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Congratulations to our 2020-2021 Major External and Government-Funded Award Recipients
In celebration of our 2020-2021 major award winners, we are pleased to share their accomplishments. We hope you enjoy learning more about our incredible students and their research.
SFU President and Vice-Chancellor, Joy Johnson
Dear Graduate Award Recipients,
Congratulations on your academic achievements and well-deserved awards and scholarships.
We could not be more proud of you and what you have accomplished over the past year while facing many individual and collective challenges.
The past year has shown us that research is important in all fields. Not only is research a crucial component of our university’s mission, it has helped improve and save lives. It has also helped uncover many social issues that exist in our society while advocating for the marginalized and helping create a more just and equitable future.
This year’s award recipients have covered many important topics, from using robots to help people have better lives, examining democracy and cultural autonomy in Canada, the evaluation in HIV/AIDS and substance use disorder, to sustainability and Indigenous studies. I am impressed by your intellectual capabilities, your dedication to academic excellence, and your desire and commitment to make a positive impact on society.
My thanks to all the donors for giving our emerging scholars a solid foundation and an opportunity to make a difference. Your generosity and contributions make this world a better place.
SFU Vice-President, Research and International, Dugan O’Neil
Congratulations to our graduate students for their outstanding academic achievements. Their work is an essential part of Simon Fraser University’s research success—their ideas, talent and dedication have played a vital role in advancing SFU’s reputation as one of the most productive and well-regarded research-intensive universities in Canada. Carrying out and disseminating research is part of the mandate of universities, and I am proud of our graduate students’ incredible work in that regard.
The Tri-Council Agencies include the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). They support and promote high-quality research and are the primary mechanism of the Canadian government to fund higher education research training. By supporting some of the most promising Canadian students at a critical time in their careers, these awards help them build the leading scientific and research skills needed within our country’s industries, governments and academic institutions.
I am pleased to see that so many of our graduate students are recipients of these major external and government-funded awards. Especially noteworthy is the interdisciplinary nature of the work, and the groundbreaking research in new and emerging areas. From designing innovative technologies that offer enhanced immersive experiences, to exploring the natural phenomenon of snow algae or ‘watermelon snow,’ to better understanding the connections between spinal cord injury and cardiorespiratory complications, masters and PhD students come to SFU from all over the world to change that world from within our institution. And on behalf of SFU, we are so very thankful.
Graduate students’ accomplishments, discoveries and insights help advance scholarship at SFU across all faculties and disciplines. They are highly valued members of our community and SFU is so fortunate to collaborate with and be inspired by them. Congratulations again to all of the award winners.
