School of Performance professor Cheryl Thompson (left) is the new CRC in Black Expressive Culture and Creativity, and mechanical, industrial and mechatronics engineering professor Sharaeh Tanghipour (right) has had her CRC in Physical Asset Management renewed for a second term.
The Government of Canada has announced that two researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) have been named Canada Research Chairs (CRCs). The CRC program promotes research excellence and recognizes leaders in their fields.
Performance professor Cheryl Thompson has been named a new CRC, and mechanical, industrial and mechatronics engineering professor Sharareh Taghipour has had her CRC renewed for a second term.
As the Tier 2 CRC in Black Expressive Culture and Creativity, professor Thompson's research will explore, map and share how Black Canadians' lives have shaped Canada's creative landscape. She will engage with Black scholars, practitioners and industry stakeholders in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax to deepen understanding of how Black creative histories are represented in Canadian archival collections. This knowledge will extend her pioneering project, Mapping Ontario's Black Archives (MOBA), by collecting archival stories from across Canada.
MOBA is a digital platform that provides open access to Black archival collections, including photographs, books, letters, manuscripts, journals and more. Professor Thompson's research will help her establish an archival methodology that makes Black expressive culture in Canada accessible, connecting more people to these rich cultural collections. She will also work on creating a Framework for Black Archival Practices to enable a new generation of researchers, archivists and historians to document, name and describe Black expressive culture in Canada.
"This project is rethinking what we consider archival because typically, in the pre-digital past, in order for something to be kept by an institution, it had to have some kind of material value," said professor Thompson from TMU's The Creative School. "My work is saying, If you've lived a life, it has value.'"
TMU's Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science professor Sharareh Taghipour's Tier 2 CRC in Physical Asset Management has been renewed for five years. By developing automated, real-time decision-making solutions that enhance asset management efficiencies, professor Taghipour is contributing to higher productivity, reliability, safety, resilience and reduced costs in industries such as energy, transportation and manufacturing. By improving complex systems, such as production scheduling for advanced manufacturing (which makes up 11% of Canada's GDP), professor Taghipour's work contributes to a more environmentally responsible world.
"I'm very pleased to congratulate professor Thompson on her new Canada Research Chair and professor Taghipour on her renewal," said Steven N. Liss, TMU's vice-president, research and innovation. "Their respective research initiatives and leadership will enhance our understanding of Black culture and creativity in Canada and contribute to a more sustainable and robust future through process automation."
Learn more about Mapping Ontario's Black Archives (MOBA).
Read about Toronto Metropolitan University's Canada Research Chairs.
