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Morris completed her PhD in genetics studies in 1946, becoming one of the first two women to receive a doctorate from Cornell’s plant breeding department. She accepted a faculty position at the University of NebraskaLincoln (UNL), becoming the first woman faculty member hired by the agronomy department, where she spent a 43-year-long career.

AS A CYTOGENETICIST WITH UNL’S WHEAT TEAM, MORRIS DEVELOPED AND TESTED CHROMOSOME LINES IN BREAD WHEAT VARIETIES.

Early in her studies, she looked at the effects of radiation on crops including corn genes. Keen to improve her technical skills, she completed a fellowship at the California Institute of Technology in 1949-50. She also spent several months in 1956-57 on a Guggenheim scholarship in Sweden and England.

As a cytogeneticist with UNL’s wheat team, Morris developed and tested chromosome lines in bread wheat varieties. “This involved meticulous microscope observations by Rosalind and her assistants,” read her obituary. “Many of these lines were shared with wheat scientist in different countries.

“Rosalind was a trailblazer for women in agronomy when it was unusual to see women in such roles.”

Morris died March 26, 2022, just over a month before her 102nd birthday.

Born May 8, 1920, in Wales, she moved to Canada with her family in 1925. The move came after her father, a teacher, had contracted flu following the First World War; a doctor had advised him to find an outdoor occupation.

By 1930, the family was living on a fruit farm in Lambton County.

In 1997, she established the W. Penri Morris Memorial Scholarship at U of G, named for her brother, who was killed during the Second World War.

A longtime member of the Nebraska Academy of Scientists, Rosalind Morris belonged to the local branch of the American Association of University Women and to the St. David’s Society of Nebraska.

Her cytogenetics work continues to provide a resource for researchers studying functional genomics.

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Executive director of the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station and a champion of marine conservation, the U of G master’s grad died Jan. 3, 2021. She was 61.

After Murison completed a master’s degree in 1986 with then-zoology professor Dr. David Gaskin, she kept up ties with both U of G and her adviser. Many U of G graduate students carried out research at the station, which was founded by Gaskin, a marine biologist, in 1981. He died in 1998.

Murison helped create the Gaskin Memorial Museum at the station in North Head, which receives thousands of visitors each year.

As part of her research to protect habitats and species, she conducted aerial surveys of endangered right whales in the Bay of Fundy that linked deaths of the mammals to shipping lane traffic. Her advocacy helped to move the shipping lanes in 2003; numbers of new whale calves increased over the next decade.

She arrived at Grand Manan while studying right whales for her degree at U of G in the 1980s.

Among her projects on the island, she helped lead efforts to protect and restore historical buildings, including the Swallowtail Lighthouse. She helped her husband, Ken Ingersoll, as a volunteer light keeper.

A long-time volunteer on Grand Manan, Murison taught local students and visitors, consulted with the local fishers’ association on whale entanglement reduction, served as naturalist with a whale tour boat company, and created and installed educational panels along hiking trails.

M.J. Edwards, curator and director of the Grand Manan Museum, told CBC Radio that Murison continued to chair board meetings and help with renovations through her chemotherapy treatment.

“We accomplished more in the last five years at the museum than in the last 50,” said Edwards. “She never let anything get in her way. I don’t think anyone has touched the lives of islanders so many

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Marking its 70th anniversary this year, the Class of OAC ’51 raised $51,000 for U of G student awards for 2021 intended to foster leadership.

The one-time awards will support six entering diploma students at the Ridgetown Campus, three entering undergraduate students in the Ontario Agricultural College and 10 OAC undergraduate students at convocation this year.

“We set up the special 70th-anniversary awards because my classmates and I believe in the old adage of giving something back, and we wanted to recognize and encourage student leaders and potential leaders,” says Clayton Switzer, former OAC dean and an Order of OAC inductee.

“We also hope that we might be seen as an example for other OAC graduates to emulate.”

1980s

Jane Eliza Stark, B.Sc. ’80, has written Journeyman: William Garner Sutherland, , The Formative Years (1873-1900). It follows the early life of an osteopathic doctor who developed the osteopathic cranial concept and is published by Roe House Press.

Yvonne Tremblay, B.A.Sc. ’80, has published Culinary Herbs: Grow, Preserve, Cook!, the sixth cookbook she has written or co-authored since 2001. She runs Quisine as a food, marketing and nutrition consultant, serves as a recipe developer and TV spokesperson for Foodland Ontario, and teaches in Georgian College’s food and nutrition management program.

Carol Hochu, B.A.Sc. ’81, was named president and CEO of the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada. Previously, she was president and CEO of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, and executive director of the Ontario Electronic Stewardship.

1990

In early 2021, Aida Habtezion, M.Sc. ’93, took a leave of absence from her faculty position at Stanford University’s School of Medicine to become the chief medical officer at Pfizer. She leads the company’s Worldwide Medical and Safety organization, whose 2,400 employees provide information on medication use to patients, physicians and regulatory agencies.

Madonna Benjamin, DVM ’95, is a professor and swine extension veterinarian in Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She tracks sow health and well-being using SIMKits whose computer vision allows for livestock monitoring.

André-Denis Wright, M.Sc. ’93, PhD ’98, has been appointed senior vice-president and provost of the Norman campus of Oklahoma University.

Martin Haulena, DVM ’93, M.Sc. ’99, was featured in a docuseries aired this spring about the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre run from the Vancouver Aquarium. The centre runs the largest program of its kind in Canada. Produced by White Pine Pictures in Toronto, Wild Pacific Rescue aired in three one-hour episodes through late April on Cottage Life TV. Filming took place over 2019 and 2020. The series, Wild Pacific Rescue, follows “Dr. Marty” and a team from the aquarium as they track down and rescue wildlife reported to be in distress. In each episode, they work with four or five creatures, ranging from rescuing harbour seal pups separated from their mothers to disentangling fishing line from sea lions.

2000s

Matt Dixon, B.Comm. ’01, has been named chair of the Ontario Craft Cider Association. Dixon worked for a collection of wineries, craft breweries and cideries before fulfilling his dream of opening his own cidery, the Niagara Cider Company. He has served on the boards of Wine Growers Ontario, Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc., and the Cool Climate and Viticulture Institute. He lives with his wife, two children and dog in Fonthill, Ont.

Amira Mikhail, DVM ’06, lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she works for the federal government as the technical manager for operations for animal disease outbreak responses. In 2017, she published a book, Mission to Motherhood: A Powerful Story of Infertility, Surrogacy and the Journey to Becoming a Parent, with Calico Publishing. She writes: “I was reading Portico magazine this morning and thought: ‘I know there will be lots of Portico readers that will be enduring their own fertility struggles and perhaps my book could help them.’ Quite separate from my vet career, but obviously happening in parallel, I had two children via surrogates, sending my embryos from New Zealand to Canada where two Canadian surrogates carried and delivered my two boys, now 3 and 6. I wrote about and published my journey in my book in hopes that it would help others navigate the relatively mysterious world of surrogacy and to give those battling infertility some hope.”

John Domm, BAA ’07, has been named as band administrator for the Saugeen First Nation. Formerly he was chief of police at Rama First Nation.

2010s

Charles-Étienne Ferland, M.Sc. ’20, and David Cheung, B.Sc. ’07, M.Sc. ’11, work with Bugdex, a non-profit project led by the Natural History Museum of Denmark that provides a free, interactive guide to insect diversity and identification for mobile devices (dkbdigitaldesigns.com/bugdex/). Ferland is social media manager for the project, and Cheung is lead designer.

After completing justice studies at the University of Guelph-Humber in 2011, Jeff Martin joined York Regional Police. Also a graduate of U of G’s certificate in leadership program, he has been a police officer since 2005, a personal coach and a motivational speaker. He is the author of the children’s book Brothers from the 6/Sister from the 6: Role Models in My Community. Martin grew up in a tough Etobicoke, Ont., neighbourhood and is a founding member of the not-for-profit organization Brothas from the 6, a group of men raised in underprivileged neighbourhoods and challenging conditions around the Greater Toronto Area.

Lars Mueller, B.Comm. ’12, has gone all in-on his combat sports equipment business called Techniques. He sells a branded line of boxing gloves, headgear, shin guards and other Muay Thai equipment. The long-time combat sports fan started Muay Thai lessons at a Guelph gym during his undergrad.

Allan Mai and Cole Pearsall met at U of G as food science students. After graduating in 2018, they launched Acid League, a 30-employee company that makes wine proxies and other acid-based ingredients for foods and non-alcoholic beverages. Besides experimenting with vinegar at home, the duo worked on their project in the Guelph Food Innovation Centre on campus and took part in the business incubator program run by the John F. Wood Centre for Business and Student Enterprise in U of G’s Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics.

Ann-Carolyn (AC) Lang, B.A.Sc. ’19, has been appointed as a player/coach with Guelph Union of League1 Ontario women’s soccer. She led an advisory group looking to recruit more women coaches into the league. She played with the U of G Gryphons for four seasons and in the Ontario Women’s Soccer League with Guelph Soccer’s Gryphons.

Eilish Neilly, BBRM ’19, is heading a cigarette butt cleanup called Butt Blitz in Uxbridge, Ont., as a volunteer with A Greener Future, an organization that promotes environmental preservation with local communities. A graduate in environmental management, she leads a team of nearly a dozen volunteers that had collected some 30,000 cigarette butts in Uxbridge by late April.

Jasmine Mah, M.Sc. ’19, is a Web content developer with Omni Calculator, which makes apps including the Vaccine Queue Calculator that she co-developed in early 2021 to enable users to estimate their likely COVID-19 vaccination date based on various factors. At U of G, Mah studied plants in growth chambers and greenhouses in the School of Environmental Sciences. Among other projects early this year, she was developing a new calculator to help greenhouse growers gauge horticultural lighting.

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• Mary (Molly) Nix, DHE ’41, Oct. 25, 2019
• Hazel Westfall, DHE ’41, Oct. 30, 2020
• Roger Cloet, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’48, March 31, 2020
• John Jackson, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’48, April 11, 2020
• Allan (Al) Wall, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’48, Dec. 4, 2020
• William Fedorkow, Dip. ’48, Aug. 24, 2020
• Margaret (Isabel) Cnoop Koopmans, DHE ’48, July 3, 2020
• John (Joe) Leggett, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’49, Sept. 28, 2020
• Hugh (Glen) Henderson, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’49, Oct. 26, 2020
• David (Dave) Adams, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’49, Oct. 7, 2020
• Kenneth (Ken) Hartin, DVM ’49, Jan. 21, 2021
• Nicholas Colotelo, Dip. ’48, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’51, Nov. 19, 2020
• Francis (Frank) Johnson, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’49, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’52, May 3, 2020

1950s

• Joseph Drury, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’50, Jan. 31, 2021
• James (Jim) Kearns, Dip. ’51, May 11, 2020
• Gordon Philpott, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’52, Aug. 25, 2020
• George Smith, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’52, Aug. 30, 2020
• Murray Parker, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’52, Jan. 4, 2021
• Fred Dobbs, Dip. ’52, June 23, 2019
• Betty Stewart, B.H.Sc. ’53, July 11, 2020
• Gordon (Mac) Coutts, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’53, June 14, 2020
• Robert (Rob) Vanderham, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’53, Oct. 14, 2020
• Donald (Don) Hatch, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’53, Sept. 24, 2020
• Stuart Smith, Dip. ’53, Oct. 29, 2020
• Jemima Danard, B.H.Sc. ’54, Aug. 10, 2020
• Joan Caruso, B.H.Sc. ’54, Nov. 1, 2020
• Brian Jones, Dip. ’54, July 24, 2020
• Robert (Bob) Sheard, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’54, Oct. 21, 2020
• Frank Holik, Dip. ’54, Nov. 3, 2020
• Robert Bird, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’55, April 17, 2019
• John Robson, Dip. ’55, Sept. 7, 2020
• John McGuffin, Dip. ’55, Nov. 19, 2019
• Mary (Mary Jane) Harding, B.H.Sc. ’56, April 5, 2021
• Michael (Mike) Zawalsky, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’56, Aug. 29, 2020
• David (Dave) Scales, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’56, Sept. 27, 2020
• Allen (Al) Gastle, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’56, Oct. 15, 2020
• Frank Forbes, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’56, Jan. 19, 2021
• Lois MacLeod, DHE ’56, Jan. 3, 2021
• Frederick (Fred) Stewart, DVM ’56, Dec. 15, 2020
• John (Gord) Hill, DVM ’56, Jan. 16, 2021
• Sylvia Hearn, B.H.Sc. ’57, Oct. 9, 2020
• Robert (Bob) Harrott, Dip. ’57, Oct. 8, 2020
• John (Jack) Crozier, Dip. ’57, June 30, 2020
• Mary (Ellen) Fex, DHE ’57, June 6, 2020
• Kenneth Owen, Dip. ’57, Dec. 17, 2019
• David (Dave) Snyder, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’58, Sept. 23, 2020
• Edward (Ted) Asselstine, DVM ’58, June 18, 2020
• Gerard (Gerry) Bayley, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’59, Oct. 29, 2020
• Michael (Mike) Boyer, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’52, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’53, Nov. 13, 2019
• Robert (Geoff) Rowberry, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’55, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’57, June 7, 2020
• Harold (Ben) McEwen, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’56, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’57, April 3, 2021
• Charles (Charlie) Whitehead, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’56, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’59, March 9, 2021
• Gordon (Gord) King, DVM ’59, M.Sc. ’66, PhD ’68, Jan. 7, 2021

1960s

• Fern Koenig, B.H.Sc. ’60, Nov. 16, 2020
• Marcia Brown, B.H.Sc. ’60, July 31, 2020
• Francis Winger, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’60, Nov. 26, 2020
• William (Bill) Mulchinock, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’60, July 17, 2020
• Benson (Ben) Riehl, DVM ’60, Jan. 8, 2021
• Betty (Kathy) Johnston, B.H.Sc. ’61,Feb. 20, 2021
• Robert (Bob) Bennett, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’61,Jan. 11, 2021
• William (Bill) German, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’61,Dec. 12, 2020
• David (Dave) Harman, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’61, Dec. 1, 2020
• Robert Lush, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’61, March 17, 2020
• Ross Veitch, Dip. ’61, Nov. 25, 2020
• Andrzej (Andy) Kolski, DVM ’61, Oct. 17, 2020
• Audrey Budden, B.H.Sc. ’62, May 19, 2020
• Glenn Powell, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’62, Oct. 29, 2020
• George Johnston, Dip. ’62, Aug. 19, 2019
• Ronald (Ron) Durst, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’64,
• Oct. 4, 2020
• Norman (Norm) Powell, Dip. ’64, Nov. 18, 2020
• Roy Robinson, Dip. ’64, Nov. 4, 2020
• Paul Fanjoy, DVM ’64, Oct. 27, 2020
• J (Warren) Staples, DVM ’64, May 17, 2019
• Kuo Kao, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’64, April 29, 2019
• William (Bill) Libby, Dip. ’64, Jan. 13, 2021
• Allan Cohoe, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’66, May 13, 2020
• Allan (Al) Knight, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’66, Oct. 4, 2020
• Tony Damen, Dip. ’66, Feb 26, 2020
• Harold Hodder, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’67, Dec. 3, 2019
• Donald (Don) Macaulay, B.Sc. ’68, Dec. 5, 2020
• Wesley (Wes) Ford, Dip. ’68, May 2, 2019
• William (Bill) Taylor, BA ’69, Nov. 9, 2019
• Otto Weninger, DVM ’69, Nov. 4, 2020
• Frederick (Fred) Gilbert, PhD ’66, M.Sc. ’68, Nov. 2, 2020
• Forest (Lloyd) Wieringa, DVM ’67, M.Sc. ’72, Feb. 11, 2021
• Hubert Lue-Kim, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’61, M.Sc. (Agr.) ’63, Sept. 5, 2020

1970s

• Douglas (Doug) Broughton, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’70, Feb. 29, 2020
• Walter Carlson, PhD ’70, Feb. 14. 2021
• Richard Wade, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’70, Aug. 24, 2020
• William (Jamie) McIntosh, BA ’71, March 2, 2021
• James Metzler, BA ’71, Aug. 20, 2020
• Carol Peckett, B.H.Sc. ’71, Dec. 20, 2020
• Judith Fleischauer, B.H.Sc. ’71, Jan. 26, 2021
• Sundaram Venkataraman, PhD ’71, July 11, 2020
• Brian Decker, Dip. ’71, March 30, 2021
• Michael (Mike) Doersam, BA ’72, Aug. 4, 2020
• Warren Gear, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’72, Sept. 23, 2020
• Roderic (Rod) Eller, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’72, Dec. 23, 2019
• Karen McDougall, B.A.Sc. ’73, Aug. 10, 2020
• Christine Karcza, BA ’73, Sept. 2, 2020
• Peter (Pete) Dowling, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’73, Sept. 6, 2020
• Arthur (Art) Carefoote, BA ’75, July 2, 2020
• M. Goddard, BA ’75, Oct. 26, 2020
• Mike (Michael) Chadsey, B.Comm. ’75, Jan. 3, 2021
• Margaret Sharp, B.A.Sc. ’76, Aug. 14, 2019
• Dennis Dick, Dip. ’76, Aug. 21, 2020
• William (Bill) Logan, M.Sc. ’76, June 6, 2020
• Carolyn Cooper, BA ’77, May 22, 2020
• Douglas (Doug) Shaw, BLA ’77, Jan. 19, 2020
• Gregory (Greg) Vukson, B.Sc. ’77, Sept. 24, 2020
• Donald (Don) Noakes, B.Sc. (Eng.) ’77, Oct. 19, 2020
• Cheryl Ballantyne, B.Sc. ’77, Sept. 3, 2020
• Timothy (Tim) Sullivan, Dip. ’77, Nov. 17, 2020
• Peter Dembski, PhD ’77, March 7, 2021
• James (Jim) Thomson, B.Sc. ’79, March 27, 2020
• Charles (Keith) Scotland, DVM ’79, Oct. 14, 2020
• Alex McCorquodale, Dip. ’79, Oct. 10, 2020
• Ian Archibald, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’72, M.Sc. 77, Jan. 9, 2021
• James (Jim) Goit, B.Sc. ’75, M.Sc. ’76, June 21, 2020
• Kenneth (Ken) Bridge, B.Sc. ’76, DVM ’80, Nov. 12, 2020

1980s

• Eric Henderson, Dip. ’80, Oct. 4, 2020
• George Johnston, Dip. ’81, April 26, 2019
• William (Bill) Szkotnicki, M.Sc. ’81, Sept. 18, 2019
• Allan Bodnar, ODH ’82, Dec. 22, 2019
• Jean Julian, BA ’85, Dec. 1, 2020
• Peter Lemon, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’86, Jan. 17, 2020
• Laurie Murison, M.Sc. ’86, Jan. 3, 2021
• Scott Jermey, B.Sc. (Agr.) ’87, Nov. 20, 2019
• Joan Barham, B.A.Sc. ’88, Jan. 21, 2021
• Yves Surry, PhD ’81, M.Sc. ’88, March 6, 2021
• Sophia Podrozny, B.A.Sc. ’85, B.Sc. ’00, Nov. 12, 2020

1990s

• Hugh Murphy, B.Comm. ’90, July 2, 2020
• Melanie Grein, DVM ’91, Sept. 27, 2020
• Sarah Maddocks, BA ’94, Sept. 18, 2020
• Cameron (Brett) Dakin, BA ’96, July 17, 2020
• Gordon Hardy, Dip. ’97, April 19, 2020

2000s

• Richard Cressman, MBA ’00, Nov. 23, 2020
• George Ewan, Hon. D.Sc. ’01, Dec. 7, 2020
• Brie Aitkin, B.Sc. ’02, Dec. 7, 2020
• Michael (Mike) Nielsen, B.A.Sc. ’07, Jan. 19, 2021
• Alexander (Alex) Marshall, B.Comm. ’07, Oct. 10, 2019

2010s

• Daniel Calendino, BA ’10, Feb. 21, 2021
• Katharina (Katie) Ellis, BA ’11, MA ’14, March 30, 2020
• Michael Bennardo, M.Sc. ’10, Sept. 20, 2020
• Melissa D’Ambrosio, B.Sc. ’11, Sept. 25, 2020
• Anita Stewart, Hon DLaw ’11, Oct. 29, 2020
• Krista Rowan, BA ’12, Aug. 29, 2020
• Frederick (Fred) Ketchen, Hon DLaw ’12, Feb. 11, 2021
• David Hoeg, BA ’13, Oct. 14, 2020
• Thomas (Tom) Gutteridge, DVM ’13, Aug. 4, 2020
• Katherine (Katie) McLeod, B.A.Sc. ’15, Oct. 16, 2020
• Sean Hudson, B.Sc. ’16, June 7, 2020

2020s

• Jesse Benudiz, B.A.Sc. ’20, Feb. 17, 2021
• Benjamin (Ben) Muus, B.Comp. ’20, June 12, 2020

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1970s

Vandana Shiva, MA ’76, wrote the book Reclaiming the Commons: Biodiversity, Indigenous Knowledge and the Rights of Mother Earth, published this year by Synergetic Press. An Indian scholar and world-renowned environmental activist, she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy, which aims to develop sustainable agriculture, and is a leader in the global ecofeminist movement.

1980s

Mark Lautens, B.Sc. ’81, a professor in the University of Toronto’s department of chemistry, has received a U of G Alumni of Honour Award for outstanding achievements and commitment to excellence. His research in organic chemistry has led to the design of new medicinal molecules.

1990s

Kenneth Mitchell, BLA ’98, will move on from his role as the fierce and temperamental Klingon commander Kol in the TV series Star Trek: Discovery to play a human role in the series. He will also appear in the upcoming miniseries The Old Man, currently filming.

Mitchell announced earlier this year that he has ALS – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

He has worked steadily as an actor for about 20 years, including roles as the father of the namesake superhero in the popular 2019 film Captain Marvel, and in six episodes of the TV series Nancy Drew. Born in Toronto, Mitchell studied landscape architecture and played varsity soccer at U of G.

After studying biophysics at U of G, followed by master’s degrees in chemistry from the University of British Columbia and journalism from Carleton University, Sarah Everts, B.Sc. ’98, went on to a successful 17-year career as a science journalist.

Everts has landed back at Carleton University in Ottawa. In early 2019, she became an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Communication, where she is the CTV Chair in Digital Science Journalism.

One of her goals is to help journalism students identify legitimate science. When COVID-19 arrived, she launched a research project to look at how journalism is consumed across Canada during the pandemic and where Canadians are turning for their information – and misinformation – on the disease.

Harpreet Kochhar, PhD ’99, was appointed as Canada’s associate deputy minister of health during efforts to fight COVID-19. He studied animal biotechnology at U of G and became a professor in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Adam Cegielski, B.Sc. ’99, is founding president and CEO of Eyecarrot Innovations Corp. based in Toronto. Following studies in applied biochemistry, he worked as a consultant and executive, mostly for resource-sector companies. Eyecarrot’s Binovi technology helps vision therapy and training providers improve client performance and is used in numerous locations in more than 20 countries. The company partners with leading optometric associations and sports teams, including the Dallas Stars and Sporting KC.

2010s

Dan Seider, BA ’15, created an app that helps people understand how their mood is affected by computer information overload.

Seider launched Misu, a free mood-tracking macOS desktop app, because he wanted to understand how information overload affects our well-being.

The mood tracker takes photos of users while they are on a computer, analyzing their emotions using artificial intelligence technology. All photos are instantly deleted. The software observes micro-changes in facial expressions – subtle squinting, a furrowed brow, the curve of a smile.

Misu can tell users which websites cause them anxiety and which ones make them happy.

“If we’re informed that we’re actually spending a lot of time on some social platform that is not helping our wellness, then we’re empowered to be more mindful and change our behaviour,” Seider says.

Mariam Abeid, B.A.Sc. ’18, a single parent of three children, earned a degree in early childhood education and teaching at the University of Guelph-Humber before completing an MA in child study and education at the University of Toronto.

From a young age, Abeid dreamt of getting a good education, but that dream proved nearly impossible to fulfill in her home country of Kenya, where the education of girls was not a societal priority.

She faced seemingly insurmountable barriers to education even after marrying a Canadian man and settling in this country. When her husband died suddenly about 10 years ago, Abeid was left destitute and was separated from her children by family members. At one point, she lived in a shelter for women.

But she met people who recognized the injustice of her situation, as well as her exceptional way with children, her strong work ethic and her drive for excellence. A lawyer helped her win back her children and her home, and a teacher encouraged her to start post-secondary studies.

2020s

Tony D’Amato Stortz, BA ’20, used funding from his COVID-19-related Canada Emergency Relief Benefit to build raised garden beds for his neighbours in Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., enabling them to grow their own food during the pandemic.

As a Fullerton post-doctoral researcher at California State University, physics grad Philippe Landry, PhD ’17, helped detect an extraordinary cosmic event this past summer. Gravitational wave detectors in the U.S. and Italy received an unusual wave signal from the merger of a black hole with a smaller object. The signal arrived from a previously unknown cosmic system about 800 million light years from Earth. Landry was part of the research team and co-author of a paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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When her beloved husband, John, died in 2002, Katie envisioned a new path forward, one that would see her fulfill her dream of advancing her education. She was 65 when she began attending classes at U of G. She earned a BA at age 71 and a master’s degree in English at 74.

Katie Ellis died peacefully at her home in Guelph on March 30, aged 79. With the COVID-19 pandemic declared just a few weeks earlier and with provincial restrictions limiting the size of gatherings, her family planned a celebration of life for a future date.

But Katie’s grandson Jason Ellis wanted to do something extraordinary to celebrate his grandmother and to honour her tireless spirit, her influence and her love.
This past summer, Ellis and his wife, Marilyne, embarked on an ambitious cycling journey spanning nearly 2,000 kilometres in memory of Katie and to support a cause that was close to her. Their ride would raise funds and awareness for the Canadian Women’s Foundation, an organization focused on gender equality and removing barriers faced by women, particularly those who identify as women, girls, trans, genderqueer, non-binary and 2SLGBTQI+.

The Chute-a-Blondeau couple began their Wheels of Strength trek in May, cycling through eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

In an article in The Review newspaper, Jason spoke about his grandmother’s extraordinary character.

“What defined her was being a powerful woman who really did things very differently – especially 50 years ago when she did things that were not even thought of for women,” he said in the article. “That is why we decided to do something to raise awareness for the Canadian Women’s Foundation.”

His grandmother, he added, had “a massive taste for adventure.” Marilyne said Katie was an inspiration to the women who knew her.

“She worked as a mom, which was almost unheard of back then. She wasn’t a single mom – she had a husband – but she didn’t want to just be a mom, she wanted to be herself, too.”

Katie Ellis’s determination to pursue higher education in her senior years serves as an example for all those in later life, Marilyne added.
The Wheels of Strength cycling challenge ended Sept. 13 on what would have been Katherina’s 80th birthday

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2018

To honour alumni who have passed away, the University of Guelph Alumni Association makes an annual donation to the Alumni Legacy Scholarship.

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