On November 10th, 95 engineering graduate students and attendees participated in the McMaster Engineering Technology Research and Innovation Conference (METRIC) 2021 from across Ontario.
The Engineering Graduate Society (EGS) of McMaster University hosted their annual conference METRIC virtually this year, allowing for student presenters and attendees to join from various locations across Ontario to explore the theme of “Innovation Redefined”.
The EGS was joined by engineering graduate students presenting research from eight Ontario universities, and saw attendees and judges from 12 universities, as well as several diverse companies.
This year Michael Thompson, Associate Dean of Engineering at McMaster University, joined to deliver opening remarks at the event, noting “this is an exciting forum for graduate students to highlight cutting edge research to their peers of so many different disciplines, and hopefully spark new ideas in one’s own studies.This is the second year the METRIC conference has expanded beyond McMaster’s campus to include fellow researchers, graduate students, from across the province to participate.”
Students had the opportunity to hear from Inge Christensen, Communications Coach at Unstick Your Thinking, who discussed innovation and its impact on graduate students.
Leyla Soleymani, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Miniaturized Biomedical Devices at McMaster University, shared her experiences that have led to globally recognized innovative work.
This was my first time attending a METRIC event and I am more than pleased with what the Engineering Graduate Society of McMaster University has organized! METRIC 2021 showcased brilliant keynote speakers while providing students with an opportunity to present their research inspiring individual innovation.
Heather Sheardown, Acting Dean of Engineering at McMaster University, opened the afternoon portion of the event remarking, “As you know it has been a tough year and a half but some how the innovation theme is more appropriate then ever because as engineers, we were pretty innovative during the pandemic. Can you imagine what the past year and a half would have been like without innovation?”
Following the student’s oral and poster presentations, the EGS was thrilled to announce the winners of METRIC 2021 – Innovation Redefined.
Winners of the Oral Presentations sponsored by SNC-Lavalin
- Nicholas Simard from McMaster University
- Sara Filice from McMaster University
- Jackson Reid from Carleton University.
Winners of the Poster Presentations
- Naveen Vasudevan from McMaster University
- Jonathan Mainville from Laurentian University
- Milana Pikula from McMaster University
“What I appreciate about METRIC is that it allows for graduate students at any stage of their research to gain experience presenting” says Michelle Ragany, co-chair of the METRIC Planning Committee, EGS vice-president, internal and technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation master’s student, “It is fantastic that we have been able to welcome students from several universities and showcase some truly incredible research.”
The METRIC Planning Committee Co-Chairs, Michelle Ragany and Katie White, would like to thank their hard-working planning committee (Dan Zhao, Evan Wright, Hassan Abdulhussain, Kayla Baker, Kyle Jackson, Lyan Abdul, Melih Yayli, and Paramita Bhattacharyya) for helping to put on an incredible showcase of top research talent. Without them, this event would not have been such a success!
EGS has held METRIC since 2015, and supported the engineering graduate students of McMaster University since EGS’s inception in 2014. For more details visit the EGS Website, and follow on social media Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
