Student Awards

19 U of G CEPS grad students earned top provincial and federal scholarships for excellence in research, leadership and innovation.

Sonal Allana, a PhD candidate in Computer Science, won first place in the 3-minute thesis competition at the Responsible AI Track of the Canadian AI Conference, held in Calgary. The competition encourages ethical and responsible AI development by promoting fairness, transparency and accountability in the field.

Mukaila Ibrahim, a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry, has been awarded an Inorganic Poster Award for his presentation at the 2025 Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CSC) in Ottawa. His poster received outstanding reviews from the judging committee, reflecting both the quality of his research and his dedication to preparation and presentation.

Congratulations to Ibrahim on this achievement!

Chong Gan, who recently completed her PhD in statistics at the University of Guelph and has been awarded the prestigious CANSSI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship for 2025–2027. Currently a Sessional Lecturer in Guelph’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Chong will advance her research on novel copula-based statistical models for survival and count data with applications in health research.

Mahdi Lavasani, recipient of the 2025 Hallett Memorial Scholarship, is a PhD student researching the molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s Disease. His work focuses on how the neuronal protein alpha-synuclein interacts with cellular membranes and the autophagy protein LC3B, revealing how these interactions may contribute to protein aggregation and impaired autophagy in neurodegeneration.

From May 2 to 4, 2025 the University of Guelph hosted GDSC Hacks 2025: Build with AI, a student-led hackathon that brought together aspiring developers, designers, and innovators to tackle real-world problems using artificial intelligence. Organized by the Google Developer Student Club (GDSC) at U of G, the event welcomed participants from across Ontario for a weekend of collaboration, creativity and cutting-edge tech.

The IGT x ImNO Joint Symposium took place from March 5th to 6th in Toronto, where experts, researchers, and innovators in image-guided therapy (IGT) and medical imaging come together to share insights and collaborate.

U of G engineering students placed second at the Water Environment Association of Ontario Student Design Competition.

On Saturday, March 29th, the 53rd annual Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference (SOUSCC) took place at the University of Guelph, hosted by the Department of Chemistry. This conference gives universities the opportunity to showcase the research conducted by their undergraduate students. Congratulations to our U of G chemistry students who won prizes for their research presentations!

Prize Winners

CEPS held its 3MT College Heat on March 25, with Adya Dash winning first place, Jagandeep Saraya second, and Spandana Chereddy third.