York University’s Faculty of Science recognized the academic, teaching and research excellence of students, faculty and staff during its annual Honours & Awards Ceremony held Jan. 30.
More than 150 guests joined the evening event at the Second Student Centre, which featured a keynote address by Earle Nestmann, York University alumnus (MSc ’71, PhD ’74), board member and donor, and president of Health Science Consultants Inc.
After Mike Scheid, associate dean of students, and Rui Wang, dean of the Faculty of Science, welcomed guests, the recipients of the Faculty of Science Dean’s Special Recognition Awards, Excellence in Research Awards and Excellence in Teaching Awards were announced.
“These awards recognize the brilliance of our instructors, researchers and staff who work very hard to serve our students and make a positive impact on science and our community,” said Wang. “Our Faculty is committed to fostering scientific discovery and tackling global challenges to create positive change in our world. And we are so lucky to have talented researchers, teachers and staff on our team to help us achieve this.”
The awardees were:
- Professor Stephen Watson, Chair of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics –Dean’s Special Recognition Award
- Hugo Chen, director of International Collaborations & Partnerships – Dean’s Special Recognition Award
- Professor Christopher Jang, Department of Biology – Excellence in Teaching Award in the Junior Tenure Stream Faculty category
- Professor Alireza Rafiee, Division of Natural Sciences – Excellence in Teaching Award in the Contract Faculty category
- Graduate student Farwa Sajadi – Richard Jarrell Excellence in Teaching at the Graduate Level Award
- Graduate student Evangelia Tzamali – Richard Jarrell Excellence in Teaching at the Graduate Level Award
- Professor Jude Kong, Department of Mathematics & Statistics – Excellence in Research Award in the Early Career Researcher category
- Professor Neal Madras, Department of Mathematics & Statistics – Excellence in Graduate Mentorship Award
The ceremony continued with Science faculty, staff and department chairs announcing and congratulating the postdoctoral Fellows, graduate students and undergraduate students who had received awards and scholarships during the 2021-22 academic year. More than 230 students and trainees and 95 adjudicated awards were recognized.
Several prestigious postdoctoral fellowships were showcased, such as the American Association of University Women Fellowship, which supports women scholars who are pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication. Chinwendu Emilian Madubueze was honoured as the recipient of this award.
In the graduate awards category, highlights included congratulating Emily Anacleto, Makunaima Diaz Cevallos, Kyra Dougherty and Cassandra Withers for receiving the Dean’s Scholarship for Women in Science, which supports female doctoral and master’s students in the Faculty of Science. And, Gehrig Carlse and Alexander Pouliot were congratulated for receiving the Iristel Graduate Physics Award, which supports promising graduate students in the field of optical physics.
In the undergraduate awards category, highlights included recognizing Veronica Aharon, Daniel Aliee, Sophie Eisen, Minoosh Fathi, Jacob Fine, Karina Kofman, Anita Misrop and Sarah Pullano for receiving the York University President’s Scholarship, which is presented to incoming first-year students with the highest entrance averages. Finally, Nicole Frias was congratulated for receiving the Canadian Society for Chemistry Silver Medal in Biochemistry, which is presented to students in their penultimate year with the highest academic standing.