The University of Windsor honoured five members of its community who were killed when Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down.
Sunday marked the third anniversary after the passenger jet was shot down by two Iranian surface-to-air missiles just minutes after taking off from the airport in Tehran.
Described as gifted students and brilliant researchers, Samira Bashiri, Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, Pedram Jadidi, Zahra Naghibi, and Naghibi’s spouse Mohammad Abbaspour Ghadi were among 167 passengers on board the plane.
"Many were among the best and the brightest in their fields, including the individuals on route here to Windsor," said Dr. Lisa Porter. "It will forever haunt us that we'll never know what those individuals themselves would have accomplished."
Bashiri was a research assistant in Porter's lab. She moved to Windsor with her husband, Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, who was a Ph.D student in the Mechanical Engineering department.
Despite the loss of potential future accomplishments, all of the researchers continue to have an impact on work at the university.
Rupp Carriveau with the Faculty of Engineering worked with Naghibi in the labs of the Civil Engineering department. He says they are continuing to build on her research.
"We continue to work in the area that she created, the door she opened. She's helping us and the university as we contribute to the university's wider effort to grow food for Canadians," said Carriveau.
To honour the victims, two scholarships have been created to honour the victims; the Iranian Student Memorial Scholarship and the Ontario Remembrance Scholarship.
