Hyunjung Shin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

Hyunjung Shin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research examines how language contributes to social inequality under global political economy and how we may challenge it through transformative pedagogies. She has served as guest editors for special issues of Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (with Joseph Park) and Education Matters.

Ramakrishna (Rama) Gokaraju, Ph.D., Professor, Electrical and Chemical Engineering

Dr. Ramakrishna (Rama) Gokaraju received his Bachelor of Engineering degree (with Distinction) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Regional Engineering College (National Institute of Technology), Trichy, India in April 1992. He obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada in June 1996 and May 2000, respectively. He joined the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan as an Assistant Professor in July 2003, received tenure/Associate Professorship in July 2009, and became a professor from July 2015.

During his sabbatical leave (2009-2010 academic year), Dr. Gokaraju was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. During his sabbatical leave (Jan-June, 2014), he was a visiting professor with Power Research & Development Consultants (PRDC), Bangalore, India, and the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. In his sabbatical from January 1, 2018, to June 30, 2018, he was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India.

Dr. Gokaraju's research is in the area of power system protection and control, smart grid applications, and sustainable energy systems. His current area of research are in High-Speed Digital Relaying, PMU based solutions for Wide Area Protection & Transient Stability Protection, Fault Location, Dynamic Phasor Modelling of Wind Generators & PV Systems, Interrelated Phenomenon Related to Generator Protection & Control, and Sustainable Energy Systems (including nuclear power). Dr. Gokaraju has completed 8 PhD students and 25 plus Master's students. He has published 80 plus papers in major journals and international conferences. He is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Saskatchewan.

Nandhakishore Rajagopalan, Ph.D., National Research Council of Canada

Dr. Nandhakishore Rajagopalan is the Team Lead for the Future Agri-food Science and Technologies team at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Saskatoon. He obtained a PhD degree from the National University of Singapore in 2008 and carried out his Post-Doctoral studies at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Dr. Rajagopalan joined the NRC as a Research Officer in 2011. He was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan in November 2021. He has over 20 publications in reputed peer-reviewed scientific journals and holds a patent for the identification of a peptide with biopharmaceutical applications. His scientific accomplishments include the development of a potent synthetic analog of the plant hormone abscisic acid and the characterization of a plant membrane transport protein that provides durable resistance against leaf rust disease in wheat. He has received multiple international awards and recognition, such as, the Young Scientist Award from the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO), the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Award and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship. Recently, under NRC’s Sustainable Protein Production strategy, he has built a team to establish capabilities in food processing technology development, food chemistry and foodomics.

Tate N. Cao, P.Eng, MBA, Assistant Professor

Tate N. Cao is an Assistant Professor in the Ron and Jane Graham School of Professional Development at the University of Saskatchewan. He is the La Borde Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship and teaches courses on engineering technology management, product design, and entrepreneurship. His research interests include 3D printing in tissue engineering and healthcare, smart farming technologies, and entrepreneurial practices. He has founded and directed the SIGMA Educational Skill Accelerator program and serves on several boards, including the Asian American Innovation Alliance, Co. Learn, Tech Innovation and Engineering Entrepreneurship group at CEEA, and the Pan Canadian Smart Farm Network. Prior to joining USask, he practiced intellectual property law and built and managed startup companies. Prof. Cao received his bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology and his Master's in Biomedical Engineering and MBA from the University of Saskatchewan. He is one of the six USask Sustainability Faculty Fellow and leads the Smart Farming Initiative at the College of Engineering.

Bishnu Acharya, Ph.D., Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Chair in Bioprocess Engineering, Associate Professor

Dr. Bishnu Acharya is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Research Chair in Bioprocess Engineering. His research expertise lies in the area of bioprocessing and conversion, particularly in the emerging area of conversion of biomass to bioproducts for chemical, material, and energy applications by adopting a circular bioeconomy approach. Dr. Acharya’s research investigates biomass characterization, thermochemical (torrefaction, hydrothermal, pyrolysis, gasification, combustion), biological (fermentation and anaerobic digestion) and chemical synthesis processes for the conversion of low value biomass to high value bioproducts. He is also developing research capacity to analyze the biopolymer and biobased materials at the University of Saskatchewan. Before joining University of Saskatchewan, he worked at the University of Prince Edward Island. Prior to that he worked for Greenfield Research Incorporated in Halifax, Canada as General Manager - Projects where he led several design and training projects for the development of clean technology.

Dr. Acharya is awarded with Engineers PEI – Engineering Excellence Award (2019) for his professional contribution towards the development of innovative bioproducts from nuisance biomass. His scholarly achievements are recognized with UPEI Faculty Association - Scholarly Achievement Award (2019), and Graduate Faculty Appreciation Award (2018). Dr. Acharya research work has been published in 5 book chapters, 70 journal articles and several conferences. He has 1 US provisional patent filed (with another under consideration). In last 7 years, he has supervised/co-supervised more than 40 HQP and has received around 3 million dollars of funding to support his research activities. Dr. Acharya is also a founding member and scientific advisor of a spin off company that focuses on the commercialization of tunicate-based cellulose nanomaterials.

He has bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tribhuvan University - Nepal, Masters in Energy Technology from Asian Institute of Technology – Thailand and Doctoral Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Dalhousie University – Canada.

Erin Kulhawy, Ph.D., Tech Transfer Office 

Erin holds a PhD in neuroscience and has more than six years’ experience supporting the commercialization of medical and life sciences technologies in both industry and University settings. In industry, Erin worked for a Canadianbased drug development company, identifying and evaluating new business opportunities in areas of oncology, immunology and neurology. As a Tech Transfer Officer at USask, Erin works closely with University of Saskatchewan researchers to manage intellectual property and commercialization of new inventions, particularly those in the medical and life sciences sectors.

Rana Mustafa, Ph.D., Research Facilitator

Dr. Rana Mustafa is a multilingual Food Scientist, Leadership Coach, Positive Intelligence® Coach, and Entrepreneur with over 20 years of expertise in academia, innovation, research, and project management. She has helped hundreds of university students and researchers develop the skills and networks they need to bring their research to market and make an impact beyond the academic world.

In her role as a Research Facilitator at the College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Mustafa supports faculty and researchers by assisting them with grant applications, identifying funding opportunities, and streamlining submission and compliance processes. She also fosters industry partnerships and contributes to the college's strategic research initiatives.

Warren Helgason, PhD., P.Eng., Associate Professor

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Time

Name

Title

1

11:25 AM

Runrong Yin

Dehulling of Canola

2

11:30 AM

Gopesh Patel

Influence of polydispersity on emulsion gelation

3

11:35 AM

Kayla Walker

Solving the puzzle with FUSE MRI

4

11:40 AM

Md Rezanur Rahman

Observation of flow behaviour in a vertical slot fish pass

5

11:45 AM

Mehryana Alizadeh

Single-atom catalysts

6

11:50 AM

Jane

EcoSmart Ore Processing: Enhancing Mining Efficiency and Sustainability

7

11:55 AM

Kathryn Avery

A Breath of Innovation: Combining 3D Bioprinting & Artificial Breathing Machines

8

12:00 PM

Surbhi Takyar

The Mystery of Missing Eggshells

9

12:05 PM

Tahmid Ibn Sayeed

Feasibility of absorption heat pumps in cold climate

10

12:10 PM

Sumana Majumder

Tunicate-derived Cellulose nanocrystals as a Sustainable Stabilizer for oil-in-water Pickering Emulsion

11

12:15 PM

Ganapathy Subramanian Meenakshi Sundaram

Tribo-electrostatic system for protein starch separation

12

12:20 PM

Danyil Dmytriiev

Embrace X-rays: Sharper Focus, Bigger Discoveries

13

12:25 PM

Ernest Agyekum

Transfer of Gaseous Contaminants in Energy Wheels.

14

12:30 PM

Eleonora Inacio Fernandez

From Pixels to insights: Radiomics in knee osteoarthritis research

15

1:20 PM

Yesu Ramya Kandregula

Biomass to renewable bio-based electrodes

16

1:25 PM

Shabnam Izadpanah

Sound Waves and Pea Protein: A Recipe for Better Flavor and Texture?

17

1:30 PM

Mohammadreza Soleimaninejad

From Clumps to Clouds: Fluidizing Pea Protein Powder

18

1:35 PM

Ravi Patel

Bio-additives added to cementitious materials: An approach to develop green concrete composites

19

1:40 PM

Talal Ahmed

Development of Bio-adhesive using plant based proteins

20

1:45 PM

Tolen Moirangthem

Degassing beans using radio waves

21

1:50 PM

Garret Churchill

Fields of Fuel: Can we Unlock Fuel Sustainability in Canadian Agriculture Residues?

22

1:55 PM

Samira Khoz

Revealing the Secret Life of Tissue Scaffolds: Engineering the Invisible

23

2:00 PM

Beti Hosseinpour Ganjaroudi

Numerical simulation of droplet generation of three-component immiscible fluids in a T-Junction Microfluidic Lab-On-chip system

24

2:05 PM

Ravichandra Patil

Unlocking the Power of Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) Waste for Renewable Energy