From innovative technology and ground-breaking cancer research to youth-driven climate action and reconciliation, meet this year's group of inspiring University of Victoria (UVic) alumni.
A civil engineer making critical infrastructure safer, a scientist transforming cancer research and a business grad creating pathways for young people to engage with climate action are among the 11 recipients of this year's Distinguished Alumni Awards.
The annual awards celebrate the remarkable achievements of UVic graduates in three categories: the Presidents' Alumni Awards, the Emerging Alumni Awards and the Indigenous Community Alumni Awards.
Bridging technology and safety
Harsh Rathod, PhD '20, is the CEO and co-founder of Niricson, a Vancouver-based tech company that uses drones, robotics and artificial intelligence to inspect everything from bridges and tunnels to dams and power plants around the world. By creating consistent, high-quality data, Niricson helps infrastructure owners make earlier, better-informed decisions, reducing long-term costs and, most importantly, risk.
"If you can identify problems sooner, you can fix them before they become failures," says Rathod, whose small founding team has grown to roughly 45 employees, many of them UVic grads. "That's the difference between being reactive and being predictive."
Accelerating breakthroughs
As chief executive officer (CEO) and chief scientific officer of VoxCell BioInnovation and an assistant teaching professor in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Victoria, Karolina Valente, PhD '20, is transforming cancer research and drug development. VoxCell's pioneering 3D bioprinted tissue models reduce reliance on animal testing and accelerate breakthroughs, creating faster, safer and more effective pathways to life-saving treatments.
My training at UVic gave me a strong foundation in how to think critically, lead with intention and support people as they grow. Those principles shape everything I do today."
Karolina Valente, PhD '20, 2026 Emerging Alumni Award recipient
Motivated to do good work
Kyle Empringham, MBA '24, is a co-founder of The Starfish Canada, which has evolved from a student-led campus blog into one of Canada's longest-standing youth-serving climate charities. Today, the national organization has supported more than 45,000 youth directly and reached over one million educators globally through programs focused on climate justice, ocean conservation and leadership.
As a sessional instructor at UVic's Gustavson School of Business, Empringham teaches Organizational Behaviour and successfully proposed a fourth-year special topics course, Fundraising for Social Purpose. His teaching is grounded in equity and reconciliation, weaving Indigenous perspectives and cultural context into core business concepts.
"I'm a pragmatic optimist," he says. "I'm someone who doesn't give up easily, even if it means finding different methods for solving a problem. I'm more motivated than ever to do good work because I think these are the moments where the world needs it the most."
2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients
Presidents' Alumni Award
- Richard Brown, Bachelor of Science in Psychology, 1970
- Bruce McKean, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, 1970
- Justice Scott Morishita, Bachelor of Laws, 2005
- Luc Simard, Doctor in Philosophy in Physics, 1996
Indigenous Community Alumni Award
- Patricia Barkaskas, Bachelor of Arts in History and Women's Studies, 2005
- Yataltenat, Kelley McReynolds, Master of Social Work, 2022
- Sqwulutsultun, William Yoachim, Bachelor of Social Work, 2006
Emerging Alumni Award
- Kyle Empringham, Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Innovation, 2024
- Patrick Makokoro, Graduate Diploma in International Child and Youth Care Development, 2016, Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies, Curriculum and Instruction, 2021
- Harsh Rathod, Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering, 2020
- Karolina Valente, Doctor in Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, 2020
