Best of the WWEST

This episode we're talking to Victoria Camp, an Engineer in Training working in geological engineering at BGC Engineering Inc. She talks to us about getting to explore many different facets of geological engineering, what her time at university was like, and the places she loves to travel (for work and fun!). Listen for her advice to young STEM professionals and students, and a fun fact about herself that up to this point, not many people have known!

Victoria is a geological engineer with BGC Engineering Inc, a geotechnical consulting firm based in Vancouver. In the past two years at BGC, after graduating from UBC, Victoria has been involved with a number of projects including performing seismic assessments for large infrastructure projects in BC and Alberta, as well as supporting the design and construction of a dam in the Northwest Territories. 

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Links:

• Air Cadets
• BGC Engineering Inc.
• Dream Big: Engineering Our World movie
• impostersyndrome.com
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (please note: this is a correction from the title mentioned in the episode)
• WWEST's Imposter Syndrome White Paper

Guest: Victoria Camp
Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood)
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by:  Vanessa Reich-Shackelford

For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Danniele speaks with Gordana Pejic, a software engineer originally from Serbia, who immigrated to Canada to receive a masters degree in Software Systems. She fills us in on her volunteer work with the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Engineering (SCWIST), her future plans, and her exciting work developing software for autonomous vehicles. Make sure to listen for the lightning round, where she reveals what she wishes her superpower could be, and the one food she would eat for the rest of her life!

Gordana Pejic received her B.Sc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Novi Sad, Serbia and her Master of Software Systems from the University of British Columbia. She works as a Software Engineer for Wenco International Mining Systems designing fleet management software for Hitachi's autonomous trucks.

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Links:

• Argentine Tango in Vancouver
• Ballard Power Systems
• fSONA Communications
• Make Possible
• Océ Display Graphics Systems
• Press release on Hitachi's Autonomous Haulage System
• SCWIST Immigrating Women in Science
• Wenco International Mining Systems

Guest: Gordana Pejic
Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood)
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by:  Vanessa Reich-Shackelford

For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Recently, WWEST Chairholder Dr. Lesley Shannon took a trip to the Yukon to visit women engineers who are part of an initiative called 30 by 30, a commitment made by Engineers Canada, in collaboration with the 12 provincial and territorial engineering regulators, to raise the percentage of newly licensed engineers who are women to 30% by the year 2030. Women make up more than half of the Canadian population, but are significantly under-represented in the engineering profession; less than 12% of practicing licensed engineers are women.

Join Dr. Shannon as she speaks with two successful women engineers, Sandra MacDougall and Alison Anderson, in a special on-location Best of the WWEST interview in Whitehorse, YT. You'll learn some Yukon history, hear about how climate change is affecting their region, and discover the Yukon's role in the 30 by 30 initiative.

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Links:

• 30 by 30
• Engineers Canada
• Engineers Yukon
• Highways and Public Works - Government of Yukon
• Mining and Geology Facts - Government of Yukon
• Permafrost 101

Guests: Sandra MacDougall and Alison Anderson (@YCTechOfficer)
Hosted by: Dr. Lesley Shannon (@DrLesleyShannon)
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by:  Vanessa Reich-Shackelford

For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Best of the WWEST host Danniele interviews Christiana Cheng, PhD, Research Associate at the Rick Hansen Institute. Christiana talks about her undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology at Simon Fraser University and fellowship in Japan, lets us in on the favourite parts of her field (hint: it involves a strong network between provinces and hospitals), offers advice for students of science (take your time!), parents of scientists (give your kids equal opportunities), and future scientists alike; and reveals her tips for dealing with stress.

Christiana is a Research Associate at the Rick Hansen Institute where she works to improve the health of people with spinal cord injury by understanding the current status of care services for spinal cord injury, and using evidence to optimize timing and access to care.

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Links:

• Chinese New Year
• Coursera
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
• Journal of Neurotrauma
• The Rick Hansen Institute
• Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST)
• Toastmasters

Guest: Christiana Cheng, PhD
Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood)
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by:  Vanessa Reich-Shackelford

For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

 

Join WWEST Manager Danniele Livengood and Creating Connections 5.0 Coordinator Jenna Anderson for a re-cap of the biennial Creating Connections 5.0 conference. The conference aims to engage industry, the community, and students in BC and the Yukon to increase the regional awareness and participation of women and other under-represented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The Creating Connections conference series hopes to facilitate meaningful dialogue, creating a space where everyone can explore and participate in STEM to better our world.

In this re-cap, hear about the special guests and panel topics, and experience a mini interview with panelist Edoye Porbeni, CEO of Future Health Ventures, Inc.

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

This week, we speak with Justine Munich, a PhD student in physics at Simon Fraser University who also works with the ALPHA Collaboration at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research). Justine fills us in on the truth about life in academia from the perspective of a woman in STEM. She candidly tells us about her struggles, but also about her successes and proudest moments. Find out what furry friend she hangs out with in her spare time, what her favourite book is, and how her career is relating to the world at large.

Justine is a PhD student in the physics department at SFU. She works with the Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus (ALPHA) Collaboration, a group of about 40 scientists that is based at CERN.

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Links:

 

• The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
• The Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus (ALPHA) Collaboration
• David Griffiths
• Firebringer by David Clement-Davies (please note: this is a correction from the book mentioned in the episode)
• D-Wave Systems
• General Fusion

 

Guest: Justine Munich
Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood)
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by:  Vanessa Reich-Shackelford

For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca. 

On the very first episode of Best of the WWEST, host Danniele talks to Cole Brown, lead front-end web developer at iamota, about how she got into web development, some of the challenges she faced breaking into the tech industry, and her secret superpowers (which include sewing, cat training, and swimming)!

Cole is the lead front-end web developer at iamota, a full service digital agency recognized as one of BC’s fastest growing companies. She has worked in the industry for over 15 years, and is passionate about empowering technology users while they browse the web. 

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Links:

• Raised Eyebrow
• edX
• Udemy
• A List Apart and A Book Apart
• Smashing Magazine
• The Asexual Visibility & Education Network
• Chris Coyier

Guest: Cole Brown (@nmebrown)
Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood)
Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes
Produced by: Natalie Lim, Vanessa Reich-Shackelford

For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.