This month, we said goodbye to an incredible person. We take a moment to honour the life and legacy of Dr. Greg Kawchuk.
Below, Dr. Martin Ferguson-Pell shares a personal tribute to their years of friendship, discovery, and shared curiosity.
“Greg and I Co-Directed the Rehabilitation Robotics Lab in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Laboratory. Working with Greg in conceiving of the lab around 2010 and shaping it over the years has been very rewarding and a lot of fun.  Greg would bounce into the lab full of enthusiasm for the latest tech and within hours was shaping a new cutting-edge project.  Often, the projects that evolved were eye-catching. For example, his knuckle cracking project, which used MRI to demonstrate the underlying mechanisms of knuckle cracking, drew international attention. How did it work, did it cause harm – simple questions that drew public attention and piqued their curiosity.  Similarly, reports were heard that perhaps riding the roller coaster at Disney Land dislodged kidney stones.  Greg saw the opportunity to simulate the g-forces and vibrations of the roller coaster in the lab, and so he built a simulated kidney (along with a typical stone), but was missing something. What were the characteristics of those thought to be therapeutic g-forces and vibrations? Off to Disney Land two students were sent, taking an inertial measurement system with them to ride the roller coaster.
All Greg’s research, eye-catching or not, was undertaken rigorously, to high scientific standards – but with a twinkle in his eye! Greg celebrated the fun and the seriousness of science and engineering, creating infectious enthusiasm from all those around him.  He loved teaching graduate students, wanted them to experience the joy he had for science, but also cared for their well-being during the inevitable occasional stressful times of graduate studies.  The course he created – an intensive 2-week course to provide new graduate students with the basic tools they need- won him the 2024-25 Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine Teaching Award.  Greg and Kim Adams also provided valuable graduate student mentorship for iSMART’s SMART CREATE program. Greg’s energy, enthusiasm and joy for science are sorely missed by us all in the Rehabilitation Robotics Lab and beyond.  Martin Ferguson-Pell and the RRL Team”
A celebration of Dr. Kawchuk’s life will be held on July 11, 2025. While the RSVP deadline has passed, you can still visit the tribute page using the link below to view photos, stories, and memories shared in his honour.
https://gnk-gnk.com/#gallery
