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EngHERO: Markio Shimoda

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Markio Shimoda is in her final year of engineering at the University of Waterloo. Although she was a little nervous about how much studying she thought she would have to do, she knew she wanted to be an engineer and “Professional Problem-Solver”.

What’s one thing you wish you knew about engineering back when you were in high school?

I wish that I knew that engineers are typically knowledgeable in a lot of different fields! That means in university you have to do a bit of everything, which can be really annoying when you come across a subject you don’t like. But it is also great because it opens a lot of doors for future careers and industries!

When you decided to go to school to become an engineer, were you nervous and stressed out about all the math and science? What made you push through and become an engineer? What’s your proudest accomplishment so far?

I wasn’t too worried about all the math and science.. although maybe I should have been! I was actually nervous about how much time and studying it would be. I’ve always pushed through because I believe that changing the world through technology is what I want to do with my life. I am most proud of making it through each year so far! Engineering isn’t easy and it’s a huge accomplishment to say you finished a semester!

Were you sure that you wanted to become an engineer when you were in grade 12?

I was very sure. As soon as I heard someone call engineers “professional problem-solvers” I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life. Engineering is the best way to combine science, math, creativity, and change!

Tell me about a time during your studies when your work has been about discovery or curiosity?

All engineering work has aspects of creativity. Whether it’s design work, optimizing a process, or managing a project, every engineering job allows you to transform your ideas into reality and finding the best possible solution. In school, there are plenty of opportunities to use creativity in your design projects and extracurriculars.

What are you doing these days/what do you plan to do after you graduate?

I’m heading into my final year of engineering when I’ll be working on my big final design project! After graduation, I’m hoping to work in project management, in a company doing robotics, health entrepreneurship, or anything that is new and exciting!

Engineering Video Games

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We live in such a busy world, sometimes it’s hard to take time for ourselves. But, everyone needs downtime and that’s a fact. We need to take time to relieve the stress of everyday and recharge. Some people listen to music, watch movies and even play video games. Video games are a great way to spend your spare time because they can be lots of fun while stimulating your mind. As creatives and academics, it’s a good idea to find new ways to exercise our brains. Here is a list of video games that you have to check out!

1. Space Engineers (PC)

This game’s connection to engineering should be obvious given its name and all. The best part about Space Engineers is that you can still learn more about your interests while escaping from the everyday. Space Engineers gives players an immersive experience in the galaxy, in which you get to get to do things like build spaceships and space stations. Space Engineers is a survival-based game, which is very fast pace making for a competitive and exciting experience. This game is available on Steam for purchase and download. Make sure to check this one out next time your bored in front of your computer screen!

2. Don’t Starve (Multi-platform)

Don’t Starve is another nail-biting survival game, that is perfect for anyone who is in dire need of a wild adventure. In this multi-platform game, you are playing as Wilson, a scientist who finds himself in a dark world full of terrible twists and turns. Your goal is simple: survive and most important don’t starve! Throughout the day you can find food, collect materials and even craft different tools you can use during the night. The night is when various monsters and creatures appear all looking for something to eat. This game is great because it really builds your problem solving and strategy skills, along with the appropriate amount of whimsy.

3. Civilization (Multi-platform)

Civilization (Civ) is great for anyone interested in civil engineering, or anyone who ever wondered what it would be like to a rule an entire civilization. The graphics in this game do not disappoint, giving players a completely beautiful experience. Players pick a civilization to rule and lead their people through history, right into the future. The goal of this game is to have the best civilization possible, this involves making various decisions around things like military, architecture and agriculture. You can win the game in many ways including; diplomacy, exploration and economic growth. Civ is sure to be tons of fun while still teaching you something about how the world works.

4. Spacechem (Multi-platform)

Calling all chemical engineers and enthusiasts alike! Spacechem is a puzzle-based game that tasks players to take raw materials and build them into chemicals. Players take on the role of rector engineer that works for Spacehem, who must build various gadgets. This is sure to keep you engaged, with the different levels of difficulty. Spachem is great for anyone who wants to learn something new and has no problem thinking outside of the box. Your chemistry skills will come in handy but don’t worry, the game is full of helpful tips that will guide you along the way. This game’s difficulty is sure to keep anyone engaged, and will lead to a great deal of celebration upon solving each task.

5. Elite: Dangerous

In need of an escape from the normalities of every day? Well Elite: Dangerous is perfect for you! This game is an open-ended (sandbox like) game that takes players on a journey through space. You can fly anywhere in the galaxy, mine asteroids and upgrade your spaceship. Elite: Dangerous also gives players a detailed map of the milky way galaxy, that they are free to explore and interact with. If you are looking for a more interactive game, Elite: Dangerous has got you covered with the ability to play both single-player and multiplayer. So next time you look up to the stars and crave some intergalactic fun, log onto to Elite: Dangerous.

There you have it, your latest cure to boredom! These games are sure to get you hooked and keep you entertained. Who knew STEM could be this fun? 

Musical Engineers

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Engineering is full of creativity! Though sometimes it’s easy to forget that when you only focus on STEM. There are new advances in creative fields all the time because of the hard work of engineers. The tech company Teenage Engineering is a perfect example of where creativity and engineering collide.  

Teenage Engineering are famous for their unique and design-forward synthesizers.

For anyone that doesn’t know, synthesizers are an electronic musical instrument that takes audio signals and converts them into sound. Synthesizers are also known for being able to generate/copy virtually any sound. The term “synthesize” means to make something new, and in this case, that is often done by putting old pieces together. Not only is this a place for musicians to buy instruments, but they recently launched their own record company under the name Teenage Engineering Records. 

This record label has two rules for musicians who want to have their music released. 

  1. It has to be a good song (who would’ve thought?)
  2. The song must use at least one Teenage Engineering instrument

The first release for this new record company came from a Swedish artist named Buster. The song was called “You’re in Love With Your Hair”, this artist is a newcomer in the music industry. One of Teenage Engineers Record’s goals is to shine a light on emerging talent. It will be exciting to see the new unique music that will be released because of labels like Teenage Engineers Records. 

The amount of opportunities for tech-savvy enthusiasts and musicians alike is growing, with additions like Teenage Engineering Records to the industry. Next time you think of engineering maybe it will be while listening to Buster’s new song on Spotify- give it a listen! 

The Wonders of Civil Engineering

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Civil engineers are changing and molding the world around us, so it’s no wonder that their creations and innovations are truly spectacular. Not only are the finished products of these engineers’ hard work often impressive, but they help save lives. Making accessible roads and bridges can alter the entire dynamic of an ecosystem for the better. Civil engineers have a heavy weight on their shoulders because they know what they create, will affect the livelihood of a community.

This weight also makes for a very rewarding profession because of the difference you can make. These differences can be seen and manifested in different structures around the world. Some admire them for their beauty, and others see the beauty in these pieces because of the impact. Either way, it is undeniable that civil engineers create magnificent things, so let’s take a look at some of them.

One of the stereotypes that follows engineers is the thought that they only build bridges. Which of course is 100 percent not true, but on the other hand, civil engineers do create some breathtaking bridges. An example of one of these creations is Millau Viaduct which is located in Millau France. Millau is a beautiful village in southern France, that has the Millau Viaduct which holds the world record for the tallest bridge.

The bridge is 343 meters tall and supports a road that is over the Tran river. This record-breaking bridge was built by the same construction company that was behind the Eiffel tower (Eiffage). The main reason why this landmark is a tourist attraction isn’t it’s height or the people behind it, it’s the breathtaking view of the valleys and river that surrounds it.

71 percent of the world is covered by water, that leaves less than 30 percent of the surface area for us to live on. Or does it? Well, building land on the water is not a new concept and is referred to as “Land reclamation“. The fact is that this idea has been around for centuries, but when it comes to doing this the most effectively the Palm Islands of Dubai, United Arab Emirates has got the rest of the world beat.

The Palms Islands literally looks like a palm tree from an aerial view and contains many luxury resorts. Surrounding this palm tree mass of land floating in the ocean, there is nearly a 7-mile long crescent. The Palm Islands is one of the most famous land reclamation projects in the world, because of its size and beauty. Who wouldn’t want to escape the world for a bit, and live it up on a literal palm tree island?

Clearly the world is made up of more water than land, so instead of building on top of it, why not try going underneath it? Well, France and the United Kingdom had the same thought all the way back in 1802, when they drafted the first plan for “The Channel Tunnel”. The goal behind this tunnel was to go underneath the seas and connection northern France and southern England. This ambitious idea was spearheaded by Eurotunnel, a company that transports passengers all around Europe. This, in theory, is a great idea, but in practice took until 1988 to begin construction. Then it wasn’t till 1994 when it opened for services. This monster of a tunnel is 50.45 km long making it the longest undersea tunnel. In fact, the Channel Tunnel is actually made up of three tunnels, two rail tunnels, and a service tunnel. This is a massive accomplishment in the history of civil engineering, because this innovation changed the way goods and services could be delivered and how people could travel.

Clearly civil engineers create some amazing things that really change the world, whether that is through positive social change or visual appearance. These are the people who are the minds behind the cities and communities we live in, and the wonders we travel from near and far to visit. Next time you are walking around your hometown/city it is worth thinking about the people who created the world around you.

Words From the First Woman in NASA’s Mission Control Centre

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Poppy Northcutt

Hearing from women in STEM is always encouraging and inspiring, but Poppy Northcutt, in particular, embodies that women’s success in engineering is limitless. She was the first woman to ever step foot into a NASA control room and was a return-to-earth specialist. This woman’s accomplishments are truly incredible and prove that anything is possible. Poppy took the time to speak at this year’s Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference. This conference is an annual event that takes place in San Francisco and continues to inspire future trailblazers in tech.

Nasa and Apollo 8

Poppy worked for NASA during the Apollo 8 program back in 1968. This program was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit, reach the moon and return safely. Therefore this mission was revolutionary, and something everyone to this day looks back on with pride. She was working as a back-to-earth specialist, which meant that she worked with a team to create a plan for the Apollo 8 crew to get back from the moon. Being part of that mission was a big deal, Poppy remembers that at the time no one had ever seen a woman in the control room before.

A lot of people ask Poppy about the lessons she has learned while working for NASA. Poppy explained how as a woman she had to fight to have her voice heard, which lead to Poppy explaining that “I became a flaming radical women’s rights activist”. Instead of becoming discouraged and defeated by the lack of a woman’s perspective, she used that passion to become an advocate.

Sharing her Experience

When Poppy first got into the world of STEM there were very little resources for women in technology. It was nothing like it is today where there are conferences, books and talks offered to empower women in science. That is what drove Poppy to share her experiences and make it clear that women deserve a seat at the table.

When Poppy was working on Apollo 8 with NASA, Texas had a law that prohibited women from working with the same employer for more than nine hours. This was an issue since her hours for this project could have her staying at the office until 10PM. Her boss would come in at 6PM to tell her to go home. Poppy knew that leaving early when the rest of the team worked, would have a negative impact on her career prospects.

“Probably the smartest thing I figured out was that I should not go home,” Northcutt said. “I should pay absolutely no attention to that damn law.” All of her hard work paid off when she got promoted to an engineering position. Before this Poppy worked as a “Computress”, which in Poppy’s words meant “in the 1960’s we women who did math were considered androids and were employed as gendered computers”. This shows how far the STEM field has come, towards gender equality.

Poppy Northcutt is a perfect example of grit and resilience because it doesn’t matter what is holding you back, there is always a way to break through. Northcutt ended off her speech with these inspiring words “Your presence affects people,” Northcutt said. “Get out from behind the shadows. Don’t be hidden.”

Aerospace Engineering – Explained

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Have you ever wondered what Aerospace Engineering was all about?

Some universities have a total of 8 different branches of engineering, and with all those names and degree options it is easy to be overwhelmed and a bit confused. Instead of randomly picking a field of engineering, it is important to understand what each program does. This will help you decide what school to go to and really find your passion for engineering.

Aerospace engineering is offered at 5 universities in Canada, and 2 of those are right here in Ontario. This emerging field, is one of the newest and advancing areas of engineering. 

In simple terms, aerospace engineering is designing and building machines –that fly. That’s right, anywhere from drones, airplanes– to even rockets! There are two specialties within this field; aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering.

Aeronautical Engineering

Aeronautical engineering involves designing air crafts that are categorized as “lighter than air” this includes helicopters, gliders, airplanes and jets.

Astronautical Engineering

Astronautical is just what it sounds like, it is the design of spacecraft. This means that a career in aerospace engineering can look very different depending on which specialty you choose. So, whether you are interested in making an impact on flying technology in this world or in this universe, aerospace engineering has got you covered. 

Aerospace engineering is a very specialized and a relatively new field, so there is only a select few universities that offer the program here in Canada. The universities that do offer a bachelors in aerospace engineering include: Ryerson University, Carleton University, Concordia University, École Polytechnique de Montréal and the Royal Military College of Canada. 

Careers in Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace engineers can work in the corporate field, for an airline. This would involve designing commercial airplanes, and even change the way they run to adapt to the escalating problem of climate change. Commercial engineers have really had to rethink their design recently, because of climate change. This proves to make their jobs interesting, and of course impactful on the world. 

Then, of course, you have the opposite side of the scale which would be spacecraft engineers. These engineers help countries propel into space technology, and research more about outer space to understand the world we live on. Spacecraft engineers often find themselves using supercomputer simulations, because of the danger surrounding their line of work.

The geniuses behind this technology are engineering, science and data processing managers. These process managers make the simulations more efficient and effective to use. This is vital to the spacecraft engineer position, because the ability to try machines before being used by astronauts, will save lives.

Since safety is such an important part of aerospace, there are also compliance officers. These are the engineers that use their knowledge of aerospace to ensure that all rules and regulations are followed to meet safety standards. 

Lastly, drafters are engineers that create detailed drawings and specification sheets for the product designed. That can range from commercial airplanes to a spacecraft. either way very specific and detailed drawings are needed. 

Aerospace is a branch of engineering that covers everything flying under the sun. Hopefully, you have a better understanding of this branch of engineering. This field of engineering is going to change the world as we know it, and you can be a part of the change. It’s only up from here!