The department’s annual Atwood Colloquium traditionally ends with a celebration of the invaluable contributions all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows make to EEB—both in terms of research and teaching and of helping create community, outreach, and support.

In recognition of particular achievements, the department honoured students with three graduate awards: the 2026 Harold H. Harvey Prize for Academic Leadership, the 2026 Peter Abrams Scholarship in Quantitative Biology, and the 2026 Ramsay Wright Scholarship in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Ramsay Wright Scholarship

The Ramsay Wright Scholarship is the department’s longest-standing recognition for graduate students.

Students eligible for the Ramsay Wright prize are PhD candidates at any campus in their third or fourth year who have done well academically, have contributed to graduate student life in the EEB and/or Biology Departments, and who have not previously won the award.

The adjudicating committee selected Ella Martin as the winner of the prestigious scholarship in 2026. Martin has stood out as an excellent scholar, a dedicated mentor, and an important leader in the department community. Their combination of rigorous scholarship and commitment to the larger community mark Martin as an essential part of EEB. 

The ward has two runners-up in 2026:

Maia Dall’Acqua has emerged as both a commendable scholar and an important community leader, both within the department and beyond, with a commitment to training junior scientists ranging from EEB undergraduates to elementary and high school students.  

Robert Masaki Hechler has impressed not only with his award-winning scholarship but also through his commitment to building important bridges. Beyond his publications, Hechler has helped initiate a BIPOC USRA in EEB for undergraduate students and is actively co-developing his thesis research with local Indigenous communities, strengthening relationships within the department and beyond it.  

Peter Abrams Scholarship

The Peter Abrams Scholarship, established to recognize the illustrious mathematical theoretician, celebrates the sustained research excellence of senior PhD students on any of the three campuses.

In recognition of his formidable promise as a scholar, the 2026 prize went to Daniel Fusca. Fusca has published no fewer than seven papers in renowned journals on diverse topics in genome evolution, also presenting his work at conferences both nationally and internationally. Notable, too, are his collaborations with labs beyond Fusca’s own dissertation project. 

An honourable mention for the Abrams Scholarship went to Ellen Nikelski, who published six papers on speciation in birds and gave numerous research presentations at domestic and international conferences.

Harold H. Harvey Prize

The Harvey Prize was established to recognize Harold Harvey, famous for his research investigating environmental problems such as acid rain and for convincing politicians and the public to respond to those issues.

The Harvey Prize celebrates graduate students who make sustained contributions to the intellectual life of the EEB Graduate Department on any of the three campuses.  

Puneeth Deraje emerged as the 2026 recipient for his exemplary dedication to enhancing the communal and intellectual life of EEB. Deraje has served as co-president of EGSA, the co-organizer of multiple graduate events, and as a mentor and TA to many undergraduate students. Deraje’s leadership and commitment make it difficult to imagine the department without him. 

The runner-up for the Harvey Prize was Tolu Babalola for various leadership roles in EGSA, the Atwood Organizing Committee, and as a mentor to some of the department’s undergraduates. Bablola has also shared her expertise and mentorship further afield to make a palpable difference. 

The department congratulates all award winners and thanks the entire graduate community for its hard work and dedicatio to EEB.