F A L L 2018
MacEngineer
Message from the Dean
Big Idea: A clear vision toward cultural change
Ishwar K. Puri, Dean, Faculty of Engineering
In 2018, McMaster Engineering marked 60 years of Engineering Excellence. To recognize this milestone, we’ve been recognizing the Big Ideas of our friends, alumni, faculty and students through stories and events, including a special anniversary Applause & Accolades gala in May. As dean, I feel strongly about creating an inclusive and collaborative environment where everyone’s voices are heard, and good ideas come from the ground up. A great exemplar of this was the Faculty’s first ever Big Ideas Pitch Week in early October. Twenty-two faculty members and students shared their Big Ideas to create a Brighter World on the same stage. By the end of night, we named 14 winners — six faculty members and eight students — and awarded more than $700,000 in research funding and cash prizes. Faculty shared their groundbreaking ideas for research and pedagogy. Their stories can be found in this issue. Meanwhile, our graduate students explained their thesis work and undergraduate students offered their big ideas to change the world. Creating and cultivating Big Ideas to guide our
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Faculty has been, and continues to be, a priority for me. For the last five years, the centerpiece of our strategic direction has been rooted in our shared vision, Innovation from Excellence. Broadly, the direction that we have selected asks us to: improve diversity, enhance student success and research, commit to the professional development of students, attract top students and enhance our community. Under this mandate, the Faculty has introduced a range of new projects and procedures that have increased the number of women faculty, improved hiring procedures, professionalized graduate programs, created community spaces, introduced supplementary applications, helped retain students, created more hands-on classroom curriculum, developed new programs and boosted experiences for students outside the classroom. In the last five years, we’ve hired more than 40 new faculty members, changing the face of who we are. You’ll read about them in this issue’s Fresh Faces feature. Our rankings and reputation continue to soar. This summer, ShanghaiRanking, a top higher education ranking, rated 16 McMaster Engineering academic disciplines among the best in the world. But there’s still more work to do. This spring, I was reappointed for another five-year term as Dean of Engineering. My plan is to continue to work closely with colleagues to increase research funding, introduce a widespread integrated, project-based approach to engineering education curriculum, foster Hamilton’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, and create rich out-of-class experiences for students to tackle global grand challenges. Together, we will continue to strive for excellence, and to foster a culture that celebrates inclusivity, diversity, innovation and Big Ideas.
Contents Do you have something to say or news to share? We would like to hear from you.
Big Idea: A clear vision toward cultural change
Making Engineering More Inclusive
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Contact Carm Vespi Tel: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24906 Fax: (905) 546-5492 vespi@mcmaster.ca eng.mcmaster.ca
Honorary degree recipient champions women in tech
The MacEngineer is published by the Faculty of Engineering for its alumni. Distribution assistance is provided by the Engineering Alumni Office. Editor: Carm Vespi Managing Editor: Monique Beech Art Direction and Design: Steve Janzen Writing: Kim Arnott Ciara McCann Sara Laux Monique Beech Photography: Jin Lee Brian Zheng Mike Lalich Publications mail agreement No. 40063416
F E AT U R E :
Alumni Profiles
Fresh Faces
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2018 Alumni Gallery Award Winner: Lynnette Madsen
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McMaster Engineering alumna wins Nobel Prize in Physics
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1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7
McMaster Engineering disciplines ranked among the world’s best
vespi@mcmaster.ca
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Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to circulation department:
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A celebration of Big Ideas to create a brighter world
23 News A Salute to the Benefits of Military Life
19 Engineering Tomorrow’s Military Successes
25 Kudos
27 Alumni Events
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Within the last five years, McMaster Engineering has hired more than 40 new professors, all of whom are doing interesting and innovative things in the lab and classroom.
Jennifer Bauman is
an assistant professor in the department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Her research focuses on the electrification of transportation, working to develop new technologies that improve vehicle design, reduce costs and ease the integration of electrical vehicles into society. She has been with McMaster since September 2016. On her work I work on transportation electrification, which has been my focus ever since I started grad studies in 2004. I work within that broad category at three levels: one is the detailed level of power electronic
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Get to know some of the new faculty who are bringing renewed energy and a spirit of innovation to our Faculty. Read all of our Fresh Faces stories at eng.mcmaster.ca.
converters within an electrified vehicle; the next level up is at the vehicle level, so vehicle system design and modeling, looking at connected cars and how we optimally design hybrid vehicles; and the higher level is electrified vehicle integration in the grid and dealing with issues around charging. A lot of people focus on one or two levels, but I do the full integration – I look at how vehicle design might affect charging at the grid, for example. The fact that I have experience in all three levels allows me to make connections between the three that might not otherwise be made.
On what makes her proud about her work Even though I didn’t become an environmental engineer, I’m proud that my work, even as an electrical engineer, is benefitting the environment. I hope that in my work I also get to be a positive influence on undergrad and grad students. My students say they enjoy being in my research group and they enjoy having me as their supervisor, so I feel like we’re building good relationships, which makes coming to work a positive experience.
On moving from industry to academia It was a little intimidating to start here, because I left an industry job that I loved, but most people who get a PhD have an academic career in mind as an option, so this was my chance to make that change. I definitely had thoughts of, “Am I cut out for this? Should I have stayed where it was easy and comfortable?” And I feel, two years in, that yes – I’m cut out for this. I feel like this is doable, that this is where I want to be.
Fei Chiang is an assistant
professor in the Department of Computing & Software and served as the inaugural Associate Director of McMaster’s MacData Institute. Chiang started with the Faculty in 2013. On her collaborative industry partnerships I have been working with IBM for a while now. We are working on improving data quality in some of their software tools. As a database researcher I work with different kinds of data. But data is not just characters and numbers, there’s meaning behind it. For instance, the word “jaguar” can take on different meanings. It could mean jaguar the automobile or jaguar the animal and for a computer there is no meaning behind the word. We’re developing software tools to automate this learning and understanding of different words and their usage in analytics. My short-term goal is to build a data pre-processing system that improves data quality, and has the ability to learn with high accuracy different meanings of data.
accountant. I took many business courses and enjoyed economics and accounting because I loved math and numbers. I also liked physics because it allowed me to use math to solve interesting problems. So I took grade 13, or at the time OAC accounting, and I hated it. I couldn’t see myself doing that long-term so I decided to switch. My accounting teacher was really upset. When I was applying to universities, I wanted to do something with numbers and problem solving. My dad suggested computer science. He said it’s interesting and practical, so why not give it a try? So I did that in my first year at University of Toronto and I liked it. I liked working through a lot of problems, realizing things on paper and building that into a computer system.
On discovering a passion for computer science In some ways I think I may have fallen into computer science by chance. Growing up and all throughout high school I wanted to be a chartered
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Charles de Lannoy Joining McMaster Engineering in 2017 as a Chemical Engineering assistant professor, Charles de Lannoy is focused on the environmental applications and implications of nanomaterials. On Hamilton Hamilton is the Brooklyn of Toronto. It’s this city that once had a vibrant life in the 1910’s and ‘20’s. It was a boomtown and then fell on really hard times from the ‘80’s until just recently. But the character, that really blossoming architecture, and the vibe of the city is still there. It’s cool to be in a city in rapid transition. It’s a city that’s not looking to be entirely gentrified but is interested in developing with the community.
On research with a social cause One of my big projects is with Dawn MartinHill, associate professor in the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster. Together, with a bunch of other professors, we have
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established an engineering and a social sciences program to study the impact of problems with water on First Nations communities. The goal is to understand how water problems are affecting communities and how engineers, like myself and others, can develop technologies to track how their water is evolving and to develop technologies to eventually treat that water. It’s a really nice merger of science, engineering and social sciences.
Colin McDonald is the
Director of Engineering 1 and teaches in both Engineering 1 and the new Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences (iBioMed) program. McDonald, joined McMaster in 2013. On the most influential person in his life My dad was my hero and my mentor. As a high school teacher, he was passionate about social justice causes and wanted his students engaged in the world around them, not just a particular curriculum. I was fortunate in that he taught at the same high school I attended, so I got to hear what he was like from my friends who had him as a teacher. Although, it’s not easy when your dad is more popular than you are! I come from a family of teachers. My dad passed away in 2003, just before I graduated from engineering. At the time, I hadn’t
planned on pursuing a career in education. But I’ll always remember, as both my brothers were beginning their teaching careers, my dad pulled me aside and told me, ‘you’re a teacher too’ and that’s how he always saw me. Turns out he was right.
On experiential learning The types of people who come out of Engineering 1 and iBioMed are people who can think critically. They’re people who, in a lot of cases, have been faced with challenges and sometimes fail. And I don’t mean failure in an academic sense. I mean if there is a project that they’re really interested in but it’s not going to work and they have to think about tweaking something or try something else. I also see them as effective communicators. We can’t emphasize that enough for our students – to be able to have the technical skills and be able to effectively express them. The foundations are set in their first year. We’re preparing them to be experts in a particular area but they still have to have that breadth of knowledge in other areas that is reflective of the real world.
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McMaster Engineering alumna wins Nobel Prize in Physics
Donna Strickland, a McMaster alumna who received her Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) degree in engineering physics in 1981, won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the first woman to do so in 55 years and one of only three in the history of the award. Strickland, a professor at the University of Waterloo, is part of a team that helped to develop short and intense laser pulses that have created new areas of research and led to broad industrial and medical applications, including lasers used in millions of eye surgeries conducted each year. “On behalf of everyone here at McMaster, sincere congratulations to Donna for this well-deserved recognition,” said President Patrick Deane. “The work you’re doing in the field of laser physics truly is ground-breaking, and we’re very proud to call you a member of the McMaster family.” The Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences made the announcement on October 2. The $1.4-million (CAD) prize will be shared with American physicist Arthur Ashkin and French laser physicist Gérard Mourou.
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In 1985, Strickland conducted her Nobel-winning work while a PhD student working with Mourou, her supervisor, at the University of Rochester in New York, where she graduated with a PhD in Optics. The pair co-invented Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA), which made it possible to amplify ultra-short pulses to unprecedented levels. During a telephone press conference after the announcement, Strickland told reporters, “We need to celebrate women physicists because we’re out there, and hopefully in time it’ll start to move forward at a faster rate. I’m honoured to be one of those women,” she said. “McMaster Engineering is delighted to share in the joy of this superlative recognition of alumna Donna Strickland,” said Ishwar K. Puri, McMaster’s Dean of Engineering. “This is a proud moment for her and for Canada. We congratulate her and the University of Waterloo where she is a professor.” “The entire Department of Engineering Physics is thrilled with the news of alumna Donna Strickland sharing the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for developments related to laser technology,” said Ray LaPierre, chair of McMaster’s Engineering Physics department. “Her pioneering work has wide-ranging applications in the field of photonics, from laser eye surgery to laser micro-machining.” The Nobel prizes for science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901 in accordance with the will of Swedish business tycoon Alfred Nobel, whose discovery of dynamite generated a fortune used to fund the prize.
McMaster Engineering disciplines ranked among the world’s best ShanghaiRanking, a top higher education ranking, rated 16 McMaster Engineering academic disciplines among the best in the world.
McMaster maintains status as Canada’s most researchintensive university
The Faculty climbed in global rankings with the civil engineering program securing the 30th spot, metallurgical jumping to 45th, and transportation science and technology landing 49th. Computer science & engineering was rated within the top 51-75 and water resources, telecommunications and electrical & electronic engineering made the top 101-150. Also, a number of McMaster Engineering programs appeared McMaster was one of 17 on the list for the first time this year including biomedical engifinalists from universities neering, which was among the top 201-300. across the globe to win the ShanghaiRanking uses a series of indicators, such prestigious Global Teaching as number of overall papers, citations in top Excellence Award based on the journals, international collaborations and strength of its experiential learning other metrics to determine standings. opportunities, a commitment For the second to global engagement and the More than 4,000 universities are ranked in 54 consecutive year, work of the Paul R. MacPherson subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life McMaster was named Institute for Leadership, Innovation Canada’s most researchsciences, medical sciences, and social sciences. and Excellence in Teaching. intensive university “This year’s ranking is a reflection of the creativity in the annual ranking of our faculty members and the impact of their of the country’s Top 50 research, the support provided by our staff, Research Universities. and our thriving culture of engaged students who translate ideas into innovations,” said Ishwar K. Puri, McMaster’s McMaster has again been ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. Dean of Engineering. The University improved to 77th from “Due to robust partnerships McMaster researchers 78th in the World University Rankings, with industry and startups, brought in $379.9 million published by Times Higher Education, in total sponsored the research intensity and was ranked fourth among Canadian research income – up of the Faculty is among institutions. The rankings evaluate more than $25 million from the highest in Canada.” world-class universities against a host of last year, according to the ShanghaiRanking began performance indicators, including research, 2018 Research Infosource publishing Academic Ranking teaching, internationalization and more. rankings released in October. of World Universities (ARWU) by academic subjects in 2017.
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Making Engineering More Inclusive In Fall 2018, 27 percent of first-year engineering students at McMaster University were women, up five percent from 2017. Paired with a 95 percent retention rate for students in their first year of studies, the Faculty is leading by example when it comes to promoting diversity and inclusion in engineering. “We believe that engineering is for everyone and that’s the mantra we stand by.” These words from McMaster University’s Faculty of Engineering Dean Ishwar K. Puri are inspiring in the context of pervasive attitudes towards traditionally male-dominated fields like engineering. “It’s ingrained in our culture,” says Puri.
Reflection and restructuring key to diversity in engineering Over the last five years, McMaster Engineering has focused its attention on continuing to build a more positive learning environment for all students. Restructuring welcome week activities to be more inclusive, shifting hiring practices to ensure diversity, and sharing the stories of successful female engineering students, faculty, and alumni have all contributed to a ripple of positive change for women in engineering. The Faculty is also the host institution of the new Ontario Network of Women in Engineering (ONWiE) Chair, Kim Jones. “McMaster believes in cooperation, not competition,” says Jones, who is also a faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
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“Everyone is working towards the same end goal.” McMaster has been laser-focused on creating cultural change and paving the way for greater gender diversity and inclusivity within the Faculty. There are more than 30 clubs and teams that students can join,
with a number focused on improving diversity, such as the Women in Engineering Society, EngiQueers and the National Society for Black Engineers. Last year, the Faculty also established the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program. The groundbreaking program is a major attractor of female engineers and has a 50 percent gender parity ratio. “This is only the beginning for women in engineering,” says Marilyn Lightstone, Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and one of the drivers behind diversifying hiring practices at McMaster. “Our short-term goal was 30 percent of Canadian engineers are women by 2030.” But the Faculty is working towards surpassing that number even sooner. “As we get closer to gender parity, it will be time to reevaluate our goals,” adds Dean Puri.
Alumni Profiles “Remember to get out of your comfort zone because nothing grows there.”
Bringing an engineering mindset to real estate sales It wasn’t long after he graduated with his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering & Management degree that Salman Alam decided to focus on the business and management side of his education. That decision has led him into the world of real estate, where he’s spent the last six years discovering the satisfaction of helping clients buy, sell and rent real estate. An agent with Kingsway Real Estate Brokerage in Mississauga, Alam has joined his father in the family business, but says his engineering education continues to serve him well. “A good engineer has the ability to think logically regardless of circumstances, and when I assist clients in making the biggest purchase of their life, it is natural for their emotions to interfere in the
decision-making process,” he says. “This is where my ability to think logically, break down the complexities of the ‘what-ifs’ and provide reasoning to navigate them in making the best possible decision.” He is also well positioned to navigate the technological changes that are bringing increased data, improved marketing and more efficient digital process to the real estate industry. Although not the career path he originally thought he would follow, Alam says real estate has turned out to be a highly rewarding occupation. “My advice to today’s students would be to network as much as possible and take advantage of the many opportunities McMaster has to offer,” he adds. “Remember to get out of your comfort zone because nothing grows there.”
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Alumni Profiles “We’ve built a school in Nicaragua, an orphanage in India, a water filtration plant in Kenya and more.”
Professional Problem Solver at Work Alok Ajmera has an impressive job title: President and Chief Operating Officer at Prophix Software. As head of the Toronto-based software company, he’s also chief problem solver. “There is never a dull day,” says Ajmera, who graduated from McMaster’s Engineering Physics & Management program in 2003 “I am responsible for ensuring that every customer, prospective customer, partner, employee and shareholder around the globe has a memorable and positive experience with the company and its products.” “For the most part, I’m a professional problem solver.” His role has him working with everyone from software engineers to marketing teams, from finance experts to human resources staff. While he doesn’t frequently rely on the technical knowledge he learned studying engineering – “I can tell you that I have never had to solve a quadratic equation since graduating,” he jokes – his engineering degree has still been “amazingly valuable” throughout his career. In particular, Ajmera says, it provided him with
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crucial skills in analytical and critical thinking, problem solving, and organizational and time management. In the top job at Prophix since 2016, Ajmera has been in a series of increasingly responsible roles since joining the company in 2004. In recent years he’s overseen tremendous growth in the company, with a doubling of both revenues and employees. When he considers his career highlights, the bottom line isn’t the only measurement that makes him proud. “We started a program a few years ago, where we donate a portion of our cash flows to socially responsible programs around the world,” says Ajmera. “We’ve built a school in Nicaragua, an orphanage in India, a water filtration plant in Kenya and more.” He also loves the opportunity to mentor and nurture the next generation. “Each year for the last five or so years, we’ve had a handful of interns from the McMaster program,” he says. “It’s incredibly humbling to witness the amazing transformation, as young students develop into bona-fide professionals and leaders.”
Alumni Profiles “Say yes to new challenges and opportunities when they present themselves. They may lead to amazing adventures.” Engineering Human Solutions Ask Nancy Burnham about engineering, and interestingly, what she ends up talking about are people. People who benefit from the software she’s designed to help manage a titanium mine in South Africa; people who use her software products in factories around the globe; even people – like her husband – that she met as a McMaster engineering student more than 25 years ago and remain in her life today. Since earning her B.Eng in Engineering Physics in 1990, Burnham’s career has covered a broad range of ground. From water resources engineering to software development, she’s found many ways to direct her engineering passion toward helping people. “During my undergrad studies I envisioned doing something with solid state electronics,” recalls Burham. “But near graduation, I became very interested in water quality issues, and pursued a Master’s and PhD in Water Resources Engineering. “Eventually I realized that my favorite part of those studies was creating the software that modelled the various processes I was studying.”
That recognition led her into more than two decades of work in the software engineering field and might help explain her advice to today’s students: “Say yes to new challenges and opportunities when they present themselves. They may lead to amazing adventures.” Today, Burnham works at Rockwell Automation as a senior project engineer and part of a team responsible for the development of a product called FactoryTalk Analytics for Devices. Using code she writes, the product provides companies with a speedy way to track the health and diagnostics of smart devices. Seeing it featured at large Rockwell and Microsoft events is one of the highlights of her career, alongside applying with her husband for a patent on a scalable analytics architecture for automation control systems. “Your career will go by faster than you can imagine,” she warns young people. “Don’t waste any of that time working with people that you don’t respect or get along with.”
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Alumni Profiles “Nothing is static, the only constant is change, and you need to keep upgrading your skills and knowledge to be relevant.” A World of Opportunity Following opportunities has led Jane Anders literally to the other side of the world. It started just over 25 years ago, when she was offered an assignment with Procter & Gamble in the United Kingdom. She took the role, then moved to ConAgra Foods where she headed their International R&D. That position opened her eyes to the prospects in Asia. Today, Anders is Senior Vice-President in charge of Innovation, R&D, Product Development and Package Development for the Estée Lauder Companies in Asia Pacific. Based in Hong Kong, she leads teams in Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. “Our goal is to develop and commercialize superior concepts, products and packages that Asian consumers love. Our starting point is basic science and technology for new-to-the-world products through to claims and visualizations for in-market products,” says Anders. “A large part of my role is developing our strategies and ensuring we have the human and physical
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capabilities and capacity to deliver against our strategies and exceed our business goals.” It’s a role that calls on both the problem solving and business skills she gleaned while earning her B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering & Management in 1984. She followed that up with an MBA from McMaster, in 1988. “When I graduated, I really didn’t know what the future held. I thought then and still think Engineering is a great field for women,” she says. “What I’ve learned is that for me, the people I work with are what count the most. I try really hard to leave organizations stronger than when I joined and I hope my legacy will be the people and teams I’ve helped, in some small way, build.” After several decades of success in positions around the world, it isn’t too surprising that her advice to young people is to be open to new opportunities. “Nothing is static, the only constant is change, and you need to keep upgrading your skills and knowledge to be relevant,” she says.
Alumni Profiles “When someone connects to the why, there’s a different passion that they put into the work, and the quality of the work changes.” New Canadian Asphalt Advocate Canadian roads have a new advocate, with McMaster alumna Amma Wakefield named as the Asphalt Institute’s first full-time Canadian regional engineer. The organization, which represents asphalt and cement producers across North America, is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, but maintains a team of regional engineers to focus on specific issues and concerns in various geographical areas. The position is a perfect fit for Wakefield, who has concentrated her attention on asphalt since earning her B.Eng. in Materials Science & Engineering at McMaster in 2007. Along with working in product development, testing and research positions with construction industry companies LaFarge, The Miller Group and Aecon, Wakefield completed a Master of Applied Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is currently working part-time on her PhD with a research focus on improving the durability of the roadway material.
Appointed to the newly-created position of Canadian regional engineer in January, she is also the first female regional engineer in the association’s nearly 100 year history. Since her appointment, she has been travelling across the country to meet with asphalt and cement producers and government road departments to discuss the issues in different provinces. “A big part of our duty is to work with government agencies to understand the technical challenges related to the performance of asphalt roads so that we can provide support, training or research to solve some of those issues,” she says. Wakefield says the job is an ideal blend of academic and industry work, and also gives her the opportunity to help people understand “the why of what they are doing.” “I’ve always felt that when someone connects to the why, there’s a different passion that they put into the work, and the quality of the work changes.”
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Alumni Profiles “It was a ‘no-brainer’ for me to utilize the unique Engineering & Management program as a springboard to complete a MBA degree at McMaster.” Engineering Success in the Business World The marriage of technical expertise and business smarts is a powerful combination in the corporate world. Early on in his education, Rob Vertesi recognized that he had enough interest in both science and business to wed the two worlds. With that vision, McMaster’s Chemical Engineering & Management program was an attractive way to earn his engineering degree while also developing broader business skills. “It was a ‘no-brainer’ for me to utilize the unique Engineering & Management program as a springboard to complete a MBA degree at McMaster, which I knew early on I would want to pursue following my undergraduate degree,” says Vertesi. He graduated with his B.Eng. in 1991, then completed his MBA by 1996. The combination has enabled him to build a successful career in the industrial water technology industry. In 1994, Vertesi started as a sales engineer with Burlington’s Ecodyne Limited. The company, part of the Marmon Group, is a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of industrial water treatment equipment.
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Focusing on becoming a specialist in the company’s highest volume product, Vertesi also sought to gain experience in all aspects of the business. In 2013, he brought that experience to the senior management team as a general manager. Last January, Vertesi was named Vice President & General Manager, Aftermarket Business for both Ecodyne and Graver Water, a New Jersey company also part of the Marmon Group, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The position gives him total profit and loss financial accountability and makes him responsible for sales, field construction and technical services groups working at customer facilities worldwide. His advice to today’s engineering students is to constantly seek opportunities for growth. “Become an expert in whatever you do and do not underestimate the importance of continually gaining knowledge and being disciplined in how you conduct yourself,” he says. “Recognize throughout your career that time does move quickly and is limited, so make the most of it.”
2018 Alumni Gallery Award Winner: Lynnette Madsen
Eighteen years ago, it took Lynnette Madsen one transatlantic trip from the United States to Sweden to completely change the direction of her career. Shifting directions wasn’t new to Madsen, who graduated from McMaster with a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering in 1994. Following her Master’s degree in Electronics Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, she worked in industry for several years before deciding to pursue her PhD at Mac. Once she’d completed that, academia, not industry, called to her, leading to a Visiting Scientist appointment in Sweden at Linköping University, 200 kilometres outside Stockholm. Later, she had a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—with support of the National Science and Engineering Research Council, more familiarly known as NSERC. With one foot in Sweden and the other in the US, Madsen took a faculty appointment at Linköping, and then also became a visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh—a busy work life that required a three-flight trip between the two countries at least three times a year. It was time for another change. “I was feeling completely burned out—I was sitting in the airport and had just finished submitting a significant proposal when it occurred to me that
I wanted to be the one to whom proposals were submitted,” she explains. “So, I sent off some emails before I boarded my flight—and by the time I got to Sweden, I had an invitation from the National Science Foundation to come to an interview.” Nearly eighteen years later, Madsen is still with the NSF as the Ceramics Program Director and lead for Crosscutting Activities in Materials Research. She has been directly responsible for more than 700 awards totalling more than $200 million; a significant fraction of these projects were led by underrepresented minorities, women and early-career researchers. Over her career, she’s been recognized for both her academic and professional achievements—she holds three patents, has published more than 100 journal, conference and magazine articles and several book chapters, and has given more than 120 invited scientific or professional talks. She’s also published two books: a co-edited book, Materials Research for Manufacturing, and, most recently, Successful Women Ceramic and Glass Scientists and Engineers: 100 Inspirational Portraits. It’s this most recent book that holds a special place in Madsen’s heart—and it comes from a career of working to make her field a more equitable place. “In my role at NSF, researchers would apply for grants to support workshops or conferences—but often, those events would have little to no diversity,” she says. “It started me thinking about the role of women in our field and how to make them more visible—so I decided to write an overview that identified some of these women and their accomplishments in the field, which I hope will inspire young people to explore careers in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math].” The book includes the stories of 100 female ceramic and glass scientists from 29 countries sharing stories about their career paths, professional accomplishments, challenges and career highlights, as well as advice for young scientists. “I’m at the point in my career where I’m thinking
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about what I’ve done, and what I should still do—I’ve been reflecting on my contributions to the field,” says Madsen. “I hope the book will help level the playing field further.” Madsen’s accomplishments have been recognized by professional and scientific organizations internationally, including election to Fellow with the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), the American Vacuum Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Washington Academy of Sciences. She’s recently received the inaugural Materials Research Society Impact Award. She’s also received a Professional Achievement Alumni Medal from her undergraduate alma mater, the University of Waterloo. This year, McMaster welcomed Madsen back to campus to receive a 2018 Alumni Gallery Award, which recognizes alumni who “lead interesting lives and make outstanding contributions to society.” She spent a couple of days on campus, attending the awards ceremony and giving a talk to engineering students about her book. “It was a wonderful honour—I was thrilled to be recognized,” she says. “It was especially interesting
“In my role at NSF, researchers would apply for grants to support workshops or conferences—but often, those events would have little to no diversity.” to see how the campus has evolved since I was here. It was great to see makerspaces and new centres and institutes, which foster interaction and engagement of students and faculty members. These new creative spaces are going to be key to nurturing the next generation of innovators.”
McMaster-Mohawk Bachelor of Technology Partnership
10 th & 20 th Year Anniversary
Mo Elbestawi, Director of the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology invites you to join in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Degree Completion Programs and 10th anniversary of the Four Year Bachelor of Technology Programs. Mo Elbestawi Professor and Director W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology
Art Heidebrecht Professor Emeritus Department of C ivil Engineering
DATE
TICKETS
RSVP
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Alumni/Staff/ Faculty: $25.00 per ticket
Carm Vespi at (905) 525-9140 x 24906 or vespi@mcmaster.ca
6:00pm – 9:00pm Liuna Station
Founding Members of the Partnership 18
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Ms. Cheryl Jensen President and CEO Algonquin College; former Vice President, A cademic, Mohawk College
King George Ballroom 360 James St. N, Hamilton, ON L8L 1H5
Students: $20.00 per ticket Dinner is included in the event
A Salute to the Benefits of Military Life
When it comes to job perks, a few months in Greece or Fiji are pretty decent ones. Not to mention tuition bursaries, flexible working stints and the opportunity to learn a range of skills and trades. For Mujda Hakime, the benefits of a gig as a reservist with the Canadian Navy began when she joined as a 16-year-old high school student, attracted by the opportunity for free training as a naval communicator. Throughout her university years, the reserves provided interesting summer work and training across Canada. More recently, a couple of stints working with the Naval Security Team
took her to exotic overseas destinations. And while the 2015 Electrical & Biomedical Engineering grad is now headed to a Quebec City hospital for a full time civilian job as a clinical engineer, she intends to remain an active member of the reserves. “A lot of reservists have full time civilian jobs,” says Hakime. “I can work at the hospital, then train once or twice a week with the Quebec city unit in the evenings.” A naval communicator responsible for the computers, radio and satellite systems when aboard ship, she hopes to take part in deployments on her holidays or during authorized leaves. For university students, Hakime says the reserves offer the best part-time job going. With some research, students can connect with a position related to their studies and gain valuable job experience while considering whether to pursue a full-time military career. “It’s an amazing and flexible job that provides you with a lot of training and opportunities to meet people from all over the world,” she says. Born in Afghanistan, Hakime immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of eight and admits that she faced some resistance from her family when she wanted to join up. Both her father and uncle had been conscripted to combat. “They wanted to get away from war and military and stuff like that,” she explains. But her experience in the reserves has changed their perspective, and two of her younger siblings have now also opted to join. Beyond the personal benefits of the job, Hakime says she has also enjoyed being a Canadian representative on the international front. On her recent stint in Fiji, the Naval Security Team visited local hospitals, shelters and schools to do manual work and connect with people. “It was really nice to represent Canada and help people as a military member wearing the uniform,” she says.
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Engineering Tomorrow’s Military Successes As they explore the cutting-edge of materials, microscopy and biomedical engineering, McMaster researchers are making discoveries that promise to keep Canadian troops safer and healthier in years to come.
Nabil Bassim Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
with the US Naval Research Lab as a staff research scientist for about 15 years after completing his graduate studies. He has helped the Faculty of Engineering establish a committee to encourage research relationships with the Canadian military. “We are trying to make sure that when new military research and procurement happens, McMaster, with all of its expertise, is at the table to see about research opportunities for faculty.” Re-engineering the micro-structure of materials may also offer a route to increasing the resiliency of the armour used by military troops and vehicles, says Bassim. He also has funding from the American military to study high speed switches and ultra-hard ceramics.
Gregory Wohl An electron and ion microscopist who studies the molecular and atomic structures of various materials, Nabil Bassim is looking for a way to make tanks disappear. Not literally disappear, of course. Rather, Bassim is researching new materials that can hide the thermal signature of an object from heat-seeking infrared cameras often used to search out troops and equipment. “There are certain materials that can fool those infrared cameras and help make an object appear colder than it is,” he explains. “We’re trying to make a warm body or a warm vehicle blend into the background, so it’s not an easy thing for those cameras to pick up.” Prior to arriving at McMaster, Bassim worked
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Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Military personnel are expensive and valuable assets. But they are also human beings subject to injuries that can slow them down or pull them off their duties.
Greg Wohl envisions his cellular research into bone stress fractures will help reduce both pain and suffering, and the downtime that troops experience when repeated activity under load – such as marching with a heavy pack – causes injury. “We study how bone adapts to mechanical loading and part of that is how it responds to injury,” he explains. While the human body regularly experiences and repairs micro-cracks in bones, some repeated activities can lead some people to develop longer cracks – known as stress fractures – that cause pain and require rest to heal. Long-distance runners and military personnel are prone to these bone fractures in their feet and lower legs, while rowers can experience them in their ribs. Better understanding of the cause of stress fractures and the mechanics of the body’s repair mechanisms may contribute to research into ways to reduce loading and improve equipment to prevent injury, says Wohl.
Natalia Nikolova Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
There are few circumstances when military personnel are more vulnerable than at a checkpoint. But Natalia Nikolova’s research into cognitive radar for concealed weapon detection aims to change that. She has already developed an unobtrusive surveillance system that combines microwave radar and machine learning to detect hidden weapons being carried by people. In the process of commercial development, the system will identify people carrying hidden guns and knives in high schools, malls and other public places – “anywhere where you want people to be moving freely and surveillance to be discreet,” says Nikolova. With a grant from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Nikolova is now working with a partner in the Ukraine to broaden the technology into a military protection tool for the detection of concealed explosives and explosive vests. “The technical challenge here is to expand the range of the system to at least 10 metres,” she notes, so hidden explosives can be identified before they are dangerously close to military personnel. The small system allows for portable or wearable use, and the aim is to provide military, police and security professionals with an earlywarning system to help protect them as they deal with unknown or potentially armed people.
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Honorary degree recipient champions women in tech On Friday, June 15 entrepreneur, Roya Mahboob received an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, from McMaster University’s Faculty of Engineering. Mahboob has overcome the odds by becoming the first woman to run a start-up tech company in Afghanistan. “Any award you get is great, but this one has a lot of meaning for me. I’m so honoured to be part of this group of people who have accomplished a lot. I really appreciate that McMaster University has selected me for this.” Mahboob has fought diligently for the rights of young women seeking education and opportunities in science and technology fields in regions oppressive to women. She has mentored and championed the Afghan Dreamers, an all-teenage-girl robotics team that made news for being denied visas to visit the U.S. for the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge, a major robotics competition for high school students around the globe. In 2013, Mahboob was named to Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world list for her work building classrooms with Internet access in Afghanistan.
Engineering is for Everyone McMaster Engineering feels like home to our students. When you come to McMaster, not only are you part of one of the world’s top universities, you are joining our #FireballFamily. We are a diverse community that fosters a spirit of inclusivity and innovation through cooperation — not competition.
eng.mcmaster.ca/engineering-everyone | mcmaster.ca mcmaster.ca
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A celebration of Big Ideas to create a Brighter World
On Thursday, October 4, 2018 the Faculty of Engineering hosted its first ever Big Ideas Pitch Night at McMaster’s University Club. Over 200 attendees watched 22 McMaster Engineering faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students share their Big Ideas to create a Brighter World in a three minute
thesis-style competition. More than $700,000 in research funding and cash prizes was awarded. “This year marks 60 years of Engineering Excellence,” said Ishwar K. Puri, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, in his
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opening remarks at the event. “In honour of this milestone, we’re recognizing the Big Ideas of our friends, alumni, faculty and students. We’ve been celebrating all year with stories and events, including this one.” “Tonight is a special night. For the first time ever – students and faculty are pitching their ideas on the same stage.” At the Big Ideas Pitch Student Qualifying Round on October 2, 19 graduate students delivered pitches about their own research and 19 undergraduate students pitched their big ideas to change the world at CIBC Hall in the McMaster University Student Centre. Eight finalists shared their solutions at the final and were awarded more than $8,000 in cash prizes. The judging panel for Big Ideas Pitch Night included Stephen Elop, renowned tech leader, former Microsoft executive and McMaster Engineering alumnus; Nitin Chopra, Partner at Shasta Ventures and McMaster Engineering alumnus; Angela Pappin, Vice-President, Technology at ArcelorMittal Dofasco; Lorna Somers, AVP of Development, University Advancement at McMaster; and Katie Porter, Director Research and Administration, Hamilton Health Sciences.
Kathryn Grandfield, Smart Surfaces
Here are the Big Ideas Pitch Night winners:
1st prize, $1000: Hannah McPhee,
Seeding Big Ideas Winners six prizes of $100K in Seed Funding Todd Hoare, 3D Printing of Organs
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for Combating Antibiotic Resistance
Igor Zhitomirsky, Centre for Printed Electronics Zahra Motamed, Multiscale Computational Predictive Tool for Cancer Metastasis Tohid Didar, Tackling Food Waste Zeinab Hosseini-Doust, Refocusing Cancer Immunotherapy
Graduate Winners 1st prize, $3000: Vincent Leung, Breaking the Cold Chain: Creating Thermally Stable Vaccines 2nd prize, $2000: Sam Peter, Solar Windows: The Clear Alternative
3rd prize, $1000: Eva Mueller, Smart Materials for Drug Delivery 4th prize, $500: Andrew Le Clair, Measuring Knowledge: How Do We Know What a Computer Knows?
Undergraduate Winners Making Emergency Response Safer 2nd prize, $750: Yumna Irfan, Melatonix 3rd prize, $500: Jessica Trac, MediNote 4th prize, $300: Natasha Varghese, Predicting the Unpredictable
News The Industry 4.0 experience inside the Learning Factory Opened in the spring, the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology’s new Learning Factory is a world-class facility that simulates the factory of the future. The facility, located in the basement of the Engineering Technology Building, introduces advanced manufacturing technologies to students and industry partners and provides the opportunity to work on hands-on projects to improve individual manufacturing processes. “Our university has always been a key player in manufacturing research and education in the country,” said Mo Elbestawi, Director of the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology at McMaster. “We chose to design a space based on our experience and the new knowledge we want to give to our students.” The Learning Factory is arranged in several different manufacturing and post-processing stations. The manufacturing stations have equipment for metal additive manufacturing, CNC machine tooling, 3D printing, injection moulding, laser cutting and electronics. For post-processing there are stations for marking and tracing information about an item with a 2D bar code reader, assembly of mechanical and electronics components with two collaborative robots and a station for packaging and testing. Each station is equipped with a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, which collects data to optimize a manufacturing process. Items that are built also carry chips that hold data relevant to their production.
New Minor in Innovation gives students a head start on becoming successful entrepreneurs A new Minor in Innovation was launched this past September and is available to all McMaster University students. It’s designed to give students the tools they need to succeed in today’s fast-paced, innovation-driven marketplace. Offered jointly through the Faculty of Engineering and the DeGroote School of Business, in partnership with the Forge, McMaster’s startup incubator, the minor was conceived to help students become successful entrepreneurs or to think like one. “Through the Minor in Innovation, students will learn how to transform their ideas into startups,” says Ishwar K. Puri, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. “They will also learn how to contribute as high-value employees within companies, government agencies and other organizations, and develop innovative strategies to transform and better their communities.” The minor will roll out over the next three years, starting with two courses in the 2018-2019 academic year.
McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering bestows an honorary degree on one of its most distinguished graduates Waguih Ishak (PhD ‘78 Electrical Engineering), an international leader in optics and photonics research and a successful technology executive, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the Spring Convocation ceremony on June 15. Forty years after his graduation, Ishak – named
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News
inventor on seven US patents and author of more than 100 papers – says he is still driven by his love for technology research and development.
Starting with Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in 1979, then moving to Agilent Labs and Avago Technologies, Ishak spent nearly 30 years directing research teams studying photonics and integrated electronics. In 2007, he joined Corning to establish its Corning West Technology Center (CWTC) in Silicon Valley, where researchers work to develop new technologies related to high-speed interconnects, novel displays, solid-state illumination and embedded sensors. He now serves as Corning’s Division Vice President & Chief Technologist. Ishak urged this year’s engineering graduates to recognize today’s megatrends in the technology world and then pursue a niche that excites them. “In my opinion, people want solutions for good health, good communications and good entertainment,” he says. “Consider how you can structure your career to solve these problems that matter.”
Computing & Software Celebrates 20th Anniversary On June 2, the department recognized this important milestone. The Department of Computing & Software began in 1998 with the help of professors, David Parnas, architect of the software engineering program, and Paul Taylor, founding chair. “They saw that software engineering was going to be big,” explains Ridha Khedri, chair of the department for the past two years and professor since its creation. “We wanted to provide a school of software engineering
that was unique in Canada and in the world.” Over the past 20 years, the department has grown to become one of the Faculty of Engineering’s largest departments. At the beginning, 200 students were enrolled in Software Engineering & Computer Science. Now, there are over 900 students and the addition of a mechatronics program. The department also provides service courses to the rest of the university, supporting all programs in other faculties with a minor in Computer Science.
McMaster-made satellite to be launched as part of Canadian Space Agency program On May 4, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced that a satellite designed and built by researchers at McMaster University, has been chosen as one of 15 projects that will be launched into space as part of the Canadian CubeSat Project. Once tested and ready for space, the miniature satellite—roughly the size of a loaf of bread—is
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expected to be launched and deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021. It will measure the nature and properties of potentially dangerous radiation astronauts are exposed to during spacewalks. Out of the 40 students who are making this project happen, 37 are students from the Faculty of Engineering.
Kudos McMaster Engineering alumni, friends, and faculty inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) Eight McMaster Engineering-affiliated professionals were elected by their peers in June to join a distinguished academy that offers key advice on matters of critical importance to Canada. They join a cohort of 59 highly accomplished people in the field of engineering who were inducted as Fellows into the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) during a ceremony in Calgary on June 18. Fellows are nominated and elected for their distinguished achievements
and career-long service to the engineering profession. “The CAE comprises Canada’s most accomplished engineers. There is no professional pleasure more rewarding than engaging daily in the greater good of Canada and the world with outstanding colleagues. Therefore, I am privileged to serve alongside these distinguished engineers,” said Ishwar K. Puri, dean and professor, who was inducted as a Fellow of the CAE in 2017.
McMaster Engineering-affiliated CAE members include:
Catherine Booth
Sean Donnelly
Shaffiq Jaffer
Suzanne Kresta
President and Owner Booth Advisory Inc. Dean’s Advisory Board, McMaster Engineering
President and CEO ArcelorMittal Dofasco McMaster Engineering alumnus
Vice President of Corporate Science and Technology Projects Total S.A. in North America McMaster Engineering alumnus Dean’s Advisory Board
Dean of the College of Engineering University of Saskatchewan McMaster Engineering alumna
Ray LaPierre
Joe Liburdi
Angela Pappin
Michael Pley
Professor and Chair Engineering Physics McMaster University
President, Liburdi Group of Companies Dean’s Advisory Board McMaster Engineering
VP Technology ArcelorMittalDofasco McMaster Engineering alumna Dean’s Advisory Board
Retired CEO of COM DEV International McMaster Engineering alumnus Chair of Dean’s Advisory Board
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Kudos McMaster University professor Kim Jones was appointed as the new chair of the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering (ONWiE) Jones, an associate professor in Chemical Engineering, assumed the role on July 1, 2018. Formed in 2005, ONWiE is a network of 16 schools of engineering from across Ontario, inspiring young girls to pursue careers in engineering and supporting current female engineers and students. The organization co-ordinates programs for youth, such as Go ENG Girl and Go CODE Girl, which allow female students to explore topics related to engineering and technology in a confidence-building, hands-on environment. Jones is a seasoned diversity champion. She served as a McMaster Engineering Faculty Leadership Fellow from 2016 to 2017 with a focus on improving diversity. As a Fellow, Jones introduced a writing group for female faculty members, secured parking for those who are pregnant or on parental leave, worked to better understand the needs of underrepresented groups, supported women in engineering student groups and organized workshops for female faculty members.
Educating the Engineer of 2025: Faculty awards four education research projects In celebration of McMaster Engineering’s 60th Anniversary, the Faculty has awarded four engineering education research projects with the Educating the Engineer of 2025 (EtE-25) funding awards, valued at a total of $80,000. The award supports initiatives that provide undergraduate and graduate students with the skills to succeed in 21st century leadership roles in industry, government and academia while ensuring strong technical expertise.
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The four winning projects, including addressing engineering design, expanding experiential learning opportunities, improving diversity and creating flipped classrooms.
McMaster’s Robert Fleisig wins prestigious OCUFA teaching award Fleisig, an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Practice and Technology at McMaster University, was named one of five of Ontario’s most outstanding university teachers by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). He received the 2017-2018 OCUFA Teaching Award at an October 20 ceremony in Toronto, hosted by the CBC’s Nana Ada Duncan.
Gianluigi Botton named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Botton, an engineering professor in the department of Materials Science & Engineering and director of the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Fellowship in the RSC represents one of the highest academic honours in Canada. Fellows are nominated by their peers for membership in one of three bilingual academies in Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Science. Including Botton, there are currently Gianluigi Botton 72 McMaster-affiliated RSC Fellows. Botton, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair who has been at McMaster since 2001, is a leading international scholar in electron energy loss spectroscopy.
Engineering professor named to Order of Canada Engineering professor Jamal Deen was named to the Order of Canada in June.
Kudos Deen, an electrical & computer engineering professor, was appointed for his advancements in the fields of electrical engineering and applied physics, and for his leadership of multiple academic and professional institutions. Jamal Deen The Order of Canada was established in 1967 to recognize outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.
Professor recognized for fostering undergraduate research Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor, Cheryl Quenneville, was awarded the $25,000 PetroCanada-McMaster University Young Innovator Award, which builds on the connection between research and teaching by engaging underCheryl Quenneville graduate students in research. Quenneville’s research area is injury biomechanics. The focus of her research is on the causes of fractures and how to better protect people who are subjected to traumatic events such as car crashes, falls, etc.
McMaster Engineering researchers awarded funding to advance software safety for next-generation vehicles McMaster Engineering researchers have initiated a $2 million project to work with General Motors Canada (GM Canada) to develop methods to help ensure the safety and reliability of autonomous and electrified vehicles. Mark Lawford, Director of the McMaster Centre for Software Certification (McSCert), and his collaborators received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Ontario
Centres of Excellence and GM Canada. GM Canada’s goal is to be at the forefront of establishing model management-based techniques to address software safety and compliance with standards, thus improving industry practice.
Painting tool developed by McMaster iBioMed students wins national design award for accessibility Three students in McMaster’s Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences (iBioMed) program took their first-year class project to patent as first place winners of Universities Canada’s Innovative Design for Accessibility (IDeA) student competition. Fifteen students or teams won the competition for 2018 and iBioMed students, Lianna Genovese, Laura Carter and Alex Yeh, were among five that took the top prize. A committee of accessibility experts chose the winners after evaluating 51 submissions. The team received $2000 for their project, The Painter’s Guide, an assistive tool that makes painting easier for people living with dystonia, a neurological movement disorder that causes muscle contractions. The group hopes to use their winnings to create a patented version of their design.
Student champion of diversity wins national engineering award Materials Engineering alumna, Vanessa Raponi, is among eight outstanding engineers from across Canada who received top honours for their contributions to the engineering profession at a gala event held in Saskatoon in May 2018.
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Kudos Presented by Engineers Canada, Raponi received the 2018 Gold Medal Student Award and was recognized for her work as the founder of EngiQueers, a student-led organization that promotes intersectional diversity and inclusion within the engineering profession. Under Raponi’s leadership, EngiQueers has expanded across Canada, with 31 chapters in 9 provinces.
Chemical engineering professor receives prestigious NSERC fellowship Todd Hoare has earned an E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, which is bestowed to outstanding and highly promising university faculty who are earning a strong international reputation for original research. Hoare, an associate professor of chemical engineering and Canada Research Chair in Engineered Smart Materials, is a renowned expert in the development of “smart” hydrogels and nanogels.
Faculty of Engineering students take top prizes at 2018 Forge Student Startup Competition Two McMaster Engineering student entrepreneurs and health tech start-ups took home top prizes at this year’s Forge Student Start-up Competition, held on March 22 at CIBC Hall. Over 400 people attended the event to watch 12 finalists, including eight engineering students, pitch their start-ups to an expert panel of judges. Finalists competed for $65K in cash prizes and entry into one of The Forge’s incubator and Summer Accelerator programs. Cole Kirschner, a fourth-year biotechnology student at the W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology won first place and $10K for his start-up, BioAge. Computer engineering student, Avin Regmi won third place and $5000 for his startup, PaniniAI, an artificial intelligence platform that helps physicians make evidence-based decisions.
University Scholar Prize awarded to McMaster researchers Chemical Engineering professor and Canada Research Chair in Nonlinear and Fault Tolerant Control, Prashant Mhaskar was named a University Scholar. The title is intended to recognize faculty members in mid-career who have already distinguished themselves as international scholars. Recipients are considered global leaders in a number of diverse research areas and academic disciplines.
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Faculty of Engineering McMaster University
Are you an alumni who wants to get involved? Connect with us at eng.mcmaster.ca/ connect/alumni
Events:
Staying connected with students and alumni
Alumni Reunion Day: Class of ‘68 Saturday, June 2, 2018 The class of ‘68 returned to campus to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation. Alumni came together to reminisce, re-connect and share in their journey since leaving McMaster. Thank you to all who attended.
Ottawa event Monday October 22, 2018 Thank you to all who attended our Ottawa event! We had a wonderful time with prominent entrepreneurs to exchange ideas, and explore the innovation ecosystem in the Ottawa area. Panelists shared their experiences with leading innovation in Canada.
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Events:
Staying connected with students and alumni
Big Sister, Little Sister BBQ Monday, September 9, 2018 Thank you to all who attended our annual Big Sister, Little Sister BBQ! We had over 250 attendees. It was so wonderful seeing the upper year engineering students mentor the new first year engineering students and establish connections with them for the rest of the school year.
Go Eng Girl Saturday, October 20, 2018 Go ENG Girl is a free annual event that offers girls the chance to learn more about engineering through a series of fun hands-on activities. More than 200 girls attended, along with undergraduate student mentors and successful female alumni who shared their journey and their passion for all things STEM.
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Events:
Staying connected with students and alumni
Fireball Chats This new initiative is an opportunity for students to connect with alumni in a more intimate and smaller setting. In our first two sessions, students had the opportunity to receive information on specific pathways or topics presented by the alumni mentors. This provides an exceptional opportunity for alumni to give back to current McMaster engineering students and community. Thank you to all who participated.
Golf Tournament Friday, May 11, 2018 The 16th annual McMaster Engineering Golf Tournament was held at Piper’s Heath Golf Club. Thank you to all alumni who spent the day enjoying the lovely weather and the beautiful course.
Mac Eng Connect The Engineering Alumni Office in collaboration with the Engineering Co-Op and Career Services office facilitated three Happy Hourstyle networking events to connect students, alumni and employers. We look forward to continuing these events and encourage alumni to continue to share their journey with students.
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Applause and Accolades AN AWARDS CELEBRATION
2018
McMaster Engineering celebrates ‘Big Ideas’ at 60th Anniversary Celebration McMaster Engineering’s 60th Anniversary Applause & Accolades Award Celebration took place on Thursday, May 3 at LIUNA Station. Over 350 faculty, staff, students and alumni enjoyed an evening that celebrated the faculty’s major research awards, engineering innovations and achievements of the Top 150+ alumni recognized last year as part of Canada’s sesquicentennial. McMaster Engineering’s Big Ideas to create a Brighter World came to life with TED Talk-style speeches from several students, alumni and faculty, featured as part of the Big Ideas profile series.
eng.mcmaster.ca
17,600 ATTENDED TRAVELLING WORKSHOPS
2,071
ATTENDED SUMMER PROGRAMS
36%
INCREASE IN FEMALE INDIGENOUS STUDENTS REACHED
21,000
TOTAL STUDENTS REACHED
Mac Eng Youth Programs Venture | LEAP Academy
2018 marked the 14th year of the LEAP Academy and the 27th year of Venture Science and Engineering. Our mandate is to introduce students in grades K-12 to the world of engineering, science, technology and programming in a fun and innovative learning environment. The passionate instructors at our programs provide a stimulating environment for students to let their creativity flourish through outreach initiatives, curriculum-based school workshops, and our one-of-a-kind summer programs. Venture and LEAP Academy focus on experiential learning that allows students’ passion for STEM in a way unique to Mac Eng Youth Programs.
Visit us at: youthprograms.eng.mcmaster.ca | mcmaster.ca
26%
INCREASE IN COMMUNITY OUTREACH