ANNUAL REPORT 2020
"Now more than ever our future graduates are learning to be agile in the face of increasing complexity.
We are teaching them how to Pivot."
ISHWAR K. PURI
DEAN, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, MCMASTER UNIVERSITY
WHO WE ARE
INNOVATING ENGINEERING EDUCATION
RECRUITMENT
ENGINEERING CO-OP AND CAREER
RESEARCH WITH IMPACT
WHO WE ARE
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
5.2K
ALUMNI
22.2K
RESEARCH WITH IMPACT
$41.7M
RESEARCH INTENSITY
$2.68K
FACULTY AND STAFF
370
Keys to Hamilton's
Ecosystem
$57M
GRADUATE STUDENTS
1K
384 Domestic
669 International
487 PhD
297 MASc
66 MEng
213 SEPT (MEng)
1,063
Graduate Students
4,319 Domestic
910 International
4,113 SEAS
1,116 SEPT
5,229
Undergraduate Students
The 2019-20 academic year
was like no other.
But at McMaster Engineering,
we continue to pivot.
RESEARCH WITH IMPACT
ENGINEERING CO-OP AND CAREER
RECRUITMENT
INNOVATING ENGINEERING EDUCATION
WHO WE ARE
McMaster Engineering’s strong representation in national and
global rankings is a testament to the thriving culture of innovation and teamwork across the Faculty. It is made possible through the research
of our faculty members who partner with industry and create startups,
the support provided by our staff and our engaged students who transform ideas into solutions.”
Ishwar K. Puri, Dean of Engineering
Our commitment to academic and research and excellence continues to be reflected in national and global rankings.
Each year ShanghaiRankings ranks more than 4,000 universities in 54 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences.
ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World University (ARWU)
180 Faculty Members
155 SEAS
25 SEPT
190 Administrative
and Technical Staff
370
Faculty and Staff
20,797 North America
808 Asia
187 European Union
110 Africa
70 Oceania
34 South America
22 Caribbean
181 Unknown
22,209 Alumni
Across 86 Countries
33 Research Chairs
13 Canada Research Chairs
14 Named and Endowed Chairs
6 NSERC Industrial Research Chairs
$41.7M in External
Research Funding
131 Active Corporate Partnerships
$25M Administered by the McMaster Industry Liason Office for industry related research
$32M raised by start-ups at The Forge in the past five years
A collective $57M into Hamilton's Ecosystem
20 Major engineering
affiliated research centres and institutes
$269,723
in Research Intensity
INNOVATING ENGINEERING EDUCATION
To adapt to a virtual learning environment, McMaster Engineering's educators are pioneering new ways to teach and learn from home.
MICHAEL JUSTASON
QIYIN FANG
ELIZABETH HASSAN
MOHAMED BAKR
SHELIR EBRAHIMI
CAMERON CHURCHILL
Using gamification to engage students in his Ethics, Equity and Law in Engineering class.
In the game, teams of students will establish their own virtual engineering company, tune up their
communication skills and practice taking on various leadership roles.
Cameron Churchill - Civil Engineering
Creating an immersive, full-year experience for first-year students in a project-based course
as part of The Pivot. Using Microsoft Teams and virtual technology from Quanser, students will
collaborate on design projects which will lay the foundation for most of our upper-year courses.
Shelir Ebrahimi - Chemical Engineering
Using virtual reality tools to bring students into "the lab" to work on experiments and talk to
classmates in real time. In his course on electromagnetism, this allows students to see the
electromagnetic fields and how they travel in space.
Mohamed Bakr - Electrical and Computer Engineering
For her class in Mechanical Engineering Design, students will build early-stage prototypes
using materials they find in their homes. The learning process will remain the same:
design, build and test assumptions to confirm or refute.
Elizabeth Hassan - Mechanical Engineering
Reimagining a new lab course on smart systems so students will build and test smart systems
in their own homes. The class was initially designed to take place "in a basement pseudo-house," says Fang. "Now, students can customize and test in a real home."
Qiyin fang - Engineering Physics
The Pivot is our boldest and most ambitious plan to transform McMaster's Engineering education experience.
We're committed to reimagining our curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and learning environments for all McMaster students. Starting in Fall 2020, this new way of learning began the moment they started their program. Throught The Pivot, we're developing graduates who can adapt to a changing world, bring their ideas to life and explore their passions outside of the classrooms to the fullest.
In Fall 2020, the incoming class experienced for the first time our Integrated Cornerstone Design Projects in Engineering course, a full-year project-based course.
It integrates four courses together for one seamless learning experience modelled after our Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences Program.
105
CLUBS AND TEAMS EVENTS IN 2019-20
McMaster Engineering's innovative approach to engineering education, focus on diversity, experiential learning opportunities and welcoming community attracts top students from Canada and around the world.
Our Engineering Recruitment team connects with prospective undergraduate and graduate students through outreach campaigns, campus tours, individual video sessions, digital ambassador programs, webinars and more throughout the year.
Attracting top students | Fostering inclusion and diversity | Building community from home
INNOVATING ENGINEERING EDUCATION
INCREASE IN TOTAL APPLICATIONS
SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED
TOURS
STUDENT
AMBASSADORS
INTERNATIONAL
APPLICATIONS
GRADUATE ACCEPTANCES
23%
$750K
133
50% INCREASE
4195
33%
2019-2020
Research Funding
By Sponsor
ENGINEERING CO-OP AND CAREER
The Engineering Co-op Program provides undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to gain valuable work experiences around the globe before they graduate.
RESEARCH WITH IMPACT
McMaster is now home to an established network of engineers, clinicians, local manufacturers and companies dedicated to the research, testing and development of personal protective equipment and materials.
The newly opened Centre of Excellence in Protective Equipment and Materials (CEPEM) aims to create an ecosystem of local expertise to build domestic supply
chains for PPE and innovate existing products, including
next generation face masks and shields.
Led by Ravi Selvaganapathy (Canada Research Chair in Biomicrofluidics, Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering), the centre will focus on six areas of activity: designing and developing PPE, advanced manufacturing, research in functional materials, testing and validation, creating Canadian standards for PPE and making PPE more sustainable for the environment.
Soleymani is part of a team bringing to market an invention that makes high-touch surfaces repellant to viruses and bacteria. The plastic wrap-like technology, Repel Wrap, has microscopic textures that exclude all external molecules such as bacteria and drops of blood. It can be shrink-wrapped to fit different surfaces to create a protective barrier.
After confirming its effectiveness against viruses similar in structure to COVID-19, the team of engineers and health scientists are now testing the surface with the COVID-19 virus. Repel Wrap was featured in CNN Health in December 2019 after the research was published in the journal ACS Nano.
Members of our Engineering Outreach team provide support and services to keep our community connected. Various teams offer a variety of ways for alumni, friends,
youth and others to stay engaged, including alumni events, networking opportunities, mentorship programs, youth camps,
newsletters, podcasts and social media.
STAYING CONNECTED
We are proud to enable more than 24,000 McMaster Engineering alumni worldwide to revisit, relive and connect with the Faculty after they graduate.
23% increase in total applications since 2017
Female applications account for 24.3% of all undergaduate applications, up from 22.9% in 2017
Schulich Leader Scholarships offers increased from two to five, valued at $100,000 each
DECA scholarship offers incrased from three, valued at $5,000 each to ten at $10,000 each
FIRST Scholarships offers incrased from eight to ten, valued at $15,000 each
29.9% of undergraduate applications from international applicants
21% increase in total international applications, from 3476 in 2017-18 to 4195 in 2019-20
176 visa applicants with offers attended our info webinars with 62% subsequently accepting their offer
Six webinars on three topics ran in April to provide critical information to our international applicants
133 volunteers contributed more than 1,400 hours over the course of the year
50% increase in the number of Faculty of Engineering tours over 2018-2019
54% of participating students were interested in more than one Faculty of Engineering program
Maintained contact with at least 20% of applicants each year
Two live and one virtual open house events held in 2019
McMaster Engineering was the lead for the Canadian Graduate Engineering Consortium Tour in 2019
Amplifying Experiential Learning
Read the full report
2020 McMaster Engineering Annual Report. All Rights Reserved.
MacChangers: Change-a-Thon