CivMin students shine in receiving 2026 TAC Foundation scholarships
The Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) has awarded TAC Foundation scholarships to four U of T students, with three coming from CivMin.
The four U of T student recipients are Chaitanya Ahuja, Mariam Ayoub, Lucas Gaspari and Trevor Jones.
Since the TAC Foundation began awarding scholarships in 2005, 697 scholarships valuing $2.9 million have been provided at the graduate, undergraduate (university and college) and entrance level in transportation-related disciplines. For 2026, 20 scholarships valued at $96,725 were awarded by the Foundation.
CivMin recipients include:
Chaitanya Ahuja (ChemE 2T2+PEY, CivMin MASc 2T6, PhD student) is awarded a TAC Foundation scholarship.
Ahuja’s research focuses in the area of community impacts of transportation projects (major rail lines, airports, etc) and how we can better deliver (less cost, time, disruption) much-needed transport investments for both the climate and society, and is supervised by CivMin Profs Marianne Hatzopoulou and Matthew Roorda.
Lucas Gaspari (Year 3 CivE) is awarded a TAC Foundation scholarship.
Gaspari has also received recognition this year at the 18th Annual Joint ITE Canada District Student Presentation Competition and the People-Centered Mobility in Transportation Sandbox Design Competition.
Trevor Jones (MEng 2T3, PhD student) is awarded EllisDon Corporation, in honour of Stephen Damp, past TAC Foundation President.
Jones is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto’s Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, enrolled in the Collaborative Specialization in Engineering Education. His research centers on developing a teaching model aimed at strengthening the engineering judgment of students during the design process. His project will evaluate this model by applying it to teaching the urban road design process. He is supervised by CivMin Professor Matthew Roorda and ISTEP’s Professor Emily Moore.
An Arts & Science student is the fourth U of T student recipient:
Mariam Ayoub (Life Science) – CCMTA Road Safety Scholarship