrost distribution in these areas. This research chair also aims to predict the distribution of ice in the regolith of Mars, thus contributing to potential ice identification missions, and to the planning of future human missions.
André Lecours, Faculty of Social Sciences
Forum of Federations and University of Ottawa Research Chair on Comparative Federalism
Sponsored by the Forum of Federations
As part of a research project entitled “Shared Rule in Federations” (SRIF), Professor André Lecours is exploring a key issue facing federated systems: how to guarantee that all communities participate in politics in order to better respond to the needs of all citizens. Sponsored by the Forum of Federations, this research chair aims to analyze and reinforce the involvement of Indigenous communities, and of cities and communities in minority language settings, in the design of public policies so that such policies can be made more inclusive and representative.
Jean-Michel Ménard, Faculty of Science
University Research Chair in Quantum THz Photonics
Sponsored by Iridian (IDEX Optical Technologies)
Jean-Michel Ménard develops advanced terahertz (THz) technologies in what’s known as the far-infrared region of the light spectrum, to explore quantum systems. Partnering with Iridian (IDEX Optical Technologies), he focuses on controlling light-matter interactions with specialized resonators and novel optical methods, enabling new imaging techniques even through textiles, ceramics and other opaque materials. These innovations, bridging photonics and condensed matter physics, aim to improve security, energy efficiency and communication systems.
Jess Whitley, Faculty of Education
University Research Chair on Inclusion, Mental Health and School Attendance
Sponsored by the Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre
Jess Whitley examines how mental health, and disabilities, contribute to chronic school absenteeism, a growing concern in Canada. Involving diverse communities, in partnership with the Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre, her research seeks to better understand and address barriers to school attendance. By creating new knowledge and practical strategies, her work aims to improve outcomes for vulnerable students locally and globally.
Regular University Research Chairs (Stream 1)
Emilio I. Alarcón, Faculty of Medicine
University Research Chair in Peptide-based Materials for Tissue and Organ Repair
Emilio Alarcón is pioneering peptide-based materials — short chains of amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins — to repair tissues and organs, addressing the need for better medical solutions for an aging population. Unlike traditional biomaterials made from natural polymers, his are designed for clinical use and scalable production. By creating new technologies to accelerate healing, his research aims to advance Canada’s biotechnology sector and bring cutting-edge treatments closer to patients.
Angel Foster, Faculty of Health Sciences
University Research Chair in Medication Abortion
Professor Angel Foster focuses on women’s sexual and reproductive health, particularly on questions related to their rights and access to abortion. This research chair aims to simplify and broaden access to abortion medication, most notably by allowing women to obtain abortion-inducing drugs, such as mifepristone and misoprostol, directly from pharmacies in Canada. The impact of this research will extend far beyond Canada to benefit women in other countries, such as the United States, where several states revoked the abortion rights in 2022.
Heather Kharouba, Faculty of Science
University Research Chair in Global Change Ecology
Heather Kharouba studies how climate change affects biodiversity, focusing on how rising temperatures affect insects and their host plants. Her work explores the cascading effects on ecological communities and ecosystems. Using innovative approaches, it aims to forecast the severity of these changes and provide effective solutions to help mitigate the impact of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Manisha Kulkarni, Faculty of Medicine
University Research Chair in Climate Change and Emerging Diseases
Manisha Kulkarni investigates how climate and environmental changes drive the spread of infectious diseases, particularly vector-borne diseases — those transmitted to humans through vectors like mosquitoes and ticks — in Ontario and Tanzania. Her research combines geospatial modelling, risk assessment and mitigation strategies to address health challenges posed by a changing climate. By training interdisciplinary scientists and engaging with public health stakeholders, her work seeks to develop global solutions for emerging disease threats.
Delphine Nakache, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section
University Research Chair in Migrant Protection and International Law
The research conducted by Professor Delphine Nakache considers the political, juridical and practical issues surrounding refugees and immigration in Canada. Although Canada’s immigration and refugee protection system is often considered a model to follow, with a reputation for being a leader on the international scene, this system is becoming increasingly unpredictable, complex and restrictive. This research chair will analyze the Canadian procedures and practices involved in temporary immigration and asylum, assessing their compliance with Canada’s international commitments and comparing them to those of other countries, with the goal of issuing recommendations on how to optimize the system and protect the rights of immigrants and asylum-seekers, in Canada and elsewhere in the world.
Renewed Chaire de recherche sur le monde francophone
Sylvie Grosjean, Faculty of Arts
Research Chair in International Francophonie on Digital Health Technologies (renewed)
Sylvie Grosjean studies the interaction between digital health technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and users in a francophone setting. During this second term, her program will focus on two areas: co-design of digital health technologies powered by AI, in collaboration with various stakeholders, and the ways health professionals use these technologies to further their integration in care practices through the development of training.