1. For an undergraduate student, how do you suggest they get involved in research?
Your first exposure to research will likely be through faculty members in your department. I suggest reaching out to your professor. Consult departmental websites, research group websites, and individual faculty websites that describe research activities. If you find something that interests you, then ask to meet with faculty members: we love to talk about our research and we are often recruiting undergraduate students to carry out research work (summer research assistantships, thesis projects, etc.) In my lab, I typically have one or two undergraduate students during the summer months. I recruit primarily strong students who qualify for a NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Assistant scholarship.
2. Hi Louise! As an engineering student, it seems that you have had experience in a variety of different disciplines (mechanical, aerospace, chemical). How would you say that these fields are related and what drew you from a more mechanical educational background to working as a professor in chemical engineering?
I’m a strange kind of nerd. Yes, I started in mechanical engineering because I wanted to work with aircraft (and especially aircraft engines, propulsion systems, rockets…) I found that my interests shifted over the years as concerns about the health of our planet because more prevalent. The field of environmental engineering did not exist when I started my undergraduate degree. During my Master’s I realized that what really interested me is a way of reducing the amount of pollution that an aircraft engine produces (hence the topic of my research: I worked on developing a catalytic combustion system inside a gas turbine engine). The shift from mech to chem was gradual: a gas turbine engine burns fuel… I just started to look more and more at the combustion process rather than the mechanics of the turbine. I took combustion processes courses, advanced fluid mechanics, and gradually started to work more with chemical engineers. Then, I got into decontamination of polluted environments, which requires more chemical knowledge. When I decided to go back to school, I chose to take the plunge formally and worked on an environmental engineering research project supervised by a chemist and a chemical engineer. (Of course, that meant starting pretty much from scratch and it took me a lot longer to complete my PhD then it would have if I’d simply stuck with mech eng!) Nevertheless, the fields are related closely: for example, chem, mech, aero, civil all take fluid mechanics. Many of the courses I teach are the same (e.g. heat transfer, thermodynamics, materials, transport phenomena) between mech and chem. It’s just that the applications and the focus are different. One engineering field simply delves more deeply in some aspects of the same problem.
3. I loved this blog post! I'm just wondering what ways you have found the most effective in keeping your group of research students connected. What are good ways to continue problem solving as a group remotely?
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed the blog. My students all work together. They edit each other’s work, listen in on some of our discussions to seek feedback and ideas, pair up for some portions of experimental and computational work. I think it’s very important to work as a team. No engineer works in isolation: we always need to borrow another brain 😊 Even working remotely, we make a point of calling, texting, chatting, zooming, etc. with at least one group meeting per week. Shared documents are used to work on problems simultaneously and we share files of our computer models to test each other’s work. The only difference is that we’re not sitting side by side at our computers. We can only have two students in one lab at a time, so we pair up and switch pairs so we can work with different people. In your courses, I hope you have the opportunity to work in small groups and to develop good study group habits: it really helps when you have a chance to discuss a problem, to explain something and to listen to someone explain something to you.
4. Hi Dr. Meunier, What is your biggest piece of advice to undergraduate students studying from home this year? Sometimes it feels like I'm sitting at my desk all day staring at my computer screen but not accomplishing much (I too feel like a hermit!). Despite taking breaks to walk outside and cook, I often feel like I'm not working productively. Do you have any tips for students to structure their days? Thank you, Lisa Wight
Oh, I feel exactly the same! It’s so hard to extract myself from my computer desk! I actually schedule breaks into my outlook calendar (off-task activities such are playing the piano; online pilates; bird watching; stretch break!) If you feel your productivity waning, you’re definitely overdue for a break. I suggest switching between activities and moving around. I spend an hour (or two) at one desk, then stand up and read (sometimes I read out loud to my cat, but it usually puts them to sleep). I call a friend and we work through class preparation or a grant application together. I also facetime while working. This way, it fells like I’m working next to someone and can bounce a few ideas or get woken back into productivity. Set goals to finish a small task and congratulate yourself for doing it (a few jumping jacks of joy!) To structure your day, pretend like you are going to school: make your bed, prepare your lunch ahead of time, work along a routine, just like you would if you were coming to campus. I know it’s hard and it feels like there’s a black hole sucking your time and energy. Be kind to yourself and make sure you sleep!
5. Hi Dr. Menieur! It was fascinating to read about your story and to see what you and your research team are currently working on! I was wondering if you have ever experienced any unexpected overlaps between your previous work with aircraft, and your more recent work in environmental sciences. Certainly, we apply all sorts of talent and skills to new applications in our everyday lives, but were there any that were unexpected? You also mentioned the necessity of teamwork in solving problems, so what ways did you find most effective at fostering a team-mindset? Thank you! - Lexi
My research group is awesome! They are such a great bunch of smart, hard-working, wonderful students! The overlap between my previous aerospace/military world and my current job as a prof in chem eng always surprise me. Mostly the links are through the networks I’ve developed over the years. An old colleague might call me up to ask about an aerospace-related project only to discover I now work in environmental engineering and has another question for me. I don’t think of my sense of organization as being especially “military” but my colleagues and some of my students tease me about being super-organized. What probably surprised me the most is that I don’t mind being criticized anymore. I’ve been assessed and evaluated so many ways for so many years that receiving a ton of comments on a grant application draft no longer bother me: I just take it all in and try to improve with all the comments provided. I think the best way to foster a team mind set is to demonstrate how helping one another results in a better solution. I enjoy working with people and I try to convey enthusiasm and a positive outlook: if I am glad to work with someone and if I do my best to help, chances are they might be inclined to reciprocate.
6. Hi Dr. Meunier, I really enjoyed reading your blog post! Thank you for taking the time to interact with students. I have found the transition to online difficult for maintaining interpersonal connections with peers and instructors. In past years I could attend office hours to discuss my interests and the professor's research in addition to course concepts. However, with office hours being remote it feels more daunting to just "pop in" unless I have a specific question, as I cannot see if there are other students in the zoom waiting room and don't want to take up too much time. Do you have any advice for establishing an academic and mentor-like relationship with professors in this remote environment? Also, your cats are adorable! - Sierra
So glad you enjoyed the blog! I always enjoy hearing what students are up to and what their aspirations are. Yes, it must be extremely difficult to find yourself alone with your computer. Humans are not meant to be in individual bubbles. It must feel quite weird to “pop in” on office hours, but your profs are probably feeling exactly the same weird remoteness and would welcome an opportunity to talk about their research (profs are usually long-winded when it comes to describing their research so be forewarned!) Typically, a prof will take the time to talk with you even if there’s no time during the official hours: you can ask. The worst answer you’ll receive is “sorry, I’m a bit pressed for time, how about tomorrow or at xxxxxx time?) And if a prof simply answers “no”, (although that would surprise me), then you probably would not have had a chance to really talk to them in person either. Mentoring is a bit of an ad-hoc system: you’ll probably talk with several profs before you find that you especially enjoy a conversation with one or two profs. And
you might strike up a conversation with a researcher that is not one of your own professors. In normal times, I would suggest attending conferences, but that’s not quite the same with online delivery this year. I suggest reaching out to some of your professors with a few questions and developing a short discussion from that point. My cats agree with you: they are adorable, indeed.
7. Hi Dr. Meunier, thanks for your post! I personally am very inspired by how you went back to school to get your PhD in environmental engineering later in your career. It is a great reminder that we can and should continue to learn all throughout our lives and that we may return to school whenever we want. I am a computer engineering student and am also extremely passionate about sustainability. I would love to use technology to help save the environment, but it's hard to know where to start. Do you have any recommendations on how to start looking for environmental companies that could use a computer engineer?
You also mention that one of the reasons you liked RMC is because they incorporated theory and practice. Do you have any suggestions as to how us engineering students can still get practice when all our education and extracurriculars are online?
Thanks so much!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the blog. It was a bit crazy going back to school. I was definitely the oldest student in my classes. Your plan of combining comp eng and sustainability is a powerful one and there are tons of opportunities to apply these tools. At Queen’s the Innovation Centre is a good place to start. https://www.queensu.ca/innovationcentre/about-0 And you can also reach the Academic Director, Dr. McLellan directly: james.mclellan@queensu.ca (Dr. McLellan is also a professor in the Chem Eng Department, and one of my favourite colleagues). He would be able to provide specific advice about your interests. In terms of environmental companies, most employ engineers and scientists of all kinds of backgrounds to complement their expertise: geology, electrical, biology, etc. Here in Kingston, BluMetrics (http://www.blumetric.ca/) and MalRoz (https://www.malroz.com/) are two examples of consulting firms that might employ computer engineers to develop specific applications for environmental project. I don’t know if they are hiring at this time, but it’s worth exploring.
8. Hi Dr. Meunier! Thank you for sharing with us! Your experience is very inspiring and I appreciate the advice you have given us. What would you say is your favourite part of your job? As well, I admire that you dabbled in many different types of engineering disciplines as well as research topics, and I was wondering if there has been one that has stood out to you in an impactful way? Whether that be through what you learned from it, or just the overall experience you had? Thanks again! :)
So glad you enjoyed the blog! I love my job! I get to work with wonderful students and colleagues. My favourite is when I see a little light turning on inside a student’s head: it’s an “Aha!” moment that thrills me every time. I am fortunate to have this opportunity of being useful and contributing to students’ learning. Every different job and different aspect of engineering has been interesting to me. When I was working on my PhD (investigating
arsenic contamination from historic gold mining sites and tailings deposits), I felt the work was important because I was participating in cleaning up badly contaminated environments. I think what has stood out recently is that I am now called upon to PREVENT contamination from occurring in the first place, which is very exciting. Some of the work in my research group is contributing to identify potential contamination before mining operations start: we can mitigate and contain the damage and better control what might be released to the environment. I think we learn from each experience. Hopefully, we can apply our lessons and improve on them as we move forward.
9. Hello Dr. Meunier, as a fourth year student preparing to graduate I found it very interesting that you took time to work in industry before going back and getting your PhD. These days it seems that a masters degree is the new bachelors and I find it can be difficult to differentiate whether I want to pursue higher education because I care about what I am studying or simply because I feel I need to and will be behind if I don’t right away. Based on your experience, do you think that working in industry helped you realize that you wanted to pursue a PhD out of interest or did you see it more as a way of adapting your career path? Thank you! -Skyler
Hello Skyler. Yes, there is a sense of “inflation” in university education. From my point of view, real-life job experience always trumps research (some of my research colleagues might disagree). Engineers are trained to solve problems: there is no better way to put this into practice than to do the work. After a few years, you might find that there is a particular aspect of engineering (or science, or business, or anything else) that you would like to explore further. I think that when this feeling arises, it’ll be the right time to consider a graduate degree. Although some undergraduate students are fully ready to embark on grad studies right after their 4th-year, and do very well in grad school, it is better to experience how we apply engineering knowledge first. We become better students over time and learn differently once we have a bit more perspective. At school, there is always a push to continue with your studies, because, hey, it’s what we do! But you won’t be behind with a bachelor’s degree: there are jobs out there for junior engineers and companies will take you on and train you for what you need to know. Yes, working in different industry jobs has definitely helped me determine what I wanted to do next. I pursued a PhD out of interest (and I am fascinated by the research we do). Perhaps one day I’ll figure out what I want to do when I grow up.