
Event details
uOttawa Innovates is an event series connecting the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering with its alumni, partners and friends from the technology and innovation industry.
Join us to learn more about the importance of EDI in Research and Education and some challenges, initiatives, and best practices in this area.
Featuring:

Michelle Liu
Moderator
Ph.D. Candidate (Civil Engineering)
Vanier Scholar (NSERC)
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar
Michelle Liu is a queer, racialized, woman-identifying professional engineer. She earned her BASc and MASc in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo. After working in construction and design for various national and multinational engineering consulting firms, Michelle is now pursuing a law degree (JD) and PhD in civil engineering simultaneously at the University of Ottawa.
Michelle’s engineering PhD focuses on using equity, diversity and inclusion frameworks to critically examine engineering professional norms and technical standards. She is conducting her doctoral research at the Faculty of Engineering and the Centre for Law, Technology and Society at the Faculty of Law, under the joint supervision of Professors Beatriz Martin-Perez and Jena McGill. In all her academic endeavours, Michelle prioritizes mentoring and supporting equity-seeking students, as well as students interested in interdisciplinary research.

Catherine Mavriplis
Panelist
Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ottawa
NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (2011-2021)
Catherine Mavriplis is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Ottawa, where she works on advanced numerical methods for aerodynamics simulations. From 2011 to 2021, Dr. Mavriplis held the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, a program that aims to recruit, retain and advance women leaders. She was president of the Computational Fluid Dynamics Society of Canada and sat on the council of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute. She is a fellow of Engineers Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Mamadou Fall
Panelist
Chair, Department of Civil Engineering
Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa
University Research Chair in Geotechnical Engineering for Net Zero Transitions
Dr. Fall is currently a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa (Canada) and the director of the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Environmental Engineering. He graduated from the Earth Science Institute at the University of Dakar with an Award of Excellence for best graduating engineer. He was awarded a PhD excellence scholarship for his studies in geotechnical engineering at the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (Germany). Subsequently, he was granted a postdoctoral fellowship by the German Research Foundation and coordinated the German Research Chair of Environmental Geosciences and Geotechnics. In 2006, Dr. Fall joined the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa, which he now heads. He has led several major research projects related to mine waste management, underground disposal of nuclear waste, carbon sequestration and engineered landfill technology.

Cathy McCallion
Panelist
Stakeholder and Community Relations Director at Ross Video
Cathy McCallion is the stakeholder and community relations director at Ross Video. She is responsible for the development, activation and deployment of Ross Video’s employment branding and recruitment marketing strategy. A key aspect of this role is outreach, including development and fostering of relationships with government, postsecondary institutions, and corporate and community partners.
Cathy has worked in the recruitment industry for over 20 years. She co-owned a local technical consulting firm until it was sold in 2014. She has worked with an array of technology companies in Ottawa, both established and startups, as well as crown corporations and federal government departments. Her passion is driving meaningful partnerships between educators, community leaders and industry.
uOttawa community, industry partners, and general public