CEPS graduate students receive NSERC and CGS funding

From developing affordable autonomous tractors to artificial intelligence-based tools for medical diagnostics, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences graduate students are poised to have a transformative impact on their disciplines. This year, six students will receive Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) scholarships and awards to advance their research.

Three University of Guelph graduate students from CEPS were awarded the NSERC Post-Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral program in the 2022-23 competition, which provides financial support for high-calibre students enrolled in doctoral programs:

• Alysha Cooper, PhD in Mathematics and Statistics, supervised by Dr. Zeny Feng and Dr. Ayesha Ali. Alysha is developing optimization methods for the Dirichlet-multinomial regression model with variable selection for applications to the gut microbiome.
• Megan Govers, PhD in Engineering, supervised by Dr. Michele Oliver, co-supervised by Dr. Marvan Massan. Megan is addressing Canada’s agri-food worker shortage by developing an affordable autonomous tractor.
• Jenita Manokaran, PhD in Engineering, supervised by Dr. Eranga Ukwatta. Jenita is developing artificial intelligence-based computer aided tools for diagnosis and prognosis of patients.

Three PhD student received an award from the Canada Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral program, which supports some of the country’s most exceptional students enrolled in doctoral programs:

• Kassandra Raymond-Staley, PhD in Computer Science, supervised by Dr. Deborah Stacey and Dr. Theresa Bernardo (Population Medicine). Kassy is using graph databases to study the operationalization of data governance principles to improve the quality, discoverability, and reusability of animal health and production data in the Global Burden of Animal Diseases knowledge engine.
• Zachary Szentimrey, PhD in Engineering, supervised by Dr. Eranga Ukwatta. Zachary is studying 3D Ultrasound Image Analysis using Artificial Intelligence to develop a fully automated quantitative measurement system of pelvic floor structures in 3D ultrasound images.

Joshua van der Zalm, PhD in Chemistry, supervised by Dr. Aicheng Chen. Josh is studying the development of photoelectrocatalysts for various applications, such as wastewater treatment.
“I am thrilled that six of our extremely talented doctoral students were selected for scholarships this year,” says Dr. Monica Cojocaru, Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) in CEPS. “Their innovative research and potential in their disciplines helps advance University of Guelph research priorities and their respective fields. We anticipate great things from them as they complete their programs. Congratulations to everyone, much deserved.”