General Election 2023

PhySU General Elections for the 2022-2023 academic term shall be conducted through UElect from March 31th - April 6th. Below are the profiles of the candidates running for the following positions; 

If you are currently enrolled in a physics POST, you can nominate yourself to run, by using the google form found here. 

Sai Manish Reddy Madhavapeddi 

Year and program: 1st Year Physics Specialist 

Candidate for: Treasurer, Vice President (1 of 6) 

Hi, Manish here. In the Physics Student Union election, I'm running for vice president and treasurer. As a first year physics student, I am eager to build a vibrant community of people who are passionate about the subject. I'm sure that my abilities in leadership, planning, and money management will help me succeed in this position. I'm looking forward to working with other students to plan events, encourage academic performance, and foster a welcoming environment for all participants. 


Shivangi Aneja

Year and program: First Year+ Mathematical Physics 

Candidate for: Vice President (1 of 6) 

Hiya, I'm Shivangi! Most of you might not know me personally. Well I'm easy-going and so approaching me ain't a problem. I can talk about Harry Potter and Physics anytime! I have tons of experience when it comes to leadership roles, for example I had represented my school in an online post covid forum (@worldyouthtalks),so I know what I’m doing. I am running for the VP position because I feel it would be a good way for me to give back to the community! At any point, PhySU is your solid link, bringing you close to the rest of the physics community at UofT. I am running to be a VP because I feel I'll be good at addressing people's concerns; maintain the current warm and STRESS-FREE environment, something that’s hard to come by at UofT; and could hopefully bridge the gap between the students and faculty. I also come with firsthand experience of what it is like to be a UofT student, which I’ll use to the best of my ability to help people Vote for me and you’ll be pleased! 

Anson Chow

Year and program: 3d year astronomy and physics spec 

Candidate for: Vice President (1 of 6)

Hi, I'm a people person. Come talk to me about anything. You'll usually find me playing foosball in the lounge. 

Benjamin Pennell

Year and program: 3d year + Planetary Science Specialist + Classical Civilization Major  + Physics Minor

Candidate for: Treasurer and Vice President (1 of 6) 

Hello! My name is Ben, I’m a third year student studying the unique combination of Planetary Science and Classical Civilization. I aim to bring a multidisciplinary aspect to PhySU with the seven departments that I interact with on a daily basis and the four departments (Chemistry, Astronomy, Earth Science, and Classics) that I will have done research with by graduation. I am fortunate enough to have the insight taught by both arts and sciences, which gives me a unique skill set and perspective. 

Mohamed Affan Mohideen Khadir

Year and program: 2nd year Astronomy and Physics Specialist 

Candidate for: Vice President (1 of 6) 

Greetings. I have many names, four to be exact, and numerous other titles that people have bestowed upon me; the moniker that I prefer to be referred to with is Affan. In terms of politics, I have no experience whatsoever, aside from lording over the offspring of my parents that was later to arrive on this world than me. However, I do believe that given the opportunity, I will work towards the best of my abilities to render the wishes of the physics community into reality. Have an amazing day! 

Aditya Khandelwal

Year and program: :**  3d year Astronomy and Physics Specialist with Minors in Chemistry and Math

Candidate for: Vice President (1 of 6)

Hello hello! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Adi and I'm the person responsible for organizing all of PhySU's amazing events this year. The PhySU community has come to become like my extended second family at UofT given the amount of time I spend at the lounge and on the server and I would love to be able to continue making it the best student union at UofT. As a returning exec, I would like to spend this term focusing more on increasing PhySU's inclusivity and making it more inviting to people who aren't in the typical demographic of the PhySU event attendees or server users. I would also like to put into action some plans and ideas that the current exec team came up with but didn't have time to implement. 

Ivan Ovchinnikov

Year and program: 2nd Year Math & Physics Specialist 

Candidate for: Vice President (1 of 6)

After a year of being your Secretary, we have achieved many great things. With countless workshops, social events, chess tournaments, memes, quotes (and so much more), this year we really reshaped the life of UofT Physics students after the online slump. However, this is not the end! There is still so much left to update and create; from new celebrations, competitions, discord bot updates, academic resources to things as simple as more free tea, board games and of course more pie throwing, we can make the years to come so much more enjoyable! With my extensive organizational experience both in and outside of PhySU, we can build on our momentum of making UofT’s physics department an even more welcoming and enriching space for undergraduate students.


Shuhan Zheng

Year and program: 4th year Astronomy and Physics Double Major 

Candidate for: Vice President (1 of 6)

Hello everyone! Since many of you know me already, I hope this photo will finally put a face to my name. If you don't know me yet, I'm Shuhan, also your discord mod. I used to think that sitting on the sidelines is better than taking on the role, because that way you get to participate without responsibility. While it was somewhat comfortable, I also found it limiting on what I can give back to the community. As your future exec, I want to abolish that limit by enabling each of you to participate in PhySU operations. My campaign will focus on crowd-sourced contents and allowing volunteers to take a greater role in the future.

Let there be no limit than our abilities to dream. See you on the election day!


Sam Lukerdas Gayle

Year and program: 3rd Year, Physics & Astronomy Specialist, Statistics Minor, Mathematics Minor 

Candidate for: President & Vice President (1 of 6) 

I like to think of PhySU as not just a student union that provides academic resources, meets with the Physics Department, and supports students through their academic career. I also think of PhySU as a meeting ground, common to all physics students. I, Sam Lakerdas-Gayle, have been on PhySU since Oct 2020 where I became the First Year Rep, and I’ve been the Comms VP for the past two years. Throughout my lengthy time on PhySU, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to represent physics students, and I’ve worked with generations of students and profs while being on PhySU. I’ve dealt with all the inner workings of PhySU for years, successfully bringing you events and resources that you all love. I would love to take up the mantle of President and carry PhySU through another successful year.