McMaster Engineering celebrates the end to another academic year. Here are five Mac Eng students to watch from the President of the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Society to Mac Eng’s first Cansbridge Fellow.
Solving Big Problems: Leisha Fernando [Mechanical]
Why She’s One to Watch: As a critical thinker, Leisha has made her mark in creative design ideas. She has completed co-ops at WSP Global as a building science consultant and a mechanical design engineer. She’s also been titled Mechanical Contractor Association of America (MCAA) Student Chapter Champion and Most Valuable Presenter of the MCAA competition. At McMaster, she was a community solutions designer for MacChangers as well as a participant in the Nexus Energy Case Competition.
Define “Success”: “Success is being excited about waking up and doing what you do because you’ve found something you’re truly passionate about. Success is being able to achieve things you once thought were not attainable for yourself.”
Fireball Awards: Raymond Ma [Eng I]
Why He’s One to Watch: With his first year in McMaster Engineering completed, Raymond is committed to becoming a leader in STEM. Over the summer, Raymond and his team developed and instructed a hands-on, robotics-focused curriculum for students at an elementary school in Taiwan. Since coming to university, Raymond participated in multiple hackathons, joined the McMaster’s Medical Engineering Design Team and is an outreach communication assistant with the Faculty of Engineering. Raymond continuously finds ways to give back to the McMaster Engineering community. At this year’s Fireball, Raymond also received the Image of an Engineer Award by the McMaster Engineering Society (MES).
Motto: “You never know when a great opportunity will ever come back. Be spontaneous.”
Leading Community Change: Sarah Cushnie [iBioMed]
Why She’s One to Watch: Sarah is committed to making a difference in her community by responding to conflict with innovative solutions. Her love for asking questions makes her a great engineer, researcher and emerging community leader. Since starting her undergraduate degree, Sarah has been involved in two research projects: one focused on 3D printed bioresorbable stents and the other on sustainable production of steel through the hydrogen-based reduction of iron ore. Along with being on the Provost’s Honour Roll, she has received the Materials Fellowship Award and the 2022 NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA). She continuously gives back to the McMaster community in her role as President of the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Society and as a mentor with the McMaster Engineering Society (MES).
Vision: “I hope to make a difference in the world, whether on a large scale or just in a small community of individuals.”
Cansbridge Fellowship: Irenaeus Wong [Materials]
Why He’s One to Watch: Despite taking a less traditional path during his time at McMaster Engineering, Irenaeus Wong has been heavily involved in the McMaster community, with impressive accomplishments to add to his professional portfolio. Irenaeus Wong is also Mac Eng’s first Cansbridge Fellow. This summer, Irenaeus will have the opportunity to experience a summer internship in Asia, attend a week-long conference in Silicon Valley and join the Cansbridge network. Additionally, Irenaeus has also founded the Computational Materials Society (CMS) and Materials Engineering Hackathon (MATLS Hacks). Read his Fireball diary here!
Advice for Students: “Take risks and pursue opportunities in unfamiliar situations. It is impossible to avoid failure, but if your pursuits have the potential for systematic positive change, it is certainly worth the attempt.”
On the International Stage: Arielle Ainabe [EngPhys]
Why She’s One to Watch: Even as an emerging STEM leader, Arielle has already been to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), where she made her first appearance in 2017 for her project on using piezoelectric crystals to harness ocean energy. Through this project, she explored clean energy production for sustainable future use. Since then, she has been to ISEF two more times. She is currently part of McMaster NEUDOSE, where she is learning what it is like to work in the space industry. Read about her involvement with McMaster NEUDOSE and her current projects here! She hopes to use her future engineering degree to continue working on problems that inspire her and help others.
Favourite Course: “I really like my circuits courses where I’ve learned the theory behind how things work. It was very useful in my last internship because I did a lot of electrical work there.”
