Lumen Winter 2016 - Flipbook - Page 4
story by Fiona
x
Solente
Celebrating
our alumni
community
Congratulations to our 2016 Alumni Medallists
O
ur alumni make an impact on
the world — their noteworthy
accomplishments benefiting both
society and our University community.
Each year, the contributions of our
alumni are formally recognised by awards,
including the Australia Day and Queen’s
Birthday Honours, and international
awards such as the Rhodes Scholarship.
The University also celebrates the
outstanding contributions of our alumni
through the Distinguished Alumni Awards,
the James McWha Award of Excellence,
the Postgraduate and Honours Alumni
University Medals and Alumni Fellow Awards.
The Honours Alumni University Medal
and the Postgraduate Alumni University
Medal recognise the outstanding
academic merit of the newest graduates
At the University I
was able to work closely
with world leaders in my
field and learn from them
in an incredibly supportive
environment. It was the
best possible start to my
academic career.
2 Lumen | Winter 2016
of the University. The nominees for the
medal are honours and postgraduate
students of outstanding academic merit
from each faculty.
Cathryn McDonald — Honours
Alumni University Medallist
Cathryn completed a First Class Honours
Degree of Bachelor of Engineering
(Electrical & Electronic) and received high
distinctions in every course as well as
multiple academic prizes and scholarships.
“I cared a lot about the success of my
Honours project, and it’s a good feeling
that our team achieved something special
with it. It’s great to join so many outstanding
women in STEM fields who have won this
award over the years,” says Cathryn.
Dr Phiala Shanahan —
Postgraduate Alumni
University Medallist
In 2012 Phiala was awarded the
Honours Alumni University Medal and
this year took out the Postgraduate
Alumni University Medal.
While undertaking her PhD in just
three years, Phiala published 11 journal
articles and a further six papers in
conference proceedings.
“At the University I was able to work
closely with world leaders in my field and
learn from them in an incredibly supportive
environment. It was the best possible start
to my academic career,” says Phiala.
Phiala finished her PhD (Physics &
Astro) in 2015. She is now a Postdoctoral
Research Associate at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in the US.
Top: Phiala Shanahan was presented her Honours
Alumni Medal Certificate by the Vice-Chancellor
at the 2012 Alumni Recognition Ceremony
Above: Cathryn McDonald with Deputy Chancellor,
Ms Di Davidson AM
Find out more about the many ways the University recognises our alumni for their
noteworthy accomplishments: www.adelaide.edu.au/alumni/recognised
