The fifth annual Dean’s Award for Research Excellence (DARE) winners were recognized in a special celebration by the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS). Thirty-eight recipients showcased their exceptional work completed over the summer under the leadership of LA&PS professors.
“It’s so wonderful to be able to celebrate student achievements in person once again,” said J.J. McMurtry, dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. “DARE provides our students with the opportunity to work on research projects with some of the best research minds. Our researchers are leaders in their field and our students are among some of the best in the world.”
LA&PS launched DARE to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in faculty-supervised research. Students each received $5,000 for their work over a four-month period.
“LA&PS runs quite a few internal programs to support research but DARE is the most representative of the range of research programs and interests across the Faculty. It sees participation of students from every program, faculty from every Department and School and at every stage of their career. It is a wonderful window onto the diversity and strength of the work we do,” shared Ravi de Costa, associate dean research and graduate studies, LA&PS.
Disaster & Emergency Management student Karly Spencer worked closely with Professor Eric Kennedy on how the public received and understood information related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This experience opened my eyes to how much work and time goes into survey data collection and dissemination,” said Spencer. “This is a useful insight that I will carry with me in my future career in emergency management where I hope to provide project timelines and assistance for collecting data on risks within a community.”
DARE is now one of the signature events hosted by LA&PS which represents the diversity of brilliant minds coming together while reflecting the depth of highly collaborative research. “DARE is a unique opportunity that truly showcases both the rich intellectual achievements of our students and the excellent mentorship of their faculty supervisors,” said David Cuff, director of strategic research & partnerships at LA&PS. “I’m certain that these students will go on to accomplish great things.”
SAS DARE RECIPIENTS
Willow Webber
Webber, who is studying Disaster & Emergency Management was supervised by Professor Eric Kennedy. Her project is called “Overcoming Barriers to Wildfire Preparedness”.
Aditya Lakhina
Lakhina is studying Financial & Business Economics and was supervised by SAS Professor Nabil Tahani. His project was titled “Investigating the Market of Structured Notes and their Impact on Retail Investors”.
Karley Spencer
Spencer, who is studying Disaster & Emergency Management was supervised by Professor Eric Kennedy. Her project is titled “Understanding the Public’s Knowledge During the COVID Pandemic”.
Aman Chhatwal
Chhatwal, who is studying Commerce (Finance) was supervised by Professor Daniel Richards. His project was titled “Gender Bias and Financial Planning Careers”.
Muzamil Chatha
Chatha is studying Commerce (Finance) and was supervised by Professor Zachary Spicer. His project was titled “Moving Up and Moving Out: Analyzing the Career Trajectory of Political Advisors in Government”.
View the award recipients in the winner’s gallery. To learn more about participating in DARE visit the homepage.
Parts of this story were originally published in yFile.