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Very rubin observatory, Credit: Rubin Obs/NSF/AURA

Sherry Chu is the 2010 Luke Santi Memorial Award recipient

The former honour student of Bell High School in Ottawa, currently studying at McGill University, received the honour at PI's Public Lecture with Dr. Eric Mazur on December 1.

Ottawa’s Sherry Chu is the 2010 winner of the Luke Santi Memorial Award for Student Achievement.

ABOUT THE AWARD

The award honours Luke Santi, who was a passionate science student at Resurrection High School in Kitchener, an active volunteer with PI’s Outreach department, and a former participant in PI’s International Summer School for Young Physicists (ISSYP). Luke passed away at the age of 16 from brain cancer. The award is presented annually to a Canadian student who demonstrates Luke’s many qualities – academic performance, interest in science, extra-curricular activities and volunteering – and has begun post-secondary education in Physical Sciences at a Canadian university.

ABOUT THE RECIPIENT

This year’s recipient, Sherry Chu, is a former honours student of Bell High School in Ottawa, now attending McGill University in Montréal in the Faculty of Science.

Sherry Chu receiving her Luke Santi Memorial award from Greg Dick, Perimeter's General Manager
PI General Manager Greg Dick and 2010 Luke Santi Memorial Award winner Sherry Chu

Among Sherry’s many academic accomplishments, she received the Governor General’s Academic Bronze Medal for achieving the highest standing at her high school, the Walter Baker Memorial Scholarship, the Grade 12 Physics, Chemistry, Advanced Functions, Gifted Calculus and Vectors awards, and many others. She attended the Canadian Mathematics Competition Seminar and received certificates of distinction for the Waterloo Euclid, Fermat, Cayley, and Pascal Mathematics Contests. Recently, Sherry and a team of four other students participated in the “Students on the Beamlines Program” through the Canadian Light Source in Saskatchewan; their final results were presented to researchers there, and their team was featured on CBC News.

During her high school career, Sherry was active in extracurricular activities including the Math Club, co-founded a Model United Nations Club, participated in rugby and track, and volunteered in her community. Ms. Diana Hall, a physics teacher at her former high school said, “Sherry is an outstanding physics student and a confident young lady who has clear goals and a lot determination. She is well respected and admired by her peers and teachers. I am particularly proud that she has decided to move on to the physics program at McGill University.”

Ms. Chu was recognized on stage at the December 1 PI Public Lecture featuring Dr. Eric Mazur. Following the lecture, Sherry and her family enjoyed a celebratory dinner with the Santi family and Dr. Mazur.

Sherru Chu posing with the Santi family
Sherry Chu poses in the PI Black Hole Bistro with Public Lecture speaker Dr. Eric Mazur (centre) and the Santi Family

For more information about The Luke Santi Award for Student Achievement, please visit www.lukesantiaward.ca.

About PI

Perimeter Institute is the world’s largest research hub devoted to theoretical physics. The independent Institute was founded in 1999 to foster breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of our universe, from the smallest particles to the entire cosmos. Research at Perimeter is motivated by the understanding that fundamental science advances human knowledge and catalyzes innovation, and that today’s theoretical physics is tomorrow’s technology. Located in the Region of Waterloo, the not-for-profit Institute is a unique public-private endeavour, including the Governments of Ontario and Canada, that enables cutting-edge research, trains the next generation of scientific pioneers, and shares the power of physics through award-winning educational outreach and public engagement. 

For more information, contact:
Mike Brown
Manager, Communications & Media
519-569-7600 x5131