Three Carleton students win inaugural Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Ottawa – Three Carleton University graduate students were awarded prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS). Each will receive $50,000 a year for up to three years.

The students are: Elsayed Ali (physics), Jihan Abbas (sociology and anthropology) and Rebecca Mugford (psychology).

Ali graduated from Carleton in 2007 with a masters degree in science. Since then, he has been working on his PhD in medical physics. He is researching more accurate methods to help plan radiation treatment for cancer patients.

Jihan Abbas has both personal and professional experience in the field of disability and equality rights. She was the former director of research and policy for Independent Living Canada and now serves on the board of directors for ARCH Disability Law Centre. Her research interests include disability and the labour market, social policy and inclusion and exclusion. Her graduate work aims to build a more inclusive society.

Mugford is finishing a masters degree at Carleton and will begin the PhD program in psychology next year. She is researching public attitudes towards the effectiveness of correctional interventions.

Introduced in the 2008 Federal budget, the CGS program was created to strengthen Canada’s ability to attract and retain the world’s top doctoral students. It will encourage partnerships, promote world-class excellence and help brand Canada as a leader in higher learning, research and science and technology development. This year, a total of 166 scholarships will be awarded. When fully operational, the CGS program will support 500 students per year.