Research Achievement Awards

The awards were established in 1989 to enhance research quality and recognize research excellence. The recipients’ terms run from May to April after an announcement each spring.

Be sure to also view the Teaching Achievement Awards awarded at the same ceremony.

2025 Recipients

Congratulations to this year’s recipients!

Joe Bennett, Department of Biology

A user-friendly tool to design information-gathering programs

Decision-making for biodiversity conservation is complex and relies on incomplete information that is expensive to collect. I will create a tool for designing information-gathering programs that uses the principles behind complex Bayesian value of information analysis, presented in a user-friendly framework that can handle qualitative or highly uncertain data. This will help practitioners in biodiversity conservation — and other fields — efficiently gather data to navigate difficult decisions.

Catherine Cullingham, Department of Biology

Understanding how climate adaptation affects host-pathogen interactions in North American pine

Canada’s forests are under increasing pressure from pests and pathogens because of climate change, the introduction of invasive insects and other disturbances. Using molecular biology and landscape genetics, we will investigate the complex interaction between pine hosts and pathogens, and determine whether climate adaptation of the tree hosts influences this interaction. Our findings will enhance forest management strategies, ensuring healthier forests and sustainable ecosystems in the face of climate change.

Megan Gaucher, Department of Law and Legal Studies

Lovers in a Dangerous Time: Spousal Sponsorship, Border Closures, and Post-Pandemic Familial Futures

The Canada-U.S. border closure in 2020 forced couples with pending sponsorship applications to remain geographically separated. This project maps how couples navigated and resisted state framings of family migration as “non-essential”, how they adopted longstanding discourses of “deserving” families to justify their entry during this exceptional time, and the impact this mobilization has had on legislative and advocacy frameworks underpinning spousal sponsorship post-pandemic.

Shulabh Gupta, Department of Electronics

Sub-THz Optoelectronic Benchtop System for Monolithically Fabricated Metasurfaces

We will develop a sub-THz benchtop measurement system for characterizing real-time, reconfigurable electromagnetic (EM) metasurfaces in the D-band. We will design novel D-band metasurfaces and antennas using Carleton University’s MicroFabrication Facility (CUMFF) and explore monolithic integration of various advanced tunable materials. The proposed research will enable the Metamaterials and Antenna Research Squad (MARS) in the Department of Electronics to develop and demonstrate cutting-edge technologies focused on sub-THz 6G wireless components and systems.

Amrita Hari, Feminist Institute of Social Transformation

International Students’ Study-Work-Migration Journeys in Atlantic Canada

International students are a key driver of economic development in Atlantic Canada. The region has become increasingly interested in attracting, integrating and retaining this group. Using Nova Scotia as a revelatory case, I will investigate key challenges, strategies, and social supports for international students. This project is expected to enhance academic understanding of international student mobility, work and citizenship, while providing recommendations to tailor support for this growing and vulnerable group.

Laura Macdonald, Department of Political Science

Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Mexican Labour Reform and Labour Provisions in CUSMA

This research project will study the initial effects of the implementation of the 2019 labour reform in Mexico and the labour provisions in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Using both quantitative and qualitative evidence, I will evaluate the success of the reforms and identify the obstacles to a more substantial shift toward independent and democratic trade unionism.

Banu Örmeci, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Fate and Removal of Microplastics and Nanoplastics at Wastewater Treatment Plants

Canadians throw away over three million tonnes of plastic waste every year, much of which remains in the environment for hundreds to thousands of years. This research project aims to further our understanding of the occurrence, fate, removal and impact of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) at wastewater treatment plants. Based on this knowledge, the project seeks to improve the performance of wastewater and sludge treatment processes to limit the discharge of MPs and NPs into the environment.

Fateme Rajabiyazdi, Department of Systems and Computer Engineering

Developing Large Language Model Interfaces for Health Information Seeking

Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming how people access health information. While patients and clinicians acknowledge this shift, concerns about misinformation and over-reliance remain. Our collaborative research with patients and clinicians aims to develop an LLM interface for health-related queries. The goal is to identify usage patterns and create guidelines for safe, effective LLM integration in healthcare, potentially reducing burdens and costs within the Canadian healthcare system.

Nassim Tabri, Department of Psychology

Predicting binge eating in everyday life from appearance importance using experience sampling methodology

The proposed study will examine whether placing heightened importance on appearance predicts binge eating in daily life. Two hundred diverse undergraduates will report appearance-related thoughts and eating behaviours multiple times a day for 14 days. The findings will clarify the link between appearance importance and binge eating, as well as the potential differences by gender and race/ethnicity, guiding interventions for diverse groups.

Stelios Zyglidopoulos, Sprott School of Business

Digital Transformation and Corruption in Public Sector Organizations

The main research question my project will address is: How does the digital transformation of public sector organizations relate to corruption in these organizations? Within this broad question, suitable for qualitative in-depth research, I hope to better understand several sub-issues that we are aware of and others that we are not. For example, how does the creation of a digital trail for various transactions increase accountability and reduce corruption?

2024

• Kyle Biggar, Biochemistry
• Scott Bucking, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Francine Darroch, Health Sciences
• Christina Gabriel, Political Science
• Andrew Harris, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Abid Hussain, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Guoliang Frank Jiang, Sprott School of Business
• Azar Masoumi, Sociology and Anthropology
• Stéfy McKnight, Journalism and Communication
• Murray Richardson, Geography and Environmental Studies

2023

• Adrian Chan, Department of Systems and Computer Engineering
• Kristin Connor, Department of Health Sciences
• Steven Cooke, Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science & Department of Biology
• Linda Duxbury, Sprott School of Business
• Jennifer Evans, Department of History
• Kelly Fritsch, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
• Liam O’Brien, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Carlos Rossa, Department of Systems and Computer Engineering
• Stephan Schott, School of Public Policy and Administration
• Erin Tolley, Department of Political Science

2022

• Mohamed Al Guindy, Sprott School of Business
• John Anderson, Department of Cognitive Science
• Jenny Bruin, Department of Biology
• Rachel Burns, Department of Psychology
• Matthew Johnson, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Heath MacMillan, Department of Biology
• Ashraf Matrawy, School of Information Technology
• Leila Mostaço-Guidolin, Department of Systems and Computer Engineering
• Dipto Sarkar, Geography and Environmental Studies
• Paul Villeneuve, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Health Sciences, and Department of Neuroscience

2021

• Prosenjit Bose, School of Computer Science
• Sonia Chiasson, School of Computer Science
• Cynthia Cruickshank, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Laura Horak, School for Studies in Art and Culture: Film Studies
• Andrea Howard, Department of Psychology
• Victoria McArthur, School of Journalism and Communication
• Jeffrey Monaghan, Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Isaac Otchere, Sprott School of Business
• Hongyu Sun, Department of Neuroscience
• Richard Yu, School of Information Technology

2020

• Andy Adler, Department of Systems and Computer Engineering
• Patricia Ballamingie, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
• Doris Buss, Department of Law and Legal Studies
• Michael Hildebrand, Department of Neuroscience
• Hashmat Khan, Department of Economics
• Uma Kumar, Sprott School of Business
• Hillary Maddin, Department of Earth Sciences
• Johanna Peetz, Department of Psychology
• Oren Petel, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Steve Ulrich, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering