SFU Esri Canada Centre of Excellence in GIS Award Winners 2020-2021

The SFU Esri Canada Centre of Excellence (SFU ECCE) in GIS celebrate the following Award Winners on their outstanding work during the 2020-2021 year:

SFU ECCE Student Associate of the Year Award

Danielle Derrick (SFU Biological Sciences, MSc) was awarded the 2020 SFU ECCE Student Associate of the Year Award. She contributed in many ways as a student member of the SFU ECCE, writing blogs, participating in the App Challenge competition, presenting at the Esri UC 2019 in Vancouver, and was awarded the SFU Esri Canada Scholarship Award 2020. She completed her MSc degree in Fall 2020. Danielle’s thesis research used GIS and spatial analysis methods extensively to understand the abiotic factors influencing global shark and ray species richness, and to consequently develop spatial priorities for marine conservation. She developed metrics to identify spatially congruent sites of importance for global shark and ray biodiversity. ‎Congratulations Danielle!

Esri Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU

Kendra Munn (SFU Geography, MSc student) was awarded first place in the 2021 Esri Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU. Kendra's presented work focused on designing and developing 3D GIS-based multicriteria methods to improve spatial decision-making using ArcGIS and City Engine. She is an active student member of the SFU ECCE and has participated in several nationwide App Challenge competitions. Congratulations Kendra!

Roya Shourouni (SFU Geography, MSc student) was second place and awarded a cash prize in the 2021 Esri Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU. Roya's presented work focused on developing an ArcGIS toolbox for semantic trajectory construction and privacy protection. Congratulations Roya!

The SFU ECCE Student Associate of the Year Award recognizes continuous and significant contributions during the past years. The Esri Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU recognizes excellent achievement in GIS through the design and implementation of an original and individual project related to the advancement of methods and/or applications in the discipline. The award applications were evaluated by teams of reviewers associated with GIS at SFU and finalized by Esri Canada. The SFU Esri Canada Centre of Excellence (SFU ECCE) within the Department of Geography was established in 2014 in recognition of the long-standing quality of GIS research in the Department of Geography. It represents an important network collaboration between industrial partner Esri Canada and the Faculty of Environment. The core members are the GIS faculty in the Geography Department with external collaborators drawn from across SFU. The SFU ECCE is currently co-managed by Dr. Shiv Balram and Dr. Suzana Dragicevic. We are thankful for the resources provided by Esri Canada to celebrate the achievements of our GIS students.