Monique Frize
20-year member

Dr. Monique Frize

Professor, Carleton University and University of Ottawa
(No State Selected), Canada

Engineers!

Chi-An Emhoff
Alexandra Gregor
Cathy Fisher
Angie Staniszewski
Sara DaSilva
Madel Tapia
Abigail Lauterbach
Damaris Toepel
Jamie Krakover
Shary Mae Dacuyan
Amy Kukulya
Crystal Harris
Medicine
Close Up
  • 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.

  • Best Part

    Solving problems and developing new knowledge are the most exciting parts for me.

  • 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

    Try to find women engineers in different engineering disciplines to find out what they do. This may help you to decide your study program. Don;t be shy to email women you find at various workplaces as they may be quite happy to help and respond to your questions.

  • Hobbies

    Languages, travel, reading, writing, and painting are my main hobbies. I also like swimming and bicycling....

  • Inspiration

    A variety of mentors helped me along the way to make important decisions on my studies and career.

Biography

Born in Montreal, Monique Aubry studied in Ottawa, then in London England, Moncton New Brunswick, and Rotterdam in The Netherlands. Monique married Peter Frize in London and they have a son (Patrick Nicholas). Monique was a biomedical engineer in hospitals for 18 years and then a professor in biomedical and electrical engineering for 20 years. Monique loves reading and writing. Two books have been published so far: "The Bold and the Brave: A history of women in science and engineering". This spans some 2000 years of history and was published in 2009. The seocnd book is "Ethics for Bioengineers" and presents modern ethical issues in the age of robots, new body parts like prostheses, designer babies, etc.. It was published in 2011.

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Education
BASc Electrical Engineering (U. of Ottawa) M. Phil. Engineering in Medicine (Imperial College of Science and Technology (London UK) MBA Doctorate
Volunteer Opportunities
  • I am willing to be interviewed by interested students via email.
  • I am willing to answer written interview questions to be posted on the EngineerGirl website.
  • I am willing to participate in a conference call with a group of interested students who would like to know about my career.