On Saturday, April 1, more than 1,300 members of the U of T Engineering community gathered at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in downtown Toronto to celebrate the Faculty’s 150^th anniversary — and officially kick off its new Defy Gravity fundraising campaign.

The evening featured a keynote address from Canadian astronaut and engineering graduate Col. Chris Hadfield, who spoke about the power and potential of engineering as a force for good in the world.

The audience included more than 700 current students and 500 alumni, as well as faculty, staff and other supporters. Guests were treated to performances from the Skule™ Orchestra, the Skule™ Stage Band and the Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad [sic], among many others.

There  were also exhibitions from many U of T Engineering clubs and teams, from Robotics for Space Exploration to the University of Toronto Concrete Toboggan team.

“Each and every one of you has stories to tell about your time here: the challenges you faced, the lessons you learned, the paths you have embarked on and the places they led you,” said U of T Engineering Dean Chris Yip at the event.

“We are here to celebrate the contributions that U of T Engineering graduates have made to building the brighter world we enjoy today, and to imagine the ones yet to come.”

To learn more about U of T Engineering’s history of innovation and the events planned for the rest of the year, visit our Engineering 150 microsite.

The next 150 years

The event also marked the beginning of the Faculty’s new fundraising campaign, a part of the University of Toronto-wide Defy Gravity campaign.

The U of T campaign is helping to address some of the most critical issues of our time. It has twin goals of inspiring 225,000 alumni to get involved, while encouraging them to contribute their time and talent to the University one million times collectively, as well as raising $4 billion in support for the University’s highest priorities.

Over the past century and a half, many new technologies with roots at U of T Engineering have made their mark across Canada and around the world. These include the dry cell battery, the electric wheelchair and the foundation of Toronto’s iconic CN Tower.

“U of T Engineers don’t just accept the world as it is: we fix what’s broken, improve what works and explore entirely new ways of doing things,” said Claire Kennedy (ChemE 8T9) U of T’s Defy Gravity campaign co-chair.

“This is the spirit that has defined the Faculty for 150 years, and it is the sprit that will ensure we can tackle the biggest and most complex problems.”

The new campaign is described by four key pillars that reflect the depth and breadth of the Faculty’s research and educational initiatives. These are:

• Creating sustainable & thriving global communities through technologies that meet the climate crisis head-on, such as new ways of harvesting solar power or bio-inspired solutions that reduce energy use in buildings;
• Promoting healthy societies by finding new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent disease;
• Designing intelligent machines for good, using expertise in analytics and AI to improve everything from self-driving robots to water distribution systems; and
• Enhancing the development of the 21st century engineer by promoting a more inclusive profession and enhancing the skills of U of T Engineering graduates.

“One hundred and fifty years of leadership and innovation is an occasion worth celebrating,” said David Palmer, Vice-President Advancement and Interim Vice-President Communications.

“Engineering alumni have made an impact in areas all across the globe. And the anniversary gala event was a small window into the limitless innovation and creativity that takes place every day at U of T Engineering.”

A year of celebration

The gala is the first in a series of initiatives set to take place throughout 2023 that will celebrate the progress of the past 150 years and set the tone for the future.

Upcoming events include Alumni Reunion (May 31 – June 4) and a Faculty open house set for September 30. Details for these events, as well as a series of features and interactive content highlighting U of T Engineering’s past and future impact can be found on the 150^th anniversary website.

“I want to thank all of you for all your support, both in the past and the years to come,” said Dean Yip. “The future is bright, and I know that we’re just getting started.”

Learn more about 150 years of impact at U of T Engineering

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on April 3, 2023 by Tyler Irving

 

Last month, a delegation of U of T Engineering graduate students travelled to Detroit, Mich. for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) WE Local conference. From the moment they walked into the room, they could feel that something had changed.

“I was amazed when I first entered the conference hall with around 800 women engineers, the largest gathering of its kind that I have ever witnessed,” says Anjula Antonis (ECE MASc candidate). “It felt empowering to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals.”

The students spent the next two days making connections with their fellow women engineers and gaining practical tools to help them thrive in their chosen profession.

“In one session, we broke out into small groups and shared stories of challenges we’ve encountered, and how we overcame them using resilience,” says Sharon Ferguson (MIE PhD candidate). “This really made it clear that we are not alone, and we can overcome anything.”

Their trip was partially funded by U of T Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Professionalism. Over the course of this academic year, the office is supporting several student groups as they attend conferences in Canada and beyond.

These experiences aim to empower students from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in engineering — including women, Black students and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community — to bring their authentic selves to their chosen field, and to drive change across the profession.

“Students with identities that have been marginalized in engineering can feel isolated and self-select out of the field. Finding community is really important,” says Marisa Sterling, Assistant Dean, Diversity, Inclusion and Professionalism at U of T Engineering.

“We are investing in conference access as one way to help advance safe and welcoming spaces for women, 2SLGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous and students of many other identities. Students gain skills in leadership, communications, and technical knowledge that they then share back with the U of T Engineering community through presentations to the grassroots Engineering EDI Action Group, talks with lab and peer groups and/or participation in student clubs like GradSWE, QueerSphere and NSBE.”

In January, Toronto hosted the inaugural EngiQueers Canada conference. Jennifer (Jay) Gordon (CivMin PhD candidate), a member of QueerSphere Grad, was among the U of T Engineering students who attended.

“There is a huge amount of value in creating these safe, supportive spaces where students who are in the minority get the chance to experience what it is like to be the majority, fully accepted for who they are, and relating to others in a way which allows us to make sense and live as our authentic selves,” says Gordon.

“I really appreciate the Faculty’s ongoing efforts to counter historic inequity on this and several other axes of privilege. On top of that, this first-ever EngiQueers national conference was a great opportunity to network, meet new friends and attend a couple of awesome parties!”

Another student, a trans woman PhD candidate who preferred to remain anonymous, spoke about what EngiQueers Canada meant to them.

“In November of 2022, I began receiving emails about this conference, and I thought about how great it would be to meet people like myself — engineering queers in similar fields of study and perhaps with similar experiences,” she says.

“I received little to no support from relatives and friends during my whole life.  What the Diversity, Inclusion & Professionalism office did showed me that there is a sense of acknowledgement about the lack of support for our community.”

From March 22 to 26, a delegation from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) U of T Student Chapter will be in Kansas City, Mo. to attend the 2023 NSBE Annual Convention. The group also sent a delegation to last year’s NSBE Annual Convention, held in Anaheim, Cali.

“As a young Black person in STEM, there comes a time in both my academic and professional journeys where I feel ‘other’ simply due to a lack of representation and visibility in professional spaces,” says Shatho Hubona (Physics), who serves as NSBE U of T’s Conference Chair.

“For me, attending the NSBE convention is an opportunity to form meaningful personal and professional connections with individuals who share my lived experiences.”

Hubona is also looking forward to applying what he learns at the convention.

“Attending this event will be a transformative experience that would help me and the NSBE body advance in our respective careers and contribute to the broader goal of creating a more equitable and representative industry.”

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 24, 2023 by Tyler Irving

Professor Amy Bilton (MIE) has received the University of Toronto Global Educator Award for 2023. 

Bilton is an associate professor with the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, and also serves as director of the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN).  

The Global Educator Award recognizes faculty members who embody U of T’s global mission and whose approach to teaching demonstrates intercultural or global fluency – the ability to successfully operate and communicate within different cultural contexts. 

“Professor Bilton has provided students with innovative curricular and co-curricular opportunities that have developed their engineering skills in a global context,” says Alexie Tcheuyap, Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, International Student Experience, and chair of this year’s selection committee. 

“I would like to personally thank Amy for empowering U of T students with experiences to work confidently across cultures and be a positive influence in the world.” 

At CGEN, Bilton has greatly expanded the number of opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to gain practical experience in applying their engineering skills to challenges brought forward by communities around the world. 

Working with local partners, including many NGOs, these teams develop a range of solutions that are adapted to local needs and conditions. Examples include technologies that provide irrigation to crops without the use of electricity and harvest fog to provide water in dry areas. Some projects include opportunities to travel abroad and meet in person with project partners.  

“Professor Bilton has built an impressive range of partnerships and collaborations that stretch all the way around the world,” says Christopher Yip, Dean of U of T Engineering. 

“These projects are incredibly valuable for both the students and the communities they work with, and form an important part of our vibrant global network. On behalf of the Faculty, my warmest congratulations to her on this well-deserved honour.” 

Bilton will be honoured at the University’s annual Excellence in Teaching Reception in the fall. 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 24, 2023 by Tom Parker and Tyler Irving

Another cohort of outstanding students from across the Faculty has been presented with the U of T Student Leadership Awards.

In 2023, 18 U of T Engineering students earned the honour, which recognizes leadership, service and commitment to the university. Their diverse activities include heading up co-curricular organizations such as You’re Next Career Network, leading groups such as the Human Powered Vehicles Design Team, participating in varsity athletics, and leading a financial literacy club.

 

The University of Toronto Student Leadership Award continues a long-standing tradition which began with the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award, established in 1994 by the University of Toronto Alumni Association in honour of Mr. Gordon Cressy, former Vice-President, Development and University Relations. During the award’s 25-year history, it celebrated the exemplary contributions of more than 4,000 students whose commitment and service had a lasting impact on their peers and the university.

U of T Engineering will celebrate this year’s UTSLA recipients on April 26 at the Faculty Club hosted by the U of T Engineering Office of Advancement.

“One of the things that make our educational experience so unique is the rich suite of co-curricular and extracurricular activities we offer — and none of this would be possible without our student leaders,” says Christopher Yip, Dean of U of T Engineering.

“They chair conferences, design and lead outreach activities, run competitive design teams and engage in the governance of our Faculty and our University. The skills they have gained will serve them well as they take their place among the next generation of global engineering leaders.”

The 2023 UTSLA recipients are:

• Praveen Siluvai Antony (CivE PhD Candidate)
• Maeesha Farzana Biswas (Year 4 IndE)
• Michael Boyadjian (Year 4 EngSci)
• Ronald Chow (BME MEng Candidate)
• Karthik Ganesan (CompE MASc 1T8, PhD Candidate)
• Aidan Grenville (Year 4 EngSci)
• Maxwell Gyimah (Year 4 MechE)
• Gehna Karani (Year 4 ChemE)
• Xin Yu (Lucy) Ma (Year 4 EngSci)
• Minnie Menezes (Year 4 MechE)
• Rena Nakajima (Year 4 MechE)
• Saskia van Beers (Year 4 EngSci)
• Lauren Streitmatter (Year 4 EngSci)
• Purushoth Thavendran (Year 4 ChemE)
• Samantha Unger (Year 4 EngSci)
• Kimberly Watada (Year 4 ChemE)
• Jing Yi Wei (Year 4 MechE)
• Yazan Zamel (Year 4 EngSci)

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 22, 2023 by Heather Finley

Going into his Professional Experience Year Co-op (PEY Co-op) work term, Noah Guerin (Year 4 ElecE) wanted a taste of the engineering career he could have after graduation — one that would allow him to delve deeper into power and control systems, which he had been studying in his electrical engineering classes.

“I had an idea of what I thought I enjoyed but working in the real world is not the same as learning in a classroom,” he says. “I wanted to know if these areas were something I would want to spend more time in, or if I would even be good at it.“I also wanted to apply this knowledge in different ways, including programming, consulting and analysis.” When he came across a job posting at Quanta Technology — a company that specializes in the electric power and utilities field — it seemed to check all the boxes he was looking for to apply his knowledge in a variety of ways.

The position listed some skills that I didn’t have so I wasn’t putting all my hopes on it, but I still applied,” he says. “I was surprised when I got an interview request, and just days after the interview, I received a job offer.”

Facilitated by U of T’s Engineering Career Centre, the PEY Co-op work term that Guerin completed offers undergraduate engineering students the opportunity to gain full-time, paid work experience over 12 to 16 months. 

While this work term begins after students’ third year of study, the PEY Co-op program is a degree-long work-integrated learning journey. It begins in first year with self-reflection and career exploration, followed by learning activities in second year that prepare students for the recruitment process and workplace. The program also supports students in pursuing summer co-op work term opportunities after second year. 

Lauren Boers (Year 4 MechE) always knew she wanted to work at Hatch because of the engineering firm’s focus on sustainability and its large scale, but the mechanical engineering student, who also plays on U of T’s women’s basketball team, didn’t plan on doing a PEY Co-op work term because of her busy student-athlete schedule.  

Rather, she started working at Hatch in 2021 as a summer mechanical engineering intern at the company’s Mississauga office. When given the opportunity to extend her internship into a 16-month PEY Co-op, she got approval from the Engineering Career Centre and embarked on an “exciting” year that included travel to the Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan.  

“I was working full-time out of the Mississauga office and playing on the Varsity basketball team,” she says. “Later, I had the opportunity to travel and work on site in Saskatchewan. I would travel out for 14 days, working 10-hour shifts, and then come home for seven days, back and forth for a whole summer.

“It was hectic at times, but it was honestly an amazing experience.”

The Jansen potash project is planned to be the world’s largest potash producing mine once it is in operation. The mine will provide potassium-rich salt to create fertilizer for agricultural production.

During her work term, Boers wrote technical specification documents for equipment used across the entire project. She also completed a full specification package — from start to finish, all the way through to picking a vendor — for the project’s underground mining satellite fuel systems. While on site, she worked on the coordination of construction execution and technical deliverables of various scopes of work on the surface and underground.

But a highlight from her co-op was being tasked to come up with a design alternative for one part of the potash mine, where the initial design was no longer feasible.   

“I got to create the designs and pitch it to the clients with a full presentation,” she says. “And the clients ended up picking my design, which provided them with substantial cost savings.”   

Boers’ time at Hatch helped her discover her niche, project management, and when she graduates in June, she will be returning to the company.    

“I’m proud of myself for having the courage to try different things and realize that in the end, it was all worth it because I was able to figure out what my strengths are and what I need to work on,” she says.   

“Returning to Hatch is exciting. There are so many opportunities within the company that will make my career so fulfilling. Hatch has projects all around the world — I can really go down any path.”   

Guerin, who accepted a full-time position at Quanta that will begin in June, found his co-op experience to be career affirming, especially when he had the opportunity to travel to Chicago. The client trip allowed him to close out a project that involved modelling the transmission line protection system for the Chicago-area electric utility and creating a software tool that allows the client’s engineers to continue making changes to the delivered model in an automated way.   

“I started from a data-entry role on the project, and I eventually moved into a more involved project management-like role: assigning and completing tasks, giving the client updates and asking technical questions in bi-weekly meetings,” he says.   

“The people, the culture and the work at Quanta were all really great and I am very excited to go back and continue building my career in this field.” 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on March 14, 2023 by Safa Jinje

 

 

Professor Yu Sun (MIE) is among the 2023 recipients of the University of Toronto President’s Impact Award, which celebrates faculty members whose research has made a significant impact outside of academia. As a recipient of the award, Sun becomes a member of the President’s Impact Academy and will receive $10,000 per year for five years to be used toward his research.

Throughout his career, Sun has built a strong international reputation for his microtechnologies, particularly his micro-nano robotic manipulation, biomedical instrumentation and micro-nano device design and fabrication.

His work in robotic cell surgery includes establishing a framework for autonomous robotic cell manipulations that assimilates high resolution, low depth-of-field microscopy visual feedback, high-precision feedback and nanonewton force feedback. This work laid the foundation for technological advancement in automated cell manipulation and is widely used in robotic micro-nanomanipulation.

One of the applications of his robotic cell surgery technologies is clinical intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). He and his team created the world’s first robotic ICSI system that performs automated sperm tracking, immobilization, aspiration and deposition into oocytes with strong success rates and reproducibility.

He carried this infertility treatment technology to clinical patient trials where its effectiveness was proven in multiple clinics. His technologies have won innovation awards four times from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and won three best paper awards at leading robotics conferences.

Sun, who is the founding director of the U of T Robotics Institute, holds the Canada Research Chair in Micro- and Nano-Engineering Systems and is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of Canada.

His research achievements have also been recognized through many international awards and honours. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the U.S. National Academy of Inventors(NAI) and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

“Professor Sun’s outstanding contributions to micro-nano robotics — from transformative fertility treatments to materials characterization techniques for industry — have made a tremendous societal impact,” says Christopher Yip, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “On behalf of U of T Engineering, congratulations to Yu for this well-earned honour.”

This story was originally published on University of Toronto News on March 10, 2023 by Engineering Strategic Communications. A full article on all President’s Impact Award Winners can be found on U of T News, published on March 10, 2023.

(Photo courtesy of Xanadu Quantum Technologies)

With quantum technologies rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing advanced sectors globally, experts and policymakers recently gathered at the University of Toronto to discuss Canada’s new National Quantum Strategy and the university’s role in supporting it.

Attended by federal and provincial government stakeholders, the discussion drew on the findings of a recent report commissioned from Deloitte Canada that compared Canada’s centres of quantum research. The GTA was the country’s strongest quantum hub, supported by U of T’s global research leadership, the report found.

“Quantum research at the University of Toronto places the university among the world’s leading producers of impactful knowledge in this domain,” said Timothy Chan, associate vice-president and vice-provost, strategic initiatives and a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

“The quantum ecosystem is strong here – not just because of our world-leading quantum expertise, but because we have the best scientists in other fields that will integrate quantum technologies and their applications.”

In January, the federal government launched the $360-million National Quantum Strategy to support the sector in an increasingly competitive global market. It aims to boost research, talent and commercialization in quantum and solidify Canada’s position in the field.

A rapidly emerging and economically promising field, quantum science and its applications draw on the unintuitive principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for everyday computers.

By 2045, quantum applications – including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, medical imaging and many more – are projected to be a $138-billion market, leading to more than 200,000 jobs in Canada, according to a study commissioned by the National Research Council of Canada.

The findings from the Deloitte report were presented during the U of T event, which was hosted by the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy as part of its New Frontiers series, which promotes dialogue between decision-makers and U of T researchers on how to advance public policy priorities. The report’s analysis of Canada’s centres of quantum research ranked the country fourth in the world in the strength of its research in quantum science and technology.

U of T is a key contributor to Canada’s performance, with the university’s research impact in quantum-related sciences ranked fifth globally.

The breadth of expertise across quantum fields is one of the university’s strengths, said Anna Dyring, quantum strategic initiative lead at U of T’s Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC).

CQIQC’s activities, which promote research collaborations in the sector, encompass U of T’s departments of chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, as well as the departments of electrical engineering and materials science in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

“Quantum computing is a field where you need many different types of thinkers and knowledge in order to innovate and lead,” Dyring said.

U of T and partners such as the Vector Institute are leading in AI, data sciences, regenerative and precision medicine, climate change, pandemic preparedness and advanced materials – just some of the fields the university is supporting through its Institutional Strategic Initiatives, Chan told attendees. U of T’s Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society also convenes and facilitates research on how these technologies improve human lives.

“Our approach is interdisciplinary because the challenges Canada and the world face cannot be solved by remaining within our disciplinary boundaries. We aim to transform how we solve problems, and to work at the frontiers of knowledge – that is where quantum research currently resides.”

(Photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Other countries are making major investments in the quantum sector as the field becomes increasingly competitive globally, the discussion heard. Large companies in Europe, Asia and the United States are interested in research and development and in being early adopters, while there has been more caution about quantum tech adoption in Canada.

However, Canada remains a strong location for startups – and the GTA boasts the largest number of quantum companies in the country. U of T is behind many of these successful startups, thanks to initiatives such as the Rotman School of Management’s Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) – the only dedicated early-stage quantum incubator in the country.

“CDL’s mission is to enhance the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind. Our objectives-based mentorship process has the potential to positively impact a startup’s trajectory at the very early stages of their journey,” said Sonia Sennik, CDL’s executive director.

CDL’s graduates include Xanadu Quantum Technologies – founded by former U of T post-doctoral physics researcher Christian Weedbrook – which recently received $40 million in federal funding to support its cutting-edge quantum computing technology. Xanadu is one of Canada’s unicorn companies, valued at over $1 billion.

Christian Weedbrook, founder and CEO of Xanadu, at the Collision tech conference in 2022 (photo by Lukas Schulze/Sportsfile for Collision/Getty Images)

“The GTA is a great place for innovative companies to start and grow because all the ingredients are here: talent, investors, public and private partners, customers and support networks,” said David Asgeirsson, manager of research partnerships and intellectual property at Xanadu.

To stay competitive in the sector, Canada will need further investments to create quantum-literate talent, including funding for graduate students and the scaling of successful partnerships with industry to integrate quantum-ready talent into existing companies.

“It’s critical that we have the funding to recruit top researchers to the quantum hubs in Canada,” Dyring said. “Having strong faculty to continue adding new courses in this emerging field – and to ensure students have opportunities to work on research at the graduate level – is important in growing the field, because we will need more people trained in this area going forward. And we’re seeing that there’s growing interest from students to explore studies and research in quantum.”

– This story was originally published on U of T News on February 14, 2023 by Tabassum Siddiqui

 

Janet Lam joins U of T Engineering as an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream within the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. She brings with her more than 10 years of teaching undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. She was a Teaching Specialist for first year engineering students at Michigan State University from 2016 to 2017 and is a Fellow of the National Effective Teaching Institute and a Runner-Up Best Upper Year Instructor in the Skule Student Choice awards 2020-2021.

Janet served as a research associate at the Centre for Maintenance Optimization and Reliability Engineering (C-MORE) applying academic research directly with industry partners, including those in mining, utilities, transportation, and the military. Janet has a track record of cultivating strong relationships with industry partners and developing maintenance engineering resources that are both useful and current.

What attracted you to U of T Engineering and made you excited to accept a position at MIE?

U of T has such fantastic students that it makes teaching a joy. Many of the students I’ve worked with have impressed me with their professionalism, leadership, awareness of social issues and even simply being committed to understanding course content. I know that in my time here, I’ll be training leaders who will contribute to society and make an impact around the globe.

Can you tell us a little about your research and what you like about it?

My research area is in physical asset management; it’s about making better decisions on whether, when, and to what extent to maintain and replace very large, expensive equipment. This research area connects me to a lot of industry partners, helping me create very interesting and applied projects for students (usually MEng projects). The research that I do also informs and improves my teaching.

What do you hope to accomplish as an educator during your time at MIE?

As a teaching stream professor, my objective is simple: deliver compelling courses in a “sticky” way, so the knowledge doesn’t escape the students after final exams! I’m excited about having the resources and the authority to revise some of the courses I’ve been teaching as a sessional.

I’d like to establish a diverse and rich MEng project portfolio that builds relationships with a range of industry partners. I’m also interested in creating a workshop program for graduate students who are interested in developing their teaching skills.

Do you have a favourite spot on campus?

Not really a favourite spot, but I really appreciate the older Engineering buildings, where the women’s washrooms are obviously repurposed men’s washrooms. As a woman in engineering, it’s a very salient reminder that not very long ago it didn’t even cross architects minds that women would ever grace the halls of buildings like Galbraith or Rosebrugh. This serves as a reminder of both how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go in bringing equity and diversity to Engineering.

What advice do you have for engineering students to help them succeed?

Detours are okay, and are an important part of your story. As a student, I was so focussed on doing all the “right” things at the right time, and was terrified of going off track. I wish I had known that changing directions or backtracking was just going to make my life experience more rich, and be part of making me a whole person. This is the message I’d like to share with our students.

 

As a high school student in Brampton, Ont., Bettina Oghinan (Year 3 MechE) was drawn to mathematics and physics. She wanted to go deeper to learn exactly how things are made, so she could one day create her own original designs. 

“I’ve advanced through my first three years as an engineering student, but I’ve only scratched the surface of the technical topics I am interested in,” she says. 

“I want to go to grad school, so I can pursue knowledge that can one day add value to research teams in industry.”  

Oghinan’s destination of choice is the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), where she hopes to further her mechanical engineering education by specializing in research that will improve aircraft designs.   

Throughout her degree, Oghinan has relied on people around her, including upper-year students, professors and members of the U of T Aerospace Team, to help her make informed decisions. But she understands this could be a challenge for some Black engineering students.

 “It can be isolating if you don’t know that there is a community of Black students that have been in your position, and have had similar experiences, and that you can reach out to them,” she says.  

“If you don’t see people who look like you around you — the way students who aren’t marginalized see people like themselves all around them — then you won’t benefit from a valuable transfer of information.”  

It’s a situation that Professor Philip Asare (ISTEP, EngSci), Dean’s advisor for Black inclusivity, is very familiar with. In 2018, he published a study called “People Like Me,” which looked beyond exceptional examples of BIPOC success to find visible role models, mentors and coaches for underrepresented students pursuing education and careers in STEM fields.  

“The motivation for the project came from my own experiences as a Black undergraduate student,” he says. 

“A lot of the people who were presented as potential role models tended to be what I call outliers: people like Barack Obama and Wes Hall, who are so successful that the likelihood of failure was high in trying to emulate them. 

“The idea behind the project was to inspire underrepresented folks to see themselves more in STEM professions and to know that people like themselves have been through the path and made it on the other end.” 

While U of T Engineering offers pre-university mentorship programs for Black students in elementary and high school who are interested in pursuing STEM, there are currently no formal mentorship programs for Black undergraduate students who want to pursue graduate studies. However, a new student-led initiative is working on filling this gap, with the support of the Faculty.  

Engineering Graduate Connections was created by three graduate students: Anuli Ndubuisi (OISE PhD candidate), who also serves as a research assistant at InVEST in ISTEP and the Encore Lab at OISE; Mai Ali (ECE PhD candidate) and D’Andre Wilson-Ihejirika (ChemE PhD candidate). In 2021, Ali and Wilson-Ihejirika were the first two students at U of T Engineering to be awarded the Indigenous and Black Engineering and Technology (IBET) Momentum Fellowships. 

“We are a group of passionate individuals who are interested in promoting graduate research opportunities for underrepresented graduate and undergraduate students,” says Ndubuisi. “This all began when we asked ourselves, ‘what can we do to support Black undergraduate students to get into research?’”   

Last September, the group held its first event with a theme around building bridges between undergraduate and graduate students. The awareness session introduced students to pathways to research and included discussions on navigating imposter syndrome in academia and research spaces.  

“Some students might be surprised to learn that they can pursue research as undergraduates,” says Ndubuisi. “But they can start by taking the initiative to reach out to their professors to express their interest.”  

David Duong, the graduate affairs officer at U of T Engineering, whose role includes grad student recruitment as well as support for engineering grad students, is also a member of Engineering Graduate Connections.   

“If an undergraduate student is interested in research and graduate studies, I encourage them to be curious — talk to your instructors and teaching assistants, ask them about their research,” he says.  

“I am always happy to speak to students who want to learn more about the application process, the available scholarships and the IBET Momentum Fellowships.”  

The next Engineering Graduate Connections event, which is currently in the planning stages, will feature a panel of alumni from industry sharing their career paths outside of academia and experiences with graduate school. The goal is to provide role models who are succeeding in various career paths. 

“I’ve heard students tell me that they don’t want to go to grad school because they don’t want a career in academia,” says Ali. “But we want to emphasize that pursuing research won’t limit your career options.”  

As the recipient of mentorship throughout her education, Ali is grateful to have worked with supervisors who fostered her knowledge in various engineering streams and support her career ambitions. 

 “I really want to spread the word about the IBET fellowship, which opens a lot of doors for Black and Indigenous students,” she says. 

“As a graduate student, I’ve never been taught any courses by a Black faculty member, so I am eager to graduate and become a professor so that students like me — who are women and Black — can see more examples of people like them in this field.  

“I believe mentorship is really important since it can shape the path you follow during your degree and into your career.” 

– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on February 16, 2023 by Safa Jinje