This month The Professional Edge chats with retired engineering professor Marie Iwaniw, P.Eng.
Tell us about your personal and professional background.
I was born in Sudbury, Ontario and went to school there. After that, I attended Queen’s University in Kingston where I got my bachelor’s degree in engineering physics. I went on to get my master’s and doctorate, also at Queens.
Why did you choose to go into engineering?
I was in high school in the 1960s during the height of the space program which really seized my interest. I had always been interested in math and sciences. I attended an all-girls separate school and, at the time, Ontario offered grade 13 but the school I attended couldn’t afford to offer all the grade 13 sciences. Physics was offered at the boys’ school and biology at the girls’. Because of my interest in space, I ended up taking classes at the boys’ school. One day a recruiter came by from Queen’s who made a pitch about the interesting work and job prospects in engineering and engineering physics. Likely if he had come to the girls’ school he wouldn’t have made the same pitch. But I was there that day and it sounded interesting so I ended up enrolling.
What was your biggest challenge in college?
People always assume that I faced a lot of challenges as a woman in those days. Maybe I was naïve but I can’t say that I really encountered that. Even during my time in university, there was steady progress in the role of women in the field. When I started, there were 400 engineering physics students, two of whom were women. By the time I graduated, 280 students convocated and 12 were women.
My main challenges were academic. I discovered that electromagnetic theory and I didn’t get along so I found myself instead studying mechanical engineering with a focus on thermo- and fluids dynamics.
What was your first job after college?
I worked at the University of Guelph where I taught agricultural engineering. I know that may seem odd because that wasn’t the focus of my studies but the basics of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics are basic to all engineering programs in one way or another.
How did you come to teach in Regina?
I had been at Guelph for four years and was looking for something new. My sister and her husband had moved to Regina some time ago. She told me about an ad in the paper for a position at the U of R. I was particularly interested in the co-op work-study program so I applied, got the job and came here in 1988. The rest is history.
How many students have you taught over that time?
I would say I’ve dealt with over 2,000 students in one way or another either in class or in the Faculty of Engineering Co-op Work-study program, of which I was the director for many years. Maybe closer to 2,500.
In your view, how have things changed for women in the profession over that time?
One thing that hasn’t changed is that people keep asking about it, which shows people still think it’s a problem. The female students I’ve taught have by and large been smart, strong women who can handle themselves in any situation.Perhaps the biggest thing that’s changed, oddly enough, is that the expectations are lower. When I was a student, there was the feeling that, to be a female engineering student, you had to be better than your male peers. You had to be a straight A student to “prove” you belonged there. I think that’s gone now. Female students can just be regular, average students with normal expectations, which is a sign that they’ve been accepted in the group.
What do you feel was your single greatest accomplishment as an Engineer?
My students. As an academic, I’m not like other engineers who can point to a building or a bridge as something they’ve accomplished. My “product,” if you will, are my students and I’m proud to see the success that so many of them have achieved. I hope that I’ve given them not only the science and way of thinking but also, by example, shows them the values – the judgment, ethics and responsibility for one’s actions that comes with being an engineer.
What are your interests outside of work?
You’re assuming I’ve had an “outside of work”! I didn’t have much time for myself when I was working. In retirement, I’m catching up on things – spending time with family, supervising household renovations, looking after my cats. My retirement is recent enough that it’s still a bit like a holiday for me.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
I shook Chris Hadfield’s hand. I had always wanted to be an astronaut but wasn’t physically built for that. Fortunately that dream was forgotten so long ago that meeting Chris didn’t inspire any regret.
What books are you reading at the moment?
Right now I’m reading Game of Thrones.
Who has had the greatest influence on your life and career?
For my life in general, I’d say my parents. They came here from Ukraine after the Second World War as what were then called displaced people. They had very little education themselves so they instilled in my sisters and me the importance of education.
They also imparted to us a great attitude to life. They had not only survived the war but had also survived Stalin’s oppression. They had this wonderful quiet attitude of just accepting troubles as they come, carrying on and getting through them.
As for my career, I had many inspiring professors and collagues. I wouldn’t want to single them out but the ones I remember were ones who showed patience and understanding towards their students. These profs made me think, “I wish I could be like that” and I tried to emulate them through my career.
When I go out shopping or out and about I encounter my students all the time and they all seem to be doing extremely well.
I’m a warden in the Kipling camp for iron ring which keeps me in contact with the students.