Tell Me More: Coffee with Chris Yip

Thinking of AI? Think industrial engineering — Jenya Doudareva, Senior Manager, AI/Responsible AI, OnX

Dean Yip chats with Jenya Doudareva (IndE 1T0 + PEY, MASc 1T3, PhD 2T1), a triple graduate of U of T Engineering who completed her PhD in 2021. Today, she works in Cloud and AI consulting at OnX. All three of Doudareva’s degrees are in industrial engineering, and she explains why this discipline is a great background for a career helping businesses find effective and ethical ways to deploy AI. She also touches on her experiences writing poetry and science fiction, and she tells a story about how she once smashed up her mom’s calculator looking for a microchip that would help her build a “Terminator” style robot.

Supporting mental wellness at U of T Engineering – Loui and Elena Pappas

Support for mental wellness is a critical part of U of T Engineering’s commitment to fostering a healthy, inclusive and vibrant student community. Thanks to a generous gift from Loui Pappas (CivE 8T8, MASc 8T9) and his daughter Elena Pappas (ChemE 2T2), that support is being strengthened through a new campaign to raise funds for the Skule™ Mental Wellness Bursary. In this episode, Loui and Elena share the inspiring story behind their gift, their family’s connection to Skule™ and how they hope to help future engineering students thrive.

Back to Skule™ in style – Arlyne James, CEO, My Dorm Store

Arlyne James (MechE 2T4) is founder and CEO of My Dorm Store [https://mydormstore.ca], which she created while she was still an undergraduate student at U of T Engineering. The company, which began as an assignment in an engineering business course, has grown tremendously in just a few short years, and this fall provided services to more than 60 residences across Canada. James spoke with Dean Yip about what she learned at U of T Engineering, and how it helped her start — and grow — her thriving business.

Dean Chris Yip on running, baking and his engineering journey

We tried something a little bit different with this month’s episode — we turned the tables on Dean Yip. Undergraduate student Mahmoud Rashid (Year 3 MSE) took a turn as host, asking Dean Yip questions about his journey through engineering, his life as a runner, what he likes to bake, and more.

Infrastructure Engineering for Global Development – David Boroto, CEO, Engineers Without Borders Canada

Earlier this year, David Boroto (EngSci 1T8 + PEY) became the CEO of Engineers Without Borders Canada. Dean Yip speaks with him about his journey from South Africa to Saskatchewan to the University of Toronto and about how he’s using infrastructure engineering to impact and improve the lives of low-income communities in a sustainable way.