From: Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President & Provost
Date: March 27, 2019
Re: Appointment of Professor Christopher Yip as Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (PDAD&C #69)

I am delighted to announce that the Agenda Committee of Academic Board has approved the appointment of Professor Christopher Yip as Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering for a five-year term from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2024. Professor Yip currently serves as the University’s Associate Vice-President, International Partnerships and previously served as Director of the Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME).

As Director of IBBME, an interdisciplinary hub located at the nexus of Engineering, Medicine, and Dentistry, Professor Yip fostered immense success. His achievements include enabling the launch of a new Biomedical Engineering minor for undergraduates, a new Biomedical Engineering M.Eng initiative, and advancing the Institute’s teaching and research profile through the creation of an undergraduate summer research program, a new design studio, and an expanded teaching lab. Professor Yip also oversaw IBBME taking the lead academic administrative role for two major collaborative projects: The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research Translational Biology and Engineering Program, and the Medicine by Design program, which is supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Professor Yip’s emphasis on collaboration, integration, and innovation have enhanced IBBME and the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering as leaders for multidisciplinary engineering and academic excellence.

As Associate Vice-President and as Director of IBBME, Professor Yip has also made strategic advances for the University in the areas of international partnerships and research. For example, he has led the creation of new awards and funding opportunities such as the IBBME Wildcat Voyageur Scholarships, which provide funds for PhD students to participate in international conferences and workshops, and the Lyon Sachs Collaborative Research Fund, which supports joint symposia and student-faculty travel between the University of Toronto and the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel. Working closely with MITACS, he has secured dedicated Globalinks scholarships and developed key pilot initiatives for the University. He partnered with MaRS Innovation and TorontoGlobal to facilitate international research partnerships, attract corporate investment, and build entrepreneurial initiatives. Professor Yip was instrumental in the launch of the Toronto-Tsinghua Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum, and strengthening links with key academic partners, including University College London, the University of Manchester, Zhejiang University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the National Centre for Scientific Research, and the National University of Singapore through initiatives such as the International Doctoral Cluster program.

Professor Yip is an internationally renowned scholar for his work on molecular imaging. He has received numerous honours and awards, including the Premier’s Research Excellence Award, the Faculty of Medicine Graduate Faculty Teaching Award for sustained contributions to excellence in teaching, and a Tier II Canada Research Chair Award in molecular imaging. Professor Yip is also a fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Professor Yip received his BASc from the University of Toronto and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto, Professor Yip was a research scientist at Dupont Canada and held a postdoctoral fellowship at Eli Lilly and Company.

Professor Yip’s service to the University as Director of IBBME and as Associate Vice-President, International Partnerships has been exemplary. His leadership, vision, and dedication to academic collaboration and innovation will be key to the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s continued success in the years ahead. Please join me in congratulating Professor Yip on this appointment and wishing him well as he transitions into his new role as Dean.