When Janet Loebach, BEng Scty ’97, served as McMaster Engineering Society’s inaugural president in 1997, she set her sights on the future. Technology was evolving quickly, and as the world was becoming more fast-paced, she saw a growing need—particularly for new engineers entering the workforce—to be learning with the latest equipment, methods and techniques.
Following the lead of other universities, Loebach pitched the idea that a $50 donation from each McMaster engineering student per year, added to their tuition payment and with the option to opt out, would be enough to ensure increased exposure to the most recent developments in their fields of study. The McMaster Laboratory Advancement Benefaction Endowment Fund, or the MacLAB Endowment Fund, would be available to both students and faculty, but students would lead the initiative and would be required to be involved in the decision-making process for fund distribution.
That was 25 years ago. Today, what started as a humble student-led, student-funded program has grown into an established endowment fund of approximately $5.5 million. Over $1 million in project funding from the interest of the fund has been disbursed over two decades, supporting everything from upgraded labs and spaces for collaboration, like the Faculty’s Design Studio, to equipment for improved nuclear experiments, automated 3D printers, laser cutters, milling machines and more.
“Anyone within the Faculty of Engineering can apply for financial aid to upgrade their laboratory facilities or to fund special projects benefiting their undergraduate student body,” said Sharon Cai, a third-year Mechatronics and Biomedical Engineering student and current MacLAB Chair. In her role, she presides over the MacLAB Board of Directors which is comprised entirely of student representatives. Cai facilitates discussions regarding the allocation of funding, promotes the fund and administers the opt-out period on behalf of the McMaster Engineering Society.
One of the many students who have benefitted from the fund is Alisa Neang, who is in her final year of Mechanical Engineering & Society at McMaster and regularly used the Design Studio Space for her work: “The availability of MacLAB endowment funds for anyone in the Faculty of Engineering—both students and staff—ensures we are always using cutting-edge technology, contributing to a high-quality education and strong employability for generations of engineering students to come,” she said.
Our fireball family thrives on collaboration and the support of our mentors and our peers. I’m not at all surprised by the spirit of generosity among our students.
Cai hopes to raise more awareness about this student-led fund with the goal of continued success for the next 25 years, and beyond. “We’d like to put plaques on the equipment that’s been funded by MacLAB,” she said. “In this field, things change so quickly, and we want everyone in the Faculty of Engineering to know that there is real value in having access to the latest technology.”
Ten years ago, Loebach, who is now the Evalyn Edwards Milman Assistant Professor in Child Development in the Department of Human Centered Design at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, returned to McMaster for an alumni event and enquired as to whether the fund was still operational.
“Going into it, we were really concerned about the sustainability of the fund. But we had good student leaders to start and the Faculty really picked up the ball and helped cement it,” she said. “When I discovered it had grown so significantly and was providing so much value to the Faculty of Engineering, I was stupefied. I’m just really thrilled with its success.”
