October 27, 2026: CMC Microsystems is proud to announce the winners of TEXPO 2026. Established by CMC Microsystems, TEXPO offers graduate students in Canadian universities a unique opportunity to demonstrate their novel applications of micro-nano technologies to industry representatives and academic peers. TEXPO 2026 was held as part of Where Sovereignty Meets Prosperity: Canada’s Semiconductor Symposium.

TEXPO 2026 Winners

Brian L. Barge Award for Excellence in Microsystems Integration

Winner: Mahdi Chegini
Faculty adviser: Jianping Yao
Organization: University of Ottawa
Project: Low-Complexity Silicon Photonic Integrated Accelerator for High-Speed Convolution
Award presenter: Brian Barge, Co-Founder and CEO, The Evidence Network Inc.

Gayathri Singh Award for Microsystems Innovation by Women

Winner: Shiva Nejati
Faculty adviser: Mitra Mirhassani
Organization: University of Windsor
Project: High-Performance and Resource-Efficient Hardware Architectures for Post-Quantum Cryptography
Award sponsor: C2MI
Award presenter: Marie-Josée Turgeon, CEO, C2MI

Thank You to Our Sponsors

TEXPO 2026 was made possible through the support of our sponsors and partners.

TEXPO Title Sponsor: COMSOL Inc.
TEXPO Award Sponsor: C2MI

CMC Microsystems also thanks the judges who contributed their expertise to the competition.

Congratulations again to the TEXPO 2026 winners and to all participating graduate researchers for showcasing the talent, creativity and technical excellence shaping Canada’s semiconductor future.