STEAM ICAC 2025

Thank you!

Thank you to all the participants, seminar speakers, judges, and sponsors who supported STEAM ICAC 2025! Congratulations to the winners and we hope to see you next year!

You will find all information related to STEAM ICAC 2025 below.

Learn More

Rules & Regulations
2025 Curriculum
STEAM ICAC 2024

Guest Speakers

Angelina Fernandes: Bachelor of Applied Science Mechanical Engineering Student at the University of Toronto
Tanya Shetty: Bachelor of Science Physics and Astronomy Student at the University of Waterloo
Max Ecker: Bachelor of Science Mathematics Student at Queen’s University
Krystal Nunes: Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University
Joshua Vences: Bachelor of Health Sciences in Health, Engineering Science and Entrepreneurship Student at McMaster

Workshops

Medical Malady

Explore various diseases and disorders through a deck of cards. Participants will learn to recognize symptoms and key characteristics to identify each condition while building a foundation in common medical terminology.

Spectra Quest

Participants will learn about light refraction and chemical properties of substances and build their own light spectrometer using those principles. Once built, the spectrometer will be used to analyze and investigate properties of various materials with differing colors.

Innovation Enigma

Participants embark on a scavenger hunt in the area surrounding the event venue. Participants explore the various attractions in the area, taking on photography challenges at each destination, challenging their creative thinking. At the end of the event, the group/person with the best, accurate, and most creative photographs will be entered into a prize draw.

Wing Works

Participants will work in groups of at least two to assemble a metal plane using a provided building kit. The kit includes detailed instructions and all the necessary parts to guide you through the process. Participants will learn about the different components of airplanes and their purposes. Once completed, the plane can be taken home!

Key to Discovery

Use dichotomous keys to classify various organisms. Analyze distinct features and navigate a series of choices to find each organism’s identity. Through this workshop, participants develop a thorough understanding of how biologists classify living organisms globally.

Judges

Angelina Fernandes

Bachelor of Applied Science Mechanical Engineering Student at the University of Toronto

Tanya Shetty

Bachelor of Science Physics and Astronomy Student at the University of Waterloo

Max Ecker

Bachelor of Science Mathematics Student at Queen’s University

Krystal Nunes

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University

Joshua Vences

Bachelor of Health Sciences in Health, Engineering Science and Entrepreneurship Student at McMaster

Engineering

Troy Zada

PhD Candidate in Management Sciences & Engineering

Sandra Zhitkova

HBSc Astronomy, Physics & Mathematics & Research Assistant

Mark Knight

Professor at University of Waterloo for Pipeline & Water Management Methods

Life Sciences

Chloe Wong

Bachelor’s of Engineering and Biomedical Engineering

Joshua Vences

Bachelor of Health Sciences in Health, Engineering Science

Astronomy

Marinus Okoronkwo

PhD Candidate | Flow Control and Turbulence Lab at University of Toronto

Prompts

Astronomy

To advance human civilization to other planets, it’s crucial to gather accurate data on planetary systems. Since stars play a significant role in solar systems, gathering accurate information about them is essential. Thus, we often use star clusters as a controlled environment to study stars more effectively. However, star clusters are currently classified based on observational data such as size, age, and density. How can the classification methods of star clusters be improved in order to gain a deeper understanding of their life cycles and their role in galactic evolution?  What additional observations need to be collected for an improved classification method? How can we classify star clusters to draw useful conclusions from each classification category?

Engineering

More and more cities around the world are becoming urbanized. However, a growing population means excess strain on the municipal infrastructure; this leads to a higher cost of living and worse quality of life. Thus, many cities have started expanding underground in order to meet the increasing demand for space. How can a suburban area expecting rapid urbanization utilize underground space to better the quality of life for the residents? Which services or components of the city should be moved underground? How can the underground and overground components of the city have seamless integration with one another? What sort of a city plan for constructing underground spaces in an urbanizing suburb is efficient, cost-effective and safe?

Life Sciences

There are approximately 12,000 new cases of cerebral palsy annually. Furthermore, 80-90% of the individuals diagnosed with CP struggle with daily activities that require the use of fine motor skills such as eating, brushing, etc. Although there are many assistive technologies for individuals with CP, they are too task-specific. This is often inconvenient and makes it difficult for individuals to be independent. What kind of assistive technology can allow individuals with CP perform the wide range of movements needed for everyday life? What can be done to make this device versatile, discreet and easy to use?

Astronomy

To advance human civilization to other planets, it’s crucial to gather accurate data on planetary systems. Since stars play a significant role in solar systems, gathering accurate information about them is essential. Thus, we often use star clusters as a controlled environment to study stars more effectively. However, star clusters are currently classified based on observational data such as size, age, and density. How can the classification methods of star clusters be improved in order to gain a deeper understanding of their life cycles and their role in galactic evolution?  What additional observations need to be collected for an improved classification method? How can we classify star clusters to draw useful conclusions from each classification category?

Engineering

More and more cities around the world are becoming urbanized. However, a growing population means excess strain on the municipal infrastructure; this leads to a higher cost of living and worse quality of life. Thus, many cities have started expanding underground in order to meet the increasing demand for space. How can a suburban area expecting rapid urbanization utilize underground space to better the quality of life for the residents? Which services or components of the city should be moved underground? How can the underground and overground components of the city have seamless integration with one another? What sort of a city plan for constructing underground spaces in an urbanizing suburb is efficient, cost-effective and safe?

Life Sciences

There are approximately 12,000 new cases of cerebral palsy annually. Furthermore, 80-90% of the individuals diagnosed with CP struggle with daily activities that require the use of fine motor skills such as eating, brushing, etc. Although there are many assistive technologies for individuals with CP, they are too task-specific. This is often inconvenient and makes it difficult for individuals to be independent. What kind of assistive technology can allow individuals with CP perform the wide range of movements needed for everyday life? What can be done to make this device versatile, discreet and easy to use?

2025 Donors & Sponsors

Youth Culture

https://youthculture.com/

Youth Culture Inc. empowers youth with opportunities to supercharge skills, kickstart careers, and thrive in a dynamic and ever-changing world.

Waterloo Region Museums

https://regionofwaterloomuseums.ca/en/index.aspx

As centres of discovery and learning, the Region of Waterloo Museums are essential to understanding our collective place in the world – past, present and future. We inspire feelings of pride and possibility in the community and foster a sense of identity and belonging among citizens.

.xyz

https://gen.xyz/

.xyz is the largest, fastest growing, and most affordable new domain extension for every website, everywhere®. With a global distribution network spanning across America, Asia, Europe and beyond, we strategically partner with registrars and resellers that are as enthusiastic as we are to deliver the most accessible and versatile domain names to the world.

Film.Ca

https://www.film.ca/

Film.Ca’s goal is to establish cinemas where families could go to the movies without going broke. Previously Encore Cinemas, now film.ca Cinemas, to this day continue to provide a reasonable cost alternative to see BIG MOVIES for small prices!


Casa Loma

https://casaloma.ca/

A prime example of modern Toronto’s commitment to its rich history. The castle located in midtown Toronto, is now owned by the City of Toronto and is regarded as a treasured heritage landmark. Today, Casa Loma is one of Toronto’s top tourist attractions and hospitality venues.

Splash ON

https://splashon.ca/

Splash presents a giant floating playground known as the most interactive water experience. Splash takes great pride in providing a wide range of obstacles that will take you to new heights, literally. Are you ready to make your SPLASH this summer while slipping, sliding and diving your way through our highlight-of-the-summer experiences?

The Old Spaghetti Factory

https://oldspaghettifactory.ca/

In keeping with the tradition of Gastown and its historical past, The Old Spaghetti Factory restaurants are filled with stained glass, antique light fixtures, and vintage artifacts imported from around the world. OSF is known for its amazing atmosphere, and dining with them is a truly unique experience!

St. Lawrence Parks

https://www.parks.on.ca/

St. Lawrence Parks Commission has become one of the largest tourism destinations in Eastern Ontario. Our facilities include thousands of hectares of park land and attractions on the St. Lawrence Heritage Corridor that provide a major source of recreational opportunities for residents and visitors to the Eastern Ontario Gateway to Ontario.