Smith Engineering at Queen's University

Good Roots takes off! This past May, the Smith Engineering Indigenous Futures in Engineering initiative hosted dozens of youth from remote communities across northern Ontario and Quebec. The youth participated in a wide variety of STEM activities and checked out what post-secondary education life could look like.

Kayla Ford, Program Lead for Smith Engineering’s Indigenous Futures in Engineering, has grown the program over the last two years, using her relationships from across Canada, even connecting students displaced from their homes in Kashechewan with science-based activities.

"Growing up in Tyendinaga, I was fortunate to be surrounded by a strong community, a rich culture, and people who cared deeply about one another," Ford says. "My community taught me the importance of relationships, resilience, responsibility, and giving back. Those teachings continue to guide the work I do today and shape how I approach this program."

While Ford credits her community for providing a strong foundation, she recognizes that many Indigenous students have limited exposure to certain educational and career pathways simply because those opportunities are not always visible or accessible.

For Ford, it all comes back to the name of the program, and its fundamental goal to not only deliver STEM content, but foster a spirit of excitement and ambition among its students. "We need good roots," she says, "because if a kid doesn't have a solid foundation, just like a tree — if those roots aren't solid — how do we expect them to stand?"

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/4fzuxR1

Congratulations to Vladislav Kecojevic on winning the Günter Fettweis Award earlier this week from the international Society of Mining Professors, its highest honour! 🎉 🎊

“Receiving the Günter Fettweis Award is both an honour and a deeply meaningful milestone in my career,” says Kecojevic. “It symbolizes the values that have guided my work: dedication, collaboration, and a commitment to advancing international engagement in mining education and research.”

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3TiDAyq

"We almost can't build electricity fast enough, and the fastest technologies to market are wind, solar and energy storage." 🍃 🔆 🔋

Vittoria Bellissimo, Sc'03, is President & CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association — at a time when renewable energy is more important to Canada than ever 🔥.

Learn how CanREA is Canada's leading voice in one of its fastest-growing industries, and how her time at Smith Engineering prepared her for this national leadership role, at https://bit.ly/45e65Ql

Start your engineering journey at ANY stage in life.
Meet Richard and Ian, two students who pivoted out of established careers to pursue dreams of a career in electrical engineering, and wound up working together on a rover project mentored by the Canadian Space Agency .

Learn about their journeys and why they chose Smith Engineering: https://bit.ly/4vVWOZ0

Congratulations to Michael Rainbow, Ph.D. who just began a five-year term as Head of the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME) (July 1, 2026).

Get to know Dr. Rainbow in this Q&A. https://bit.ly/3SKMg0e

"It's a bit like coming full circle": Alumnus Stephen Rayment, Sc'75, MSc'77, is supporting the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Trust Fund, and through it, the acquisition of new technology to accelerate AI research in the Department. Alumni are vital contributors to the Department's ongoing successes in both groundbreaking teaching and internationally recognized research. Read more about Rayment's contribution, and his career to date, here: https://bit.ly/4aWY0mq

Smith Engineering celebrates International Women in Engineering Day with coverage of last month's incredibly successful Women in Engineering: Research Impact at Smith Engineering Symposium (WiE-RISE).

The first of its kind at Smith Engineering, WiE-RISE highlighted cutting edge research from women-identified researchers from across the faculty and from all career stages, from brand new graduate students to established Canada Excellence Research Chairs.

While there is a lot more work to be done, Smith Engineering has seen substantial growth: The women-identified student population exploded throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s, but has remained steady at roughly 28% since then. Women-identified faculty members made up 13% of the faculty members at Smith Engineering in 2016, today, it's 23.6%. While still working towards parity, these numbers are going in the right direction.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/43Plvdq

Amazing achievements from Queen's Racing!

Congratulations are in order🎉 : Applied Math and Mechanical Engineering student Sidonia Tameshtit is the recipient of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada's Brain Tumour Research Studentship!

Working with Smith Engineering faculty member Xian Wang, Sidonia will spend two summers researching how to create a bio-hybrid drug delivery system using magnetic nanoparticles linked to macrophages to deliver medication via external magnetic field manipulation.

Sidonia found her way to this research via an unusual journey: as a brain tumour survivor herself, her interest in this research is runs deep!

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/4oUApc5

Have some free time this weekend? Join the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada for their annual walk! Find a walk near you: https://btfc.akaraisin.com/ui/BTW2026