In today’s era of rapid technological advancement, with more information at our fingertips than ever before, it can be easy – and tempting – to fast-track the research process. For students who choose to dig deeper, the results can be surprising, enlightening and even groundbreaking. The Peter and Patricia Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize celebrates these exceptional students who use U of T’s libraries to unlock exciting new pathways of scholarship.

Now in its 10th year, the Wilson Prize was established through the generosity of Peter and Patricia Shannon Wilson, whose endowment honours their family’s deep belief in education and a lifelong connection to U of T, its staff, and its libraries.

“Here at U of T, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of research excellence and academic achievement, not only in Canada, but globally,” said University Chief Librarian Larry P. Alford in his remarks at the event. “The Patricia and Peter Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize is a testament to this commitment, and it’s clear that this recognition leaves a lasting impact.”

At this year’s awards ceremony on April 17th at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, winners and their supporting instructors spoke about their winning projects, connected by one common thread: a shared commitment to critical and innovative thinking, supported by library research.

Second-year Victoria College Arts & Science (Linguistics and Cognitive Science) student Alex Drotenko was honoured for her paper “The Role of LLMs in Human Language Evolution: A Cognitive-Linguistic Analysis", supported by Professor Mark Miller.

To investigate how large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT engaged with human language, Drotenko used cognitive science texts to help generate stronger search terms in LibrarySearch and databases such as ScienceDirect. She says the long-term effects of LLMs on humanity remain unknown – but it’s up to researchers to make their best guesses. “Through these guesses, we can aim to ensure our technological developments remain tools rather than curses,” Drotenko says.

Professor Wafaa Hasan nominated third-year Victoria College Arts & Science (Women and Gender Studies) student Lorraine Pan’s research project titled “South Korean Feminist Reactions and Resistance to the 'Nth Room Case' in Digital Spaces in 2020.”

Preliminary searches in library databases helped Pan refine not only their research approach, but the trajectory of their topic: after learning that the Nth Room criminal case had been covered extensively, they shifted their focus to the South Korean feminist resistance movement and its response. Pan also discovered the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library during their research and used its Korean-language pop cultural materials extensively. “(The EAL) helped me better contextualize and analyze the specific cases in my research,” they say.

Victoria College's President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Rhonda N. McEwen and Victoria College Principal, Professor Alex Eric Hernandez also attended the Wilson Prize ceremony to support Drotenko and Pan in their achievements, with Principal Hernandez providing Pan's introduction. Provostial Advisor on Civil Discourse and Professor Randy Boyagoda attended and spoke on behalf of Drotenko's project.

This year, two fourth-year Architectural Studies students from the Daniels Faculty of Architecture received a Wilson Prize: Delia Pan and Devika Singh were both supported by Assistant Professor Simon Rabyniuk.

Pan’s thesis project “Between Renewal and Memory: A Resident-Centered Framework for Taiwan’s Aging Housing” explored urban renewal, gentrification, and housing accessibility in Taipei. Pan started with broader search terms and targeted filters, which led her to a key article via ScienceDirect. She also explored U of T’s Chinese and Japanese-language holdings to deepen her area of scholarship: “I’m grateful that U of T’s collections include texts from diverse cultures and languages,” she says. “This multilingual approach allowed me to engage with Taiwanese and Japanese scholars’ perspectives directly, rather than through translated intermediaries.”

Singh’s winning project “A Choreography of Things: The Making of Indo-Caribbean Identity” is a micro-history of the Guianese bottom house - a covered ground-level area common to Guiana’s Indo-Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean communities.

Singh met with librarians, including Eberhard Zeidler Library’s head librarian Cathryn Copper, to explore subject-specific databases and tools for interdisciplinary research. “These one-on-one consultations reframed the library as a collaborative research community rather than a passive resource,” Singh says. She also conducted interviews with her Guyanese father as part of her research and used library resources like architecture drawings and colonial records to supplement his memories.

Third-year Trinity College Arts & Science (Global Health and Cell & Molecular Biology) student Parmin Sedigh Tonekaboni received the Wilson Prize for her research project titled “Cancer Prevention through Nutrition: Bridging the Knowledge Translation Gap”, nominated by Professor Kenneth Yip. Tonekaboni was introduced by Cell & Systems Biology Research Communications Specialist Neil Macpherson.

Tonekaboni’s project tackled social media misinformation about cancer prevention and nutrition through short-form evidence-based videos. Library webinars proved helpful: “(I learned that) the ubiquitous information disorder we see is a somewhat natural result of the combination of the internet, society, and humans. Yet, this does not mean that we are powerless in tackling misinformation,” Tonekaboni says.

Sabrina Isabelle McLennon, a fourth-year Arts & Science (Law & History Specialist and Biomedical Toxicology) student at New College, was awarded for her research project titled “From Rapanui Ancestral Medicine to Rapamycin: Biopiracy, the 1964 Canadian-led Medical Expedition to Easter Island & the Socio-Legal Legacies of Chilean Annexation of Te Pito o te Kaiŋa."

In this paper, sponsored by Assistant Professor Alex Pelegrino, McLennon sought to connect the Chilean annexation of Rapa Nui in the late 19th century with the Canadian scientific expedition in the mid-20th century. She used an impressive variety of library resources to present her thesis, including Indigenous perspectives, material culture analysis, archives, published ethnographies, recorded oral interviews from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, interlibrary loans from the University of British Columbia, and digital archives in Chile.

“The Wilson Prizes not only recognize extraordinary student work — they also highlight the guidance of faculty, librarians, and mentors who support students through every stage of the research process,” said Timothy Chan, Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, Strategic Initiatives in his remarks at the ceremony. “The generosity and vision of Peter and Patricia Shannon Wilson have opened doors for students to make meaningful contributions to academic life at U of T.”

Thanks to the support of the Wilsons, the mentorship of UTL librarians and the library’s vast repository of archival resources, collections and materials, this year’s Wilson Prize winners have developed the confidence, skills, and intellectual curiosity that will guide them through lifelong learning. After all, every great research journey begins with a question – and the library can be the key that unlocks the answer.

A decade of discovery with the Wilson Research Prize

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