Students are a big part of the CGU – and we have an awards program to support them. In addition to the student-focused scholarships and awards discussed in our previous post, each individual Section has a student presentation award.


Biogeosciences Section:

Best Student Paper

Congratulations Kristine Haynes!

Kristine is a PhD student with Dr. Carl Mitchell in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She’s studying climate change impacts on mercury cycling in peatland systems



Geodesy Section:

Best Student Paper

Ebrahim Ghaderpour (left), York University
Ebrahim Ghaderpour (left), York University

Congratulations Ebrahim Ghaderpour!

Ebrahim is a PhD student with Dr. Spiros Pagiatakis in the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University. He is developing a time series analysis technique called least squares wavelet analysis, which can be applied to unequally spaced, strongly non-stationary, and non-ergodic time series. This technique has applications in electrical engineering, geodesy, and wireless networks.


Hydrology Section:

D.M. Gray Award For Best Student Paper

Congratulations Colin McCarter!

Colin McCarter, Best Student Paper
Colin McCarter, University of Waterloo


Colin is a PhD student with Dr. Jonathan Price in the Department of Geography & Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo.

Colin's research interest focuses on water and contaminant transport in saturated and unsaturated peatlands and the ecohydrological implications of these processes. Specifically, determining the transport of wastewater contaminants in peatlands and the structural changes that occur within peat due to wastewater contaminants. Additionally, Colin is investigating the the effect of compression on the pore geometry and unsaturated water flow in Sphagnum mosses.

This award is made possible by a donation from the Gray family.


Hydrology Section:

Campbell Scientific Award For Best Student Poster In Hydrology

Congratulations Md Aminul!

Md Aminul Haque, University of Manitoba
Md Aminul Haque, University of Manitoba


Md Aminul is a PhD student with Dr. Geneviève Ali in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

Md Aminul's research interest focuses on wetland hydrology and biogeochemistry, studing the hydrologic connectivity, flood water retention capacity and nutrient cycling of wetlands. This includes both field- and laboratory-based studies as well as creating a hydrogeochemical model to evaluate future scenarios. The overall goal of his research is to classify wetlands based on several properties and identify critical areas for wetland conservation and restoration in the Prairie Pothole Region.


Solid Earth Section:

Best Student Paper

Congratulations Joshua Guerrero!

Joshua Guerrero, University of Toronto Scarborough
Joshua Guerrero, University of Toronto Scarborough

Joshua is a physics PhD student with Dr. Julian Lowman in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

His research focus is on the modelling of mantle convection in terrestrial planets based on the relative size of the planet’s core and surface area, and the temperature-dependency of the mantle fluids.