Fourth-year engineering physics student Colin Dyck has been selected as a recipient of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. 

The Rhodes Scholarship, organized by the Rhodes Trust, is an international scholarship that provides exceptional students with the opportunity to pursue fully funded graduate studies for two years at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. 

The scholarship has been awarded since 1902, making it the oldest international graduate scholarship program in the world — as well as one of the most prestigious.

Past winners have gone on to become Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners, hold powerful positions at the helm of governments and major organizations, and change the world in a variety of other ways.

The Rhodes Trust awards 100 scholarships per year, with each of its recognized constituencies (a country, group of countries, or territory) receiving a dedicated number of scholarships. Only 11 scholarships are awarded across Canada each year. 

In addition to Dyck, recent USask Law graduate Kennedy Marley was awarded the same scholarship, marking the second year in a row that two members of the USask community have received this award. This year’s recipients will begin graduate studies at the University of Oxford in September 2025.

Dyck heard about the scholarship from Rachel Andres, a fellow member of the Greystone Singers who obtained the Rhodes Scholarship last year.

“That first piqued my interest and I looked into it, and then I just decided I might as well take a shot. There are lots of interesting programs at Oxford, and it felt like a natural fit where I wanted to study at Oxford, they have good atmospheric science there, and this was an opportunity to get funding for that,” said Dyck.

The Rhodes Scholarship intends to seek out and provide opportunities to a diverse range of promising young students, bringing them together to change the world. Rhodes scholars must not only excel academically – they must exhibit the “energy to use one’s talents to the full.”

Dyck embodies this quality, having undertaken multiple research projects and hands-on experiences related to atmospheric science throughout his undergraduate studies. 

He was involved in the design of RADSAT-SK1 and RADSAT-SK2, a unique collaborative project between USask, Saskatchewan Polytechnic, the Canadian Space Agency, and the USask Space Design team, which would allow undergraduate students to create Saskatchewan’s first and second ever homegrown satellites.

He also worked with the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies to design satellite prototypes which monitor ozone and aerosols in the atmosphere.

“I think I’m most proud of the satellite prototype. I went to Sweden and got to launch a high-altitude balloon and I was able to bring together what I had learned in my undergraduate degree into something that’s really, really solid and really present. It’s the closest feeling I’ve had to creating something that will actually help the climate challenge,” he commented. 

After he graduates with his B.E. in Engineering Physics from USask this  June, Dyck is planning on pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary physics degree. He is passionate about climate change and wants to use his research to help protect the planet.

“Currently, I’m looking specifically into research projects involving aerosols, which are suspended liquid or solid particles in the air. There’s a lot of unknowns about how much of an effect they have on the atmosphere and human health. I think that’s a niche that I can really get into and hopefully make some progress in the field,” he explained.

Rhodes Scholars are also expected to exhibit the Rhodes Qualities, which include devotion to duty, unselfishness, and kindliness. 

Despite the demands of his academics, research, and performing with the Greystone Singers and the USask Wind Orchestra, Dyck still found the time throughout his undergraduate studies to volunteer in the community. 

He spent over five years leading a youth group and more recently became involved with the Library of Things, an organization which provides community members with the opportunity to borrow items they might not have around their home, ranging from power tools to cotton candy makers. Dyck helps out by repairing and doing maintenance work on the library’s items.

The prestige of the award isn’t lost on Dyck.“I definitely wasn’t expecting it. At the social, there were so many amazing people, and I [thought], ‘Wow, it’s a pretty low chance.’ I’d convinced myself that I wasn’t going to get it as a sort of coping mechanism, but then I was just shocked when I got the news,” he explained. “It was just super stunning, and I’m just so honored.”

“I am really appreciative that I can be a Rhodes Scholar, because the whole [Rhodes] Trust has been so focused on trying to create change and I feel that is something that really aligns with my goals. I think that the Rhodes community will really equip me in a good way to create connections with people who have different ideas and empower me so that I can get to places where I can hopefully make impactful changes in climate,” said Dyck.

The Sheaf team extends its congratulations to Dyck on receiving this prestigious scholarship and wishes him all the best in his future studies at Oxford.