White Rose Scholarship honours women killed Dec. 6, 1989, at Polytechnique Montréal
A University of Guelph student has made history as the first Gryphon to be awarded a national memorial scholarship to continue her studies in biological engineering.
Kaitlyn Root, a graduate of the College of Engineering who is now pursuing a M.Eng. is one of 14 recipients of the White Rose Scholarship.
The scholarship awards $50,000 to Canadian female engineering students who embody the courage, curiosity and determination to drive the world forward.
They are presented by the Order of the White Rose in honour of the 14 women killed Dec. 6, 1989, in their mechanical engineering classroom at Polytechnique Montréal.
This year marks a significant expansion of the program that previously awarded only one scholarship annually.
Root is the first U of G student to receive the White Rose Scholarship – selected by a jury comprised of the deans of engineering at six Canadian universities – based on her academic record, technical achievements and commitment to the common good.
A passion for sustainability, knowledge sharing and teamwork
A former varsity fencing athlete named MVP in 2023, Root has excelled at balancing academic success with community engagement. As the engineering director for iGEM Guelph, she led award-winning team projects including 3D-printable lab tools and bioremediation scaffolds, earning gold and silver medals at the iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris, France.
Root is also the recipient of the Helen Grace Tucker Design Prize, a U of G honour awarded to her capstone project – an innovative filtration system to remove pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater. Deeply committed to environmental issues, Root engages youth in leading education workshops as part of the Ontario Nature Youth Council.
Currently, her graduate work enables Root to fuel her passion for sustainability, exploring the valorization of dairy waste streams using microbial fuel cells, a promising technology for sustainable energy production.
Established in 2014, the White Rose Scholarships are awarded to Canadian graduate students studying engineering anywhere in the world, a tribute to the lives taken that helps to revive the dreams lost in 1989.