The School of the Environment announced the winners of its Graduate Student Awards for the 2018-19 academic year at Research Day on April 18, 2019.
The awards highlighted the depth and variety of graduate research. Graduate students in our collaborative specializations excelled in the areas science, social policy, global development, and law – from ecology and conservation; environmental and social issues confronting First Nation communities; implementing sustainable initiatives into corporate frameworks; to research campaigns that span the globe.
Below are the students who clearly stood out this past year.
MARJORIE GILLESPIE BOLTON AND MABEL GILLESPIE NORRIS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
ANTONY ZELENKA, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of Anthropology
Antony is a first year doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology, with a collaborative specialization in environmental studies through the School of the Environment. His research explores supposedly “sustainable” development initiatives involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders in Eeyou Istchee, Quebec.
JOHN R. BROWN AWARD
KIRSTEN YEUNG, MSc/ES CS Candidate, Department of Chemistry
Kirsten is currently working on her PhD project with the Peng Group at UofT. She is interested in the characterization of toxicological profiles by cysteine reactive chemicals using proteomics.
ERIC DAVID BAKER KRAUSE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP
BREANNE BATEMAN, MPP/ES CS Candidate, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy
Breanne is graduating this spring from the Munk School’s Master of Public Policy program. She recently completed an internship at the City of Mississauga, in the Environmental Services Section, where she conducted research and led policy development on topics such as storm water management and brownfield redevelopment.
AIDAN GOERTZEN, MEnvSc/EH CS Candidate, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences/UTSC
Aidan is pursuing master’s degree in Environmental Science with a collaborative specialization in Environment and Health. She is passionate about examining environmental challenges and identifying solutions which benefit the health of humans and the planet that they inhabit.
ARTHUR AND SONIA LABATT FELLOWSHIPS
BREANNE BATEMAN, MPP/ES CS Candidate, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy
Breanne is graduating this spring from the Munk School’s Master of Public Policy program. She recently completed an internship at the City of Mississauga, in the Environmental Services Section, where she conducted research and led policy development on topics such as storm water management and brownfield redevelopment.
AIDAN GOERTZEN, MEnvSc/EH CS Candidate, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences/UTSC
Aidan is pursuing master’s degree in Environmental Science with a collaborative specialization in Environment and Health. She is passionate about examining environmental challenges and identifying solutions which benefit the health of humans and the planet that they inhabit.
COLUMBA GONZALEZ, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of Anthropology
Columba will be graduating in June 2019 with a Ph.D. in sociocultural anthropology at the University of Toronto and the School of the Environment (Collaborative Specialization in Environmental Studies). Her doctoral thesis examined monarch butterfly conservation dynamics across the East Coast migratory route. Columba is the first recipient of the 2019-2020 Faculty of Arts & Science/Max Planck Institute for Religious & Ethnic Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship.
BRONWYN SEKULOVICH, MA/ES CS Candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning/ Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
Bronwyn is currently pursuing her thesis-stream Masters in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She is involved with Unify Toronto, an organization that grew out of the university, aimed at connecting hubs of advocacy around the city and beyond. She is a core group member of Project Drawdown, and is participating in the Environmental Leadership Circle award.
LESLIE WEXLER, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of English
Leslie is a PhD in the Department of English and the School for the Environment’s Collaborative Specialization in Environmental Studies. Her work is a literary study situated in the Early Modern period (1500-1700), but begins from the premise that an understanding of the cultural past speaks to the issues that frame our current environmental crises.
GEORGE BURWASH LANGFORD AWARD
ESMERALDA BUKUROSHI, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry
Esmeralda is a 4th year PhD student. Her work focuses on the development of new environmentally friendly materials for more efficient organic solar cells. She is an advocate for student professional development through the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association and the School of the Environment. She is currently doing her research at the University of Copenhagen with a Mitacs Globallink Research Award.
ALEXANDER B. LEMAN MEMORIAL AWARD
DA CHEN, MScPl/ES CS Candidate, Program in Planning, Department of Geography and Planning
Da is a First-Year student in the Master of Science in Planning Program. His research interests lie in finding ways to bridge Indigenous knowledge and urban planning, particularly in relation to the environmental planning of cities. His personal achievements include being part of the Students on Ice expedition in 2017, attending the 4th International Marine Protected Area Congress in Chile in 2017 and being part of the Ocean Bridge program in 2018.
BEATRICE AND ARTHUR MINDEN GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AT THE SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT
BRIANNA BOTCHWEY, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of Political Science
Brianna is a SSHRC-funded doctoral candidate in political science and environmental studies. Her dissertation examines the impact of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on foreign aid policy. In addition to her academic research, she has worked for Global Affairs Canada and the OECD, and is currently a research assistant at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy’s Environmental Governance Lab. She is also a former GESA president.
AMY JANZWOOD, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of Political Science
Amy is a PhD candidate in Political Science and Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto, a Research Fellow at the Earth System Governance Project, and a Research Associate at the Environmental Governance Lab. She is currently in a visiting Research Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, and is collecting data for her dissertation on the governance and outcomes of contentious transboundary oil pipeline projects within and passing through Canada.
PATRICK MOLDOWAN, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Patrick is a Ph.D. Candidate jointly affiliated with the School of the Environment and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He is studying the population ecology and sensitivity to environmental change of salamanders. Patrick’s research program involves long-term amphibian and turtle studies based at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station, Algonquin Provincial Park, where he addresses topics related to herpetology (amphibian and reptile biology), natural history, evolutionary ecology, and conservation science. Patrick was a recipient of the prestigious New Noah Scholarship from Wildlife Preservation Canada, an award recognizing young leaders in conservation.
JOSHUA STECKLEY, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Department of Geography and Planning
Josh is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geography and Planning, with a collaborative specialization in Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto. One night in 2017, he was driving on a rural dirt road near his small hometown in Ontario when he came upon a peculiar set of lights scattered across a farmer’s field. This opened a can of worms; he became curious about the unknown multimillion-dollar worm-picking industry unique to southwestern Ontario. His research focuses on the socio-ecological relations necessary to turn common living organisms, like dew worms, into valuable commodities sold around the world.
ALAN H. WEATHERLEY GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP
MUMTAZ DERYA TARHAN, PhD/ES CS Candidate, Adult Education and Community Development, LHAE at OISE
Derya is a PhD Candidate in Adult Education and Community Development at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), at the University of Toronto. His research interests include the social economy, energy co-operatives, political ecology, social movement learning, and community development. Derya has also worked as the Project Co-ordinator for the People, Power, Planet (PPP) Partnership, a SHHRC-funded research initiative to assess, document and share experiences of community energy development across Canada and beyond. He also founded and is currently managing The Community Power Report, a global resource hub for community-owned renewable energy initiatives.