Speakers and Panelists

Keynote Speakers

Kathryn Lueders

Kathryn Lueders

Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA

Adia Gooden, Ph.D

Adia Gooden, Ph.D

Director of the Clinic and Community Programs at The Family Institute

Dr.Lana Potts

Lana Potts

Indigenous Health and First Nation Expert, Medical Doctor

Ambre Lizurey

Ambre Lizurey

Director of Operations at EA's Motive Montreal studio

Consulting

Anna Ye

Anna Ye

Business analyst at McKinsey

Christine Blair

Christine Blair

Project Engineering Consultant, SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit Engineering

Michelle Theroux

Michelle Theroux

Senior Manager, Healthcare Strategy & Innovation at Deloitte

Future of Transportation

Dahun Mamora

Dahun Mamora

Technical Project Manager, Tesla

Anushree Sonic

Anushree Sonic

Technical Lead at Waymo

Devin Williams

Devin Williams

Lead Mechanical Engineer at Zipline

Healthcare

Cathy Zhang

Dr. Cathy Zhang

CAPIE founder and UHN Physician

Noor El-Dassouki

Noor El-Dassouki

Health Ethics Researcher at UHN

Gelareh Zadeh

Dr. Gelareh Zadeh

Head of the Department of Neurosurgery at Toronto Western Hospital, UHN

Industry Disruptors

Natalie Galant

Dr. Natalie Galant

Co-Founder of PARADOX Immunotherapeutics

Fatima Khamitova

Fatima Khamitova

CEO & Founder of Veer AI

Pooja Sinha

Pooja Sinha

Principal Engineer/Manager at Qualcomm Canada

Lejla Bajic

Lejla Bajic

VP of System Engineering & Operations at Tenstorrent Inc

Technology

Natasha Walji

Natasha Walji

Director, Tech, Telecom, Entertainment & Public sector at Google

Fatima Khamitova

Laila Hulbert

Staff Engineer at Qualcomm Canada

Fatima Khamitova

Dragana Vulpic-Bork

Manager, Network Big Data COE at Bell

Sustainability

Ning Yan

Professor Ning Yan

Professor of Forest Biomaterials Engineering at the University of Toronto

Stacy Kauk

Stacy Kauk

Director, Sustainability Fund at Shopify

Jessica Polak

Jessica Polak

Vice President of Operations at Ontario Power Generation

Katrina Williams

Katrina Williams

Global Product Manager, Trojan Technologies

Academia

Clarice Phelps

Clarice Phelps

Engineer and Research Associate at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL)

Netra Unni Rajesh

Netra Unni Rajesh

PhD candidate in BME at Stanford University

Dr. Linda Cremonesi

Dr. Linda Cremonesi

UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Lecturer in Particle Physics at Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Deborah Maclatchy

Dr. Deborah Maclatchy

President and Vice-Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University and a Distinguished Biologist

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Karine Morin

Karine Morin

Director, leading EDI initiative at NSERC

Asmaa Ali

Asmaa Ali

Community leader, freelance photographer, and Registered Nurse

Dina Al-Khooly

Dina Al-Khooly

Director of Research and Evaluation at Visions of Science

Marisa Sterling

Marisa Sterling

Assistant dean and director of diversity, inclusion and professionalism at UofT’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering

Psychology

Janina Scarlet

Dr. Janina Scarlet

Lead Trauma Specialist at Center for Stress & Anxiety Management

Dr. Tanaya Chatterjee

Dr. Tanaya Chatterjee

Clinical psychologist at CAMH

Dr. Frances Chen

Dr. Frances Chen

Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia.

Biomedical Engineering

Dawn Bell

Dawn Bell

Global Development Head, Strategic Partnerships Team at Novartis

Dr. Kiana Aran

Dr. Kiana Aran

Co-Founder and Chief Scientific officer at Cardea Bio

Dr. Deanna Gates

Dr. Deanna Gates

Associate Professor of Movement Science, Biomedical Engineering and Robotics at the University of Michigan

Dr. Naomi Matsuura

Dr. Naomi Matsuura

Associate Professor in Materials Science and Engineering and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto

Banking

Caroline Tutakiewicz

Caroline Tutakiewicz

Director, Strategy & Innovation with RBC Ventures

Katie Ferriter

Katie Ferriter

Head, Technology Research & Innovation at BMO

Competitions

The WISE National Conference (WISE NC) competitions provide an opportunity for participants from various backgrounds to apply knowledge learned in class and solve real-world problems, working collaboratively as a team. We have expanded our competitions as we take advantage of our virtual platform to include as many contestants from various fields as possible. By having diverse topics that have both scientific and ethical implications, we hope our contestants can propose innovative solutions that are not only technologically sound but also encompass social considerations. This year, we're offering 3 different competitions:



rpp

Research Proposal and Pitch (RPP)

RPP contestants will compete in only ONE of the four following RPP streams. You will be expected to do some research with the prompt that will be released on January 22nd and present a working solution on January 24th during the conference. The 4 streams are:

  • Infectious Disease
  • Psychology
  • AI and Healthcare
  • Environmental Remediation
Teams of 3 will be judged by experts from academia and industry. The judges’ biographies will be posted on our website shortly, and competitors are given the opportunity to ask any questions to the judges during Competitions Judges’ Saturday Office Hours. RPPs will be judged based on the following deliverables:

  • a maximum 2-page written proposal submission
  • a 5-6 min presentation + 3 min Q&A periodFor those that already have 2- to 3-person teams, ONE member of the team will be required to submit ONE Competitions Registration for the whole team.
If you do not have a team, do not worry - we will put you in one randomly! Prizes: Top group per each stream will receive $750.

3mt

3 Minute Thesis (3MT)

Individual competitors of undergraduate or graduate levels are given the opportunity to present their research in 3 minutes with one static slide on Friday January 22nd 5-7pm EST. If you wish, you may send us your abstract by January 15th to be posted on our website. Prizes: The winning presenter will receive $200, and the second place competitor will receive $100.

Consulting Case Competition

Contestants are challenged to consider, among other aspects, the ethics, corporate social responsibility, and business-government relations to a technology-based case that will be released on January 22nd. They will present a working solution in a 10-minute presentation on January 24th during the conference. Teams of 4 will be judged by experts from academia and industry, and the competitors are given the opportunity to ask any questions to the judges during Competitions Judges’ Saturday Office Hours. For those that already have 2- to 3-person teams, ONE member of the team will be required to submit ONE Competitions Registration for the whole team. If you do not have a team, do not worry - we will put you in one randomly! Prizes: Top group per each stream will receive $1000.

Hackathon

Cancelled - you may find Research Proposal and Pitch: AI stream to be of your interest instead

Competition Inquiries

Workshops

Workshops are a wonderful way for you to more actively take part in the Conference! Our demos, activities, and guided discussions are designed to allow you to get exposure to new concepts, develop useful skills, and engage with fellow attendees. Our workshops this year fall under 7 streams: Consulting, Tech, Engineering, Academia, Professional Development, Personal Development, and EDI. With the focus being more on skill-building, we believe that everyone will be able to find something useful and inspiring from attending these workshops, no matter where their interests lie.

Subsidies

  • The University of Toronto Faculty of Engineering has generously offered 80% subsidized tickets for 200 UofT Engineering students

  • Students will need to apply for support through Student Initiative Fund Form Link: here

  • The Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga will be covering the registration fee for interested CPS students to virtually attend this year's WISE conference. To apply for the subsidy, interested students can email cps.utm@utoronto.ca with:

    • Full Name
    • Student #
    • Program of Study
    • Short statement of why they want to attend and what they hope to learn

  • Interested students are requested to apply for funding through the Student Group Request for Funding Application Form here

  • McMaster Women in Engineering has generously offered to cover 60% of their 40 student’s tickets. For inquiries please contact the McMaster Women in Engineering Society

  • Every year UTSC students can apply to funds that can subsidize/cover conference participation. Students interested can apply through here:here

  • The University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Sciences has generously offered to provide subsidies for 100 University of Toronto Arts and Science students.

  • The University of Ottawa Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Chapter is generously offering selected students subsidies for attending the conference. Interested students please email wise@uottawa.ca if they have any inquiries or students can contact them on their websitehere

  • Mount Royal University has generously offered to provide subsidies for 25 Mount Royal University students interested in attending the conference. If you are interested, students may contact jwithey@mtroyal.ca

  • Ryerson University has generously subsidized 30 tickets to graduate students in engineering and architecture. Students will recieve a full refund once registered, given that they have provided a valid student email.

2021 WISE National Conference Schedule

Opening Ceremonies

Healthcare Panel


Sustainability Panel

Career Fair

Lunch Break


Speed Mentoring

Workshop: Science Communication 101


Workshop: Shopify Intro to Web Application Security


Consulting Panel

Workshop: YNCN Practice Your Pitch


Workshop: Trojan Tech - Ensuring Greater Water Confidence


Equity Diversity Inclusion Panel

Workshop: ReSearch - It starts with a question...


Workshop: Rogers - Resume & Interview Tips and Tricks


Transportation Panel

Workshop: EQ Bank - Business Case


Psychology Panel

Closing Ceremonies

Fireside Chat

Opening Ceremonies

Consulting Case Competition Presentations

Technology Panel


Lunch Break


Speed Mentoring

Research Proposal & Pitch Competition Presentation

Career Fair

Workshop: Bell - Applications of AI and Machine Learning


Academic Panel

Workshop: Qualcomm: Self Advocacy for Women in the Workplace


Industry Disruptors Panel

Workshop: Google Cloud Hero


Biomedical Engineering Panel

Workshop: UTDL ANSYS Simulation


Workshop: QueerSphere: Identity and Innovation


Banking Panel

Closing Ceremonies