What inspired you to pursue engineering?

I always loved the sciences, physics, chemistry, and biology, and I was naturally strong in math. Engineering seemed like a natural choice since it combines those subjects with problem-solving. In Grade 11, I visited the Kennedy Space Center, and that really sparked my interest in mechanical engineering, and at that time, specifically aerospace engineering. That being said, I wasn’t 100% sure about engineering, but I thought, Why not give it a shot?

How did you choose mechanical engineering?

I started off thinking about aerospace engineering, and mechanical engineering seemed like the best path toward that. During the general first year of engineering, I discovered I really enjoyed dynamic physics, and the classes aimed towards the mechanical stream. Later in my degree, I took more courses in energy transfer and fluid dynamics, which shifted my interests to energy efficiency and sustainability. Mechanical engineering is broad, so I liked that I had options to explore different industries.

What was your first year of engineering like? 

It was a big adjustment, but it was a great experience, and I learned so much in that first year. In high school, I never needed a real study strategy, but that changed in university – I realized I needed to learn how to study properly. The biggest challenge for me was calculus—math had always been my strong suit, but suddenly, I was struggling. I had to figure out how to study effectively, and the biggest lesson I learned was that it’s okay to ask for help. Towards the second half of my first year, I started to make more friends in my program, joined study groups, got involved in more extracurriculars, and started to really enjoy myself! 

What helped you succeed academically?

Finding a good study group. In my first year, I tried to do everything on my own, but later, I realized that working with other people was super helpful. Having friends explain concepts in different ways and bouncing ideas off each other made a huge difference.

Did you participate in any extracurricular activities?

Yes! I was on the University of Alberta EcoCar Team, where we built a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. That gave me hands-on experience with CAD, 3D printing, welding, and manufacturing techniques. It was one of the best parts of my university experience because I got to apply what I was learning in class to real-world projects. I was mechanical co-lead for a year and a half, which helped me to gain leadership experience and allowed me the chance to manage a group of people. I also got to travel to California with the team and race the vehicle, which was amazing!

Did you do any internships?

I did a summer internship at a construction company in Edmonton. It wasn’t specifically geared towards mechanical engineering, but I got the chance to work alongside mechanical, electrical, and structural engineers. It gave me insight into construction processes and different engineering disciplines, I learned how mechanical systems worked in buildings, and it helped me figure out what I did and didn’t want to do.

How was the social atmosphere at the University of Alberta?

It was great! The university has a strong sense of community, and there are tons of extracurricular activities. They regularly hold events for the engineering faculty as well as campus-wide events, and it’s always fun to get involved in those! I grew up in Edmonton, so I knew people going in, but I found it easy to make friends in classes. From what I saw, it also seemed easy for out-of-town students to meet people – residence life and student clubs help with that! 

Was it difficult to find a job after graduation?

I didn’t have too much trouble finding a job - when I graduated, companies seemed to be hiring a lot of new grads, which really helped me out. Mechanical engineering is a relatively stable field, and most of the people I went to school with were able to find jobs without an issue. I started off with a job at a construction company in Victoria working as a project coordinator and then moved on to my current position at a mechanical consulting firm. Internships and extracurriculars really help make you stand out when applying for jobs – I found that my experience with the EcoCar team really helped me during interviews.

What does your job involve?

My company primarily provides mechanical consulting services to K-12 schools, which involves mechanical system design and upgrades. I’m currently working as a Design Engineer with an EIT (Engineer-in-Training) designation. I’m responsible for helping out with HVAC and mechanical system design, as well as energy modelling. A large part of my job is doing design work using Revit and occasionally using AutoCAD. For the energy modelling aspect, I use simulation software to predict the energy usage of buildings and analyze how to make them more energy efficient. The simulations are important because they ensure that our systems are as efficient as possible while also ensuring that the children in school can learn in a comfortable environment! My work directly requires knowledge that I learned in university – I occasionally get to pull out textbooks that I used in my classes, which feels very satisfying! My job is mostly desk-based, but I get to travel for site visits a few times a month to inspect buildings and systems in Victoria. Occasionally I get to travel across the province for site visits, which is always exciting!

What does a typical day look like?

Most days, I’m working with Revit to create drawings, using my energy modelling software to run simulations, or writing reports. If I have a site visit, I’ll go inspect HVAC systems, which would include boilers, ductwork, piping, or other mechanical equipment in buildings. It’s a mix of technical work and communication, where I'm explaining my findings to clients or my team.

How is the work-life balance?

It’s pretty good! I usually work from 8:30 to 5:00, and I don’t typically have to take work home with me. There are busy times when we need to meet project deadlines, and I might work a little extra, but overall, I have time for hobbies and personal life. I love outdoor activities like trail running and mountain biking, so I make sure to fit those in.

What has your experience been like as a woman in a male-dominated industry?

In construction, especially, it’s very male-dominated, but I’ve been lucky to work with some great people. That said, I have faced situations where I had to assert myself more than my male colleagues. I joined a Women in Construction organization, which has been great for networking and support. My advice for other women in engineering is to be confident and advocate for yourself, and join a networking group for women in your industry!

What soft skills are important for engineers?

Perseverance is key because engineering can be tough, and you have to push through challenges. Teamwork is also huge—being able to collaborate well makes a big difference. And being open to learning new things is crucial because technology is always evolving.

How do you see AI affecting mechanical engineering?

Right now, my work does not involve AI at all, however, I’ve seen it used for automating repetitive calculations and optimizing designs in other industries. Some engineers are experimenting with AI for research and predictive modelling. I think it’ll definitely play a bigger role in the future.

What’s the process of getting a P.Eng. (Professional Engineer) license?

In order to apply to become a P.Eng., you need to meet the academic requirements, complete four years of work experience, submit a competency self-assessment, pass an ethics exam, and then apply for the designation. A P.Eng. designation allows you to practice engineering in your province and take legal responsibility for engineering work.

Any advice for aspiring engineers?

Be open to different fields within engineering. Try different courses and extracurriculars to find what you enjoy. Don’t be afraid to ask for help—whether from professors, classmates, or mentors. Find a balance between studying and having a personal life. And if you’re passionate about it, stick with it—it’s a rewarding career!

What made you originally want to pursue mechanical engineering?

Oh, that’s a good question. Originally, I had signed up for physics, mostly because I really liked it in high school. It was the one subject that really stood out for me. Right up until the end of grade 13, I was planning to go into physics. But then my sister, who was studying chemistry at the time, suggested I consider engineering. Some of her friends were in physics too, and she thought that because I liked solving real-world problems, especially ones where you could quickly see the results, I might really enjoy engineering.

I didn’t know much about engineering back then, so I called the first-year office at the University of Waterloo, since I knew I wanted to do co-op and at that time, Waterloo was the place to be for that. When I called, they asked me which type of engineering I wanted to go into, and I honestly had no idea. I just said "civil" because it sounded familiar and I liked the idea of working on things you can physically see, like bridges and roads.

After I got accepted, I started reading through the course calendar and came across the descriptions for mechanical engineering. That’s when I realized that was what I really wanted to do. All the dynamics, the moving parts, the systems—it just clicked with me.

I actually started in civil engineering, but during the first week, I went to the first-year office and asked if I could switch to mechanical. They told me it was really hard to do that, so I knew I had to work extra hard that first term to prove myself. Luckily, I was able to make the switch.

I'm curious that you mentioned a 13th year. Were you originally from Quebec?

I’m from Ontario. So this was a long time ago; I think I graduated from high school in 1994, maybe. They used to have five years of high school: grade 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. That last year was your “OAC” year, where you did Ontario Academic Credits, and it was standardized across the province.

I found grade 13 was a really formative year. Before that, I was actually really interested in political science. But that second physics course I took in grade 13 really changed things, as I realized I didn’t want to give physics up.

I know that as you got your master's and your doctorate, you went toward more fluid dynamics. What drew you to that versus other parts of mechanical engineering?

Yeah, so I was actually interested in robotics as well, right up until my last year of undergrad. But then I realized I really liked the way, in fluid dynamics, the math explains the physics and the physics explains the math—they really work together in a neat way.

It was also a lot about understanding the world around you, which I’ve always really enjoyed. So that was the main reason I went in that direction.

You currently teach fluid dynamics and things like methodical computations. What would you say that students struggle with the most and like what is your favorite? 

Fluid dynamics, unsurprisingly. Students also struggle with math, unsurprisingly as well. They have a hard time with calculus. I think it's because it's a third-year course and  links to a lot of topics in earlier years. Additionally, students have told me that the concepts are hard to grasp because up to this course, they’ve started with particle motion, and then moved onto mechanisms. They increase their knowledge by one bar, and then move up another bar, and they also have things like materials courses. This course however can be hard to grasp because how do you apply something like conservation of energy to something like a blob of fluid, right? It's very different from having a ball that you throw in the air. 

What would you say your students have done to maximize their success, both in getting into the program and growing within it?

I think time management is really important—for getting in, for being here, and for success in general. It’s critical to know when to deprioritize things. For example, not banging your head against the wall for too long on something. If you need help, go get help. Or if an extracurricular is taking up too much time and it’s not helping you move in the direction you want to go, you need to be able to step back from it.

That kind of time management is important even in the admissions process. One of the things we look at is how employable students are. That includes time management, and also whether they have any related experience. That could be clubs, or relevant work experience. That’s helpful too. We try to look at the student profile a bit like an employer would. With co-op, we want students who will succeed in all aspects of the program.

I can’t say exactly which extracurriculars are best. You should always do what you're genuinely passionate about. Ideally, it’s something loosely related to the program you're applying for. But that doesn’t mean you need to be in every STEM club. You don’t have to join the robotics club, physics club, math club, and so on. Don’t overload yourself, since there’s no real benefit in doing ten different things just to check boxes. But if you show that you’ve been consistently passionate about something, that’s a good sign. It tells a story– like you did this, then followed it up with that, and it all seems to line up.

We also understand that not all students have the same opportunities. At Waterloo, we have things like Lego robotics competitions that a lot of high school students take part in. But if you’re living in a more remote place, that might not be available to you. That’s completely okay. There are a lot of factors we take into account.

As someone who goes to an all-girls school, entering a male-dominated field is very daunting to me. How would you describe the gender gap you've seen within the field over time?

Some of my friends also went to all-girls schools and went into engineering. One of them went to U of T for mechanical and industrial. I think she said that, at first, she felt weird raising her hand in class. But honestly, I feel weird raising my hand too, and I went to a co-ed school. I think sometimes it just feels uncomfortable to admit you have a question. You can feel a bit insecure about it. That’s not unusual.

Even now, when I ask students if they have questions, I always leave a long pause. It takes people time to work up the courage to say, “Okay, fine, I have a question.”

When I started in mechanical engineering, I think the female undergraduate representation for my program was around 11%. I was friends with a few of the other women in my program, and we actually lived together through our entire undergraduate degree. That was really helpful. It felt like having a family while going through school, and it made a big difference. We stayed close for a long time afterward, even though we’ve drifted apart a bit now.

The numbers are better today. Still not equal, but I’d say maybe around 25 percent now for mechanical, it could be higher. I think your comfort level depends a lot on your personality, and your role. When I used to teach some of the larger classes, they were still very male-dominated. I’d walk into a room of 120 students, and maybe 110 of them were men. That was intimidating, even for me as the instructor. 

Did you face any challenges based on who you were, because of your gender or anything like that?

I would say the biggest challenge I had was when I had my kids. I felt like there was a lot of responsibility on me, and I sometimes felt disconnected from the people I worked with. I couldn’t always relate to them, especially during that time.

It was tough going right back to work with a new baby, with leaving your baby in daycare and then going off to teach. Part of your mind is thinking about your child, and it’s hard to focus. That was a challenging period for me. Now that my kids are older, it’s fine, but those early years were definitely tough.

Since you pursued a doctorate and are now an associate professor, what made you decide to take the academic route instead of working for something like a consulting company?

I actually did work for two years between my master’s and PhD with the federal government. Then, after finishing my PhD, I worked with the government again as a postdoc. I really enjoyed it; it was a very positive experience, and I could have stayed on longer.

However, there were a couple of complicating factors. One of them was that I’m married to someone who also has a PhD, and it’s really hard to both get jobs in the same place. Then an opportunity came up at Waterloo where we could both work in the same location, and that’s how I ended up here. I stayed in touch with my previous workplace, but the role at Waterloo was a really interesting opportunity and ended up being a better fit for our family.

How would you say McMaster differed from Waterloo in your experiences?

Well, I was a grad student at McMaster, so that’s already a bit different from being an undergrad. And it was quite a long time ago, so I’m not sure how things compare now.

 At Waterloo, engineering is very prominent. We don’t have a medical school,  engineering is the largest faculty in terms of research. I think math might have more undergrad students, but overall there’s a really strong presence of math, engineering, and computer science on campus. You definitely notice it. Not to take anything away from the other faculties, they’re great too, but engineering has a big footprint

There’s a lot of energy and activity, and people are very busy. McMaster, by comparison, felt a little smaller, at least in terms of engineering. It felt a bit easier to get to know people. Also, the structure at Waterloo has changed since I was a student. Many of the lectures are taught by dedicated instructors who work as a coordinated team. That means students see some of the same people throughout the year, and those instructors communicate about deadlines and manage things collectively. There’s a lot of coordination now. There's also a much stronger emphasis on wellness these days, which is a really good change.

About your PhD, how did you choose your research topics? I was looking through some of your papers and wondered what made you interested in things like sea ice concentration and that type of work?

I did my PhD on computational fluids. I picked that because I loved fluids and thought it was a good fundamental topic, specifically turbulent flow, which is flow that’s  chaotic and random.

I chose computation because during my master’s degree, I did experiments, and honestly, I wasn’t very good at experiments. Before that, I had mostly been working behind computers. After that, I thought I would do computation for my PhD, since I felt like I’d probably be better at that.

The sea ice work was from my postdoc, and it just seemed like a good problem. Climate change and sea ice are important topics. Some people would tease and say, “Well, when the sea ice is all gone, you’ll be out of a job.” But actually, it’s never really going to totally disappear, especially in places like the channels up in the Canadian Arctic. These days though my research is more about multi-sensor data and modelling.

How would you describe your typical day or schedule?

I’m usually up pretty early, around six or seven. I like to read for a little while before the house gets too loud, so for maybe an hour or so.

Once I get to work, I usually have a lot of meetings with graduate and undergraduate students. Sometimes I teach, and before that, I take about an hour to review my notes. I also need that quiet hour because my voice isn’t very strong, so I use that time to rest my voice before lecturing.

During the day, I might review papers, look over grant applications, work on lecture notes, and have several meetings. Some days are filled almost entirely with meetings, while other days I have more time alone in my office to focus .

Then I go home, have supper, and usually don’t do much work in the evening. I might check my email or read something if I need to prepare for a meeting the next day and didn’t get to it in the morning.

It seems like you have a pretty great work-life balance. I’m wondering how that has changed compared to when you were in undergrad or other times in your life?

It’s actually pretty similar. I’ve always been an early riser. I used to get up around five or so, but now I sleep a bit more and get up a little later. I also used to go to bed pretty early, like around nine. That was mostly when my kids were young and went to bed early, so it made sense for me to do the same.

The routine has stayed pretty consistent overall. When I was in undergrad, I was a bit more intense. It was common for me to spend long stretches in the library with all my study materials, just really pushing through my work.

I was also in my twenties then, so I’d often go out in the evenings—not super often, but sometimes with friends. Now, I’m just not up late anymore. When I was younger, it wasn’t unusual to be out until the early hours of the morning.

I know that you’re a mentor with IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). I was curious to know if there were any mentors who impacted your own career path? 

Oh, definitely. Probably the most notable one was from when I was a faculty member in systems design. The chair there was amazing to work with. She had so much energy and so many ideas. I really learned a lot from her.

And really, I’ve learned from everyone in some way. My PhD advisor, for example, is still at the university and is a great person. Some things he said at the time I didn’t fully appreciate, but now I look back and think, “Wow, that was really important.”

I’ve also learned from people who are great at team building. When I work with someone who’s good at team-building, I think about what they’re doing, how comfortable I feel doing it, and how to incorporate it into my own team building. 

I also think my high school physics teacher really helped me build my confidence. I remember doing this physics contest where I did really well on all of the practice contests, but then I totally bombed the actual one. He was very encouraging about it, which meant a lot.

What were some challenges you have faced?

It’s really about believing in yourself, even when you don’t do well. It’s also about accepting that you’re probably not going to be stellar in every single course you take. You might have a work term or a co-op experience that you don’t thrive in. You have to be open-minded because there are so many different things you can do.

Engineering is a really big field. Even if you go into mechanical engineering, like me, a lot of what I do isn’t strictly mechanical. You can have that title, but you don’t have to wear the same hat as everyone else. You can make it your own.

When I was younger, I felt like there was this prescribed curriculum I had to follow and do well in. I think I undervalued my own passion because I was so focused on following that curriculum and doing well within it.

What made you decide to pursue your master’s instead of joining a consulting firm?

I think it was mostly curiosity about academic things. For example, when I was working between my master’s and PhD, I found myself spending a lot of time in the university library, reading textbooks and papers. I thought, “Maybe I should do a PhD since I’m already spending so much time here.”

Another big influence was my co-op terms; I had six of them. In the last two, I worked with people who had master’s degrees and PhDs, and I liked their jobs. Then, in my job between my master’s and PhD, many people had PhDs, and I liked what they did. It gave me the feeling that there was something meaningful I could do with that degree.When I first started in engineering, I didn’t plan to do any more degrees. My plan was just to finish my undergrad and then stop.

You mentioned that you were interested in physics before, but what was the process of finding what you’re truly passionate about? I’m also feeling a little lost, though I can’t exactly say what I’m truly passionate about.

To be honest, one of the challenges of being a professor is that there are so many opportunities, which makes it sometimes hard to stay focused on a single topic. But for me, since I was very young, I’ve always been passionate about the environment.

So, when I was working, I focused on clean combustion. During my PhD, the model I used was for ocean modeling and climate change. And then, when I got the sea ice job, that was clearly environmental work with Environment Canada. So, I guess my passion kind of developed slowly over time. 

I was interested in the environment, but initially, my reason for going into engineering wasn’t because of that. It was more that I didn’t want to leave physics behind, and I just wanted to keep doing that. I knew there were some energy applications and overlaps, but I wasn’t specifically thinking about the environment at first. Then, through co-op, I had the chance to try all kinds of different jobs, which helped me figure out what I wanted to do.

Do you have any general advice for someone who’s interested in pursuing engineering?

Generally, what I have said before, just be open-minded about it. Believe that it’s something you can make your own. I think that’s the key. There are definitely going to be times when you feel discouraged, that’s true in any career path, but in engineering, you always have the option to shift a little, grow in a new direction, and build a path that works for you.

You really can make it your own career.