U of T Grad Student Wins DKG Fellowship Award

 

Credit: Margaret Ikape.

The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International has granted U of T Grad Student Margaret Ikape a World Fellowship Award for the 2021-2222 academic year.

Ikape – a graduate student at the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics – received the award for her contributions to science research and education.

Ikape is honoured by this news. “I feel very excited to be recognized for this award, and to know that my research and contributions to science education are acknowledged,” she says.

“This further reinforces my desire to pave the path for young Africans in STEM disciplines.”

Ikape’s research focuses on studying the details of an early phase in the Universe, when it transitioned from neutral gas to ionized gas. Notably, she has also been a committed instructor at PASEA (the Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers) for the last four years.

Her supervisor, Professor Renée Hložek, says she is pleased to see Ikape recognized by the DKG. “Margaret has both a thirst for scientific discovery and incredible tenacity,” says Hložek. “She is a strong and quiet leader, and in addition to her graduate studies, she has been giving back to the community –  including public lectures and talks, outreach, and training of the next generation of scientists.”

Thirty-four applications were submitted at the University of Toronto, and ten were selected for the final adjudication, which was overseen by the International World Fellowships Committee in Austin, Texas. The DKG World Fellowship Fund was established to provide opportunities for international women to pursue graduate studies in Canada and the United States. Over one thousand women in 122 countries have received awards since 1960.

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For more information on the award, visit: https://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/awards/delta-kappa-gamma-world-fellowships/

For more information on the news, please contact:

Meaghan MacSween
Communications and Multimedia Officer
Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics,
University of Toronto
meaghan.macsween@utoronto.ca

The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto is an endowed research institute with more than 90 faculty, postdocs, students and staff, dedicated to innovative technology, ground-breaking research, world-class training, and public engagement. The research themes of its faculty and Dunlap Fellows span the Universe and include: optical, infrared and radio instrumentation; Dark Energy; large-scale structure; the Cosmic Microwave Background; the interstellar medium; galaxy evolution; cosmic magnetism; and time-domain science. The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, David A. Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics comprise the leading centre for astronomical research in Canada, at the leading research university in the country, the University of Toronto.