Student Competitions and Awards
CSABE/SCGAB Foundation Sponsored Student Activities
The CSABE/SCGAB Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship
The scholarship ($400) recognizes academic excellence among student members of the Society and is awarded each year to the student member with the highest grade point average (GPA) in the preceding semester (based on a minimum of 12 credit hours).
The Department Head or his/her designate selects one scholarship recipient per year per department and sends the name to the Society Manager (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by May 15.
The CSABE/SCGAB Student Team Competition
The program provides funding ($50 per student member, up to $500 per team, and up to $1000 per academic institution per calendar year) to eligible student teams participating in a recognized agricultural or biosystems engineering competition. The Foundation thereby encourages students to gain teamwork experience and to learn by comparing their efforts and ideas with those of others. Such projects also provide visibility for engineering and its role in improving agriculture, the food system, and the environment.
To be eligible, the team must be formed of at least two student members and participate in an agricultural or biosystems engineering competition open to more than one academic institution. Examples of eligible student competitions include the ASABE Robotics Student Design Competition, the K. K. Barnes Student Paper Award Competition, the International 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition, and the Fountain Wars Student Design Competition.
To request funding, teams must complete the form on the next page and return it to the Society Manager (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by May 15, along with proof of registration.
DOWNLOAD THE FUNDING REQUEST FORM
CSABE/SCGAB Undergraduate and Graduate Student Awards
Two undergraduate student competitions namely (1) design competition and (2) undergraduate paper competition, are organized to promote a high degree of professionalism, encourage development of professional and engineering ingenuity, provide opportunity for interaction between students and professional associates and encourage active undergraduate student participation within CSABE/SCGAB.
Two graduate student competitions (1) Masters and Doctoral thesis award competition and (2) graduate student paper competition, are organized to encourage innovation and excellence in Biosystems, Biological and Environmental Engineering and recognize our most promising graduate student members. Brief overview of these competitions is given below.
The CSABE/SCGAB Society Manager will circulate detailed and specific instructions each year for the competitions to the Education institutions across Canada who have students interested in bioengineering. Each institution will submit a recipient. Potential contestants should consult their Faculty.
CSABE/SCGAB Undergraduate Design Project Award
Eligibility
The CSABE/SCGAB Undergraduate Design Project Award is to recognize excellence in the development of engineering design skills in solving problems related to biological systems. Individual or team projects are eligible. Each eligible university will identify their recipient of the Award. These names will be sent for recognition at the annual banquet. To qualify, the recipient(s) must have completed a design project at a Canadian University during the 12-month period ending April 30th, and each member of the design team must be a student member of the Society.
Award Value: $100 per person on the design project ($500 maximum or divided equally if there are more than 5 team members).
Deadline: The name(s) of the award recipient(s), along with the title of the design project, must be submitted to the Society Manager by May 15.
How to apply: Send your name to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CSABE/SCGAB Undergraduate Thesis Award
Eligibility
The CSABE/SCGAB Undergraduate Thesis Award is to recognize excellence in undergraduate student research in fields represented by the Society. Each eligible university will identify their recipient of the Award. These names will be sent for recognition at the annual banquet. To qualify, the recipient must have completed an undergraduate level thesis at a Canadian University during the 12-month period ending April 30th, and be a student member of the Society.
Award Value: $100
Deadline: The name of the award recipient, along with the title of the thesis, must be submitted to the Society Manager by May 15.
How to apply: Send your name to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
NEW - CSABE/SCGAB National MSc/PhD Thesis Award
The award aims to recognize outstanding candidates for their academic excellence, research capacity, communication skills, and social engagement. The evaluation criteria are based on the following items:
- Projects demonstrate strong agricultural and biosystem engineering relevance (70%);
- Exceptional leadership during the program (15%), such as evidence-based mentorship of graduate or undergraduate students;
- Excellent communication (writing and verbal) skills (10%);
- Active in CSABE/SCGAB community (5%).
The award is reserved for graduate students registered at a Canadian university who have submitted their PhD or master's thesis in the last 12 months prior to receiving the prize
Documents to submit:
- Research project overview: Summarize the completed research project, including objectives, methodology, and expected scientific and applied outcomes. Assess how the project directly addresses agricultural, agrifood, or agri-environmental challenges and delivers practical value for the entire food chain. Finally, in your opinion, explain what the greatest originality of your study is (2 pages);
- Experience in communication and public speaking skills: Explain in more detail your experience communicating and transferring knowledge to diverse audiences (1 page);
- Community engagement and activities outside academia: Describe your involvement in community, agricultural, educational, or outreach activities outside formal academic requirements. Attention should be given to sustained engagement, service to the community, and leadership or social impact (1 page).
- Two letters of recommendation: Two letters are needed: one from your supervisor stipulating your remarkable scientific and leadership contributions, and one from another person able to judge your community engagement and/or communication skills;
- Personnel context (optional);
- CV;
- A link to access the thesis.
How to apply
In each CSABE/SCGAB region (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic), supervisors must recommend to the Regional Director (https://csbe-scgab.ca/about/council-members) by May 1st the candidature of their most deserving MSc or PhD student who has submitted his/her thesis. They should send the following information with all the requested documents:
- Full name and email of the student;
- Degree level (MSc or PhD);
- Institution/University;
- Field of study.
The Regional Director will validate whether the application documents are complete. The Regional Director will then send the eligible applications to the Society Manager by May 15, who will transmit the files to the CSABE/SCGAB Award Committee.
The six most deserving applications (3 MSc and 3 PhD) will receive a $500 prize and will be invited to the AGM to give a short presentation. The “Best Thesis” winners (1 MSc and 1 PhD) will be announced at the Banquet evening and will receive an additional $500.
CSABE/SCGAB Student Competition (Oral and Poster Presentation during the AGM)
The CSABE/SCGAB Local Organizing Committee for the Annual Meeting and Conference may arrange for two student competitions: “Best Oral Presentation” and “Best Poster Presentation”. Students attending conference should declare their intent to enter to the Society Manager (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) 2 weeks prior to the AGM and Conference. Please indicate your paper ID# and whether you wish to compete in the oral or poster competition. Please check with the CSABE/SCGAB Society Manager to see if the competitions will be held.
Judges, selected from CSABE/SCGAB members attending the conference, will utilize a standardized scoring sheet to provide results to the Student Competition Leader and the CSABE/SCGAB Society Manager. Cash awards and certificates will be presented.
The areas used to evaluate presentations will be as follows:
Oral presentation
- Organization
- Delivery
- Use of visual aids
- Content and responsiveness to audience
Poster presentation
- Organization of material
- Image content and quality
- Written word
- Presentation/overall content
- Question and answer effectiveness
ASABE ¼ Scale Tractor Student Design Competition
Design and construction of a four-wheel-drive tractor taking into consideration the rules specified by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)
Université Laval, Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering, Équipe ULtrac
Clovis Courchesne, Louis-Étienne Lessard, Pierre-Olivier Michaud, Nicholas Lefebvre, Valérie Chabot (Leader), Vincent Grégoire, Frédérik Daigneault
McGill University, Department of Bioresource Engineering
Francis St-Aubin (Leader), Maxime Leclerc, Connor Miller, Rachelle Prudhomme, John Weilenmann, Stephania Tatiachenko, Shamus McGuire, Danny Amon, Alex Audi, Marco Centa, Mark Cool, Pierce Dias Carlson, Lizzy Filine, Aidan Guttormson, Leo McGuire, Mahdi Mia, Ariele Pieters, Ann Pile, Jasmine Roberts, Youssef Saeed, Jonathon Salama-Siroishka, Victoria Tseng Paepcke, Stephen McGuire (Advisors: V. Adamchuk; H. Akbarzadeh)
University of Saskatchewan, Department of Mechanical Engineering - Sled Dogs
Jason Cousins, George Dodds, Keith Halcro, Charley Sprenger, Cory Bart, Austin Pizzey, Dane Steen, Tyler Reaser, Matthew Lashyn (Advisor S. Noble)
University of Manitoba, Department of Biosystems Engineering, UMATT (University of Manitoba Association of Tiny Tractors)
Tristan Saloranta (Captain), Raymond Davis, Colin Berard, Anthony Dziedzic, Bruce Felsch, Mykel Gallajones, Bill Heard, Alan Huynh, Scott Symons, Don Petkau (Advisor)
CSBE/SCGAB FOUNDATION Undergraduate Scholarship
Recognizes academic excellence among student members of the Society. The Scholarship is awarded each year to the student member of the Society with the highest GPA in the preceding semester.
University of Guelph - Meghan Fragis
University of Manitoba Department of Biosystems Engineering - Alain Lagasse
University of Manitoba Department of Biosystems Engineering - Sarah Slagerman
McGill University - Department of Bioresource Engineering - Brandon Bonan
Université Laval, Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering - Frédérik Daigneault
University of Prince Edward Island, School of Sustainable Design Engineering - Daniel Emery
Dalhousie University, Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture - Karen Esau
University of Guelph
University of Guelph - Graduate Thesis Award (MSc) - Ryan Berthelot for his thesis entitled' Harnessing Electrical Energy for Anti-biofilm Therapies: Conductivity of Opportunistic Pathogens and the Effects of Electrical Stimulation on Cell Morphology and Motility' (Advisor: S. Neethirajan)
University of Guelph - Undergraduate Design Project - Award Connor Ormsby for his project entitled “BioTattoo - A Sweat Biosensing Platform for Animal Health Applications” (Advisor S. Neethirajan)
University of Guelph Undergraduate Thesis Award - John Buozis for his thesis entitled'Strep D-Tec: A Non-Invasive Streotococcus Diagnostic Tool' (Advisor: G. Hayward).
University of Guelph - Undergraduate Design Project Award - Robert Hunter, Parker Bondi, Amelia French, Amit Tah for their project entitled “Non-Invasive Monitoring of Glucose in Blood" (Advisor: S. Neethirajan)
University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba, Department of Biosystems Engineering, Undergraduate Design Project Award - Mirette Barsoum Athanasios, Jesnico Gonzales, Nicole Lanchuske and Taylor Livingston for their project entitled “Bin up the stairs” (Course Instructors: K. Dick, B. Porth and J. S. Cicek)
University of Manitoba Department of Biosystems Engineering, Undergraduate Thesis Award - Craig Heppner for a thesis entitled “Effect of different row spacings and seeders on yield and speed of emergence for corn” (Advisor: Y. Chen)
University of Manitoba Department of Biosystems Engineering Graduate Thesis Award (PhD) - Rong Yue for a thesis entitled “Modeling pore structures and airflow in grain beds using discrete element method and pore-scale models” (Advisor: Q. Zhang)
McGill University
McGill University - Department of Bioresource Engineering Graduate Thesis Award (MSc) - Jillian Leah Treadwell for her thesis entitled “Phosphorus and organic waste management: Investigating the potential for phosphorus recovery and recycling” (Advisors: G. Clark and E. Bennett)
McGill University - Department of Bioresource Engineering Graduate Thesis Award (PhD) - Dr. Ogan Iheanacho Mba for her thesis entitled “Deep-fat frying characteristics of blends of palm and canola oils” (Advisors: M. Ngadi and M. Dumont)
McGill University - Department of Bioresource Engineering - Undergraduate Thesis Award - Nicole Peletz-Bohbot, Mitch Steel, Mahdi Mia Matthew LeGrandfor a thesis entitled “Solar Greenhouse Heating” (Advisor: V. Raghavan)
McGill University - Department of Bioresource Engineering - Undergraduate Design Project Award - Nicolas Buxbaus, Sam Eichhorn, Tristan Chauvin-Bosse for a project entitled “Straw Sterilizer for Fungal Culture” (Advisor: M. Dumont and V. Adamchuk)
Université Laval
Université Laval, Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering, Undergraduate Design Project Award - Marie-Michelle Caron, Florence Marquis, and Véronique Poulin for their project entitled : Conception d'une ligne de production de lait dans une région du Nord du Québec/ Design of a milk production unit in a northern Quebec region (Advisor: M. Aider)
Université Laval, Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering Graduate Thesis Award (MSc) - Thierry Villeneuve for his thesis entitled: Intégration de l’électro-activation dans le procédé de conservation des légumes : Analyse de l’efficacité du procédé par SuperPro Designer / Integration of electro-activation in a canning process of vegetables: Analysis of the process efficiency by SuperPro Designer (Advisor: M. Aider)
Université Laval, Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering Graduate Thesis Award (PhD) - Marianne Crépeau for her thesis entitled: Optimisation de la récolte, de l’entreposage et du pressage du millet perlé sucré et du sorgho sucré cultivés au Québec pour la production de bioéthanol / Optimization of the harvesting, storage, and pressing of sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum grown in Québec for the production of bioethanol (Advisors: M. Khelifi, A. Vanasse, M. Aider)
University of Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan - Chemical and Biological Engineering—Graduate Thesis Award (PhD) - Daeung Yu for his thesis entitled “Radio frequency (RF) assisted disinfestation of red flour beetle in stored canola seeds” (Advisor O. Baik)
University of New-Brunswick
University of New Brunswick, Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate Design Project Award - Jordan Lander and Kieran Cameron Ellis for their project entitled “Biocomposites manufacturing using pultrusion methodology” (Advisor: G. Saha)
University of New Brunswick, Mechanical Engineering, Graduate Thesis Award (MSc) - Lucas Kenneth Bowlby for his project entitled “Evaluating the potential of biochar as reinforcing element in fiber-reinforced polymer composites” (Advisors: G. Saha and M. Afzal)
University of Prince-Edward-Island
University of Prince Edward Island, School of Sustainable Design Engineering - Undergraduate Design Project Award - Ryan Myette, Angela Court, Peter Doiron, Tristan Dawsonfor their project entitled “Recycled Water Cleanliness Improvements” (Advisors: A. Hsiao and G. McSorley)
University of Prince Edward Island, School of Sustainable Design Engineering - Undergraduate Thesis - Award Laura Whelan for her project entitled “Automized Self-Checkout Kiosk for the UPEI Library” (Advisors: A. Farooque and B. Acharya)
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University, Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Undergraduate Design Project - Award Karen Esau for her project entitled “Effective use of a variable rate blower fan on a mechanical low bush blueberry harvester” (Advisor: Q. Zaman)
Dalhousie University, Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate Thesis Award (MSc) - Salamat Ali for his project entitled “Effect of harvesting time on berry losses during mechanical harvesting of wild blueberries” (Advisor: Q. Zaman)
