2020 Indigenous Graduate Student Scholarship Recipients

Esmeé Colbourne, Communication and Culture MA

Master of communication and culture student Esmée Colbourne believes in the power of community-driven social justice. Inspired by her own family's loss of Algonquin traditional practices, language and histories, Colbourne's current research critiques the reification and reconstruction of institutional social memory through open-sourced education, art-based research-creation and archival studies. Colbourne supports and stands in solidarity with Indigenous students fighting for justice at X University.

Please read the Yellowhead Institute's Open Letter (external link)  for more information.

Cayley Delisle, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering PhD

Cayley Delisle is a doctoral student in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering. Cayley’s research focusses on the influence of nano-enhanced fluids operating under pool boiling conditions. Cayley aims to determine how effective nanofluids can be when used in rapid cooling situations. Applications for this study include high-demand cooling systems such as super computers and emergency response systems such as rapid response cooling for nuclear power systems under meltdown conditions. Cayley hopes to continue the success of her master’s degree, including two high-impact publications, as she extends her work towards her doctoral thesis. The influence of Cayley’s research is significant as it lies on the cutting edge of both advanced phase field-based fluid mechanics and complex three-phase heat transfer. The work Cayley is completing holds the potential to lay the groundwork for future researchers to undertake studies at a substantially lower cost when compared to traditional experimental approaches.

Freedom Stone, Architecture MA

After receiving her bachelor of architectural science and at the end of her master’s degree in architecture, Freedom Stone strives to highlight the many avenues of thought that exist in architecture. Challenging notions of permanence and stability associated with architecture, Freedom is interested in expanding varying approaches to design. She explores the unconscious modes of operating and creating — particularly in terms of spatial thinking — emphasising the overlooked experiences and conditions that shape a person’s life. With a sensitivity to the importance of one’s personal history, identity and perceptions of the world, her prospective goals include supporting marginalised communities and helping to increase diversity in the architectural profession.