Remembering the UBC victims of UIA Flight PS752

On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board. Among those who lost their lives were four members of the University of British Columbia community, including Mehran Abtahi, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Civil Engineering.

In honour of their memories, UBC and the Iranian-Canadian community established the Iranian Student Memorial Award, which is awarded annually to "outstanding undergraduate and graduate students of Persian or Iranian heritage, or who are studying Persian Studies." The awards are adjudicated by Enrolment Services.

On the first anniversary of this tragic event, we are thinking of the families, friends and colleagues of the individuals who died in the disaster and those within the Iranian community who were affected by it.