Session 18

Exploring the "E" in STEM with the Engineering Change Lab

The Engineering Change Lab seeks to explore how Canada will respond to the ever increasing demand for highly skilled engineers in society. The 40 participants on the Engineering Change Lab meet to focus discussions on a variety of topics including a focus group dedicated to exploring K-12 Education. A sub-committee for K-12 Education works to develop potential resources and opportunities to explore the "E" in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in K-12 classrooms. The Durham District School Board is an active participant of the Engineering Change Lab with Lisa Lim-Cole as one of the co-chairs for the K-12 Education initiative. The Engineering Change Lab consists of Deans of Faculties of Engineering from across Canada, Industry representation, students and government agencies. Engineers Canada and Engineers WIthout Borders have initiated this powerful call to action for the engineering profession.

Biography

Mary Wells is a professor of materials in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Mary holds a PhD in metals and materials engineering from the University of British Columbia. Mary is the chair of the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering (ONWiE), a network that links the sixteen schools and faculties of engineering across Ontario together with the common goal of increasing the participation of women in the engineering profession. In this role she overseas initiatives related to encouraging girls in elementary and secondary school to consider careers in engineering and science through programs including Go ENG Girl, Go CODE Girl, and Guides Badge Day. For her advocacy and commitment to outreach programs and promotion of women in engineering and science, Mary was profiled in the 2012 National Engineering Month "30 in 30" campaign, which highlighted inspirational women, and on the We Teach Ontario website. She has an established reputation as a leader who understands and promotes a diversity of perspectives and approaches in the engineering profession. Mary became the President of the Metallurgy and Materials Society (MetSoc) of CIM in 2015.

Lisa Lim-Cole has been teaching physics since September 2000. She has recently accepted a position as the Science and Technology Program Facilitator for Durham District School Board. She obtained her physics degree from McGill University and completed her Bachelor of Education degree at Queen’s University. Lisa is also the Eastern Ontario Teacher Network Coordinator for The Perimeter Institute’s Outreach Program, which works to provide workshops for physics teachers. Lisa is a passionate science educator who is inspired by the people she works with and the students she encounters. Let's foster curiosity!

Franz is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering. He holds a Ph.D. from the department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Southampton (UK), and was a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in Toulouse (France). He spent many years in the space industry in Europe and Canada working in space simulation, operations and mission analysis, before joining York in the summer of 2015. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Space Operations and Support Technical Committee, and an associate fellow of the AIAA.