Kyle Hill
Science Atlantic Outstanding Alumnus, 2012
Biography
Dr. Kyle Hill, a former undergraduate student at Mount Allison University, has been inducted into the Science Atlantic Alumni Hall of Fame as an exceptional mathematics and physics student and science communicator.
During Kyle’s studies at Mount Allison, he was involved in a variety of student societies and programs. In particular, Kyle was the Founder and Chair of the annual Science Undergraduate Research Fair (SURF). This student organized event provides summer research students with the opportunity to present their research to professors and peers.
In summers between school, Kyle worked at Mount A. as an undergraduate researcher from 2003-2005. During this time, Kyle was also the lead trombone in the University Jazz Ensemble, s well as Co-President of the Physics Society. During third year, he was the student representative to University Senate.
Kyle presented at the Atlantic University Physics and Astronomy Conference (AUPAC) all four years of his undergraduate studies, which allowed him to explore his interest in science communication. In 2004 (his second year) he earned the conferences top research award for his “Getting a Kick out of Meteors” research. Kyle was also invited back after graduation to be a speaker at the AUPAC conference in 2015. One of Kyle’s biggest accomplishments throughout his university career was being awarded with the Rhodes Scholarship in 2006.
Kyle’s favourite part of the conferences were the relationships. “The research presentations are important, but far more important – in my view – are the new friends, soon-to-be mentors, and inspirational role models you will meet.”
Through participation in Science Atlantic conferences, Kyle developed some skills that benefited his success, including collaborative leadership and staying calm during stressful times. Above all, he believes that the most important attribute a person can have is humility.
After graduating with his BSc in 2006, Kyle went to the University of Oxford to achieve his MSc in Medical Imaging. He continued at Oxford and received his PhD in Medical Physics in 2011.
In the summers, Kyle worked around the world. In 2007, he held a summer internship at Google in their London, England, office. The following summer, he lived in Mandeville, Jamaica, working as a summer science teacher. In 2009, Kyle worked as a Public Health Analyst with the United Nations Development Program in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
After graduating with his PhD, Kyle was hired full time at Boston Consulting Group in Toronto, a position he became aware of through an on-campus information session. “They said, ‘Do you like problem solving and math?’ I said yes. A year later I started working at Boston Consulting Group.” In 2014, Kyle moved to his current position of Executive Director at Teach for Canada (http://teachforcanada.ca), a non-profit organization that works with northern First Nations communities to recruit, prepare, and support committed teachers.
Outside of work, Kyle has a passion for baseball statistics and sabermetrics and says he is always “looking for an opportunity to apply big data to new fields.” An interesting fact about his family that people may not know is that his grandmother and father were each born with six fingers!
We are pleased to recognize Dr. Kyle Hill for his outstanding achievements, and demonstrating how beneficial Science Atlantic and APUAC were in inspiring his education and career path.