Described by his supervising professor as the most brilliant student he has ever encountered at UBC, Muntasir Billah has spent the past few years distinguishing himself at the university害羞草研究所檚 Okanagan campus.

As he celebrated the completion of his PhD during convocation ceremonies last week, he was also awarded one of Canada害羞草研究所檚 most prestigious academic awards.

Billah has won the 2016 UBC Governor General害羞草研究所檚 Gold Medal害羞草研究所攔ecognition reserved for the student with the highest academic achievement in the College of Graduate Studies. His PhD research in the School of Engineering focused on the development of design guidelines for highway bridges using smart materials.

害羞草研究所淚 have the highest admiration for his brilliance, intellectual capability, imagination, and hard work,害羞草研究所� said PhD supervisor Shahria Alam, an associate professor in the school of engineering. 害羞草研究所淗e has accumulated a long list of academic honours and achievements and I feel he is the most outstanding and deserving candidate for this distinction.害羞草研究所�

Prior to his master害羞草研究所檚 and PhD studies at UBC, Billah was an undergraduate and then lecturer in the department of civil engineering at the Military Institute of Science and Technology in Bangladesh, where he earned that university害羞草研究所檚 top medal for obtaining the highest undergraduate grade-point average in civil engineering.

害羞草研究所淚 feel extremely honoured and appreciative for receiving this significant award which boosts my confidence and inspiration to pursue my future career as a researcher in academia,害羞草研究所� said Billah. "My doctoral research developed a design guideline for highway bridges and I am currently working as a bridge engineer in Vancouver, where I am able to apply the knowledge I gained doing my UBC research to real world application.害羞草研究所�

Billah, who has a CGPA of 97 per cent, has received many awards and scholarships, including a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Industrial Post-graduate Scholarship, the Graduate Dean害羞草研究所檚 Thesis Fellowship, UBC and School of Engineering Graduate Fellowships, and the Research Excellence Award from his research group in the School of Engineering.

Also during convocation this week, eight students are being recognized with gold medals for being at the top of their graduating class. Individual awards for heads of graduating classes include:

University of B.C. Medal in Arts害羞草研究所擩essica Bella

University of B.C. Medal in Education害羞草研究所擬ark Wells

University of B.C. Medal in Engineering害羞草研究所擫ogan Terry

University of B.C. Medal in Fine Arts害羞草研究所擡mily MacMillen

University of B.C. Medal in Human Kinetics害羞草研究所擪ailey Owens

University of B.C. Medal in Management害羞草研究所擡nyuan Chen

University of B.C. Medal in Nursing害羞草研究所擪athryn Reese

University of B.C. Medal in Science害羞草研究所擝rett Lukens