FURCA Awards
The Festival of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (FURCA) celebrates the talents of U of A students, providing a place for the sharing of ideas between students, faculty, and the broader community.
Each year, awards are given in several categories. As all awards are sponsor or donor-funded, the value and number of awards may vary each year depending on funding availability and the pool of eligible presenters.
List of FURCA 2026 Awards
Outstanding Communication
Oral
Erica Norton* (Energy Transition: Comparing Denmark and Canada) Campus Saint-Jean
Summer Scott*, Nipuna Senanayake, Samantha D. F. Burke, Shira Joudan (Importance of Dissolved Organic Matter in the Reactivity of Diphenylguanidine in Sunlit Water) Education
Averi L. Chan*, Deborah J. Yun, Robin Hou, Julien Wourms, Jacques H. Zhang, Bryan M. Lum, Jessica T.Y. Yue (Direct Administration of Glucagon into the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract Results in a Reduced Energy Balance in Non-Diabetic Rats) Medicine & Dentistry
Jennifer Chen*, Camila Hurtado, Matina Kalcounis-Rueppell, Erin Bayne (Variation in the echolocation call structure of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) across a large part of their distributional range) Science
Poster
Deborah J. Yun*, Averi L. Chan, Robin Hou, Julien Wourms, Jacques H. Zhang, Bryan M. Lum, Jessica T.Y. Yue (Investigating Glucagon Mechanisms in the Nucleus of Solitary Tract in Reducing Food Intake in Non-Diabetic Rats) Science
Akunna Izugbokwe*, Taryn Athey, Peter Kannu (Mapping the Effects of a Rare 17q25.1–q25.3 Chromosome Duplication in a Young Adult) Nursing
Sehaj Srao* (Breed sizes and proximity to owners at the dog park) Arts
Erica Zhang*, Kayleigh Morris, Taylor Holtom, Kristi Baker (Investigating Differences in Macrophage Phagocytosis and Antigen Presentation in Colorectal Cancer Subtypes) Science
Jasmine Virk*, Oluwakemi Amodu(Trauma, Grief, and Reproductive Decision-Making: A Secondary Analysis of Internally-Displaced Women in Africa) Nursing
Lisa Coyne (Teacher Self-Efficacy and Severe Adolescent Behaviour in Post-COVID Alberta Schools) Arts
Areen Khan* , Zeinab Mohammed* (Digital Media–Based Sexual Health Education as a Strategy to Prevent Sexual Violence Among Adolescents: A Scoping Review Protocol) Nursing
Misha Macwan*, Yvonne Lam (Familial heritage language use and ethnic identity: Exploring the Gujarati heritage language community in Alberta) Arts
Outstanding "Early Career" Research
Ella Phillips (Telegrams and Red Ink: The Investigation into Mary Le Blowitz Disappearance) Augustana
Alice Cai*, Sharon Wu, Gordon Chan (MAPK/ERK: A target for combating resistance in Myt1 inhibitor mediated cervical cancer cell death) Science
Outstanding Creative Activity
Makenna Graham (Experimental Music from a CODA: Hearing, Deaf, and the Spectrum in Between) Arts
Zoe Risley*, Philip Currie, Eva Koppulhus (Illustrating the palaeoenvironment of the Danek Bonebed) Science
Outstanding Sustainability Research
Reem Elawad*, Saifullah Baber*, Sohaib Khan*, Tajbir Thind, Jasnoor Gill, Peter Doerksen, Saimon Tekleab, Abhishek Nair, Joshua Gomes, Tracy Ellamil, Elsa Naveed, Leah Song, Hafsa Rajput, Monica Leyva-Guzman (Students’ Solution to Urban Sprawl: A conceptual density focused area structure plan for Southeast Edmonton) Engineering
Ava San Agustin*, Yanet Rodriguez Herrero, Arno de Klerk, Garima Chauha (Breaking Down Common Plastics: Decomposition During Pyrolysis) Engineering
Peyton Ruptash*, Danielle Molenaar, Aaron Boyd, Kenneth Jeffries, Shira Joudan (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination in soft-shell clams (Mya truncata): A comparison of urban and remote regions of Nunavut) Science
Research Impact Canada Award for Knowledge Mobilization
Sadie Deschenes, Roshant Vig*, Destiny DeBoer*, Richard Oster, Kienan Williams (Stories in the Headlines: Indigenous Peoples’ Experiences in Canadian Acute Care) Nursing
Andrew Symak*, Asha Neumann Dar*, Jacob Tan*, Reem Elawad*, David Song*, Malay Desai, Rhea Kumar, Yulin Jiang, Hazem Elsinbawi, Aayan Chaudhary, Anjeli Flores (Inspiring Change Through Conceptual Design: A Student‑Led Library Initiative) Science
Moriah Inyang-Otu (Chemical Exposure from Synthetic Hair and Styling Gels Used by Black Women) Science
Mariana Castillo Arce (Beyond Program Failures: Qualitative Analysis of Immigrant Work Experience under the LMIA work-permit in Jasper, Canada) Augustana
Outstanding International Student Researcher
Tazakka Adie, Martin Munz (Impact of Birth on Neuronal Circuits and Neuronal Activity) Science
Outstanding International Research
Talia Peters*, Charvi Sharma*, Isabelle Suen*, Kyle Nash (Do Online Games Make You More Prejudiced? What Brain Waves Tell Us About Stereotype Accessibility) Science
Alberta Innovates Priority Area
Neriah Otu*, Kiarra Grimes, Aahil Ansari, Zhiyao (Hilda) Ma, Aillette Mulet-Sierra, Melanie Kunze, Adetola B. Adesida (Engineering the knee meniscus through synergistic crosstalk of stem and meniscus cells) Science
Chelseay Robles*, Sarah A Elliott, Samantha Cyrkot, & Lisa Hartling (Exploring Artificial Intelligence for Language Translation of Knowledge Mobilization Resources: A Randomized Trial) Medicine & Dentistry
Unjal Pradhan*, Malcolm Forster, Meghan Bunn, Amit Bhavsar (How the gut pathogen Salmonella’s effector protein SspH2 alters host inflammation) Science
Muhammad Hafiz Azhari, Jade Rosenberger, Erfan Hajiparvaneh, Martin Ferguson-Pell (Using Artificial Intelligence to Support Vertigo Diagnosis Through Eye Movement Analysis) Science
Award Categories + Information
General Awards
Recognizes students who are best able to communicate the results and impact of their research to an interdisciplinary audience. Note, this award is given out in each category of presentation (e.g., best poster, best oral presentation, etc.).
Sponsored by the Students’ Union, College of Natural & Applied Sciences and College of Health Sciences.
Special Categories
The Outstanding Creative Activity Award recognizes outstanding research-creation. Research-creation, as defined by SSHRC, is "an approach to research that combines creative and academic research practices, and supports the development of knowledge and innovation through artistic expression, scholarly investigation, and experimentation. The creation process is situated within the research activity and produces critically informed work in a variety of media (art forms). Research-creation cannot be limited to the interpretation or analysis of a creator’s work, conventional works of technological development, or work that focuses on the creation of curricula. Fields that may involve research-creation may include, but are not limited to: architecture, design, creative writing, visual arts (e.g., painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, textiles), performing arts (e.g., dance, music, theatre), film, video, performance art, interdisciplinary arts, media and electronic arts, and new artistic practices." (SSHRC definition)
Sponsored by the College of Social Sciences & Humanities.
Recognizes a 1st or 2nd-year student for outstanding research undertaken during their first year of study. Note: First-year students presenting work completed in high school are also eligible for this award.
Sponsored by the College of Social Sciences & Humanities.
Recognizes outstanding research performed outside of Canada (e.g. international fieldwork, research-abroad experiences, etc.).
Sponsored by International Education + Enrolment.
Recognizes outstanding research performed by an international student at the U of A.
Sponsored by International Education + Enrolment.
The Sustainability Council is proud to recognize the top undergraduate researchers who are building a better world. The winning projects demonstrate an integrated approach that considers human and environmental factors in the challenges we face and the solutions we need. A panel convened by the Sustainability Council selects the top projects within this field for the award.
Sponsored by Sustainability Council.
Recognizes undergraduate research projects that involve the following:
- Community or participant based/guided/co-produced/engaged research
- A knowledge mobilization plan directed towards the non-academic community. This plan should clearly identify your intended knowledge users, a description of the ways in which you will share knowledge, and a description of how you will disseminate your knowledge products to your knowledge user(s) in an engaged way.
Sponsored by Office of the Vice President, Research.
This award is sponsored by Alberta Innovates, and recognizes outstanding presentations in one of the following Alberta Innovates Priority Areas:
- Applied Health Research for Adoption and Scale
- Sustainable Health Systems
- Digital Health and Data Driven Systems
- One Health
Sponsored by Alberta Innovates