Vanier Award – An “Awarding” Experience
The Hon. Gary Goodyear congratulated Ali on his award.
In May 2009, Physics PhD student Elsayed Ali was one of the inaugural recipients of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship worth a total of $150k over three years.
Ali said: “The Vanier award made all the difference as it allowed me to focus more on my research without worrying about financial issues, particularly as I have a family with a child. The expectations for a Vanier scholar have been a strong motive for me to always do my best.”
Ali is now in the last few months of his PhD. Upon completion of his doctorate, he will start his residency training in the Medical Physics Department at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre in September 2012.
Since September 2007, he has been working on his doctoral research to develop an accurate and cost-effective method to determine the energy distribution of photon beams, which are used for the radiation treatment of cancer patients. Currently, the tool has been built and validated using the unique facilities of the Ionizing Radiation Standards at the National Research Council on Montreal Road in Ottawa.
In the near future, Ali plans on making measurements on clinical machines using his validated tool. He and his supervisor have made arrangements with The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre and The McGill Hospital to perform such measurements.
“I can’t say enough about my supervisor David Rogers. His knowledge, friendliness and availability are the most I could have ever asked for in a supervisor. To express my gratitude, I spearheaded the effort by his current and past graduate students to nominate him for a Graduate Mentoring Award, which he deservedly won last December.
Ali with his supervisor Dr. David Rogers
Says Ali: “Within the Physics Department at Carleton University, there is a great sense of community and a great deal of collaboration, idea-sharing and support, which have made my graduate school experience very rewarding and enjoyable.”
Ali joined the Physics Department at Carleton University in September 2005 and got his MSc in Medical Physics in September 2007 under the supervision of Professor David Rogers. His master’s work was on accurate and efficient modeling of diagnostic x-ray systems.
More information about the Vanier award program can be found HERE.
In the following video, sponsored by the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program, Ali explains his research in more detail.
