The Edmonton Space & Science Foundation (ESSF) Science Fellowship 2024 recognizes a young STEM professional who is passionate about their work and committed to enriching their community through science communication and outreach.
Overview
Applicants must conduct their work in Northern Alberta and demonstrate that their contributions to their chosen field are impactful and align with the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton's Strategic Framework and Core Values.
Applicants from all STEM disciplines are encouraged to apply, including the fields of science, technology, mathematics, medicine, engineering, and science communication.
The successful applicant must commit to participating in a minimum of two (2) outreach events at TELUS World of Science - Edmonton between January and December 2024.
Northern residents who cannot travel to Edmonton will have the option of participating in virtual or asynchronous outreach programming.
The award recipient will be recognized at The Edmonton Space & Science Foundation's Annual General Meeting and receive an award of $2,500.
Fellowship Criteria
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Work in any field of science, technology, mathematics, medicine, engineering, or science communication
- Align with TELUS World of Science - Edmonton's Strategic Framework and Core Values
- Be a resident of Alberta, Yukon, or Northwest Territories
- Job located in Northern Alberta (north of 52 degrees)
- Under the age of 40
- Demonstrate that their contributions to their chosen field are impactful
Fellowship Recognition
- Monetary award of $2,500
- Participation in two (2) outreach events at The TELUS World of Science - Edmonton between January and December 2024
Congratulations to Valerie Miller, PhD!
2024 SCIENCE FELLOW - VALERIE MILLER, PhD
Valerie Miller, PhD, Future Energy Systems, University of Alberta
Valerie Miller (she/her) holds a PhD in land reclamation from the University of Alberta, which focused on building soils using mine waste at a diamond mine in northern Canada. During her PhD program she was a teaching assistant, primary instructor, community volunteer coordinator, and a volunteer with various science outreach organizations including TELUS World of Science - Edmonton, Nature Kids, Let’s Talk Science, and Alberta Envirothon. She was a founding member of the Future Energy Systems Peers in Research Communication (PIRC) group. In 2019, Valerie joined Future Energy Systems, a research program at the University of Alberta focused on helping Canada transition to a low net carbon energy economy. As Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, and now Lead, Valerie aims to connect researchers and students to the community through a breadth of programs. This includes partnering with schools to host in class sessions and campus tours, lectures at the public library, PD training for teachers, developing videos for all audiences, and more. Valerie manages the Energy Explorers science communication training program that trains graduate students to effectively share their research. In addition, Valerie authored The Energy Adventures of Tommy and Remi series, children’s books that explore energy topics. Valerie hopes to bridge the gap between academia and the public, share important learnings and experiences between groups, and build STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) literacy.
Previous Science Fellows
2023 SCIENCE FELLOW - JEREMIAH BRYKSA
Jeremiah Bryksa, Applied Chemist, NAIT
As an applied chemist on the Clean Technologies team at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Jeremiah has over ten years of experience in laboratory testing, focusing on analytical chemistry in environmental science, chemical and material engineering, and petroleum fuel testing. His current research investigates an emerging environmental contaminant: microplastics. Microplastics are microscopic plastic particles found throughout the environment in oceans, lakes, rivers, and across the food chain. Leading a multidisciplinary research team studying the North Saskatchewan River, Jeremiah’s research aims to answer where microplastics come from and how their concentration changes over time. As part of this work, his team has developed high-throughput sampling techniques applicable to complex freshwater systems like the North Saskatchewan River, optimized laboratory methods to extract and characterize microplastics from freshwater samples, and established quality assurance protocols. This project is part of the Plastic Research in Action (PRIA) initiative, in collaboration with Interpipeline and Dow Canada, and is one of the most extensive microplastic studies ever done within Canada. Jeremiah hopes to contribute to the growing scientific understanding of microplastics in the environment and share his work with the public on this emerging contaminant and growing environmental concern.
2020-2021 SCIENCE FELLOW - DR. LAUREN GUILLETTE & DR. ABRAM HINDLE
Dr. Lauren Guilette, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta
As a part of Dr. Lauren Guilette’s Science Fellowship at TELUS World of Science – Edmonton, she and her team at the the Animal Cognition Research Group have created a lesson plan and activities about nesting birds. The program is designed to support Topics C and E of Alberta’s Grade 1 science curriculum.
Dr. Abram Hindle, Department of Computing Sciences, University of Alberta
Abram is an associate professor at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada within the Department of Computing Sciences. He researches software engineering, mining software repositories, software process recovery, the intersection between software engineering and computer music, and Green Mining (the study of software change versus software energy consumption and software power consumption).
2019 Science Fellow - Dr. Vincent Bouchard
Dr. Vincent Bouchard, Faculty of Mathematics & Statistical Sciences, University of Alberta
Vincent Bouchard is a Professor in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta. As a Rhodes scholar, he obtained his D.Phil. in Mathematics from the University of Oxford in 2005. He is an award-winning teacher, passionate about creating an active learning environment in the classroom. Also a musician, he compares math to playing music, but instead of playing an instrument "we use our mind to play with ideas."
2018 Science Fellow - Gregory Sivakoff
Gregory Sivakoff, Department of Physics, University of Alberta
Gregory Sivakoff is an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta Department of Physics, where he teaches Physics and Astronomy, while researching some of the coolest objects in the Universe, black holes. Professor Sivakoff is interested in determining why black holes burp jets of material while they feast on material from nearby stars. When not studying the wonders of the cosmos, he is keenly interested in communicating those wonders to the world.