The Richard E. Azuma Fellowship supports promising undergraduate students in Canada who are considering a career in research fields associated with TRIUMF’s science program. Azuma Fellows are known amongst peers and teachers as exceptional individuals with a demonstrated track record of talent, passion, and leadership. Along with encouraging students with stellar undergraduate records, the Azuma Fellowship supports TRIUMF commitment to EDI by welcoming students from diverse backgrounds and who self-identify as members of equity deserving groups. The Fellowship includes a four-month work experience at TRIUMF during the summer months.
The 2025 winners are Melanie Phillips and Stephanie Cui. We caught up with them during their fellowships to see how things are going at TRIUMF and get their thoughts on winning this award.
First up is Melanie Phillips, who is working under Dr. Makoto Fujiwara with the ALPHA/HAICU group:
“The Azuma fellowship has been very meaningful to me and has supported my research with the ALPHA collaboration working on antimatter research.
TRIUMF’s strong undergraduate program, with its lectures, workshops, and welcoming community make it easy to feel connected. This, along with Vancouver’s natural beauty, lunchtime volleyball, and the efforts of the student coordinators make it easy to see why so many students return for multiple terms. The award also made it possible for me to spend two months at CERN, where I’ve learned from leading experiments and met students from around the world. I’m really grateful for the support from TRIUMF, this experience has made for an unforgettable summer.”
Next up is Stephanie Cui, RadMol Experiment Student Research Assistant:
“This fellowship holds a deep personal feeling to me. Since Vancouver is my hometown, I’ve walked past TRIUMF many times as a child, filled with curiosity and wonder. Now, thanks to the tremendous support from the University of Toronto Department of Physics—my new “home”—I am able to return, not just as a visitor, but as a researcher at TRIUMF. My project within the RadMol group is to develop a glow discharge source to deliver 227Th+ beams. This source will be used to form radioactive molecules to probe for new physics beyond the Standard Model and to understand the matter-antimatter asymmetry. Much of my time is spent in the lab with a tight-knit team, and the excitement we all felt when we detected first ions is something I will never forget.”
Read more information about the Richard E. Azuma Summer Fellowships.
Congratulations to Melanie and Stephanie!
