Baker graduates this spring with a Master of Applied Science degree from the School of Sustainable Energy Engineering. With an interest in 3D printing technology and sustainable manufacturing, Baker’s research focused on developing a nozzle that prints plastic surrounded by silver. During his time at SFU, he successfully created functional electrical wires using a third less silver. His highlights included meeting fellow SEE graduate students in seminars. It inspired him to hear other students’ research and reminded him that he is part of a larger community with a passion to advance engineering technology to build a better future. “First, plan your time. Second, plans fail, but you just got to keep going on. Things rarely work according to plan, but that does not mean they never work,” says Baker with first-year students and graduate students in mind. Taking what he has learned about sustainability, Baker will be continuing his career in research by pursuing a PhD in chemistry at UBC this fall.

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Burville graduates this June with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering. While at SFU, he discovered his interest in aerospace which led him to become the co-founder of SFU Aerospace and organize a course in orbital mechanics. Despite having to face the challenges of managing a heavy course load and working on design teams, Burville was able to maintain a balance between both by interconnecting his course work with his design team work. His advice to first-year students is to focus on their math fundamentals and to join a design team. “Do not be afraid to jump straight into the projects and learn as you go,” he says. Burville recently joined MDA Ltd., a Canadian space technology company, as a Satellite Systems Engineer. In his spare time, Burville works on two start-up companies that he co-founded, Garrow Space Systems and Caidin Biotechnologies.

Canute graduates this June with a Master of Science degree from the School of Computing Science. A graduand from the Professional Master of Science in Computer Science program, Canute was able to pursue hands-on projects that he previously had ideas for but didn’t have the time or resources to execute. For example, he and his lab partners worked on a colour scheme mapping project by reviewing a large data set to find correlations between website colour schemes, font choices and website content. Canute also led a team to build a WikiPlugin that users can put in their Chrome browser to help improve the Wikipedia experience through a variety of features. Canute and his team received an Innovation Prize for this project in 2020. Now set to graduate, Canute is using his skills for data science consulting while working on a side project.

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Chandler graduates this June with a joint major in computing science and linguistics. After completing an internal transfer to the School of Computing Science, Chandler overcame several challenging periods as they took on computing science and math courses without programming experience and with previous struggles in math. “It took so much trial and error and self-reflection to understand what study strategies and environments worked for me,” says Chandler. These efforts were worthwhile, as Chandler now boasts an impressive list of awards including multiple Dean’s Honour Roll and President’s Honour Roll appearances. In addition to excelling academically, Chandler was also very involved in the Women in Computing Science (WiCS) student group where they served in multiple different roles, including President, Technical Coordinator and Mentorship Coordinator. This provided Chandler with leadership experience and a sense of community. Chandler recently started as a Software Engineer at SkipTheDishes where they work on backend software development.

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ElMallah graduates this June with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering. While at SFU, he discovered his passion for artificial intelligence and the internet of things, and the role they play in taking automation to new industries. The highlights of his degree include organizing SystemsFair, SFU Surrey’s largest tech-based career fair and being awarded first place at the SFU FAS competition. Even though he had to face the challenge of remote education, ElMallah was able to overcome this obstacle by increasing the use of online communication with his classmates and modifying his project management style. “Keep celebrating your achievements, never stop learning and continue to discover your passions,” he says. ElMallah has recently joined Motorola Solutions as an Embedded Software Engineer and plans to pursue graduate studies in the future.

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Jakaza graduates this June with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the School of Engineering Science. While at SFU, she was able to acquire problem-solving skills as her program encouraged her to develop innovative solutions to problems. The highlights of her degree include being a leader for the first Invent the Future AI Scholars Program in 2018 and defending her undergraduate thesis in the Biomedical Optics Research Group. Her advice to first-year students is to try new things, learn to be adaptable, and build healthy relationships. She congratulates her graduating class on finishing their degree amidst a pandemic. “Your situation should not stop you from pursuing and accomplishing your goals,” she says. Following graduation, Jakaza plans to take some time off to visit her family and pursue a career in medicine or graduate studies in biomedical engineering.

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Leung graduates this June with a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Computing Science. He excelled academically in the software systems program, highlighted by working on a group project to help health-care workers in Uganda identify pregnancy complications among women in rural communities. Leung also completed an Entrepreneurship & Innovation Certificate during his degree, where he became passionate about technological innovation for product success. Despite these achievements, he is most proud of his extra-curricular activities at SFU. “I am most proud of co-founding the club SFU Surge with Hilal Asmat to enable tech students to access engaging knowledge-sharing opportunities and craft valuable industry connections,” says Leung. The club held its first large-scale hackathon during the pandemic with great success, attracting over 400 hackers virtually. Now graduating, Leung is preparing to work as a Software Developer at Amazon Vancouver, where he is excited to work on technologies to improve the customer experience.

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Pournaghmeh graduates this June with a Master of Applied Science degree from the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering. During his time at SFU, he discovered his passion for the subject of control and control systems. While having some knowledge on the subject, SFU’s mechatronics program allowed him to dive deeper into the world of automatic and industrial control. Despite having to face the challenges of remote learning and the restricted access to campus facilities, Pournaghmeh was able to complete his thesis on creating infrastructure for sustainable modes of transportation. “Get more involved in real world projects and learn about other disciplines and fields, and how they interact,” he says. Currently, Pournaghmeh has joined Accurpress, a leading manufacturer of hydraulic CNC press brakes, as their Mechanical Systems Engineer.