On March 29, students, faculty, staff, alumni and industry friends came together to enjoy the 34th annual ChemE Dinner. Several students were recognized throughout the evening for their extracurricular and/or academic achievements.
Leaders of Tomorrow Award Winners
The Class of 8T2 Emerging Leaders Award in Chemical Engineering
Saif Rjaibi (ChemE 2T1) has been an active member of the Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Council (Chem Club), serving as First-Year Class Representative and Mentorship Director. He is passionate about strengthening his community and aspires to enter the field of bioengineering. Last summer, he worked as an Instructor with the Faculty’s Junior DEEP Program, developing engaging activities to inspire the next generation of STEM-loving students.
The Professor James W. Smith Leaders of Tomorrow Award
Emily MacDonald-Roach (ChemE 2T1) involvement throughout her two years at ChemE has been motivated by a deep love for the engineering community. She has been a cast member for two years and writer of Skule Nite, the engineering musical, and an executive member of the Skule Archives. She has a passion for improving student experience and has been involved as a mentor in several capacities, including as a head leader for frosh week, residence advisor for the Girl’s Leadership in Engineering Experience, and a student mentor for the ChemE program.
The Class of 5T9 Leaders of Tomorrow Award
Fletcher Han (ChemE 2T0) has made serious efforts to inspire first and second year students to develop their leadership skills as Chair of the Association of Leadership in Chemical Engineering. Additionally, he has been the Mentorship Director for two years. He has successfully connected over 100 new students with experienced undergraduates in order to help familiarize them with U of T’s unique dynamics. Finally, he has had the opportunity to provide humanitarian aid in places such as Egypt and Thailand.
The ERCO Worldwide Leaders of Tomorrow Award
Jeff Dryden (ChemE 1T8+PEY) has been involved with ChemE community ever since he transferred in from Track One. He has served in Chem Club over the past four years, including chairing the club this year to a Discipline Club of the Year award. He has also taken leadership roles within Orientation Week, Intramural Athletics, the University of Toronto Concrete Toboggan Team, and the University of Toronto Students’ Union.
The Troost Family Leaders of Tomorrow Award
Rosten Role (ChemE 1T8+PEY) has been involved with the U of T student chapter of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering for the last three years where he is currently serving as Chair. Rosten is also involved in student outreach and recruitment initiatives of the university through his work with the Engineering Recruitment office.
The Professor Douglas Reeve Leaders of Tomorrow Award
Christian Euler (PhD student supervised by Prof. Krishna Mahadevan) is a passionate leader who cares deeply about mentorship and innovation. As co-chair of ILead:Grad, he led a team of six executives to deliver monthly personal and professional development events for more than 160 engineering graduate students. His passion for creating a better world extends beyond school. Along with his colleague, Vik Pandit, Christian co-founded a company that produces chemicals that we use every day in a way that is renewable and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Plant Design Awards
Chemical Engineering Plant Design Award
- Danhenrie Cuevas (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Aradhita Dhaddha (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Firsya Avelia Risandi (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- William Wong (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
Environmental Plant Design Award
- Ziyu Bao (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Nicholas Harrilal (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Yin Jin (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Yixuan Xie (ChemE 1T9)
Sustainable Energy Plant Design Award
- Portia Deterville (ChemE 1T9)
- Andrew Lagdameo (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Chuan (Mary) Liu (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Rosten Role (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
- Jason Stachelek (ChemE 1T8+PEY)
Graduate Student Awards
- Bert Wasmund Graduate Fellowship in Sustainable Energy Research
- Esmeralda Bukuroshi, PhD student supervised by Prof. Tim Bender
- Thanmayee Mudigonda, MASc student supervised by Prof. Tim Bender
- BioZone Graduate Scholarship
- Paul Chen, PhD student supervised by Prof. Frank Gu
- Patrick Diep, PhD student supervised by Profs. Krishna Mahadevan and Alexander Yakunin
- Eco-Tec Founder’s Fellowship
- John Anawati, PhD student supervised by Prof. Gisele Azimi
- Edward Jarvis Tyrell Fellowship
- Timothy Rodgers, PhD student supervised by Prof. Miriam Diamond
- Frank Howard Guest Bursary
- Amir Hossein Ghayour, MASc student supervised by Prof. Edgar Acosta
- Diran Basmadjian Graduate Scholarship in Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
- Locke Davenport Huyer, PhD student supervised by Prof. Milica Radisic
- Helen L. Cross (nee Colquhoun) Memorial Graduate Scholarship
- Natashya Falcone, PhD student supervised by Prof. Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz
- Azadeh Vatandoust, PhD student supervised by Prof. Levente Diosady
- Irving O. Shoichet Graduate Scholarship
- Locke Davenport Huyer, PhD student supervised by Prof. Milica Radisic
- Rein Otson Memorial Graduate Scholarship
- Chester Pham, PhD student supervised by Prof. Krishna Mahadevan
- Anupama Achal Sharan, PhD student supervised by Profs. Elizabeth Edwards and Emma Master
- W.H. Rapson Memorial Award
- Touraj Ghaznavi, PhD student supervised by Prof. Roger Newman
- William J. Dowkes Graduate Scholarship
- Natashya Falcone, PhD student supervised by Prof. Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz
ChemE Exhibition Research Poster Winners
Energy Category
- First place: Amirhossein Foroozan Ebrahimy, PhD student supervised by Prof. Roger Newman, Development of Nanoporous Ternary-Noble Alloys Used as Electrocatalysts
- Second place: Sweta Surisetti, PhD student supervised by Prof. Edgar Acosta, Developing Formulations and Controlling Hydrodynamic Conditions for Targeted Emulsified Solvent Injection (TESI) for Bitumen Oil Recovery
Environmental Category
- First place: Jeffrey Martin, MASc student supervised by Prof. Vlad Papangelakis, Improved Modeling of the Membrane Process in Forward Osmosis
- Second place: John Anawati, PhD student supervised by Prof. Gisele Azimi, Recovery of Scandium from Canadian Bauxite Residue Utilizing Acid Baking Followed by Water Leaching
Health Category
- First place: Alexander Baker, PhD student supervised by Prof. Molly Shoichet, Benchmarking 3D In Vitro Cancer Models Against Gold Standard Xenografts
- Second place: Ghata Nirmal, PhD student supervised by Prof. Arun Ramchandran, Mass Transfer Measurement in Concentrated, Particulate Suspension Flows
Congratulations to all our winners! To view photos from the 34th annual ChemE Dinner, click here.