
On Thursday, October 26, 2017, fifty students presented their research projects at the thirteenth annual Faculty of Science Undergraduate Research Conference (URC). McGill judges had the arduous task of choosing the victors (see below). The prize ceremony took place in McGill's elegant Moyse Hall, and was followed by a very special keynote address (see also below). The day culminated with a reception for students, friends, and alumni, where everyone celebrated the accomplishments of McGill Science students.
Keynote address
The Faculty of Science was honoured to welcome distinguished scientist Professor Doina Precup to deliver the keynote address at the thirteenth annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Her talk was entitled:
"Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century"

Professor Doina Precup (School of Computer Science, McGill University) holds the Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning at McGill, and serves as Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science. Professor Precup will lead DeepMind’s new AI lab in Montreal. She also serves as Associate Scientific Director of the Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives research initiative which aims to reduce the human and socio-economic burden of psychiatric and neurological illnesses, and improve the mental health, quality of life, and productivity of Canadians and people around the world. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning (especially reinforcement learning) and applications of these methods to real-world problems. CIFAR, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, has recognized her as the Senior Fellow for Learning in Machines & Brains. In recognition of significant accomplishments within the field of artificial intelligence, Doina Precup was granted Senior Member status by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in 2015.
Prizewinners
First and second prizes were awarded in six categories as follows:
Biological Sciences | Photo (click for larger image) |
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1st prize: Tristan Kosciuch |
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2nd prize: Lindsay Burns |
Photo not available |
Earth & Environmental Sciences | Photo (click for larger image) |
1st prize: Jade Sauvé |
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2nd prize – TIE: Katarina Kuhnert |
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2nd prize – TIE: Lauren Thompson |
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Mathematical & Computational Sciences | Photo (click for larger image) |
1st prize: Andrei Lupu |
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2nd prize: Edward Chernysh |
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Medical Sciences | Photo (click for larger image) |
1st prize: Johanna Hoshizaki |
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2nd prize: Chelsea Kim |
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Physical Sciences | Photo (click for larger image) |
1st prize: Vincent Trudel |
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2nd prize: Haoran Liao |
Photo not available |
Psychology & Neuroscience | Photo (click for larger image) |
1st prize: Dasha A. Sandra |
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2nd prize: Hamza Ahmad |
Downloads
Download the following slides to announce the Undergraduate Research Conference in your class or elsewhere:
- PDF announcement slide:
urc2017-announcement.pdf
- Powerpoint announcement slide:
urc2017-announcement.pptx
Contact
victor.chisholm [at] mcgill.ca (Victor Chisholm), Student Affairs Administrator, 514-398-5964