2024 medal recipients
Awarded to the two graduate students who achieve the highest academic standing upon graduation from a master’s or doctoral degree program.
Ceremony E
Dr. Zhiqin Chen, PhD, Computing Science
Faculty of Applied Sciences
In his graduate studies, Dr. Zhiqin Chen proposed several methods for 3D reconstruction and generation by combining machine learning and classic computer graphics algorithms. His work introduced the neural implicit representation, which is now one of the dominant representations in 3D generation applications. He received a best student paper award in 2020 and a best paper finalist in 2023 at top computer science conferences, and his PhD thesis received the Alain Fournier Dissertation Award and Eurographics PhD Thesis Award in 2024. He joined Adobe Research after graduation and has continued his research on deep-learning-powered 3D algorithms.
Ceremony F
Dr. Nicola Mulberry, PhD, Applied and Computational Mathematics
Faculty of Science
During her doctorate, Dr. Nicola Mulberry studied the complex mechanisms behind the spread of pathogens such as the pneumococcus and SARS-CoV-2. She developed mathematical models to understand how within-host mechanisms may help explain population-level patterns of antibiotic resistance in the pneumococcus. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped develop mathematical models for public health use. She received an NSERC graduate scholarship to support her doctoral work. For her postdoctoral work in the department of Biosystems Engineering at ETH Zurich, Nicola is developing models and computational tools for the analysis of single-cell lineage tracing data, with applications to developmental biology.
Recognizes graduating students from each faculty whose cumulative grade point average places them in the top five per cent of their class.
Ceremony A
Dr. Marieh Azizirad, PhD, Economics
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Marieh Azizirad’s dedication as a macroeconomist shines through in her focused research on the impacts of government and central bank policies on the economy. Following her PhD at SFU, she embarked on a postdoctoral journey at the University of Warwick before securing her dream role as an economist at the International Monetary Fund.
Ceremony C
Ronaldo L. C. Au-Yeung, MA, Political Science
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Ronaldo Au-Yeung joined Simon Fraser University in 2017. A neorealist, his research interests focus on balance-of-power politics, alliance and non-alliance, grand strategy and traditional security with a regional specialization in China. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in International Journal, the Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, The Future of Multilateralism and Globalization in the Age of the US-China Rivalry and elsewhere, and has been featured by the National Post and the Epoch Times. This year, he will join the University of Notre Dame as a university fellow.
Ceremony D
Dr. In Nga (Joey) Lam, PhD, Business Administration
Beedie School of Business
Dr. Joey Lam is passionate about teaching students to be ethical marketers and researchers. Two of her dissertation papers have been published in leading journals. She is a recipient of SFU’s 2023 TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award and the Academy of Marketing Science's 2023 Annual Conference Best Student Research Paper, and was a finalist for the American Marketing Association’s 2024 Marketplace Simulations Innovation in Marketing Education Award. Joey is currently an assistant professor of business at Trinity Western University, and her upcoming research project on inclusive working environments for salespeople with disabilities won a research grant at Trinity Western University.
Ceremony E
Dr. Christopher Gareth Hynes, PhD, Engineering Science
Faculty of Applied Sciences
During his PhD studies, Dr. Christopher Hynes made significant engineering contributions to antennas and propagation. His thesis extended the theory of a fundamental electromagnetic sensor and performed experimental validation by introducing a novel wireless electromagnetic sensor. He achieved a 4.33 CGPA during his PhD program and received several awards, including the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral. He has been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at SFU and plans to research novel antenna solutions in the fields of wireless energy harvesting and biomedical electromagnetic sensors.
Ceremony F
Dr. Stefanie Machado, PhD, Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Ceremony F
Dr. Steven Blaber, PhD, Physics
Faculty of Science
For his PhD, Dr. Steven Blaber studied energetically efficient control of stochastic thermodynamic systems. This emerging field examines the thermodynamics of micro- and nano-scale systems, like the many tiny machines that transport cargo and store energy within living cells. Supported by the Graduate Dean’s Entrance Scholarship, he has made several significant contributions to advance our theoretical understanding of these molecular machines. Steven now applies the tools and techniques learned at SFU in his work as a postdoctoral scholar at UBC, studying amorphous mirror coatings for future generations of gravitational wave detectors.
Ceremony F
Dr. Amy I. Hsieh, PhD, Earth Sciences
Faculty of Science
Dr. Amy Hsieh earned a cotutelle PhD from Simon Fraser University and National Taiwan University, undertaking research on reconstructing paleoclimate using proxies from sedimentary records. Through her work, she identified new and reinterpreted existing climate proxies, resolved conditions under which climate signals are recorded in sedimentary archives and developed new methodologies for identifying sediment and carbon dispersal patterns in oceans. She has won numerous awards, including an NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship. She will be starting her postdoctoral research at the University of Lausanne, studying the influence of arc-continent collisions on carbon sequestration.
Ceremony G
Dr. Philippa Rush Adams, PhD, Communication
Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
Dr. Philippa Adams’ SSHRC-funded doctoral research examined gendered social media discourses of women in superhero movies using a combination of methods, including qualitative framing analysis and computer-assisted sentiment analysis. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Digital Democracies Institute. As the program manager of the Data Fluencies Project and Co-PI of its Experimental Algorithmic Futures Working Group, her research brings together computational methods and cultural studies in communication, media and critical data studies.
Ceremony G
Dr. Florian M. Herla, PhD, Geography
Faculty of Environment
Dr. Florian Herla is an atmospheric scientist and mountain guide whose research focuses on how snowpack simulations can enhance snow avalanche forecasting. His PhD introduced practical methods to analyze these simulations, providing forecasters with valuable insights into avalanche forecasting strengths and weaknesses. Motivated by tangible application and academic research, Florian actively builds partnerships that serve avalanche warning agencies and snow model researchers. He is currently developing an operational weather and snowpack model chain with multiple international stakeholders. Soon, he will return to SFU for a postdoctoral fellowship on ensemble snowpack modeling, a probabilistic approach to predicting snow conditions.
Ceremony H
Dr. Michael Pruner, PhD, Education
Faculty of Education
A high school mathematics teacher from North Vancouver, Dr. Michael Pruner’s PhD dissertation studied how students solve problems in high school mathematics classrooms. Problem solving is a key learning goal within mathematics and in other disciplines, and he was interested in how best to support students in developing this skill. Through analysis of classroom video and attending to student activity and behaviour during the problem-solving process, he determined that this skill is best developed in highly collaborative environments where students have access to many choices and many resources.
Ceremony H
Dr. Poh Choo Tan, PhD, Education
Faculty of Education
For her second PhD, Dr. Poh Tan blended science, art and education through the practice of hula and Hawaiian ways of knowing to foster a wholistic approach to scientific literacy. She achieved a 4.22 CGPA and is an SFU Outstanding Alumni Award recipient, YWCA Woman of Distinction Award Nominee, Mantella Corporation BIPOC Entrepreneur Award recipient, and a United Nations delegate for the National Council of Women of Canada. She currently collaborates with Science World, the Vancouver Botanical Garden Association, the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology and the Binche Whut’en First Nation to create diverse educational STEM projects.
Awarded to the two undergraduate students who achieve the highest scholastic standing upon graduation from a bachelor’s degree program.
Ceremony B
Kalum Kumar, BA (Hons.), Psychology
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Kalum Kumar is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and is incredibly grateful for his family, friends and mentors who supported him along the way. Kalum completed the psychology honours program under the supervision of Dr. Lara Aknin, where he investigated whether giving and receiving advice could enhance the well-being of students at SFU. He intends to leverage his passion for research by attending graduate school in social psychology, where he will continue to explore how we can foster a happier world. In the shorter term, Kalum will spend some time travelling the world and experiencing different cultures.
Ceremony E
Ardavan Behnia, BSc, Computing Science
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation
Awarded to an outstanding undergraduate student in any faculty who has completed the requirements for a Bachelor’s degree and/or a Certificate or a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma and has demonstrated academic excellence and outstanding contributions in support/promotion of one or more of the following areas: (1) inclusion, (2) democracy and/or (3) reconciliation, on campus or in their communities.
Ceremony E
Vanessa (Basil) Giannopoulos, BASc, Engineering Science
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Basil Giannopoulos has promoted inclusion and Reconciliation in the Faculty of Applied Sciences through outreach programs including Technovation, Go ENG Girl, Go CODE Girl and Science AL!VE, and through the Indigenous Tutoring & Mentoring Program (ITMP). Along with team members Jessica Seemann, Todd Nelson and Shay Denis, Basil has dedicated the last three years to growing ITMP as a culturally aware tutoring and mentoring initiative for Indigenous students. Their current plans include expanding ITMP nationally, fostering connections with Reconciliation efforts in Australia and pursuing master’s studies at SFU. They were recently awarded $17.5k in NSERC CGS-M funding towards their research.
Ceremony F
Sarah Chae, BSc (Hons.)
Faculty of Health Sciences
At SFU, Sarah Chae honed her commitment to amplifying the voices of equity-deserving communities. As a Health Peer Educator and leader of the Student Health Advisory Committee, she advocated for equitable campus health services and designed health promotion campaigns to spread awareness of student wellness strategies. As a research assistant, she developed a case-based learning curriculum on planetary health for medical education and collaborated with BC Cancer to defend an honours thesis on access to telehealth for cancer patients. During her studies, Sarah contributed to six research groups, led 12 student-centred initiatives and authored five publications.
Ceremony A
Isabella (Belle) Eist, BA, English
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Belle Eist majored in English and graduated first class with distinction in summer 2023. In addition to working as a research assistant on the Women’s Print History Project and other book history research projects throughout her undergraduate degree, Belle served as a volunteer educator, supporting secondary school students to develop their reading and writing skills. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in English at SFU and has received a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship. Her research interests surround female authorship and reading practices in the early nineteenth century.
Ceremony A
Jerry Eiswerth, BA (Hons.), Economics
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Jerry Eiswerth graduates with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a cumulative GPA of 4.20. During his time at SFU, Jerry earned three Undergraduate Student Research Awards for his work with Dr. Krishna Pendakur on multiple projects, including an exploration of interethnic marriages in Canada. His honours thesis examined the relationship between income and healthy eating. He credits his success to the many mentors whose unwavering support gave him the confidence to excel in his studies. Jerry was awarded a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship and will pursue a master’s degree at UBC starting this fall.
Ceremony D
Anisha Phahurea, BBA (Hons.), Accounting and Finance
Beedie School of Business
Anisha Phahurea is graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration with honours and a concentration in accounting and finance. She has won several awards recognizing her contributions to the Beedie community and her commitment to learning and academic excellence. As a teaching assistant for 14 sections of undergraduate business courses, Anisha provided invaluable support to SFU’s students. She also participated in the Beedie Writing Mentors program as a writing mentor and program assistant. She is currently pursuing her CPA designation, as well as graduate studies in accounting, with the goal of one day teaching at a post-secondary institution.
Ceremony E
Haoxuan Zhao, BSc, Computing Science
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Haoxuan Zhao is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in computing science. His passion lies in theoretical computing science, with a particular focus on computational complexity. He took a directed study course on pseudorandomness under the guidance of Dr. Valentine Kabanets. He looks forward to continuing his exploration of computational complexity as a graduate student at SFU.
Ceremony F
Jody Tao, BSc, Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Jody Tao came to SFU as a recipient of the Undergraduate Scholars Entrance Scholarship with Distinction and developed a passion for research. She was a member of the Warren Research Group and a research assistant in the Forde Lab, where she collaborated with industry leaders to develop a novel tool for imaging collagen. Her work has been presented at local and national conferences and has received several awards, including from the Biophysical Society of Canada. Jody is also a piano teacher and has played on the provincial and national netball teams. She is excited to attend medical school this fall.
Ceremony F
Grayson Rodney Davis, BSc (Hons.), Mathematics
Faculty of Science
Grayson Rodney Davis graduated with a Bachelor of Science with honours in Mathematics. He appreciates the logical yet creative nature of mathematics and aspired to share his love for the subject with others during his time at SFU. He served four semesters as a Calc Connect Peer Mentor for first-year calculus students and introduced new math and physics students to SFU as a HIVE Welcome Leader. He is also passionate about research and was awarded two NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards during his degree. Grayson will attend New York University this fall to begin a PhD program in mathematics.
Ceremony G
Kitty Cheung, BA, Interactive Arts and Technology
Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
Writer and artist Kitty Cheung majored in Interactive Arts and Technology with a minor in World Literature. At SFU, she presented at academic conferences, volunteered as a peer mentor, wrote for The Peak and completed three graphic design and digital marketing internships. Through her directed studies project with poet Chantal Gibson, she documented childhood memories of a less gentrified Chinatown. Kitty received several awards, including the Shrum Shad Valley Entrance Scholarship and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion International Mobility Award. She plans to travel throughout Asia after graduation and continue her writing projects, including a poetry book and short story collection.
Ceremony G
Pierre Etienne Banville, BEnv, Geography
Faculty of Environment
Pierre Etienne Banville is graduating with a Bachelor of Environment and a major in Global Environmental Systems as his second undergraduate degree. During his degree, he maintained a CGPA of 4.24 and was named to the President’s Honour Roll three times for outstanding academic performance. He was also heavily involved with academic research, both in ecology and climatology. In the summer of 2023, he received an Undergraduate Student Research Award to conduct research on nature-based climate solutions. Starting this fall, he will be pursuing a Master of Science in Geography at SFU.
Ceremony H
Emma Tuck, BGS, Education
Faculty of Education
Emma Tuck graduated first class with distinction with a CGPA of 4.16, earning the Undergraduate Open Scholarship twice. During her time at SFU, she worked in the childcare field and volunteered at local elementary schools, applying her learning to real-world contexts. As a future educator, she found these experiences invaluable, and they reinforced her commitment to fostering nurturing and inclusive educational settings. Emma plans to continue her studies in SFU's Professional Development Program this fall and aims to eventually complete a master's degree in education.