To see previous winners (2006-2024), click the link below

The Ramsay Wright Award is EEB’s longest-standing award for PhD candidates at any campus in their 3rd or 4th year who have done well academically (that is, publishing and presenting their PhD research), who have contributed to the life of graduate students in EEB. 

Winners: Arthur Leung and Sherry Du

Arthur has published 3 papers and has another in review from his time in EEB, along with more than 20 presentations at conferences and other venues. He also has been very active in training junior students, helping mentor 5 undergrad project students. Arthur has served in multiple roles within the EGSA, as an Atwood volunteer, and also serves as a student representative on a committee of the Botanical Society of America.

Sherry has published 2 articles so far in her time in EEB, along with a long list of talks and poster presentations at conferences, 2 of which won best poster prizes. She also has contributed in important ways to our EEB community, including by serving on the seminar committee at UTM, as copy editor for the EEB Quarterly, as a volunteer for the Atwood Colloquium, and an invited workshop panelist.

The Abrams Prize was established to recognize Professor Peter Abrams, and celebrates the sustained research excellence of senior PhD students and is awarded to EEB PhD students at any campus in the 5th or 6th year of their PhD program. 

Winners: Thomas Dudgeon and Garland Xie 

Thomas has published 12 articles, 7 of which are first-authored in such journals as Evolution & Development, Ecology & Evolution, and Palaeontology. He also has two other manuscripts in review and has disseminated her research findings in a very large number of presentations at conferences around Canada and the US. 

Garland has published 8 papers, with first-authored articles in Ecology & Evolution as well as Science of the Total Environment, and has another paper in review. He also has contributed over a dozen presentations at conferences as a grad student, with an outstanding record of scholarship.

The Harvey Prize was established to recognize Harold Harvey, and celebrates graduate students who make sustained contributions to the intellectual life of the EEB Graduate Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (this includes all campuses).  Evidence of contributions includes, but is not limited to, graduate leadership positions, organizing discussion groups, short courses, and academic or campus community events that provided benefit to other EEB grad students on any campus. 

Winners: Amanda Peake and Vicki Zhang  

Amanda is a clear exemplar of academic leadership among our grad students in having served as co-president of the EGSA, as well as a member and later chair of the EEB Mental Health Committee and also the EEB Wellness Committee that helped our department get back on track following the pandemic lockdown period. She also contributed in important ways to the intellectual life of our department as a panelist in workshops for applying to NSERC and to grad school, as well as poster fair judge for undergraduate research students. Beyond our department, Amanda shared her warmth and experience as a Residence Don at New College.

Vicki also has played an extremely active role in the life of EEB students and faculty. She served as co-chair for the Atwood Colloquium for two years as well as Editor-in-Chief of the EEB Quarterly magazine. Vicki also served on the seminar committee at UTM, and helped establish the biannual special topics seminars with grad-student invited speakers, in addition to serving on the Equity Diversity and Elimination of Racism Committee. She also has held multiple leadership positions within the EGSA and in the UTM Biology Grad Student Society. All of this adds up to an incredible dedication to enhancing the sense of community and intellectual make-up of our department..