U of T Engineering Dean Chris Yip on how the Defy Gravity campaign is making a difference  

When Chris Yip became dean at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering in 2019, he set out to connect with students, faculty and alumni over coffee. While the coffee dates moved online during the pandemic, Yip kept his commitment to connect and listen. After a highly successful celebration of the faculty’s 150^th anniversary and now into his second term, he has been a key force driving the growth of research, education and community-building at U of T Engineering.

Beyond his role as dean, Yip is an internationally renowned scholar for his work on molecular imaging. A faculty member with the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, he holds cross-appointments with the Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research and the Department of Biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

In an interview, Yip reflected on the importance of student voices, what it means to think sustainably and what’s next for U of T Engineering.

The Defy Gravity campaign priorities really highlight the importance of engineers in addressing some of society’s biggest challenges, from climate change to chronic disease to ensuring that AI is developed safely and in line with human values. How is the campaign making a difference at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering?

Defy Gravity succinctly summarizes what we have been doing at U of T Engineering for more than a century and a half and continue to do today: we’re developing bold, innovative solutions to complex challenges, designing a better world for everyone.

In addition to inspiring ambitious thinking, active alumni engagement and generous giving within our community, the campaign prompted us to reimagine the scope of our work and how we communicate our impact. Early in the campaign, and again when we celebrated our 150^th anniversary in 2023, we emphasized four pillars:

• Creating sustainable and thriving global communities;
• Promoting healthy societies;
• Designing intelligent machines for good; and
• Enhancing the development of the 21^st century engineer.

Everything we do falls into one or more of these buckets. These are our grounding principles to lead us through the campaign and through the next 150 years and beyond.

You’ve always championed student voices, the student experience and the importance of developing well-rounded engineers. What does that look like in practice, and how is the faculty helping students grow as leaders, innovators and collaborators?

Students are at the centre of everything we do at U of T Engineering. That’s why my door’s always open – I encourage students to book a coffee chat with me. I want to know what they’re interested in as the faculty thinks through how to best prepare them for meaningful careers in a rapidly changing world.

With our students in mind, we’ve launched a wide range of minors and certificates in AI, business, communications, entrepreneurship, global leadership, nanoengineering and various other emerging areas. And because we recognize that leadership is a major component of engineering practice, U of T Engineering has dedicated resources to leadership training through our the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering, which is part of our Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice.

Outside the classroom, our students have rich opportunities to lead, innovate and collaborate on projects they are passionate about, from designing, building and racing EV formula cars to helping launch satellites into space to co-founding startups and so much more.

These experiences shape our students into well-rounded engineering professionals who can look at problems from various perspectives and work effectively with others on promising solutions.

In your career, you have travelled around the world. How have those global experiences shaped your vision for expanding international opportunities for students, and what role have alumni played in supporting this vision?

Travel has opened my eyes to just how big the world can be, and it’s introduced me to new cultures, new ways of thinking and new ideas. But it also drove home the fact that the biggest challenges we face are global — from pandemics to climate change — and that the market for talent and ideas is international as well. I truly believe that global fluency is the most valuable asset we can give our students, especially now, in this economy.

I would like to see as many of our students benefit from an international experience during their time here as we possibly can. I’m always thrilled to hear about students embarking on international exchanges or crossing borders to pursue a Professional Experience Year [PEY] Co-op opportunity or travelling abroad to work on a research project. We’re very fortunate that our alumni understand the importance of international experiences too, and they are always willing to help out any way they can.

We’re also grateful to those who have supported our Centre for Global Engineering, which mobilizes our students and researchers to solve engineering problems in contexts that look very different from downtown Toronto. For example, I’m very excited about a generous gift from alum Lee Lau – a double graduate in electrical and computer engineering — which will create more opportunities for our students in Hong Kong and mainland China.

How is the faculty developing a vision for sustainability in a way that brings together different areas of expertise and prepares students to lead in this space?

Achieving our sustainability goals will require more than a series of quick fixes, such as swapping one material for another. It’s about taking a holistic approach and thinking through how people interact with their environment, infrastructure and technology. It is, by definition, multidisciplinary.

We’re really excited about the new Lawson Climate Institute, which will give our researchers and students more opportunities to collaborate with their peers across U of T on exciting sustainability research.

Hands-on, experiential learning is such a big part of engineering. What steps is the faculty taking to ensure students have access to modern labs and real-world tools that reflect the industries they’ll be entering?

One of our biggest priorities right now is modernizing our labs and learning spaces. To make sure our students are industry-ready, they need to get hands-on experience now using state-of-the-art technologies and equipment.

Just a few months ago, we opened our new Keysight Electronics Laboratory, which was made possible through a generous in-kind donation of advanced equipment from Keysight Technologies. This lab will give students the opportunity to get real experience using modern electrical equipment. We’re looking forward to opening more spaces like these.

The Defy Gravity campaign includes an alumni engagement target – a first for U of T.  What kind of alumni engagement are you seeing in the faculty, and how does it affect current students?

Our alumni engagement is stellar — I always “warn” our students that once you enrol in U of T Engineering, you’ll be a part of this community for life. (I’m a Chem 8T8 grad myself, and I can verify this!)

There is something about this place that keeps me and my fellow alumni coming back. Some of my best memories — staying up late studying with classmates, hanging out at the Pit in the Sandford Fleming basement, my iron ring ceremony — involve U of T Engineering. Coming back is a way to keep those memories and traditions alive.

At U of T Engineering, we’re happy to welcome alumni back as speakers, mentors, PEY employers and volunteers. Our grads show our students all the different places an engineering education can take you — and they are constantly emphasizing to students that they can always rely on this fantastic network that’s 100 per cent behind them.

That kind of support is priceless, and it really aligns with our work on creating a more inclusive community within the faculty. Engineering schools have a history of not being reflective of the societies that we serve: we have to fix this this. That means making space for diverse voices at the table so that we can develop solutions that work for everyone. Every deserving student has the right to pursue an engineering education, and the U of T Engineering community is ready to back them up, every step of the way.

You were recently reappointed for your second term as Dean. What’s next for the faculty?

I think a growing concern on everyone’s mind right now is health care: as a large subset of Canadians age and enter their elderly years, we need to make sure our population stays healthy, and engineering can play a major role here.

As Professor Milos Popovic, the director of our Institute of Biomedical Engineering, always says: “there is no health care without engineering.”  That’s why we’ve engaged in so many exciting health care partnerships, including with the University Health Network, which give students experience solving real-world challenges.

Today, our students are creating tiny robotic tools that enable a less-invasive way of performing brain surgery, leveraging AI to improve imaging in breast cancer cases, advancing tissue engineering, and so much more. There are more breakthroughs to come!

I’m also excited about strengthening our partnerships with industry. We just opened our new Partnerships Office at 800 Bay Street, and we have alumni-run businesses operating out of that space. I can’t wait to deepen our work with them and support their growth.