Pyrometallurgy Student Award – In Honor Of Professor Toguri
THE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS IS OPEN for 2026. The deadline is February 10, 2026.
The purpose of the Pyrometallurgy Student award, in honor of Professor Toguri, is to encourage and support the attainment of educational goals by students who have demonstrated a high level of academic achievement at a Canadian university.
2026 Recipient
Javad Vahabzadeh Pasikhani
Polytechnique Montreal
Javad Vahabzadeh Pasikhani is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, working in the Process Engineering Advanced Research Lab (PEARL) under the supervision of Prof. Jamal Chaouki. His research focuses on advancing modern, low-carbon pyrometallurgical technologies for the production of critical metals from secondary resources. His doctoral research has led to the development of a novel electrified route for magnesium production, demonstrating rapid, non-vacuum metallization of Mg(OH)2 via microwave-assisted carbothermic reduction, with simultaneous syngas generation as a value-added co-product. This work contributes to the decarbonization and process intensification of conventional magnesium production.
In parallel with his Ph.D., Javad is a Research Engineer at NeoCtech Corp., where he develops pyro-electrometallurgical processes for recycling rare-earth elements from end-of-life magnets and electronic waste. He has designed molten-salt electrolysis reactors capable of producing metallic rare-earth elements at significantly lower temperatures than conventional technologies and is the first inventor on two U.S. patent applications.
Javad holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tehran, graduating among the top students. He has authored over 25 peer-reviewed publications and a book chapter and holds four patents. In addition to the MetSoc 2026 Pyrometallurgy Scholarship, his work has been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the MetSoc 2025 Sustainability Scholarship, the FRQNT doctoral scholarship, the Rio Tinto graduate scholarship, and three internal scholarships from Polytechnique Montréal. He is actively involved in mentoring students and advancing sustainable metallurgy through research, teaching, and industrial collaboration.
Award Terms
The value of the award is a single payment of $3,000 CAD. The amount of the award is reviewed annually by the Pyrometallurgy Section of MetSoc. No single individual should hold more than one student award within MetSoc including its Technical sections in a given year. One award shall be made each year. However, the Award Committee may decide not to make an award if a suitable recipient is not identified.
Eligibility
The candidate should be registered in a Master’s or Ph.D. program in the field of pyrometallurgy during the whole academic year in a Canadian university.
Recipient’s Obligation
Information for the Student Scholarship Recipients
The award shall be presented at the Conference of Metallurgists. At that time, the recipient may be requested to speak on a subject of major interest to them in the field of metallurgy.
We encourage student recipients to apply for student travel funding (if travel is more than 500km) through the MetSoc Student program to help subsidize travel costs. The Pyrometallurgy section may grant the student recipients a complimentary ticket for the award banquet.
a. The applicant’s resume; including related experience in the field of pyrometallurgy. Indicate internships, work and/or co-op experience, academic courses and projects related to the pyrometallurgy. Current involvement in extracurricular activities is a plus.
b. Student statement of intent; including the applicant’s a career/educational objectives in pyrometallurgy, how this award would help her/him in achieving these objectives, future plans to stay involved in the pyrometallurgical industry or research community (max. 1 page).
c. Name of at least one reference to be contacted upon request.
d. The applicant should be willing to become a member of the MetSoc Pyrometallurgy section, attend the section meetings on a regular basis, and help in future conferences or section activities.
(The transcript of the student is no longer required)
The nomination criteria: are academic excellence, research potential, leadership, community service and extra-curricular activities. The adjudication of the scholarship shall be made by the Metallurgy and Materials Society of CIM. In making its determination, the MetSoc Pyrometallurgy Executive Committee will consider the academic excellence of the nominee and make a selection on the basis of demonstrated achievement and potential for significant contributions to the field.
The scholarship application program is closed for 2026.