USask Engineering Spring 2023 Convocation Award Winners

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Why did you choose your discipline?
I chose mechanical engineering because of my interest in aerospace engineering, which developed early in high school thanks to a love of aviation and space. Mechanical engineering gave me the opportunity to learn the fundamental theories underlying aircraft aerodynamics and propulsion systems, the two fields I am most interested in pursuing.

What was your favourite class?
My favourite class is without a doubt the introductory fluid mechanics course from the second year of my degree. It was the first in-depth look at the behaviour of fluids that could be applied to the design of aircraft and rockets. Having been curious about this for a long time I found it fascinating. I also found myself enjoying the assignments, where every question felt like a bit of a puzzle.

What was your go-to snack when studying?
My go-to snack was always whatever baking happened to be around the house. Whether that meant bread, cookies, or brownies, it is safe to assume I was eating it in-between assignments. 

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
Turkish March by Mozart, which I often played on the piano in the Arts Building. 

What advice would you give your first-year self?
Strike a balance between your schoolwork, life and extracurriculars, like the University of Saskatchewan Space Team. Despite my success I would like to have taken some time off from school to relax and enjoy the college experience more often than I did. Finally, try not to stress about every assignment. Perfection is impossible and making a couple little mistakes is not the end of the world.

Hometown: Kelvington, Saskatchewan

Why did you choose your discipline?
After my first year of engineering, I knew that I wanted a career that would involve hands-on, technical work. As a chemical engineers typically have more opportunity to work on industrial sites, such as mines and production plants, it seemed like the best fit for me. 

What was your favourite class?
My favourite class was mineral processing, which I took in my final year. After having completed an internship at a potash mine, I could clearly understand why I was learning certain information and how I could apply it to actual problems. Having a professor who works in industry also gave much desired insight to the class discussions.

What was your go-to snack when studying?
Trail mix, bananas, and iced coffee; to fuel up and stay awake!

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
Queen - ayokay & Quinn XCII

What advice would you give your first-year self?
Learning how to prioritize assignments/studying and manage your time properly will be the most impactful way to improve your university career, including outside of school. Managing your workload efficiently allows you to maintain good academic standing while also being able to enjoy your time away from school on breaks and weekends.

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Why did you choose your discipline?
Part of the reason I decided to choose civil engineering as my discipline is that it is a very diverse field that can provide you with many different opportunities. I was also interested in being a part of projects, big and small, that can make a positive impact on the world. 

What was your favourite class?
One of my favourite classes was CE 415 (Structures for Water Management). I enjoyed learning about some of the practical applications of the theory we’ve been learning, and I believe that water management is going to continue to be an important field in the future. 

What was your go-to snack when studying? Pretzels

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
Way Down We Go by KALEO

What advice would you give your first-year self?
Study hard, but don’t forget to take time to enjoy yourself. Try to get started on big projects and labs right away, and don’t leave homework until the last minute. Getting a full night’s rest each day is crucial. It’s also important to build a support network of family and friends that you can lean on. 

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Why did you choose your discipline?
I've always been interested in computers and digital circuits, so I thought computer engineering would be the best fit for me. Specifically, I thought it would be better than a computer science degree, as I wanted more exposure to hardware in addition to software.

What was your favourite class?
My favourite class throughout my degree was, without a doubt, EE465: Design of a DSP System. This spectacular class pulled together all the concepts that we had learned in the digital signal processing (DSP) stream and allowed us to design a system for a real-world design problem with a fair amount of independence. I would definitely recommend taking the DSP stream if you're considering it!

What was your go-to snack when studying?
Popcorn is definitely my snack of choice, though I used snacks as an opportunity to take a study break since I don't want my notes to get dirty.

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
あの世行きのバスに乗ってさらば by the band ツユ. I learned about them during third year, and they've become my favourite band.

What advice would you give your first-year self?
The advice I would have for my first-year self would be to get involved in student design groups earlier. I joined the USST (University of Saskatchewan Space Design Team) in second year and it was a bunch of fun to work on the cubesat project, however I wish that I had joined earlier since I would have had much more free time to help contribute to the project then as opposed to later years where classes get a lot more busy.

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Why did you choose your discipline?
Reliance on electricity is ever-increasing, so I thought it would be a good field with long-term applications. Electricity was also always kind of a mystery to me, so I was interested in learning more about it. I also didn’t really want to think in three dimensions that much, like I would have to in something like mechanical or civil.

What was your favourite class?
This might be recency bias, but EE441 is the first class that comes to mind. Professor Faried’s energy and humour made it a memorable class I always looked forward to. The content was also interesting, as faults are something that engineers will always need to be aware of. My favourite non-engineering class would probably be HIST243 (The Reverberations of the Industrial Revolution 1750 to  Today), as Professor Clifford was incredibly knowledgeable and always seemed to know how to make students thrive in his class.

What was your go-to snack when studying?
Can’t go wrong with a giant water bottle and some Wow Pizza. Flaming Wok and Harvey’s poutine get a shoutout as well.

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
Good Morning – Kanye West

What advice would you give your first-year self?
To-do apps are a big help for organizing and prioritizing deadlines. Copying down in-class examples helps make sure you have something to refer to during assignments and can serve as extra practice while studying. The market is going to crash halfway through your third year so make sure you have your TFSA set up before then. The computer science dual degree and the internship program are both worth doing. 

Hometown: Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

Why did you choose your discipline?
In our first-year General Engineering class, we had speakers come in to talk about different disciplines. I still remember distinctly the selling bit for Engineering Physics was that it built a strong foundation of understanding for works at the cutting edge of technology. I was sold. It also helps that I love physics.

What was your favourite class?
As much of a cliche as it sounds, I enjoyed most of the courses so much that it is hard to choose a favourite. Each brings something very different to the table but still complements each other so well to give me a well-rounded education. Some standouts for me are EP 428 (computational physics; I love programming and physics), EP 413 (instrumentation; extremely fun hands-on projects), PHYS 381/481 (quantum mechanics; challenging but rewarding), and EE 232 (digital electronics; it's like puzzle solving!).

What was your go-to snack when studying?
Potato chips. My favourite is Old Dutch's Sour Cream & Green Onion (but Costco has stopped selling them🙁).

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
Shotgun (by George Ezra but I like the cover by Us the Duo) and sometimes Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo.

What advice would you give your first-year self?
I was (and still am) always anxious to get things done to the point of overloading myself and burning out. I would tell myself to take it easy and enjoy the moments. First-year me would be relieved to know that she would end up doing amazing things she was too scared to.

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Why did you choose your discipline?
I chose Environmental Engineering because I enjoy design, math, and natural sciences and wanted to integrate those into a meaningful career that would also give me the opportunity to prioritize environmental stewardship and sustainability.

What was your favourite class?
My favourite class was ENVE-478: Contaminated Site Remediation Engineering because it was challenging and integrated all of my favourite subjects into one class. The professor also taught it in a way that really suited my learning style and allowed me to easily build class concepts onto each other.

What was your go-to snack when studying?
My go-to study snacks were hummus with vegetables and yogurt with granola.

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
There isn't really one specific song that will remind me of this stage in my life, but many of the dance songs played at our student society events will probably bring me back when I hear them.

What advice would you give your first-year self?
I would tell myself that building relationships is one of the most important parts of this program and the university experience. Everything from making friends through student groups, working together with your peers, and getting to know your professors will make you feel more supported and fulfilled and possibly even help you build your career. Don't take any relationship for granted.

Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Why did you choose your discipline?
I started out in civil but about one month into a geological engineering course I realized that rocks and dirt are far more interesting than steel and concrete, so I decided to switch over to geo.

What was your favourite class?
My favourite class was probably geotechnical modelling (CE 466), it brought together many concepts learned in previous geotech courses and taught me skills that I use on a daily basis in my current job with Hatch.

What was your go-to snack when studying?
Chips and popcorn. 

What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
I Like to ROCK

What advice would you give your first-year self?
Find a group of friends taking the same classes as you and do your homework together. Don’t spend too much time studying! Going outside and doing something active is going to be much more beneficial than wasting another hour staring at a math problem you can’t solve.