December 4, 2024
Photo Courtesy of UBC VPFO Communications & Engagement and Martin Dee Photography.
During the Peter Wall Legacy Awards ceremony last week, UBC President, Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon, in the presence of Dr. Peter Wall himself, presented awards to inaugural recipients of the Wall Fellowships and Wall Research Awards, funded by the $100M+ Peter Wall Endowment and valued at a total of $4M annually. All projects align with three key areas of focus: urban sustainability, environmental protection of coastal areas, and sustainable approaches to resource-intensive industries, with a particular emphasis on the province of B.C. This year’s award recipients are leading a diverse range of research projects on issues in the province, from climate change to biodiversity loss, sustainable transportation, energy storage, urban water systems, and biodiversity conservation.
Two CERC members were each awarded Wall Research Awards – Individual Faculty Awards ($80,000) and eight CERC members were part of four Wall Research Awards – Team Faculty Awards ($200,000). At the same time, five CERC HQPs (graduate student researchers) were each awarded Wall Research Awards – Graduate Student Awards ($25,000 for Master students and $30,000 for PhD students).
We at CERC are thankful for Dr. Wall’s donations, which enable UBC clean energy research community to advance the energy transition.
The CERC members who received the awards are listed below, together with their team members when relevant.
For the details of each project and recipients, please visit https://walllegacyawards.ubc.ca/awardees/
Individual Faculty Awards
 Dr. Jean-Thomas Cornelis, CERC member Assistant Professor in Soil Science Project title: Back to the Future – Revitalizing Indigenous land stewardship to enhance soil health and build resilient food-forest systems in British Columbia |  Dr. Kathryn Harrison, CERC member Professor & McLean Family Chair in Canadian Studies Project title: The New Politics of Fossil Fuel Subsidies |
Team Faculty Awards
Project Title: Development of Organic Redox Flow Batteries for Clean Renewable Energy Storage Applications
Team: Dr. Kiana Amini (Lead PI, CERC member, assistant professor at Materials Engineering), Dr. Eva Nichols (assistant professor at Chemistry); Dr. Qingshi Tu (CERC member, assistant professor at Wood Science)
Project Title: Creating an integrated thermochemical and biological platform for waste valorization in British Columbia
Team: Dr. Heather Trajano (Lead PI, CERC member, associate professor at Chemical and Biological Engineering); Dr. Xiaotao Tony Bi (CERC director, professor at Chemical and Biological Engineering); Dr. Ryan Ziels (CERC member, associate professor at Civil Engineering)
Project Title: An Artificial Photosynthesis Device to Generate Green Methanol Fuel from CO2
Team: Dr. Eva Nichols (Lead PI, assistant professor at Chemistry); Dr. Eric Lees (CERC member, assistant professor at Chemical and Biological Engineering); Dr. Alexander Uhl (CERC member, assistant professor at UBCO School of Engineering). Shown in the picture above, left to right, in the same order.
Project Title: Human-centered design for sustainable transportation in British Columbia: An inclusive approach to infrastructure design based on diverse experiences of walking and cycling
Team: Dr. Alexander Bigazzi (Lead PI, associate professor at Civil Engineering); Dr. Kelly Clifton (CERC member, professor at School of Community and Regional Planning); Dr. Todd Handy (professor at Psychology); Dr. Eli Puterman (associate professor at School of Kinesiology). Shown in the picture above, left to right, in the same order.
Graduate Student Awards
 Thais Ayres Rebello, Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering, UBC Okanagan |  Rudri Bhatt, Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC Vancouver |  Elnaz Ghahremani Rad, Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering, UBC Okanagan |
 Imranul Laskar, Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC Vancouver |  Neha Sharma-Mascarenhas, Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC Vancouver |