Canada’s York University is rapidly building momentum on the global stage as home to world-class educators preparing students for long-term career and personal success, with high-quality academic programming, transformative interdisciplinary research and a welcoming multi-campus experience.
Raising the bar in post-secondary education with three unique campus settings in the Greater Toronto Area - Keele, Glendon and Markham, and centres globally in Hyderabad, India and Las Nubes in Costa Rica – York University is an international leader in creating a more sustainable and inclusive world.
Professor Satinder Brar’s research on biopesticides and biofertilizers using wastewaters is now applied in Vietnam, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Mexico and India.
Keeping in mind housing shortages in the GTA in general, York University guarantees residence to all first-year international students, at both Toronto campuses.
To encourage students to advance their academic aspirations through these opportunities, York University offers several scholarships and bursaries. This includes the new International Entrance Award, which is valued at $2,500 to $7,500 (Canadian) and available to all international applicants who have been admitted to an undergraduate degree at York University for Fall 2024.
The President’s International Scholarship of Excellence, valued at $180,000 (Canadian), is awarded to top high school applicants from around the world, who are entering their first year of a four-year undergraduate degree at the university.
Another scholarship popular among international students is the Tentanda Via Award, valued at $120,000 (Canadian). Named after York University’s motto “The Way Must Be Tried,” it assists undergraduate students who have demonstrated resilience in overcoming significant personal barriers in the pursuit of a university education and progressive changemakers committed to sustainable development.
The Keele campus affords students a myriad of opportunities — through experiential education as well as technology-enhanced and work-integrated learning — to explore new ideas, gain invaluable hands-on experience and pursue their passions.
“The dynamic, interdisciplinary research vision at the Lassonde School of Engineering is what originally drew me to York University. Its civil engineering department’s focus in sustainable development, water resources and design for climate change are all aligned closely with my own research interests,” says Professor Satinder Kaur Brar, who holds an MTech in environmental science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.
As the James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering at York University, Brar researches the intersecting areas of environmental engineering and its impact on the overall well-being of the global community. This includes industrial microbiology, environmental chemistry, bioprocesses and the valorization of sewage sludge into high value-added products.
Ranked among Stanford University’s list of the world’s top two per cent researchers, Brar is a leader in the field of advanced and applied biotechnology. She primarily works in the two converging fields of value-addition of wastes and removal of emerging contaminants.
Her research on biopesticides and biofertilizers using wastewaters is now applied in Vietnam, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Mexico and India.
She was also instrumental in creation of the One WATER Institute, bringing together an interdisciplinary cluster of York University experts on water-related issues, which resulted in the launch of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research global Water Academy of which York University is the academic lead.
Brar is credited with attracting and supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and her lab has successfully led to the training of more than 80 high quality personnel in the industry.
Brar received her MSc in organic chemistry from Pune University and the National Chemical Laboratory. After completing her education and dabbling as a defence scientist in bioremediation of explosive contaminated sites, Brar moved Canada to pursue her PhD in biochemical engineering. She recalls, “I was intrigued by the excellent research environment and the multiculturality of the country. Coming from India, which is home to 28 official languages, this was a welcoming and smooth transition.”
True to her Indo-Canadian heritage, Brar has continued to nurture a robust tie with India, collaborating with IIT Bombay and the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai on technologies related to remediation of contaminants and valorization of wastes into useful composite materials.
She is also actively pursuing research with IIT Bombay and Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, on valorization of agricultural residues into biochar in a circular economy approach which can then be cycled back to remediate the environment. Likewise, she is pursuing the decentralized wastewater treatment technologies with IIT Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir.
To date, Brar has more than 350 peer-reviewed research studies and four registered patents, under her belt.
As she continues to have an immensely positive impact in her field, it is only natural that Brar is counted amongst the most outstanding and innovative world-class researchers.
Learn more about York University’s network of campuses and learning opportunities by visiting www.yorku.ca/India
Published - June 25, 2024 05:30 pm IST
