Recipients of the inaugural William Muir Edwards Citizenship Awards are: Callie Lissinna, Kabir Nadkarni, Elizabeth Gierl, Alexander Wright and Ariel Li.
(Edmonton) Five civic-minded engineering students are being awarded $10,000 each in recognition of their contributions to community.
The students are being presented with the inaugural William Muir Edwards Citizenship Awards for their activities beyond the classroom, serving the community at large.
Engineering alumnus Barry Posner, who led the awards selection committee, says it's important to not only recognize contributions students are making to society but also to inspire others to follow the same path.
Engaged citizenship and engineering are intertwined, Posner says.
"Engineering is about applying science and technology to make the world a better place, and engaged citizenship is another side of the same coin-it falls in line with the notion of engineering trying to improve the world," said Posner. "Being a good citizen is another manifestation of that."
Posner added that the award selection process was challenging. The selection committee started out with 44 nominations, narrowed that group down to 15, and then struggled to find five award recipients.
"It's a good thing we had five awards, because it would have been a lot harder trying to choose one," Posner said. "It was tough."
Named in honour of William Muir Edwards, one of the University of Alberta's founding professors and Engineering's founding professor, the award recognizes undergraduate engineering students who are making exceptional contributions to society. The awards are being made possible through the generosity of the David Morris Family Foundation, a new philanthropic organization created by engineering alumnus David Morris (BSc Mechanical, '68 and MSc, '70).
The awards are being presented during a formal ceremony June 4.
Recipients of the inaugural William Muir Edwards Citizenship Award are:
Ariel Li
A mechanical engineering student who embraces entrepreneurialism and creativity to create social and environmental change. Ariel served as the VP Marketing for the Enactus UAlberta chapter, part of an international organization dedicated to inspiring students to improve the world through entrepreneurship. She now leads the Hempact business development team, one of the social enterprise projects Enactus oversees. She is also the Founder and President of the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience UAlberta committee.
Kabir Nadkarni
Now entering the final year of his engineering physics studies, Nadkarni is helping shed some light on the impact of Alberta's energy transition on local communities, listening to the concerns of underrepresented citizens and helping them develop tangible solutions to the challenges arising from evolving energy industries. He is leading a project to use drone-mounted sensors to generate air quality maps for the Paul First Nation, west of Edmonton. He has also co-ordinated workshops on the technical, health and policy aspects of air quality monitoring.
Callie Lissinna
Lissinna is a passionate advocate for increased diversity in STEM and the aerospace industry. She sees benefit in empowering young people in both the arts and sciences so they have the opportunity to contribute to society in a variety of ways. She conducted an internal review of the AlbertaSat team and discovered female recruits were being promoted to technical positions at a slower rate than males. Because of her findings, the team took intentional steps to achieve gender parity. Entering her final year of studies in mechanical engineering, Lissinna mentors young women through participation in UA-Wise and the Faculty of Engineering's Female Mentorship (FEM) Program.
Alexander Wright
Wright engages with youth in numerous capacities, but his natural affinity to engineering often shines through. He has made significant contributions to the FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competition, a mentor-based program designed to build science, engineering and technology skills, where he has served as design judge, project judge and core value judge for multiple competitions. Now in his third year of mechanical engineering studies, he is an integral member of the University of Alberta's RoboMaster team. A former Edmonton Public School Board Student Senator, Wright is a strong advocate for youth engagement and governance. He represented over 95,000 students to Edmonton Public School Board Trustees, creating opportunities for his peers to voice their ideas and concerns while also helping them learn about democratic governance and public education.
Elizabeth Gierl
Gierl is a fifth-year Electrical Engineering student committed to developing green energy technology and engaging youth in the challenges of climate change. She has contributed countless hours giving youth a voice on sustainability issues. She is the co-founder and lead editor for the Green Medium, an award-winning, youth-run environmental blog to promote sustainability and environmentalism.