U of T physics graduate student receives major national funding award

Winner of inaugural Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

World-class graduate research at the University of Toronto received a major boost today as the federal government announced almost three dozen top-tier students will receive funding through their new Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships.

The prestigious scholarships -- valued at $50,000 each per year for up to three years -- are being lauded as Canada's answer to the Rhodes scholarships. They are awarded to leading Canadian and international students in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering and health fields.

In this inaugural year, U of T students won 34 of the 166 scholarships, doubling the amount received by any other Canadian university. Of the 34 recipients, eight were international students.

Hubert Jean-Ruel, a PhD candidate in the Department of Physics, receives his award for femtosecond electron diffraction study of ultrafast structural dynamics in hemoproteins.

"The new Vanier scholarship program highlights the federal government's commitment to recruiting and retaining top-flight graduate students," said President David Naylor. "The fact that so many of these prestigious awards went to U of T students underscores our unparalleled strength in graduate research and education."

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