Staff recognized with 2025 Dean’s Awards for Excellence

Staff recognized with 2025 Dean’s Awards for Excellence

September 3, 2025

Three staff win 2025 Dean's Awards for Excellence.

Reflecting their outstanding contributions, Department of Mechanical Engineering staff members Sisi Zhou, Sarah Clayton, and Ed Pitt-Brooke have been awarded 2025 Dean’s Staff Awards for Excellence.  The Faculty of Applied Science Awards recognize their commitment to service in the respective categories of Early Career Excellence, Inclusive Leadership, and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Indigeneity.

The Dean’s Awards for Excellence recognize six staff members and three faculty members across APSC units across both UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses, and the 2025 awardees are from Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, the School of Engineering (UBCO), Engineering Academic Services and the School of Community and Regional Planning. Congratulations to all the 2025 recipients!

Early Career Excellence

Sisi Zhou, Manager, Human Resources

“Sisi embodies everything the Early Career Excellence Award stands for: initiative, creativity, accountability, and a deep commitment to making our workplace better for everyone.”

While only joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering two years ago, Sisi Zhou has made an outsized impact. Her proactive approach to her work has led to improved HR processes, from staff training to teaching assistant hiring. She provides outstanding support for her department, and her positive attitude brings out the best in those around her.

Notably, Zhou makes mental health a priority in the workplace. She secured funding through the UBC Healthy Workplace Initiative Program for two educational mental health workshops for faculty and staff. She also established a mental health corner in the office that has become well-used and well-loved. Zhou’s leadership and support in the area have made a lasting impact with her colleagues.

Inclusive Leadership

Sarah Clayton, Manager, Student Services

“Sarah is exceptionally supportive and is dedicated to student, staff, and faculty well-being. She encourages her staff to follow her example so that we can all contribute to improving the student experience in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Science at UBC.”

A leader and mentor to those in her department, Sarah Clayton exemplifies the values of resilience, agility and creativity. She fosters a culture of collaboration and support among students, staff and faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. While navigating the challenges posed by the transition to Workday Student, Clayton maintained an atmosphere of teamwork and recognition. She consistently inspires staff to meet challenges with the friendliness and empathy she demonstrates.

Clayton is notably considerate of the experiences of everyone she works with, whether they are fellow staff members or brand-new transfer students. In particular, she and her team have created an environment for students from historically underrepresented groups to find a sense of belonging in the Mechanical Engineering community. Her leadership is instrumental in the department’s ability to offer a high-level of support and a positive experience for both faculty and staff.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Indigeneity

Amelia “Ed” Pitt-Brooke, Communications & Community Engagement Officer

“[Ed lives] their life leading by example, both at UBC and in their local communities, and their active engagement in our work has made Mech and Engineering a more welcoming, equitable, and inclusive place to be.”

A strong commitment to advancing the values of EDI.I is evident in all aspects of Ed Pitt-Brooke’s work. In a position that requires interacting with a wide variety of communities, Pitt-Brooke is adept at ensuring they feel safe, supported and respected. They are a founding member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity committee, representing the staff at large.

Pitt-Brooke has made a particular contribution to how impact is measured in the department. They consistently seek ways to make events and processes more accessible, and they are not afraid to challenge existing barriers. In addition to their work at UBC, they are a co-founder of and Print Designer for Cor Flammae, a queer art chorus. In all their activities, Pitt-Brooke is a champion of EDI.I in the community.

Research projects advancing solutions for a sustainable BC receive Peter Wall Legacy Awards

August 26, 2025

Dr. Alexandra Tavasoli, Dr. Dominic Liao-McPherson, Dr. Amanda Giang, Dr. Mauricio Ponga

The 2025 Peter Wall Legacy Awards have been announced, with multiple UBC Mechanical Engineering researchers receiving support for their work exploring sustainable solutions in decarbonization, energy resilience, and waste reduction through circular economies.  Wall Research Awards for faculty have been awarded to projects by Dr. Alexandra Tavasoli, who received an Individual Faculty Award, and by interdisciplinary research teams including Dr. Amanda Giang, Dr. Dominic Liao-McPherson, and Dr. Mauricio Ponga through the program’s Team Faculty Awards.

Established through a generous endowment by Dr. Peter Wall, the prestigious Wall Legacy Awards support innovative research by UBC faculty members and graduate students that moves British Columbia towards a sustainable future. The awards focus on work addressing key areas of sustainable development of urban infrastructure, environmental protection of oceans and waterfronts, and sustainable approaches to resource-intensive industry.

Two Wall Fellowships are the program’s flagship awards, providing $1,000,000 to support the ongoing work of outstanding faculty member research and service contributions in this area, and this year’s recipients are Dr. Melissa McHale (UBC Forestry) and Dr. Lisa Tobber (UBCO School of Engineering). Additional Wall Research Awards for faculty provide funding for future projects by individual faculty researchers or teams of three to five, while awards for graduate students support master’s or doctoral students pursuing thesis or dissertation work in the awards’ areas of interest.

Developing community-based solutions for decarbonization, energy resilience, and a circular economy

Projects involving UBC Mechanical Engineering research are investigating several of the Wall Legacy Awards’ areas of focus. Their work will explore ways BC communities and industries can implement new technologies to sustainably address local concerns: expanding access to sustainable residential cooling in a warming province, creating community-based solutions to increasing demand for electricity, finding economic solutions in the agricultural sector by transforming waste water into fertilizer, and addressing BC’s net-zero transportation challenges by creating a roadmap for electric vehicle battery recycling.

SHADE: Solar Hybrid Air-Conditioning for Decarbonized Environments

This project responds to the growing need for sustainable cooling technologies as climate change increases the frequency of severe heat events. Building on an existing initiative led by UBC’s Dr. Liv Yoon that examines the intersecting challenges of extreme heat, housing equity, and public health, a solar-driven air conditioning system that uses heat from the sun to drive space cooling will be co-designed alongside residents of a supportive housing community in Metro Vancouver. Placing priority on the use of safe, easily obtainable materials and designs intended for community-led implementation, this project will demonstrate a new transdisciplinary model for low-risk, human-centered engineering design that can accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy.

Securing a community-led, sustainable, and resilient energy future for BC

  • Team: Dr. Tarun Khanna (Lead PI | UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs), Dr. Christine Chen (Electrical and Computer Engineering, UBCV), Dr. Dominic Liao-McPherson, (Mechanical Engineering, UBCV)

British Columbia faces growing challenges to its hydroelectric-based electricity system, including rising energy demand, climate-induced droughts, and ecological concerns about large dams. To address these issues, community energy offers a promising solution, allowing individuals to become “prosumers” who both use and generate electricity through technologies like solar panels and battery storage. These innovations enable the creation of community-led virtual power plants (cVPPs), promoting equitable access, inclusive participation, and sustainable energy solutions. This interdisciplinary project explores the social, policy, technical, and economic factors involved in developing decentralized, community-driven energy systems, aiming to build resilient, sustainable, and locally driven solutions for BC’s evolving energy needs.

Upcycling agricultural waste water from the Fraser Valley into fertilizer using renewable electricity

  • Team: Dr. Eric Lees (Lead PI | Chemical and Biological Engineering, UBCV), Dr. Elod Gyenge (Chemical and Biological Engineering, UBCV), Dr. Mauricio Ponga (Mechanical Engineering, UBCV)

Agriculture drives the Fraser Valley’s economy, generating $3.8 billion in 2022, but faces challenges from nitrate contamination and rising fertilizer costs. Ammonia fertilizers, essential for crop growth, decomposes into nitrate, polluting groundwater like the Abbotsford-Sumas Aquifer. Fertilizer prices also surged by 80% in 2022, threatening profitability of the agriculture industry. This research aims to develop a sustainable, closed-loop system using renewable electricity to convert nitrate waste back into useful ammonia fertilizer. Objectives include modelling to design efficient catalysts and reactors, 3D printing of electrochemical reactors, and evaluating the economic and social impacts of nitrate-to-ammonia conversion in the Fraser Valley.

BATTERY-MAP (Management, Assessment & Policy): A Strategic Framework for Second-Life and Recycling of EV Lithium-Ion Batteries

  • Team: Dr. Jian Liu (Lead PI | Mechanical Engineering at UBCO School of Engineering), Dr. Amanda Giang, (Mechanical Engineering and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBCV), Dr. Mauricio Ponga (Mechanical Engineering, UBCV)

The global transition to net-zero transportation is accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption, leading to a surge in end-of-life (EOL) lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as their capacity declines below 80%. These batteries contain critical, costly, scarce minerals and pose significant environmental risks if improperly disposed of. This research focuses on developing a degradation model to assess the potential of repurposing EOL LIBs for second-life energy storage or recycling. The results will inform a decision model to guide policymakers in sustainable battery management. The study supports global efforts in urban sustainability, environmental protection, and the circular economy, offering a strategic roadmap for managing EOL LIBs in British Columbia.

Congratulations to Drs. Giang, Liao-McPherson, Ponga and Tavasoli, and to all the 2025 Wall Legacy Award recipients advancing sustainability through research!

Student Experience: Past president of Formula UBC Racing talks about designing and building cars – and the importance of non-technical skills

August 20, 2025

UBC Formula SAE car.

This article is from UBC Engineering Student and Alumni Spotlights.Photo Credit: UBC Formula Racing

“There’s more than one way to have a great UBC experience and UBC has a lot to offer no matter what your interests.”

Dan Look

How did you become interested in engineering?

After high school I took science and humanities courses at Douglas College to figure out what I wanted to do as a career. At the same time, my true passion was working on my project car over a period of several years, which often got me wondering about the different components and how and why they’d been engineered in certain ways. My physics professor at Douglas College was enthusiastic about engineering, which led me to look into different pathways I could take to study engineering at UBC. I ended up enrolling in Langara’s Engineering Transfer Program.

Engineering Transfer Program

 

How was your experience at Langara?

I enjoyed it a lot. The classes were small, and the professors were easy to talk to and seemed to really care about your learning. It was straightforward to transfer into second year at UBC.

 

How did you choose mechanical engineering?

I was looking through the course catalogue to decide which program I was most interested in. I knew I wanted to work in the automotive industry, but you can do that through lots of different programs, including electrical, materials and manufacturing.

But when I read about MECH 478, a course on the internal combustion engine, I knew mechanical engineering was for me.

I’d been working on my car’s engine for a long time, and I was excited that there was a course completely focused on engines. Wanting to take this course is also what led me to choose thermofluids as my specialization within mechanical.

MECH 478 is a fourth-year course, so I was not able to take it until later on in my degree. It was great experience — Dr. Patrick Kirchen is a great prof and very inspiring.

Dr. Patrick Kirchen

 

You’ve been very involved in Formula UBC Racing and served as captain in 2024-2025. Why did you join the team?

I want to work in automotive engineering, so I joined Formula UBC Racing in my first year at UBC to gain additional practical experience and grow my professional network. In 2021 I started as a member of the drivetrain team (this team has since been absorbed into the engine team). My first year was positive – I became familiar with the car and while I didn’t do too much design work or building, I helped out where I could.

Formula UBC Racing

 

How has the car evolved over the last few years?

After my first year, we made changes to almost every single system of the car. Although there was good engineering behind these systems, good engineering alone doesn’t make for a good car.

We switched to a carbon fibre monocoque so it’s all one piece and we remade a lot of the powertrain and suspension systems.

Over each successive year in international competitions, we’ve grown a lot as a team and learned about things to watch out for that can easily end your chances in a competition.

 

How did things go in the FSAE Michigan competition in 2025?

Formula SAE Michigan is a yearly event that brings together teams of university students from across the world to compete at the Michigan International Speedway. It’s a great experience and all the big automotive companies are there, creating many opportunities to have one-on-one time with engineers who are leaders in their fields.

You can learn a lot talking with the judges, who offer insightful critiques of your designs and provide useful feedback.

This year was my fourth competition and first as captain. Our car easily passed the technical inspections on day one and the dynamic inspections on day two. The third day marked the first time since 2022 our team has competed in acceleration, skidpad and autocross, and we scored a good amount of points before heading into the endurance event. On the final day during endurance, we unfortunately had a steering column failure that forced us to retire the car in lap eight of ten. Although disappointing, this year marked UBC’s best performance in the current decade.

One thing that made our car unique was the livery, which was applied by Tycrop Manufacturing, our title sponsor for the year. The pink tiger stripe on our car certainly helped it stand out – the CEO of SAE International came up to us to tell us how much she loved the car! (Check out our Instagram page for photos of our car in action.)

We also won GM’s Everybody In award from GM for our strong commitment to safety, inclusivity and sustainability initiatives.

Formula SAE Michigan   Tycrop Manufacturing   Instagram page

 

What skills have you developed from being on this team?

When you are part of a design team you learn a lot of technical skills . However, after I became a lead in my second year on the team, I realized that designing and building a car is as much a technical challenge as it is a project management and people management challenge.

You need to figure out how you can create an effective team culture that will allow you to build the individual systems and integrate them into the car by specific deadlines and within budget. Given that this is also a student-led, student-driven project, as a leader you need to figure out how to keep people motivated and on track. The answer to that is different for each member of the team, and it’s the leader’s responsibility to figure out what each person’s connection is to the team and to keep everyone together as a unit pushing forward.

 

What’s planned for next year?

I’ll be co-captain of the team next year, along with Conor Dee, who was our suspension lead this year. I really believe this car and our team can be a top 20 team. We just need to get that extra level of reliability.

 

Any advice for incoming students? 

I think there’s a common misconception that you absolutely have to join a design team and that you need to do so in first year. I don’t think that’s true at all. Being part of a design team certainly improved my university experience, but that’s not true for everyone.

You might be more interested in your courses or research opportunities, or may want to join non-engineering clubs or just be active on campus in whatever way is good for you. There’s more than one way to have a great UBC experience and UBC has a lot to offer no matter what your interests.

Find me on: LinkedIn

NSERC 2025 – Doctoral Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships Q&A sessions

August 20, 2025

NSERC is hosting the following information sessions for the doctoral and postdoctoral programs:

These sessions will be hosted as live Q&A MS teams meetings. The program descriptions are available online and we are currently reviewing the tutorial videos on the NSERC YouTube channel. Before attending a session, participants must read the relevant program description and come prepared with their questions.

Please attend any of the sessions that best suits your schedule. Registration is not required to attend a session.

Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowships – Apply by Oct 10, 2025 (8 AM)

August 11, 2025

Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

The UBC Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are provided annually from the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fund for Advanced Studies and are available for most fields of research. The number of awards offered presently varies between four and six per year.

Value: Annual stipend of $60,000 for a maximum of two years.

The application and nomination process is briefly summarized below. Refer to the Application Guide and Nomination Guide posted on our Killam webpage for complete details.

UBC Vancouver (UBC-V)

  • Please submit your complete application package to admissions@mech.ubc.ca by 8AM on Friday, October 10, 2025. Reference letters directly sent by the referees must also be received before the above deadline.
  • Each department or unit at the Vancouver campus may forward one nominee to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
  • UBC-V contact: Enquiries about the Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowship can be directed to killam.fellowships@ubc.ca

For complete application and nomination details, as well as detailed eligibility requirements, refer to our webpage. Please visit: https://www.postdocs.ubc.ca/award/killam-postdoctoral-research-fellowship.

 

Prof. Agnes d’Entremont named Associate Dean of EDI and Student Success

August 8, 2025

Dr. Agnes d'Entremont has been named Applied Science Associate Dean EDI & Student Success.The Faculty of Applied Science has announced Dr. Agnes d’Entremont as their new Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) and Student Success. Over the past year, Dr. d’Entremont held the role of Associate Dean pro tem, EDI, and this new appointment will bring her on to the APSC leadership team for a full three-year term in an expanded role that links the need to advance priorities in EDI and Indigeneity with serving students in the connected areas of outreach, recruitment, reputation, student engagement and success.

As a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Educational Leadership team, Dr. d’Entremont’s research in engineering pedagogy has sought to expand access to engineering education and reduce barriers in the areas of gender inequality, financial background, and disability. She has championed the creation of freely accessible open educational resources and the engagement of women and girls in STEM topics. As a former coordinator of our integrated and award-winning Mech 2 program, she has a first-hand understanding of student needs and the challenges they face as they pursue an engineering education – not just in their studies and access to resources, but the impacts on their mental health and wellbeing. As co-developer of the Mech 2 EDI curriculum and throughout her teaching practice Dr. d’Entremont invites students to consider the practical applications of EDI.I concepts and examine who they are designing for, illustrating how assumptions or unintended bias in data or design choices can restrict how different users will experience the final product – such as how automotive crash testing originally used only dummies based off male cadavers, leading to decades of higher injury rates for women. Beyond her teaching and scholarship, she has mentored students and served on the department’s EDI.I committee since its founding, contributing to EDI.I training, policy, and support for students, faculty, and staff at UBC Mechanical Engineering.

This new APSC leadership role will allow Dr. d’Entremont to build on the initiatives she started as Associate Dean pro tem, where she worked to improve outreach, create events and workshops, and strengthen connections with Indigenous communities. These included new programming around anti-oppression, disability, and Black Excellence, helping to advance the Indigenous STEM Bridging Program, expanding connections with other STEM Faculties at UBC to collaborate on EDI.I goals.

As part of changes to their leadership portfolios, the Faculty of Applied Science also welcomes Dr. Vicky Bungay as the new Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Students. We would like to thank UBC Mechanical Engineering Professor Walter Mérida for his dedicated service over the past eight years as the Associate Dean, Research and Industrial Partnerships, where he has worked tirelessly to advance APSC innovation from both Vancouver and Okanagan campuses and expand our industry, government, and community collaborations.

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC CGS Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements – Apply by Sep 12, 2025

July 31, 2025

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC CGS Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements – Fall 2025 Competition

G+PS Details: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarship-michael-smith-foreign-study-supplement

The Canada Graduate Scholarships – Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement (CGS-MSFSS) Program supports high-caliber Canadian graduate students in building global linkages and international networks through the pursuit of exceptional research experiences at research institutions abroad. By accessing international scientific research and training, CGS-MSFSS recipients will contribute to strengthening the potential for collaboration between Canadian and foreign institutions.

  • Applicant eligibility: Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents who hold a Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC) Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) at the Master’s or doctoral level or a Vanier CGS. Please note that international students who hold a Vanier CGS are not eligible for this award. SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship holders and NSERC PGSD holders are also not eligible (as they do not hold a “CGS”).
  • Award Value: Up to $6,000 for 2 to 6 months research study abroad
  • Application deadline: 4:00 pm PT on September 12, 2025, to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Applicants apply directly to G+PS)

Note: The MSFSS program is expected to be rebranded and relaunched as part of the new harmonized Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS) in 2026.

For further details about this competition, such as application procedures, please visit: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarship-michael-smith-foreign-study-supplement

For questions about application and review procedures, please contact Joanne Tsui at joanne.tsui@ubc.ca.

Defence: Rui Gao – Sep 3, 2025 | 12:30 PM | Zoom – “A Graph Neural Network Framework for Simulating Unsteady Fluid Flow and Fluid-Structure Interaction”

July 31, 2025

Student name: Rui Gao

Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Time: 12:30 PM

Location: Zoom*

Title: “A Graph Neural Network Framework for Simulating Unsteady Fluid Flow and Fluid-Structure Interaction”

*Those who wish to attend should contact G+PS at graduate.doctoral@ubc.ca for the link.

Defence: Indu Kant Deo – Aug 7, 2025 | 1 PM | CEME 2202 – “Physics-Guided Deep Learning for Dynamical Systems: Applications to Fluid Flow and Ocean Acoustics”

July 30, 2025

Student name: Indu Kant Deo

Date: Thursday, August 7, 2025

Time: 1:00 PM

Location: Room 2202, CEME Building (6250 Applied Science Lane)

Title: “Physics-Guided Deep Learning for Dynamical Systems: Applications to Fluid Flow and Ocean Acoustics”

Tri-Agency Canada Graduate Research Scholarships – Doctoral (CGRS D) – Apply by Sept 9, 2025

July 14, 2025

Tri-Agency Canada Graduate Research Scholarships – Doctoral (CGRS D)

As announced in March 2025, the Tri-Agencies have launched the new Harmonized Tri-Agency Scholarship and Fellowship program, the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS). The inaugural doctoral student fellowship program, the Tri-Agency Canada Graduate Research Scholarships – Doctoral (CGRS D), is now open for applicants to the Fall 2025 competition (funding to commence in Fall 2026). The 2026-2027 Affiliated Fellowships – Doctoral competition will also be run in conjunction with the new CGRS D competition.

Both UBC’s internal webpage and the Tri-Agency program page have been updated with information on the new competition:

Important Changes

There are significant changes to the new competition, so please read the following information carefully:

1. What are UBC’s competition deadlines?

  • Applicant deadline to apply through UBC for the Tri Agency CGRS D and Affiliated Fellowships – Doctoral competitions is Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at 12:00 noon PT

2. How do students apply through UBC?

Applicants applying through UBC will either be:

  • currently registered in, or are on an approved leave of absence from, a degree program at UBC (domestic and international students).
  • not currently registered anywhere but were registered at any time during the year of application (2025) in a degree program at UBC (domestic students only).

Please consult the “Where to submit an application” section of the Application Procedures information on the CGRS D program page.

Applications will be submitted via each of the agency platforms, similar to the past application procedures for CGSD. The application portals are now open and applicants may begin preparing their applications:

3. How do apply for the Affiliated Fellowships – Doctoral Competition?

Applicants who are eligible for the CGRS D will be automatically considered for Affiliated Fellowships – Doctoral competition. There is no longer a separate application pathway for the Affiliated Fellowship competition; to be considered for Affiliated Fellowship funding, applicants must meet all eligibility requirements for the CGRS D and submit a CGRS D application.

To be considered for a selection of criteria-based Affiliated Fellowships, students should submit the checklist of criteria-based affiliated fellowships to their graduate program by the above application deadline. The checklist of criteria-based affiliated fellowships is available to download here: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/list-criteria-based-affiliated-fellowships.

To submit the Affiliated Fellowship checklists, please email them to mech-admission@mech.ubc.ca.

4. New information for international students:

International students are now eligible to apply for Tri-Agency funding through the CGRS D.

Important Note: International students must be enrolled in their doctoral program of study at the time of application. International student applicants to the Fall 2025 CGRS D competition who are not registered in a PhD program at UBC for the fall 2025 term will be deemed ineligible.

International students who are commencing their programs in September 2025 and intending to apply for CGRS D are encouraged to register for the Winter term as soon as possible if they have not already done so.

5. Are there any changes to eligibility criteria?

The window of eligibility to apply to CGRS D has also expanded. To be eligible to apply, students must have completed no more than 36 months of full-time equivalent study in the doctoral program for which they are requesting funding by December 31, 2025.

For full eligibility criteria, please visit the CGRS D program page.

6. Reminder to students currently holding 4YF Awards

Students (both domestic and International) who are current holders of multi-year UBC-funded fellowships (such as 4YF) are required to apply to CGRS D in the fall competition, if they are eligible to do so.

7. What about the Vanier CGS program?

As of February 2025, the Vanier CGS competition has been discontinued. Applications for Vanier will no longer be accepted.