UNews - Alicia Anderson

Celebrating ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge medal winners from 2022 Spring Convocation

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 20:30:03 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is excited to share the achievements of its recent graduates from the 2022 Spring Convocation class.

Distinguishing themselves among the many outstanding graduates are the ULethbridge medal winners for 2022. They are as follows:

Gold Medal of the Governor General — Jessica Hodson
(Awarded to the student with the highest academic standing at the graduate level)
See write-up below.

Silver Medal of the Governor General — Abigail Curle
(Awarded to the student with the highest academic standing at the undergraduate level)
See write-up below.

Undergraduate Academic Medals

Faculty of Arts & Science Gold Medal (Arts) — Monica Lockett
A sociology student, Monica Lockett recently completed her honours thesis, which examines professional identity of rural Albertan journalists as they navigate the expectations of journalistic objectivity and distance with those of interpersonal relationships in smaller, tight-knit communities, and in the broader context of challenges in the industry as a whole. She was awarded the Canadian Sociology Association’s Outstanding Student Award in addition to several other awards in support of her research, including a Chinook Summer Research Award, a Serving Communities in Partnership grant, and a grant from the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group.

Faculty of Arts & Science Gold Medal (Science) — Samuel Gerrand
Sam Gerrand, a geography student, was inspired by a wildfire that burned near his childhood home to better understand the effects of wildfires on landscapes. This curiosity led to two original and creative research projects during his undergraduate career funded by NSERC grants: the first an exploration of carbon loss from tree roots and soils from the Kenow wildfire in Waterton; the second, which culminated in his honours thesis, studying the effects of seismic lines in the Oil Sands Region on peatland fragmentation contributing to heightened risk of wildfire. He has been accepted to two master’s planning programs to continue his work on fire management through community planning.

Faculty of Education Gold Medal — Abigail Curle
Abigail Curle completed a combined Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Bachelor of Education. Graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA in both of her degrees, she recently won the School of Liberal Education volunteer award and the Myrtle Ruth Bodie Mathematics Scholarship. She completed her final internship at Chinook High School teaching grades 9 and 10 math.

Alberta Teacher’s Association William Aberhart Gold Medal in Education — Breanne Taylor
Breanne Taylor, played with the Pronghorns women’s rugby team and spent countless hours volunteering throughout southern Alberta. She completed a combined Bachelor of Management with a CTS Business focus and a Bachelor of Education. Her recent Professional Semester III culminating project investigated how teachers can best differentiate math and English language arts content in a multi-age classroom to meet the needs of all students.

Faculty of Fine Arts Gold Medal — Samantha Newton
Acknowledged five times on the Dean’s Honour List, Samantha Newton was dedicated to scholarly study, creative excellence, community building, volunteerism, and professional development. She volunteered for the SAAG, the Niche Gallery, was President of the Student Art Society and led her colleagues in organizing art exhibitions, publications and supporting artist-run culture in Lethbridge. Newton also had two solo exhibitions at CASA. She will continue her studies in a master’s program at York ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Toronto in Fall 2022.

Faculty of Health Sciences Gold Medal — Caitlin MacGregor
Caitlin MacGregor, a Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation graduate, earned the highest graduation GPA in this academic year with an impressive 3.98. Regarded as an intelligent, creative and insightful young woman committed to advancing her knowledge and skills, she is receptive to new information and always strives for a deeper understanding of novel topics and ideas. MacGregor has great respect and always shows professionalism in her work.

Dhillon School of Business Gold Medal — Caitlin Whelpton
Caitlin Whelpton earned a Bachelor of Management with a marketing major and socially responsible marketing concentration, a social responsibility minor, great distinction honors and a co-operative education designation. Her engaged campus experience also included a part-time employment position with one faculty member as a teaching/research assistant.

Graduate Academic Medals

School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Arts — Mariah Besplug
Mariah Besplug’s thesis, Building Refuge: Narratives from the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program in the Lethbridge, Alberta Area, underscores how local experiences of refugee resettlement help us better understand broader geopolitical issues. She received $57,000 in scholarships and was a winner of the 2021 IRCC National Essay Contest, showcasing her research to over 125 policymakers. In future work, she aims to contribute to more socially just practices that build from the connections between people and places.

School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Music — Carmen Letourneau
The breadth and depth of Carmen Letourneau’s MMus research is Impressive. Her contributions to the Department of Music as a researcher, graduate teaching assistant, and performer are significant — and continue with her involvement in the performance life of the department. The intersections of pedagogy, interdisciplinary research and performance in Letourneau’s work are profound, and point to an important, multi-pronged approach to piano studies, as reflected in her thesis, Bridging Dualities: The Piano Pedagogy of Marie Jaëll.

School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Science — Alicia Anderson
Alicia Anderson’s MSc concerns the development of a novel spectrometer, widely regarded by ESA and NASA as a critical next step in exploring the Universe. Few researchers have mastered the diverse range of skills she has acquired. Anderson, who’s thesis was titled, Development of the Dispersing Component for a Cryogenic Post-Dispersed Polarizing Fourier Transform Spectrometer, will now undertake her PhD studies at Trinity College through a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Education — Teri Hartman
Teri Hartman is an engaged, balanced, and passionate teacher who throughout her master’s journey advocated for a better education for her students and their communities. Her thesis, Writing as a Practice of Freedom, is an authentic and honest autoethnographic exploration of the struggles for freedom, voice, and choice in schools. Her research and leadership have the potential to produce a meaningful impact in the field of writing education.

School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Counselling — Jessica Hodson
Jessica Hodson completed an impressive final project on the ethical implications of releasing client records. This work resulted in a publication in the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, an invited presentation — along with her project supervisor — to a national conference for lawyers, and a joint paper to be presented at a national psychology conference. Hodson plans on becoming a registered psychologist.

School of Graduate Studies Silver Medal of Merit, Master of Science (Management) — Jasper Sonmor
Jasper Sonmor was an exceptional student who demonstrated intelligence, hard work and originality in coursework, thesis and beyond. His thesis was titled, Do You Mind the way I Mind? Mindfulness Contagion in Leader-Member Exchange Relationships. Jasper demonstrated academic excellence, was extremely supportive of his peers and a valuable contributor to several research projects. He is currently considering pursuing a doctoral degree.

Graduate student Alicia Anderson earns world renowned Gates Cambridge Scholarship to study at Trinity College

trevor.kenney — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 19:19:12 +0000

Alicia Anderson (BSc ’20) has always aimed high — her study of astrophysics can attest to that — and she’s now earned one of the highest honours in academia. Anderson has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which will see her study her PhD at Trinity College on the grounds of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Cambridge (United Kingdom) beginning this fall.

“It’s a major success,” says Dr. David Naylor, physics and astronomy professor, Board of Governors’ Research Chair and head of the Astronomical Instrumentation Group (AIG) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. “This is about flat-out excellence. You basically have the best talent on the planet going after this award and she won it.”

Alicia Anderson, right, pictured with Dr. David Naylor, will head to Cambridge in October to work in the exoplanet research centre.

Established in 2000 with a $210-million gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support graduate students’ study, it is considered one of the most competitive and prestigious scholarships in the world. Since the first class in 2001, Gates Cambridge has awarded 2,081 scholarships to scholars from 111 countries who represent more than 600 universities globally, and more than 80 academic departments and all 31 colleges at Cambridge.

Anderson is one of 79 new Gates Cambridge Scholars from 30 countries, including just two other Canadians. Over the 22-year history of the award, just one other Canadian physicist has earned a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, while three others have studied astronomy.

“As a 17-year-old, when I first came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, I hadn’t really planned on any of this,” says Anderson, who completed her bachelor of science with great distinction in 2020 and just recently successfully defended her master’s thesis. “You start by making connections with professors and I’ve been lucky to have really passionate professors teaching me undergraduate physics and inspiring me to join a research group and take it to the next level. I really owe it all to my department and all the professors who have taught me.”

Naylor and his colleagues recognized early Anderson’s potential. Once she turned her focus to space and the AIG group in her third year of studies, she flourished. Upon earning her undergraduate degree, she jumped at the chance to enrol as a master’s student and work on what promised to be the next great infrared space mission — the European Space Agency’s (ESA) SPICA, a far infrared space observatory scheduled to launch in 2030. Unfortunately, midway through her master’s work, ESA chose not to pursue SPICA and the global pandemic hit.

“It was tough for her because her entire thesis was under the umbrella of a pandemic,” says Naylor. “She wasn’t able to travel to conferences and make the connections you normally do as a graduate student. So, when I could see that SPICA was no longer an option, I promised we’d get her a position for her PhD.”

Like all Naylor’s graduate students, Anderson’s research has been generously supported by industrial partner Blue Sky Spectroscopy Inc. to the tune of $1.1 million, without which she would not have been able to take on her thesis project. With Blue Sky’s support, Naylor was able to send Anderson to Cambridge to work with one of his colleagues, professor Stafford Withington. As head of the Quantum Sensors Group, Withington is a world-leading physicist and one of the most respected scholars on campus. Anderson not only impressed Withington over the course of her six-week stay, she learned something about herself as well.

“I had this image of Cambridge in my mind where it was this place I could never fit into because I was used to such a small university,” she says. “But being there for six weeks, I felt right at home. It was a research lab, just like I’d worked at in Lethbridge for five years.”

When word got out that Anderson was seeking a PhD position, interested schools lined up. McGill, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia and others made substantial offers but with her eyes now wide open to the opportunities before her, she applied for the Gates Scholarship.

“When I interviewed with my supervisor, who had won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019, he told me I was one of the best-prepared students he’d ever seen and that my background was the highest calibre of any of the applications this year. It just speaks to the training and the incredible projects I’d worked on with David and Blue Sky and how it had prepared me for this.”

Anderson will head to Cambridge in October to work in the exoplanet research centre where she will focus her attention on planets that exist outside our solar system but orbit around other stars within the Milky Way Galaxy.

“The newest technology in exoplanet astronomy will allow astronomers to observe Earth-like planets that are orbiting around stars like our sun. The ultimate goal is to identify potentially habitable exoplanets,” says Anderson, noting her supervisor just received a £10-million grant to answer what makes an exoplanet habitable. “Ground-based observatories, like the one I will work on in my PhD, will locate these exoplanets so that future missions can follow up and study them in more detail.”

For Naylor, who predicted two years ago Anderson would be following the footsteps of his most accomplished graduates, to see her destined for the Cambridge program is gratifying on many levels.

“Life is a series of lessons learned and our role as educators is to help students climb the knowledge ladder,” he says. “In my own case, I had a physics teacher at grammar school who had a major impact on my career path. Over the last 41 years at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, I have mentored dozens of students — seven are now professors, three hold research chairs, four others work at various space agencies (NASA Ames, JPL, SRON, Space-X), and another built the motor that operates the drill on NASA’s Insight lander that sits on the surface of Mars. While Alicia is the latest member of our family, and I will take great pride in seeing where she goes and visiting her while she’s at Trinity, I’m proud of them all.”

UNews - Alicia Anderson

Celebrating ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge medal winners from 2022 Spring Convocation

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Graduate student Alicia Anderson earns world renowned Gates Cambridge Scholarship to study at Trinity College

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Celebrating ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge medal winners from 2022 Spring Convocation