Mike Commito

Dr. Mike Commito is the Director of Applied Research & Innovation at Cambrian College.

Dr. Commito completed a Bachelor of Arts (Laurentian University), Master of Arts (Laurentian University) and PhD (McMaster University) in Canadian history.

His research focused on the history of black bear hunting and management in Ontario. In 2014, Dr. Commito received the Riddell Award from the Ontario Historical Society for the best article on Ontario’s history published that year. In 2018, he received the Paul Kitchen Award from the Society for International Hockey Research for the best hockey research project produced that year.

Prior to joining Cambrian College in 2016, Dr. Commito was the Research Coordinator at Northern Policy Institute (NPI), where he led the organization’s research agenda, which focused on developing evidence-based solutions for Northern Ontario. During his time at NPI, Dr. Commito researched and wrote about natural resource policy issues, such as the Ring of Fire development.

At Cambrian, Dr. Commito worked as an Applied Research Developer, brokering projects between funders, industry partners, and college resources. After becoming the Director of Applied Research & Innovation in 2018, Dr. Commito oversaw the development of Cambrian’s Technology Access Centre (TAC) proposal to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. In the spring of 2019, Cambrian was awarded a TAC and established the Centre for Smart Mining. It is just one of two mining-focused Technology Access Centres in Canada.

Outside of his work at Cambrian, Dr. Commito is an accomplished writer and author. He is the Team Historian for the Sudbury Wolves and a writer for the LA Kings. In 2018, Dr. Commito published his first book, Hockey 365: Daily Stories from the Ice. He lives in Sudbury with his wife, Chantal, and daughter, Zoe.