Beyond Mac Eng: Working at Sunnybrook Hospital

Trinette being interviewed for the video.

Trinette has just graduated from McMaster Engineering. She was able to write us a post telling us about her final year and her amazing engineering job. Keep reading to find out more!

After four years of hard work, the thought of graduating with a degree in Electrical & Biomedical Engineering seemed like a dream… That was until I filled out forms for graduation and completed my eight month design project. Then, I couldn't believe it was finally happening!

Applying for full time jobs was overwhelming and time-consuming. After many applications and a few interviews, I was offered a research engineer position at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. My goal has always been to work in the medical field, so being given this exciting opportunity was truly incredible. I started my new position in May and find that working in a clinical research setting has proved to be very intriguing. Everything becomes more exciting and rewarding when you get to work on projects that have real world applications, like find alternative breast cancer drugs. Working with imaging devices such as CT/SPECT scanners and CT/PET scanners, and learning to operate them during various experiments is unbelievable. It seems as though you never really stop learning after university. Engineering has definitely taught me the problem solving skills required to come up with practical solutions needed for my job.

Trinette and David showing Elaine their design project.

During my final year at McMaster, I was fortunate enough to be involved in the filming of Women in Engineering: Our Global Future. This mini-documentary was created in partnership with the G(irls)20 Summit, produced by Double Barrel Studios, hosted by Elaine Kunda, a McMaster alumna, and features McMaster Engineering professors.  Working with everyone that helped to put the video together was a fantastic experience.  There was a lot of interesting conversations as to why many young women decide not to go into fields that are heavily involved with math and science. It was eye opening to hear about everyone’s personal experiences and difficulties in terms of their successes within engineering.

My own experience in engineering has been a mix of ups and downs, but a real passion for it began after my mother was in a bad accident. She was in a wheel chair for over six months, which inspired me to use engineering to improve people’s lives when they don’t have the full range of mobility we so commonly take for granted. I have found engineering to be a very exciting and an interesting field of study. It is also very rewarding because you are constantly building and making things, and you can always look back and say “Look, it works! And I built it!” In short, there is always something to feel proud about. I believe that the world needs more women in engineering and I hope this video inspires some young women to pursue engineering programs. If you have not seen the Women in Engineering: Our Global Future, then I would definitely check it out!

~ Trinette

Summer Adventures on (and off) Campus!

The summer has just been flying by! I can't believe it's already the end of June!

Genna making a material to administer
drugs to the eye through contact lenses.

Once again I'm working in Dr. Heather Sheardown's lab for the summer, although not the same project as last year. If you're wondering what I was working on last year, check out a blog I wrote about my lab adventures in Keeping an Eye on Things! 

This year I'm investigating silicone contact lenses for drug delivery to the eye. We know that these contact lenses release the drug at a certain rate, but we don't know why. Is it a factor of the drug being trapped in the material, or is it because the drug is binding to the monomers in the polymer chain? That's what I'm researching this summer. Basically, I get to make a bunch of different materials (with different drugs and in different compositions) and test the amount of drug they’ll release in water. After a lot of complicated equations and statistical analysis I can determine which composition is ideal for drug delivery.

I'm so excited to be working in this area of research because I think the possible applications of these lenses are astounding. Imagine getting an eye infection or eye surgery and instead of having to put annoying drops in your eye, you can just wear your contacts and the problem solves itself!

Enough about work; let's talk about all the fun stuff going on around campus over the summer! As you can imagine all this rain has brought out the best of nature. Now, this may be terrifying news for you allergy sufferers, but for those of us who love going for hikes through Cootes Paradise it's amazing! There's nothing more relaxing than taking a leisurely stroll through the park with some good friends.  If you want to hear more about my exciting summer adventures, I've recently been featured in a video, Mac Eng: Reel Talk with Genna!

There are some other exciting things going on in Mac Eng as well. Last week, the Faculty of Engineering released a mini-documentary Women in Engineering: Our Global Future, that was shown to the delegates at the G(irls) 20 Summit in Russia. It highlights women in engineering and their potential career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math, known as “STEM”. Dr. Sheardown is interviewed and provide some compelling facts and insights about the pressing need for women in these fields. See if you can spot my cameo appearance :)

Anywhoo, I guess I should get back to work. These contact lenses won't make themselves!

Cheers!
~ Genna

Women in Engineering: Our Global Future

Ciao everyone!

Elaine Kunda being filmed by Double Barrel Studios.

I cannot believe that we are already in the middle of June! I'm sure those of you that are in high school are busy studying for your final exams, wishing it was summer already and getting ready for university in the fall.

I have some very exciting news to share with all of you today.  Over the past few weeks, I was given the opportunity to help create a professional mini-documentary! That’s right, a professional video, with a director, producer, director of photography, camera crew and make-up artists.

This video, Women in Engineering: Our Global Future, was created in partnership with the G(irls) 20 Summit in Russia, produced by Double Barrel Studios and hosted by Elaine Kunda, a McMaster alumna. The summit, which is taking place in Moscow right now, brings together delegates from each of the G20 countries and the African Union.  The delegates discuss and design innovative ideas to empowering girls and women globally.  Then they present these ideas to G20 Leaders.  The best part is that these young ladies are all between the ages 18-20!

L to R: Mridula, Nilanthy and Maureen showing us their robot bugs.
You will see interviews with Mridula & Nilanthy in the video. 

I really wish I could have gone to the summit to meet such forward thinking young women!

The video is all about encouraging young girls to study in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.  Being a woman in engineering, encouraging more girls to study in STEM fields is a cause I love supporting.

The G(irls) 20 Summit is streaming online live today and tomorrow (June 17th - 18th). If you have a few free minutes, you should check it out here. There are some very cool speakers.

Until next time,
Danielle

... Oh you are still here, did you want to see the video I helped make? You can view Women in Engineering: Our Global Future right here. Enjoy!

Bombardier Aerospace: Taking my Education to New Heights

Back in Grade 12, when I first applied to attend McMaster University, I was skeptical about pursuing engineering. I wondered if it was really for me or if I was choosing a completely wrong path. So, I chose to enter the engineering co-op program so that I could begin to learn first-hand whether or not this career path was a good fit. As first year came to a close, I found out that I was successful in my application to the materials science and engineering stream and the engineering & management program. I felt ‘wide-eyed and bushy-tailed’ with excitement about my future!

My view walking into work every morning

I had applied for an engineering co-op position at Bombardier Aerospace in early January and was extremely excited and honoured to receive my offer letter in mid-April. I began my position in May and have been working Monday to Friday ever since. All of the student interns are given some sort of project to work on over the 600 hour period that they must complete over the summer.  My position is within the maintenance programs and planning sector, one of three sub-sections of the maintenance engineering department.

Editing PCTEL files at my desk

At Bombardier, we maintain computer records known as “PCTEL” files (parts, consumables, tools, equipment, labour). These files contain the information on the tasks required to adequately maintain different plane models, which is a very important procedure. This is where I come in! My job is to update these files based on the most recent revisions, and improve the automation of how they’re updated. I’ll be working with Excel and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to complete this task.

So far, I’ve been extremely happy with the warm and welcoming environment around the office. Bombardier has nearly 5,000 staff members on-site and every single one that I’ve had the opportunity to interact with has been respectful and caring. I found that a lot of the staff are very unique and encourage humour around the office! When I’m not working away on the PCTEL files, I might be attending daily meetings featuring conference calls to Montreal, getting a tour of some of the 1.8 million sq. ft. of production space or learning the acute importance of building strong relationships with those you meet in the workplace.

Bombardier & WestJet celebrate the delivery of the Q400 planes

Just the other day, I got my first opportunity to interact with members of the materials and processing department. The people I met with were all so willing to tell me everything about what they do; they gave me amazing material to read (*pun intended) and offered me the opportunity to tag along with them in the labs and on site from time to time. I even met a woman who graduated from McMaster’s materials engineering program just a few years ago! This job has been an unbelievable opportunity thus far and I know it will just continue to get better as time goes on. Of course, I cannot possibly say that I know for a fact that engineering is right for me based on my three weeks of work, but I can say this much – I haven’t felt this passionate about something in a long time. I simply cannot wait to continue to learn and grow as an engineer. 
 ~Vanessa

School's out for Summer!

I don’t know if you guys know this yet, but in university, you get… wait for it… a FOUR MONTH SUMMER! (Cue cheering and fireworks) So, while you lovely people are finishing up classes and staring out the window while your teacher tries to fill the last weeks of school, we post-secondary kids are well into our summer vacations. (Sorry!)

Four months is a good chunk of time. What can you do to make the most of it? Here are some ideas to get you started:

1) Get a job

Last summer, I worked for the Government of Ontario.

Summer is a great opportunity to get some work experience. Co-op jobs are available for the summer, and many companies offer summer-long placements to take advantage of the student talent. As an example, I am working for the Bank of Montreal as an intern this summer.  Jobs also give you some income to pay for school.

2) Do active stuff

I don’t know about you, but my Facebook newsfeed is full of my friends participating in races, obstacle courses and other really cool exercising opportunities! Tough Mudder and Run or Dye are pretty common ones. Get some friends together and spend a day sweating! If getting covered in dye or swimming in ice cold water doesn’t sound appealing, you could try recreational sports or join a yoga class.

3) Get to know your city/town

Since the weekends are no longer full of studying, they are a great opportunity to adventure around your hometown or closest city. Try and uncover those “hidden gems”; whether that may be a restaurant, natural feature (like a stream) or just chat it up with some people who work in local stores. One cool thing to do is get on a bus and see where it takes you.

4) Pick up a book

This summer, I am determined to read the books I should have read in high school. In high school, we got a long reading list and I only ever read what was required for assignments. So far I have read Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. (I’m also making my way through Knightfall Volume 1, a Batman comic, but I don’t think it has ever showed up on a high school reading list)

Books, books, comics!

And most importantly…

5) Talk to current undergraduate students about what to expect at university

Summer is a great chance to learn about what to expect when you start at McMaster in September! We upper years have a little more free-time on evenings and weekends and are here to answer your questions. The Ask anUndergraduate Engineer program is run by the McMaster Engineering Society, and it pairs up incoming students (that’s you!) with upper-year engineering students via e-mail. Send a message to vp.acedemic@macengsociety.ca if you are interested!

When that school bell rings for the last time, make the most of your summer! Good luck on your exams! You'll kill it! :)

Later days,
Daniela

My Super Summer Jobs

Chicka Chicka Bow Wowww.

Done third year. Done classes, and assignments, and studying, and exams, and… work!
I thought I’d talk a little bit about working throughout your undergrad, since today is my last shift working with the Engineering I Outreach office, and in a couple of days I'm off to work a summer co-op position!

In my first summer, I was a Headstart instructor for two first year engineering courses. Headstart allows students to complete up to two first year courses before entering Engineering in their first year. I had a wonderful time working there but my favourite aspect is seeing where all my students ended up. I frequently bump into many of them, many of whom are now entering their third year of engineering, or starting their own co-op positions!

Posing with Deborah McIvor, May@Mac coordinator for the Faculty.

Last summer I worked for the office that posts these biogs: Engineering I Outreach. I've literally done a little bit of everything here from designing magazine advertisements, to learning bits about database management, testing and launching a new panoramic website, and a whole lot of event planning, and coordinating in between.  One of the events I helped with again this year was May@Mac Open House on Saturday, May 11, 2013.  I've had a chance to work on tons of interesting and diverse projects, and every day evolves into something a little different than yesterday. I started the position this time last year, and kept working throughout the school year. A campus job is amazing for students. I could literally walk out of my class, and down the hall to make it to my work shift. They’re super flexible around your academic schedule, and know that your school work comes first.

This summer, I've landed a co-op position with a well-known company in Toronto! In retrospect, all my non-technical questions from the interview were usually answered with my experiences from the past two summer positions I've held. And now, in the next few months, I’ll be using many of my learned skills to help me in building a business plan and launch a set of training videos for their technical products. I can honestly say I'm nothing but excited!

New people, new software, new skills; It’s going to be a fantastic summer!

~ Helen

Transformers, the MMRI and Formula Hybrid Cars ~ A Love Story

Hello world!

Me Sitting in the Carpool

My name is Christen and I am the new, 'old' kid on the block! I am going into my final year of Mechanical Engineering and Society here at McMaster, but it has taken four years to come out from behind the scenes to say hello on this amazing blog. I am heavily involved with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) here on campus, and have been since my first year developing workshops, and helping to organize conferences to get students excited about being a globally-minded engineer.

Danielle and I at Fireball

Aside from EWB and being a full time engineering student, I somehow manage to find time for skiing, kayaking, silk screening, indoor farming, and reciting Shakespeare in parks. I could go on and on about my various other interests and passions, but I feel you get the picture; just like a Transformer, there’s more than meets the eye!

Now that all the awkward introductions are done, let’s get to it! Last week I had the privilege of attending a showcase at the McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI). What is the MMRI you might ask? It is a huge facility on McMaster campus doing research in polymer, automotive, aerospace, tool, die and mold industries. 

Turner's Cube

I was starstruck! Imagine a room filled with million dollar equipment, machining parts that are strong enough to cut through steel. Not to mention, their Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines are so precise they can manufacture these cool Turner's Cubes in one go! It was a great time to chat with leading industry professionals and some of my favourite professors about manufacturing processes.

Also being showcased at this event was our Formula Hybrid Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) team sporting four awards from a competition earlier this May at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The formula hybrid car is designed by McMaster undergraduate and graduate students to compete in the Formula Hybrid International Competition. 

McMaster's Formula Hybrid SAE Team

Our team won several awards including: the 1st Place GM Best Engineered Hybrid Systems award and the IEEE Engineering the Future Award.  I am so proud to see our team rock the international stage in sustainability. I look forward to an encore performance next year!

That’s all for now folks!

Christen

McMaster's Formula Hybrid Car in Action (no, that's not me)