Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

July 4, 2012

Six graduate students have been awarded prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) for their significant contributions in the fields of neurophysiology, robotics, psychology, economics, information technology and health services.

The Vanier CGS was created by the Government of Canada in 2009 to attract and retain world-class doctoral students and to establish Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and higher learning. Vanier CGS recipients each receive funding totaling $150,000 over three years, and can be Canadian or international PhD students studying at Canadian universities.

“The Vanier scholarships recognize outstanding leaders among our graduate student population,” says Lisa Young, vice-provost and dean, graduate studies. “These students have already made significant contributions to their communities and to the university. This investment in these students will equip them to play important leadership roles in their future careers in academia, industry and the community.”

This year’s University of Calgary Vanier CGS winners are:

• Cameron Clark – Neurophysiology: The effects of working memory training on cognitive performance, brain structure and brain function.
• Andrew Godbout – Robotics: Computer analysis of repetitive movements producing interactive audio feedback.
• Leanne Quigley – Psychology: A longitudinal investigation of impaired cognitive inhibition as a vulnerability factor for emotion dysregulation.
• Robin Walker – Health Services: Ambulatory care sensitive conditions identified in hospital data: which admissions are deemed avoidable?
• Gustavo A. Caballero – Economics: Providing evidence for a theory of rational risk behaviour of the poor: incentives of being near the subsistence level.
• Muhammad Omair Shafiq – Information Technology: Semantically formalized logging for enhanced management and monitoring of large scale applications.

The recipients will also become members of the Graduate Leaders Circle — a group established by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and comprised of previous Vanier and Killam doctoral scholars and the Graduate Student’s Association president.

“The University of Calgary is committed to developing the leadership potential of these outstanding students,” says Young. “The Graduate Leaders Circle was created to recognize their achievements, and to invest further in their professional development.”

The goal of the Graduate Leaders Circle is to develop a community for University of Calgary scholars that supports their individual and collective development and student experience. Members give back by mentoring other students to successful award applications through workshops and coaching.