Dean's Message
It has been another outstanding year here at U of T Engineering. In an era of global uncertainty, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to building a better world through innovation, inclusion and impact.
We are well underway in creating our Strategic Academic Plan 2025-2030, which clearly articulates our vision, mission, values and priorities. The plan builds on the solid foundation that has served us well for the past century and a half, while also identifying opportunities for us to shape the future in positive ways.
Our Defy Gravity campaign is in full swing, and it's been very gratifying to see our entire community step up with unprecedented support. Its pillars — creating sustainable and thriving global communities, promoting healthy societies, designing intelligent machines for good and enhancing the development of the 21st century engineer — reflect our leading role as Canada’s top-ranked engineering school and among the best in the world.
Through stories, images, video and interactive features, this report showcases our efforts on all these fronts. There are important research advances and life-changing learning experiences from all over the world. There are rich collaborations with a wide range of partners — from small startups to multinational corporations to not-for-profit social enterprises. And of course, there are initiatives designed to make our community broader and more diverse than ever before.
A year into my second term as Dean, it continues to be a privilege to work with all of you as we work together to build a bright future for everyone. I hope you enjoy reading about some of my favourite moments from the past year, and that you feel as optimistic and excited as I do about those that are yet to come.
– Chris Yip, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Engineering For The World
Shanghai, China
During her frequent flights between her home in Shanghai, China where she attended school and her extended family in Indonesia, Karen Martin (Year 1 ECE) was fascinated by the way the airplane appeared to defy gravity. She is now one of the five Pearson Scholars who joined U of T Engineering this year, and one of more than 370 undergraduate students from outside of Canada, comprising 28.7% of the entering class.
Lancaster, United Kingdom
Over the first few months of 2024, Fiona Sun (Year 3 IndE) attended Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. One of many U of T Engineering students to go on exchange in 2024, she also took trips to France, Hungary, Spain, Ireland, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Guadalajara, Mexico
This year, Professor Amy Bilton (MIE, left) and her team travelled to Guadalajara, Mexico. In partnership with Isla Urbana, a local NGO, Bilton and her team studied how rainwater collection systems are used by the local community, and how they might be improved. This project is an excellent example of the scale, calibre and impact of the research that earned Bilton this year’s McLean Award.
Daejeon, South Korea
Professor Tobin Filleter (MIE) and alumnus Peter Serles (MIE MASc 1T9, MIE PhD 2T4) partnered with researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) to create advanced materials with the strength of carbon steel but the lightness of Styrofoam. This partnership was initiated through U of T’s International Doctoral Clusters program, which supports doctoral training through research engagement with international collaborators.
San Diego, U.S.A.
During his time in EngSci, Martin Staadecker (EngSci 2T4) leveraged the Engineering Science Research Opportunities Program (ESROP) to work with researchers at the University of California San Diego on computational models for energy infrastructure scenarios. The work led to a co-authored paper in Nature Communications.
Paris, France
In the fall of 2024, a team composed of both undergraduate and graduate students headed to Paris to compete in the International Genetically Engineering Machines (iGEM) competition. They placed in the top 10 of the overgraduate category, and also received awards for the best model and best entrepreneurship — their best performance to date.
São José do Rio Preto, Brazil
Over the summer of 2024, Paulo Maia Cortellazzi (Year 3 MechE) spent four months working as a Development Engineering Intern for Braile Biomedica, where he designed a new hand crank system for an extracorporeal circulation machine. He is one of more than 990 students who completed PEY Co-op placements in the past year, including many outside of Canada.
Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean
Alumna Melodie Schaffer (ChemE 9T1, MASc 9T4) is the first Canadian woman to complete a round-the-world sailing race, earning her the 2023 Canadian Rolex sailor of the year award, the 2024 Gerry Roufs Canadian Offshore Sailor award and the inaugural Women in Sport award for 2024. In March, she was Dean Yip’s guest on Tell Me More: Coffee With Chris, the official podcast of U of T Engineering.
Pedro Arauz, Nicaragua
A long-standing partnership between Wind of Change Canada, a charity led by engineer John Shoust, and the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) continues to provide students with hands-on global experiences and the chance to witness the impact of their work in underprivileged communities, including Pedro Arauz, Nicaragua.
Berekuso, Ghana
Jennifer Akaade and Theophilus Ofori both joined the Master of Engineering program at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in September 2024. They both received a Mastercard Foundation scholarship, which aims to further education, leadership, and skill development for young people from Africa, while working to address systemic barriers in higher education.