PhD candidate Locke Davenport Huyer has been named a 2018 University of Toronto Alumni Association (UTAA) Graduate Scholar.
He is among three recipients in this category and one of two members of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering to be honoured with U of T Awards of Excellence, a program that recognizes faculty, staff and students who exemplify a commitment to enhancing the university experience for their peers and colleagues.
Davenport Huyer is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry (ChemE) and the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME). His biomedical engineering research, conducted under the supervision of Professor Milica Radisic, focuses on creating a new kind of polyester material for building artificial cardiac tissue. He has already published two first-author papers about his findings and organized two research conferences.
In 2016, Davenport Huyer received a prestigious Vanier Scholarship, the top federal government award for PhD students, worth $150,000.
An enthusiastic mentor, Davenport Huyer is a volunteer lecturer for the Let’s Talk Science program and co-founder of the IBBME Discovery Program, an enriched science course taught by U of T students to high school students in one of Toronto’s low-income communities.
“Locke’s passion and enthusiasm for bringing biomedical engineering learning opportunities to high school students is truly remarkable. I have seen how his talent for curriculum development and teaching has brought new interest to students who had not previously considered science to be a field of study for them,” said Professor Dawn Kilkenny, IBBME’s associate director of undergraduate programs. “My sincerest congratulations to Locke—this recognition is well deserved.”