What I Do My main teaching and research area is biomedical engineering. My research consists of two main projects: 1. Develop decision-aid tools for doctors, especially for the intensive care of premature babies. 2. Using infrared cameras, which allow us to measure the temperature of human tissue and bodies and assess pain in babies and adults suffering from a variety of conditions.
Why Engineering? I wanted to solve problems and help make the world a better place. I also liked mathematics and science and could use these subjects to solve problems in engineering.
School Days I was the first woman to enter into engineering and to be awarded a degree in this profession at the University of Ottawa. I chose electrical engineering, then completed a Master's in engineering in medicine at Imperial College in London (UK), an MBA at Universite de Moncton, and finally a doctorate at Erasmus Universiteit in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
My Day At Work Meeting with doctors and nurses to discuss new projects and deciding the development steps of each project is very interesting and challenging. The research itself is a long process and needs a lot of patience to analyze the results and figure out the next steps, but that is also the interesting part. You always discover new knowledge and it is never boring.
Proud Moments Seeing the results of my students' research work and the publications we have done together has been most satisfying. I especially enjoy seeing my students get good jobs and have an interesting and well-paying career. I am proud of the patent which I obtained in 1987 for a new electrode design.
Challenges There are more women now in this field, especially in biomedical engineering. However, many years ago, I was often the only woman in my classes or at an engineering conference. At the time, I focused on my goals and did not worry too much about this. Now I am very happy to see many more women in our classes and at conferences.
My Family The eldest of a French Canadian family of seven children, I was born in Montreal. My parents were both published authors and were excellent role models in transferring to their children the love of knowledge. I have a very supportive husband who is proud of my achievements and we have a son of whom we are very proud.
Dreams and Goals Continue my current research and provide guidance and mentoring to students who study and work in biomedical engineering.
Want to be an Engineer? Believe in yourself and try to balance work and life. You could think of ways to make the world a better place for everyone and joining Engineers Without Borders could help you to reach this goal. Enjoy the learning and the challenges.
Additional Thoughts You could think of ways to make the world a better place for everyone and joining Engineers Without Borders could help you to reach this goal.
Hobbies Languages, travel, and reading are my main hobbies. I also like gardening very much, flowers and vegetables, trees...