On May 15, 2025, Carleton University celebrated its inaugural Intellectual Property (IP) Impact Award at CU@Kanata—bringing together researchers, students, and industry partners to honour Carleton innovations making waves beyond academia.
Presented by the Carleton Innovation Transfer Office (CITO) within Industry and Partnership Services (IPS), the newly launched award recognizes Carleton experts whose high-impact research extends beyond the scientific community, fostering real-world economic, social, and environmental impacts.
The morning celebratory event featured lively and interactive demonstrations from nominees and showcased the diversity of research impacts being produced across campus. From 17 nominations representing 11 departments across the university, four standout projects were selected as finalists and invited to present about their innovation and journey to date—highlighting advances in education technology, next-generation satellite communications, artificial intelligence in therapeutics, and environmental engineering.
A demo of Assistive and Adaptive Music Technologies from the We Are All Musicians Lab and the Abilities Living Laboratory (ALL)—led by Professors Jesse Stewart and Adrian Chan—was featured among the celebration’s interactive displays.
Recognizing Innovation with Impact
“This award is about more than recognizing a single breakthrough,” said Chris Lannon, Director of IPS. “It’s about celebrating the full spectrum of innovation happening at Carleton—across disciplines, in collaboration with partners, and with the potential to create lasting impact in the world beyond campus.”
Following a morning of networking, project displays, and finalist presentations, Carleton’s inaugural IP Impact Award was presented to Professor Halim Yanikomeroglu from the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, together with former Postdoctoral Fellow Mohammed Abdelsadek and Adjunct Research Professor Gunes Karabulut Kurt, for their patented system that enables distributed multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) communication between low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and handheld devices.
Developed in Carleton’s Non-Terrestrial Networks Lab and now purchased by an internationally leading Canadian aerospace firm MDA Space, this innovation marks a major step forward in the pursuit of satellite-direct-to-smartphone connectivity.
Professor Halim Yanikomeroglu (right) and former Postdoctoral Fellow Mohammed Abdelsadek were awarded Carleton’s inaugural IP Impact Award, alongside Adjunct Research Professor Gunes Karabulut Kurt, for their patented satellite communication technology—now licensed by Canadian aerospace firm MDA Space.
“This unique technology, developed in collaboration with the Optical Satellite Consortium and now being commercialized by Canadian-born MDA Space, truly embodies the spirit of the Carleton IP Impact Award,” said Rafik Goubran, Carleton’s Vice-President (Research and International).
“Its potential to transform global connectivity through sustainable, low-orbit satellite systems represents the very best of Carleton innovation.”
A Diverse Showcase of Meaningful Research
Finalist nominees were selected based on four key criteria: the novelty and fit of their solution and intellectual property to a real-world problem, the extent and progress of mobilization or commercialization efforts, demonstrated success in working with external partners to translate research into impact, and the current/potential for future economic, social and/or environmental impacts. Consideration was also given to the innovation’s current reach and its potential for future growth.
“True innovation requires a creative and collaborative process that transforms great ideas into real solutions,” said Chris Lannon.
“By highlighting these efforts, we aim to showcase the journeys of Carleton experts—and the partnerships that make meaningful impact possible.”
Jo-Anne LeFevre, Chair of the Department of Cognitive Science, and Adjunct Research Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow Heather Douglas were also recognized for their development of the Early Math Assessment (EMA) tool—a evidence-based numeracy screener that helps educators identify young students who may need additional support in mathematics.
Professor Jo-Anne LeFevre presented a specialized Early Math Assessment (EMA) tool, developed with fellow Cognitive Science professor Heather Douglas in partnership with Alberta Education. The evidence-based screener helps educators identify young students in need of additional math support.
Created in partnership with Alberta Education, the tool leverages mathematics cognition research to deliver a scalable, classroom-ready solution aimed at closing early math achievement gaps. Together with education technology company Vretta the creators are now converting EMA@School into a digital platform, making it even more accessible for teachers and students across Canada and the world.
Professor Kyle Biggar of the Department of Biology and his team were also named finalists for their development of DarwinAI—an artificial intelligence platform designed to accelerate peptide drug discovery. The project is the result of a cross-disciplinary collaboration with Professor James Green of the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD student François Charih.
Commercialized through the innovative startup NuvoBio, DarwinAI enables biopharmaceutical companies to predict drug safety profiles earlier in development, helping to reduce time, costs, and reliance on animal testing. The platform is already supporting the design of new peptide-based treatments.
Professors James Green (left) and Kyle Biggar (right), along with PhD student François Charih (center), were named finalists for their development of DarwinAI—an AI-driven platform that accelerates peptide drug discovery and improves early-stage safety prediction.
Rounding out the list of finalists, Professor Mohammad Rayhani from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in collaboration with Edwin Safari, a former visiting professor with Carleton’s Geoengineering Research Group, were recognized for their development of Graphene-based Adsorptive Filter for TerrAqua Solutions (GRAFTATM)—a patented filtration material that uses sugar-derived graphene nanosheets coated onto recycled glass to treat industrial wastewater.
GRAFTATM represents a cost-effective and scalable solution for removing persistent contaminants from mining and industrial runoff. Now being commercialized through GRAFTA Nanotech Inc., the technology is attracting growing interest in both Canadian and international markets.
A Growing Culture of Collaborative Innovation
The celebration also showcased the role of CU@Kanata, Carleton’s collaborative research hub in the heart of the Kanata North Tech Park.
“Impactful research doesn’t materialize in a vacuum—it depends upon sustained effort and strong ties between academia and industry,” said Travis Flieler, CU@Kanata’s Director of Operations.
“That’s exactly the kind of work CU@Kanata is designed to support—by embedding Carleton researchers, students, and faculty within Canada’s largest technology hub, we’re creating the conditions for innovation to take root and thrive through meaningful collaborations.”
Event participants from across faculties and sectors found the celebration both inspiring and motivational. Carleton’s IP Impact Award is expected to return next year with an expanded nomination window.
