STEM Speaker Series
“What should I study in university?”
“What are my career options if I’m interested in STEM?”
“What is university like?”
If you are a Grade 8-12 student and these questions are on your mind, then perhaps this is the right event for you! The STEM Speaker Series provides high school students with the opportunity to meet and interact with university students, faculty members, and/or working professionals in STEM fields.
During this event, our guest speakers will present and discuss their research and/or the work they do in their profession. They will also talk about their career path and what made them pursue the field they are in. Finally, there will be a Q&A session for students to ask questions and interact with our guest speakers.
Stay up-to-date on our upcoming programs by signing up for our monthly program newsletter.
February talk - Critical Care Nursing
Date: Feb 24, 2024 (Saturday)
Time: 1-2 pm
Grade: 8-12
Location: Virtual over Zoom
Cost: Free
About the Talk
Our guest speaker for February is Evelynn Yap. Evelynn is a registered nurse, specializing in critical care. With over seven years of experience, her diverse expertise spans across working in different hospital units and at health centers in northern Indigenous communities. Ever wonder how STEM concepts and skills intersect with healthcare? Join this talk for an opportunity to learn about Evelynn’s valuable perspectives!
About the Speaker
Evelynn Yap completed her Bachelor of Nursing from Trent University and has been a registered nurse for seven years. She specializes in critical care, which is a demanding field of nursing that involves caring for patients who are seriously injured or face life-threatening diseases. Evelynn’s diverse expertise also spans across working in different hospital units, including long-term care, mental health, and emergency. Additionally, she has experience working at health centers serving rural communities in El Paraíso, Honduras and Nunavut, Canada. In her spare time, Evelynn enjoys building and collecting Lego.
March talk - Aviation Software: Navigating the Skies with Software Tools
Date: Mar 2, 2024 (Saturday)
Time: 1-2 pm
Grade: 8-12
Location: Virtual over Zoom
Cost: Free
About the Talk
Our guest speaker for March is Florian Krauthan. Florian is an engineering manager at FISPAN, a local financial technology company in Vancouver. He enjoys learning new programming languages and building open-source, practical tools in his spare time. Florian also holds a private pilot license and has recently started working on tools to assist pilots in flight planning. Join this talk to learn how Florian combines both his passion for coding and aviation!
April talk - Stem Cell Biology
Date: Apr 20, 2024 (Saturday)
Time: 1-2 pm
Grade: 8-12
Location: Virtual over Zoom
Cost: Free
About the Talk
Our guest speaker for April is Dr. Valentina Marchetti. Dr. Marchetti is a senior scientist at Stemcell Technologies and an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at Simon Fraser University. She obtained her PhD in experimental physiopathology at the University of Rome, Italy, and spent 5 years as post-doctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute. One of her research interests was studying the role of endothelial stem cells, which differentiate to form blood vessels, in the onset of heart and blood vessel diseases. Join this talk to learn about endothelial stem cells and their applications!
About the Speaker
Dr. Valentina Marchetti obtained her PhD in experimental physiopathology at the University of Rome, Italy, studying the role of endothelial cell dysfunction and endothelial progenitor cells in cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes type 2, atherosclerosis and obesity. She subsequently moved to USA where she spent 5 years as post-doctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute, studying the usage of stem cells and myeloid cells for treating diabetic retinopathies and neurodegenerative diseases of the eye. In the last 8 years she have been working in an industry environment, at STEMCELL Technologies, Vancouver, Canada, where leading an endothelial-eye group, became responsible of establishing, validating and developing products for supporting endothelial stem cell biology research. She recently accepted a position as Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University, where she will collaborate with several groups of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in the Faculty of Science at Simon Fraser University.
May talk - From biomedical research to clinical diagnostics
Date: May 25, 2024 (Saturday)
Time: 1-2 pm
Grade: 8-12
Location: Virtual over Zoom
Cost: Free
About the Talk
Our guest speaker for May is Phung Ta. Phung is a medical laboratory technician at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, where she conducts a wide variety of clinical diagnostic tests on patient samples. She holds a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Trent University and a master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from Queen's University, both of which were funded by prestigious, full-ride scholarships. Join this talk to learn about Phung's journey from biomedical research to clinical diagnostics!
June talk - Mechatronic Systems Engineering
Date: June 8, 2024 (Saturday)
Time: 1-2 pm
Grade: 8-12
Location: Virtual over Zoom
Cost: Free
About the Talk
Our guest speaker for June is Dr. John Shen. Dr. John Shen is a professor and the director of the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University. He has over 30 years of academic, industrial, and entrepreneurial experience in the field of power electronics, power semiconductor devices, renewable energy systems, fault protection of DC and AC microgrids, and transportation electrification. In this talk, Dr. Shen will provide an introduction to the dynamic field of mechatronic systems engineering and exciting career opportunities within the discipline. Join us to learn more!
About the Speaker
Dr. John Shen is currently a professor and director of School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University, Canada. He received his BSEE from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 1987, MSEE and PhD in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA in 1991 and 1994, respectively. He has 34 years of academic, industrial, and entrepreneurial experience in the field of power electronics and power semiconductor devices and ICs. He has authored or co-authored over 350 publications and 20 issued U.S. patents. He served the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) in various capacities including Vice President of Products, Chair of PELS Distinguished Lecturers Program, Guest Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transaction on Power Electronics and IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, General Chair of the 8th IEEE Energy Convergence Congress and Expo (ECCE2016) and of the 30th IEEE International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs (ISPSD2018), two flagship IEEE conferences in the field. He is a Recipient of the 2012 IEEE Region 3 Outstanding Engineer Award and the 2023 IEEE Power Electronic Society (PELS) Technical Achievement Award for Integration and Miniaturization of Switching Power Converters. He is a Fellow of IEEE and the U.S. National Academy of Inventors. He currently serves on the board of directors of Vicor Corporation (NASDAQ: VICR).
Contact
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Applied Sciences Youth Committee at saadmin6@sfu.ca.