Articles from:October 2025

• Brock to celebrate 1,000 grads at Fall Convocation Friday

  Tuesday, October 14, 2025 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – OCTOBER 14, 2025 – R0119

  Years of anticipation will culminate with a meaningful walk across the Convocation stage for about 1,000 Brock University graduands this week.

  Brock’s 118th Convocation takes place Friday, Oct. 17, with ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. inside the University’s Ian Beddis Gymnasium.

  The morning ceremony will include students from the Faculties of Applied Health Sciences, Education, and Mathematics and Science. The afternoon ceremony will see degrees conferred on students in the Goodman School of Business and the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences.

  Among the honours presented Friday are the Governor General Silver Medals, awarded to the two undergraduate students with the highest academic standing in a first honours degree. This year’s recipients are Computer Sciences graduate Anthony Colosimo (BSc ’25) and Psychology graduate Molly Nullmeyer (BA ’25), who convocated this past spring with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts, respectively.

  Also being awarded Friday are two Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock medals presented to students who best exemplify the spirit of the University’s namesake, Maj.-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock, by demonstrating qualities of leadership, courage, innovation, inspiration and community involvement. This fall’s recipients are Public Health graduand Olajumoke Shobowale and Biotechnology graduand Noah Xiao.

  During her studies, Shobowale worked to ensure all students, especially her fellow international students, felt supported as they transitioned into university life. As an International Student Ambassador from Nigeria, she shared her experience with her peers and created an online platform, GlobalwithOla, to connect international students with vital resources. Shobowale made her mark on campus through work not only with Brock International, but also with the Smart Start orientation and Future Black Leaders programs.

  A mentor to junior students and recipient of many awards during his time on campus, Xiao helped to found Brock’s Graduate Mathematics and Science Student Society and organize the University’s first STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduate research conference. His impact on campus was also felt through his role as student co-chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization, through which he co-founded the International Student Working Group to provide additional support to international students.

  Tickets are not required to attend Fall Convocation, but there is a two-guest limit per graduand. All guests will be required to check in prior to entering the ceremony. Guests are encouraged to have the name and student identification number of the graduand they’re celebrating with them at check-in.

  Both Fall Convocation ceremonies will be livestreamed online at brocku.ca/livestream for those unable to attend in person.

  Complimentary parking will be available for Fall Convocation graduands and guests. Directional signage will lead guests to Lots D and B. If these lots are full, overflow parking will be available in Lots 1 and 3. Accessible parking is also available in Lot P. Carpooling and ride sharing is highly encouraged.

  For more information, visit brocku.ca/convocation

   

  Media are invited to attend Brock’s Fall Convocation ceremonies. Photographers shooting from directly in front of the stage are asked to wear a Convocation gown, which can be arranged in advance through Maryanne St. Denis, Associate Director, Strategic Communications.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  *Maryanne St. Denis, Associate Director, Strategic Communications, Brock University, [email protected] or 905-246-0256 

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  Categories: Media releases

• Cybersecurity, extreme heat research given federal funding boost

  Friday, October 10, 2025 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – OCTOBER 10, 2025 – R0118

  Brock University researchers are accelerating their efforts to address pressing social challenges thanks to a federal funding boost.

  Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Glaucio Haroldo Silva de Carvalho and Professor of Kinesiology Toby Mündel have received more than $120,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF).

  Announced Friday, Oct. 10, the investment by the Government of Canada through CFI supports research infrastructure, such as lab equipment.

  “We are very grateful for CFI’s support, which enables Brock researchers to take their work to the next level,” says Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon. “Dr. de Carvalho and Dr. Mündel’s research addresses critical problems that arise for people and institutions around the world.”

  In his Cybersecurity and Critical Intelligent Infrastructure (C²I²) Lab, Silva de Carvalho and his team aim to strengthen the resilience of digital infrastructure across Canada through research and education.

  “Through hands-on learning and applied research projects in the C²I² Lab we can increase students’ readiness to meet the growing Canadian and global demand for cybersecurity professionals,” says Carvalho.

  With the JELF funding, the team will leverage advanced computing resources to conduct simulations that mimic critical infrastructure environments, such as intelligent transportation systems. They will also develop artificial intelligence models to advance their research.

  Carvalho, Associate Professor of Computer Science Robson de Grande and their students have also established industry collaborations to address cybersecurity challenges in critical infrastructure, such as assessing vulnerabilities and detecting attacks. These systems keep sectors such as telecommunications and transportation operating safely and efficiently.

  Mündel’s JELF funding will be used to advance his research on the health impacts of extreme temperatures.

  The Canada Research Chair in Extreme Human Environments studies how heat affects women’s physiology, examines who might be at greater risk of heat stroke or other vulnerabilities to the heat, and explores technologies, such as wearable sensors, to protect the body against extreme heat.

  Central to Mündel’s research is the thermoregulation system, which includes sweat glands, the circulatory system, skin and a gland in the brain called the hypothalamus. He specializes in studying how estrogen and progesterone, the primary ovarian hormones in women of reproductive age, affect responses and adaptation to heat.

  Part of his research involves analyzing participants’ blood samples. In some cases, this analysis can happen a year after being collected. The JELF funding will enable Mündel to purchase a microplate washer and reader and an ultra-low temperature freezer to do this work.

  Mündel will also acquire a metabolic cart, which is used to measure the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in research participants’ breath while under heat stress. This gives a good indication of their metabolism in hot conditions, he says.

  “This current infrastructure fund completes my Exercise and Environmental Physiology Laboratory, a vital part of operationalizing my research at Brock,” he says. “My trainees and I can now forge ahead with projects aimed at understanding and protecting an underrepresented group — women — from heat stress.”

  Mündel’s and de Carvalho’s research build on key government areas of concern, says Member of Parliament for St. Catharines Chris Bittle.

  “The destructive impacts of cyberattacks and climate change continue to be felt in Canada’s communities and around the world,” says Bittle. “Dr. Mündel and Dr. de Carvalho’s research projects are aimed at fostering Canadians’ health, well-being and security in the midst of these challenges.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases