How Canada's scientific community is moving forward after 'unbelievable' losses in Flight 752

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A former student and research assistant of one of the many members of Canada's scientific community killed in the downing of Flight 752 says his teamwants to continue the work of their former lab head.

"Certainly wefelt her loss and nothing could express how lonely we became after her death,"Mohammad Abdolrazzaghisaid of the lateMojgan Daneshmand.

Daneshmand, who was anengineering professor at the University of Alberta, ran a research lab focusingon microwave technology for biomedical and chemical applications.Her husband Pedram Mousavi an engineering professor himself and their two daughters also died in the Jan. 8 crash that killed all 176 people aboard.Eighty-five people from Canada's scientific community were among those killed.

Iran denied shooting down the airliner for three days after the crash. Then amid mounting international pressure and evidence, it admitted its military "mistakenly" attackedthe jet shortly after it took off from Tehran,just hours after Iran's forces fired missiles at Iraqi bases where U.S. troops were stationed.

WATCH |Remembering Canada's victims of Flight PS752

Remembering Canada's victims of Flight PS752

5 years ago

Duration 21:36

One month after the Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 crash in Iran that killed 176 people, family and friends remember Canada's victims.

Now the Canadian scientific community is finding ways to move forward in the face of the huge losses.

Abdolrazzaghisaysthe research team has tried to "kept theirmomentum as much as possible" andhas "vowed to [Daneshmand] and the University of Alberta" to press on with her research.

Even though Daneshmand passing has made "this a little bit bumpy and so hard to continue,"Abdolrazzaghisays he hasn't forgotten the main reason for joining her team.

"We joined her group to continue our research and to studyin a better place to get a degree that could transformall of our studies," he toldThe Current'sMatt Galloway.

Community still in a 'state of disbelief'

Mehrdad Hariri, president and founder of the Canadian Science Policy Centre, saysit was touching to hear of the "wonderful stories" of colleagues coming together and "taking the torch" to continue to the legacy of researchers who lost their lives.

But two months on, the community is still in a "state of disbelief and shock because the scale [of loss] was great," he said.

"Researchers, students, lecturers lost their lives from across the country, from Vancouver to Halifax, Winnipeg, Waterloo, Edmonton,Toronto, Windsor. This was unbelievable."

The reason so many scientists were on the flight was because it was right after Christmas, so manywent back to visit families over the holiday period, he said.

Hariri saysthe plane crashwas a "defining moment"for many Iranian-Canadians, with himself and many of his colleagues and friends receiving messages of support andsolidarity from across Canada.

Following theFlight 752 tragedy,Hariri, along with the University of Toronto's Rahim Rezaie,took an active role in setting up scholarship funds inthe names of those who died.

The Iranian Student Memorial Scholarship Fundwasestablished at the University of Toronto in January. Itwill provide needs-based scholarships to international students from Iran, as well as students from any background pursuing Iranian studies.

Thefund is donation based,with all public contributions being matched by the university.The first $250,000 will be matched at arate of 3:1, with all funds beyond that threshold being matched dollar for dollar.

"We thought we have got to do something and continue their legacies. Helping out other Iranian students to pursue their studies and continue research would be one way to remember these victims,"Haririsaid.

Written by Adam Jacobson. Produced by Samira Mohyeddin and Allie Jaynes.