CivMin students shine in receiving 2025 TAC Foundation scholarships
The Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) has awarded TAC Foundation scholarships to CivMin students.
Since the TAC Foundation began awarding scholarships in 2005, 661 scholarships valuing $2.8 million have been provided at the graduate, undergraduate (university and college) and entrance level in transportation-related disciplines. For 2025, 16 scholarships valued at $71,950 were awarded by the Foundation.
CivMin recipients include:
Hesam Rashidi (CivMin PhD student) is awarded The Esch Foundation Scholarship. Rashidi’s research focuses on treating algorithmic biases in the supply chain, combinatorial optimization, and tactical planning in last-mile deliveries, under the supervision of Professor Matthew Roorda and York University Professor Mehdi Nourinejad.
The Esch Foundation was established in 2004 by Mr. Norman Esch in support of his belief that the future of Canada would be well served by engineers. It directly supports the development of students receiving training within the interdisciplinary applications of Engineering Sciences. Its goals include supporting creative and entrepreneurial students in the pursuit of research and development and its commercialization for the benefit of Canada.
Tyler Hu (CivE 2T4, CivMin MASc student) is awarded the 2025 TAC National Foundation Scholarship in Honour of Dr. Ralph Haas. This national scholarship recognizes academic excellence and commitment to advancing transportation in Canada.
Hu’s current graduate thesis is titled “Enhanced Travel Forecasting for the Greater Toronto Area: Modelling Intrahousehold Dynamics with Machine Learning and Microsimulation,” supervised by Prof. Khandker Nurul Habib.
Owen (Ao Yun) Zhang (Year 3 CivE) is awarded the CCMTA Road Safety Scholarship recognizing contributions in road safety and reducing traffic accidents and injuries. The reviewers stated they were impressed by the high calibre of the applications received from students across Canada and were particularly impressed by Zhang’s submission and therefore awarded him. the CCMTA Road Safety Scholarship.