A memorial event Monday, Jan. 9, will honour members of the UWindsor community who died in the January 2020 crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after its takeoff in Tehran.

Of its 167 passengers, 138 were en route to Canada. Among them were UWindsor biology research assistant Samira Bashiri; engineering doctoral students Hamidreza Setareh Kokab, Pedram Jadidi, and Zahra Naghibi; and Naghibi’s spouse Mohammad Abbaspour Ghadi.

UWindsor president Robert Gordon called the loss “unfathomable.”

“Our own students were standing on the very doorstep of discovery in their research careers and their potential was limitless,” he said. “We will never know what life-changing contributions they may have made in their areas of study and academic pursuits.”

The commemoration will begin at 10 a.m. in the CAW Student Centre Commons and is open to all.

Following the event, a memorial in room 3000 of the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation will provide a space for reflection as well as a book to share words of comfort and memories for the families of the deceased. Counsellors will also be available to support those in need.