Meet MacEng’s First Cansbridge Fellow

Irenaeus Wong, Materials Engineering, Level 3

Irenaeus Wong, McMaster Engineering’s Cansbridge Fellowship recipient

Irenaeus joins a cohort of Canadian students that will experience a summer internship in Asia, attend a week-long conference in Silicon Valley, and join the Cansbridge Network. Learn more about Irenaeus and what he hopes to get out of the fellowship in his Q&A.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your time as a MacEng student. How has your experience at McMaster Engineering contributed to your success?

I think my time at MacEng was less “traditional” than expected in that I took a two-year break between my initial and subsequent enrollment. Once I returned, the challenges in developing a professional portfolio and the opportunities to give back to those who have helped me were top of my mind.

The DeltaHacks Materials Challenge was one of the first major events that set me up for success. Participation furthered my interest in materials, technical competence, all of which culminated in a solid foundation I felt comfortable building upon. After expressing interest in computational materials, many folks in the Materials Engineering Department helped to connect me to my first internship in Ottawa as an Applications Developer.

From then onwards, I tapped into the MacEng Materials network, wherein I found my now colleagues and friends. Their support was invaluable to the progress I made personally and professionally. This was pertinent when I founded the Computational Materials Society (CMS) and helped revamp the Materials Science and Engineering Society in two years to create the Materials Engineering Hackathon (MATLS Hacks).

MATLS Hacks was full circle for me because it offered the same kind of foundational skill-building for students that DeltaHacks did for me at the start of my own re-entry into MacEng. There are countless instances where the MacEng student body creates and maintains support for the community. I learned from that track record of collective action, and I’m now motivated to intentionally collaborate for catalytic, positive social change.

Oh hello there!

Take us through your reaction to finding out you received the Cansbridge Fellowship?

I was beyond excited and must have shortlisted 30+ summer internships in Asia that night! I felt incredibly lucky to be selected amongst the amazing fellows preceding me. At the same time, I recognized that it was largely possible because of the mentorship and support of my colleagues. I see this as my biggest opportunity yet and I definitely feel a responsibility to give back to the MacEng community.

What exactly is the Cansbridge Fellowship?

It is a network of high-impact Canadian university students focused on innovating across borders. Each year, a cohort of 15–20 students are chosen to join and further develop a global mentality through a week-long boot camp and conference in San Francisco (Squamish, British Columbia this year) and an internship in Asia. This summer, I will join the 2022 cohort in Squamish, then complete internships in California and Tokyo.

While we’re sure Irenaeus will enjoy the fellowship, he’ll surely miss his newly adopted pet, Moira

What do you hope to take away from the fellowship and how will it impact your future?

What I find incredible is the scale of impact fellows can have so early in their careers. I hope to learn what drives them to disrupt industries and found “unicorns” through their successes and failures. My goal for the Tokyo internship is to gain a more nuanced sociocultural understanding of how they maintain their world-leading position in many industries such as manufacturing and AI in materials engineering. Ideally, this means that I will gain exposure to best practices that I can then apply to the education and extracurricular systems at MacEng, and future in materials technology.

Any advice for students who are trying for fellowships like this?

I would recommend for students to take risks and pursue opportunities in unfamiliar situations. It is impossible to avoid failure, but if your pursuits have the potential for systematic positive change, it is certainly worth the attempt. In my limited time with the Cansbridge fellows, I have noticed that those who challenge the status quo are then more able to accelerate the advent of positive change. I would advise students to surround themselves with those who inspire, motivate, and challenge you to grow.

Seriously, he’s going to miss his study buddy

What extracurriculars are you involved in? Why is experiential learning important?

I joined the MSE Society as a 2nd-year rep and am currently a Co-President. I also founded MATLS Hacks and the Computational Materials Society. Experiential learning is essential to connect the engineering and scientific fundamentals of the classroom to the real-life applications. An underrated aspect of experiential learning is the exposure to leadership and management which allows you to become a well-rounded and adaptable professional.

What does it mean to be a part of the #FireballFamily to you?

MacEng attracts a unique subset of potential engineers that are focused to contribute to the common good. I am proud to be a part of the #FireBallFamily and be surrounded by colleagues who consider the people they are helping ahead of the technology they develop to get there. After this experience with the Cansbridge Fellowship, I plan on giving back to the #FireballFamily by serving as a bridge to the Cansbridge network and to the best practices found in Asia and my travels this summer.

Part of our Fireball Family on the Fireball!

Is there anyone you would like to thank or credit for helping you receive this fellowship?

I have many to thank for their support, encouragement, kindness and passion. Without this list of people, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

· My parents and sibling — Sky M.

· Jennifer Hamilton

· Dr. Colin McDonald

· The faculty and staff of the MSE department

· Dr. Yu

· Dr. Grandfield

· Dr. Bassim

· The members of the MSE Society

· Sarah Gonder

· Alexi Buenaventura

· Chiara Choi

· Vaytiere Iglesias

· Aiden Aqui

· Jeremy Wilson

· Kevin Mensah

· Zayaan Khan

· Dr. Hatem Zurob

· Ge Sa and Richard Elliott from Hatch LTD.

· Michael W. Phaneuf from Fibics Inc.

· Dr. Greenwood from CANMET

Stay tuned as Irenaeus will be sharing more from his Cansbridge Fellowship in the future.

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