Many congratulations to Professor Sushanta Mitra, for his renewal as WIN Executive Director! Mitra joined WIN in 2017, and also serves as Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering where he leads his research laboratory – Micro & Nanoscale Transport Lab. Previously, Mitra served at York University as Associate Vice-President of Research and Kaneff Professor in Micro- & Nanotechnology for Social Innovation.
During his very productive first term as ED at WIN, Mitra brought in many exciting new initiatives, putting increased level of services for WIN members above all. He also fostered many exciting partnerships within Ontario, across Canada and globally, which resulted in significant research funding and access to infrastructure. An ardent supporter of the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), Mitra has mapped research themes and WIN activities to specific SDGs and has co-founded the International Network for Sustainable Nanotechnology. Additionally, he championed two editorial articles on sustainable nanotechnology which have been published in the American Chemical Society publication ACS Nano further raising WIN’s international profile (The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology: Societal Impact and a Sustainable Future and Nanotechnology for a Sustainable Future: Addressing Global Challenges with the International Network4Sustainable Nanotechnology).
About his renewal, Mitra has this to say: “It has been a tremendous honour to serve the extraordinary research community at WIN for the past five years, and I am thankful for the privilege to be able to continue bringing the excellent work of our researchers to the public to improve the lives in our community and around the world.” Mitra is very much excited to work with WIN members in his second term and collaborate with different Faculties at the University of Waterloo to ensure opportunities are made available for researchers to excel.
Mitra is equally proud of his small but agile WIN team that supports his activities at WIN. Dr Lisa Pokrajac, WIN’s Assistant Director Research Programs, says: “I have been at WIN now for just over 10 years, and it has been a wonderful experience. My job is so diverse and exciting and I very much enjoy working with all WIN members, students, partners and all my colleagues at the WIN Office. Sushanta is an excellent leader and teacher, and I learn so many new things every day.”
“The WIN Office is a lively place to work. We are a tight-knit and supportive team, and our collaborative efforts have produced results I am proud of,” mentions WIN’s Operation and Marketing Coordinator, Kendra Goertz.
Adding to this, Dr Oleg Stukalov, WIN’s Business Development Manager states, “Not a single day is alike at WIN, making my work so incredibly interesting and fulfilling! It is a joy to work with our small but mighty WIN team!”