CivMin student Jeff Chen achieves highest marks in Engineering and all of U of T

Chen is awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal and the John Black Aird Scholarship

CivMin’s Jeff Chen, who achieved an incredible 100% mark for 17 of his 46 courses, giving him a 96.5% average overall and the highest undergraduate student average at U of T.

Jeff Chen, a fourth-year civil engineering student in the Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering (CivMin) at the University of Toronto, has won the Governor General’s Silver Medal and the John Black Aird Scholarship. The Silver Medal is awarded to an undergraduate student who achieves the highest academic standing upon graduation from a bachelor’s degree program. There are three silver medals awarded at the University of Toronto. This is the second year in a row that an Engineering student has received this distinction.

“Since receiving word of these accolades, my emotions remain unchanging—an enduring sense of gratitude for my peers and professors, embedded in all the experiences we’ve shared,” reflects Chen. “These accolades will remind me that my past four years at U of T Engineering will always be a defining chapter in my life.”

The Governor General’s Academic Medal was first awarded in 1873 by the Earl of Dufferin, and has since become one of the most prestigious awards that a student in a Canadian educational institution can receive.

The John Black Aird Scholarship was established in 1996 in memory of the Honourable John Black Aird, former chancellor of the University of Toronto and Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario and is awarded to the most outstanding student graduating from an undergraduate program. The winner of this award is selected from among those students who are nominated by their divisions for the Governor General’s Silver Medals.

Over the course of his four years of study in CivMin at U of T, Chen achieved an incredible 100% mark for 17 of his 46 courses, giving him a 96.5% average overall. This straight-A student has also garnered other awards as recognition for his academic prowess:

Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education – Gold Medal for Academic Achievement: awarded for the highest weighted cumulative average percentage. Honours required.
Otto Holden Scholarship: Highest aggregate mark in two of all Hydraulic engineering subjects in the course, require honours in IV year. (Civil: CIV340H1, CIV250H1. Mechanical: MIE312H1, MIE414H1)
W.S. Wilson Medal: Highest standing in IV year. Honours required.