15

FACES & PLACES | PROFILES

Young
Achievers
The nature of success.
Words and photography by Nicole Danesi

By no means was
I a stellar student
off the batI really
wasnt!

Varun Gupta
ECO Canada Student Ambassador Award
By no means was I a stellar student off the batI really wasnt!
Three published journal articles and a masters degree later,
Varun Gupta claims it was at UTM where things changed. During
his undergraduate degree at UTM, Assistant Professor Nathan
Basiliko introduced him to a journal article researching methane
and peatland areas, where the soil possesses high concentrations
of carbon due to decomposing vegetation. This led Gupta to the
focus of his masters research, which he also completed at UTM.
Gupta researched the ability of methane, a greenhouse gas,
to convert into carbon in anaerobic peatland conditions, which
confirmed this natural occurrence. His ground-breaking research
impressed fellow peatland scientists during a presentation of

Amy Mui
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship
To Amy Mui, the Blandings turtle is certainly not bland, and neither
is her research or her academic career.
The yellow-bellied speckled shell Blandings turtle is the subject
of Muis PhD research mapping and examining the habitat suitability
of these turtles, one of eight turtle species native to Ontario. She is
conducting her research at the University of Toronto Mississauga
(UTM) and is using remote sensing and geographic information
systems to generate a detailed map of the Blandings habitat. The
main objective is to use the maps produced for the conservation
of the Blandings turtles, currently listed as a threatened species.
Ideally, the combination of the two technologies will enable habitat
mapping of other species intended for conservation.
I have always loved research, Mui says. She previously
studied the common wombat as part of her masters research at the
University of Sydney, Australia.
Awarded the prestigious Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship,
Mui says her proudest academic accomplishment was her acceptance
to UTM. The geography department here at UTM is very supportive
of its graduate students, says Mui, who was overjoyed to have UTM
Assistant Professor Yuhong He, whose research focuses on remote
sensing and ecosystem modeling, as her PhD supervisor.
I just love the atmosphere of academia, says Mui. I love the
atmosphere of learning because I feel that at any stage in your life,
you should never stop learning.
Aside from turtles and academics, Amy is mother to a newborn,
George Alexander, coincidentally named six months prior to the
birth of Will and Kates own bundle of joy.

his masters research in Florida, a moment Gupta claims as

his proudest academic achievement: I felt really good being
recognized by highly regarded peers.
Overall, Gupta is the face of the complete UTM experience.
He has trained both masters and doctorate students in molecular
techniques as a research and training associate, jetted off to
Mexico to participate in a field course studying Lake Zapotlan,
and worked as both a research assistant in the lab and teaching
assistant in the classroom.
In 2011, Gupta was one of five students honoured with the
ECO Canada Student Ambassador award, which allowed him to
travel to Montreal and present his masters research to industry
professionals. Currently a student at Sheridan College, Gupta is
pursuing a certificate in project management and is considering
pursuing a PhD studying wetlands.

Nicole Danesi is a third-year student studying at UTM. Visit her website at nicoledanesi.com or follow her on Twitter: @nicoledan13.