Celebration recognizes new Carswell Scholars, gives thanks to Carswell Family Foundation

The Carswell Scholars present a box containing thank you letters to Don and Allan Carswell

A new group of graduate students from the Faculty of Science and Lassonde School of Engineering are inspired to push the limits of their research thanks to The Carswell Family Foundation.

The 11 new Carswell Scholars presented a snapshot of their research at a recent awards celebration at the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, honouring Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell and the Carswell Family Foundation.

The Carswell Scholars present a box containing thank you letters to Don and Allan Carswell

The foundation’s $1-million gift in May 2016 created a permanent endowment and expendable fund to establish the Carswell Scholarships for graduate students in the Faculty of Science and the Lassonde School of Engineering. Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell of the Faculty of Science, his daughter Ruth and son Don, as well as last year’s winners were at the event.

“It is thanks to this thoughtful and generous gift from the Carswell Family Foundation that we are here today to celebrate and demonstrate the impact this gift has had on nurturing the scientific potential of graduate students. Several of our graduate students have been able to explore some deeply pressing scientific questions,” said Professor EJ Janse van Rensburg, interim dean, Faculty of Science. “This is only possible because of the vision and generosity of Allan and his family.”

From left: Interim Dean of the Faculty of Science EJ Janse van Rensburg, Ruth Carswell, Allan Carswell, Don Carswell, and Lassonde School of Engineering Dean Jane Goodyer

The recipients – six from engineering and five from science – are researching everything from cosmology and genetics of immunity in honeybees to robotics and the impact of climate change on tunnel stability.

Faculty of Science Carswell Scholar Yousif Hassan

“Gathered in this room today are some of the finest graduate students in the Lassonde School of Engineering and Faculty of Science,” said Jane Goodyer, dean, Lassonde School of Engineering. “Congratulations on your achievements and for your distinction as Carswell Scholars. I truly believe that the research questions this group is tackling will change the world.”

A box of thank you letters from Carswell Scholars, detailing what his gift has done for their research, was presented to Carswell and the foundation.

The following students are this year’s Carswell Scholars:

Lassonde School of Engineering

Josephine Morgenroth, Lassonde School of Engineering Carswell Scholar

Zahra Arjmandi, Department of Earth and Space Science & Engineering; Md. Abdullah Asad, Department of Civil Engineering; Vidushi Jain, Department of Earth and Space Science & Engineering; Maria Koshkina, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Josephine Morgenroth, Department of Civil Engineering; and Tzamali Evangelia Myrto Tzamali, Department of Earth and Space Science & Engineering.

Faculty of Science

Richard Bloch, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Yousif Hassan, Department of Science and Technology Studies; An Le, Department of Chemistry; Tansushree Tiwari, Department of Biology; Guanlin Zhang, Department of Mathematics and Statistics.