Faculty of Engineering

George Fares is graduating from the Bachelor of Technology program in Automotive and Vehicle Engineering. Since a young age, he has always been passionate about automobiles and the components that make up such machines. This passion led him to the B. Tech program where he gained a new appreciation for the automotive industry and manufacturing. This is also true from his co-op experiences at the Ford Motor Company and Promach Inc.

During his time in B.Tech, George participated in the IDEEA engineering competition and placed second globally in engineering design. He participated in the Bachelor of Technology Association for two years as a level three and level four representative for his fellow constituents relaying feedback and concerns to faculty and administration.

George would like to thank his professors, Dr. Timber Yuen, Dr. Moein Mehrtash, and Dr. Ahmed Fakhr for inspiring him to be his best, and his family for their support.

Rebecca is graduating with a Computer Engineering & Co-op degree from the Bachelor of Engineering program. For four consecutive years, Rebecca has been a part of the Women in Engineering executive, working to improve the diversity within her faculty.

She is extremely grateful to have introduced initiatives such as sexual violence response and prevention, clothing drives, online social platforms, and more. Rebecca has also been an active member in encouraging younger students to pursue engineering, acting as a student ambassador, mentor, and tutor throughout her university career. She has also enjoyed presiding over the Italian Cultural Club, promoting Italian culture throughout McMaster.

In her fourth year, she participated in a 16-month co-op in which she worked on electromagnetic tracking and optical measurement as a software developer. She is now working as a Software Developer at Bell Canada.

Rebecca would like to thank her parents for providing her with the opportunity to receive a university education, as well as her three sisters for their unconditional love and support.  

Dr. Zhen Gao, Assistant Professor in the W. Booth School of Engineering Practice & Technology, has been lauded by his peers and students as an engaging instructor, and thoughtful community collaborator, who works to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive classroom. His teaching approach has been pivotal in helping students develop comprehensive skills, strengthening both their technical and practical competencies. 

Through his teaching, Dr. Gao encourages students to develop independent thinking skills. He uses relevant industry examples and incorporates the latest technology into his labs and course work. As his colleagues note, “Dr. Gao has always been a practitioner of combining engineering knowledge that supports conceptual theory, and practical skills that allow theory to touch the ground.”  

Dr. Gao has demonstrated exemplary leadership in teaching and learning innovation. He has developed and redesigned numerous courses and experiments with novel pedagogical strategies. He is one of the founding members of the i-Think initiative, which focuses on building interdisciplinary and integrative thinking competencies for students. As a Program Lead, Dr. Gao continuously strives to enhance the quality of the graduate programs within the W. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology and is the founding Program Lead of the Masters of Engineering and Systems Technology, one of the most sought-after graduate programs of its kind.  

Dr. Kimberly Woodhouse was one of the first women in Canada to be appointed as a Dean of Engineering at Queen’s University, where she has held leadership roles for over a decade. During her time as Dean, she developed the faculty’s Innovation and Global Leadership program, a joint initiative with the Queen’s School of Business, and the Aboriginal Access to Engineering program. 

Dr. Woodhouse’s Ph.D. research was on materials used in blood contacting devices like stents, heart valves and catheters. Her idea was create a material that would destroy blood clots rather than stop them from forming. Her research has led to the training of 28 PhD students, generated over 65 peer-reviewed articles and is still current and worked on at McMaster to this day. 

Dr. Woodhouse is a role model for women in engineering and has been honoured by numerous prestigious awards, such as the Queen’s University Distinguished Service Award in 2022 and the Top 150+ McMaster University Alumni Award in 2018. She is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and received a Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education from Engineers Canada in 2007. 

Dr. Howard Ketelson is a widely renowned expert in ophthalmic drug and medical device innovation with more than 25 years of experience across the optometry and ophthalmology industries. As Head of Ideation, Dr. Ketelson’s work lead to 37 patents at Alcon, the largest eye care company in the world resulting in two patents for market-leading products OPTI-FREE EXPRESS®, a multipurpose contact lens solution, and the dry eye product SYSTANE®.   The human impact of Dr. Ketelson’s work has been immense, providing breakthrough solutions that address unmet ophthalmic and medical needs for consumers around the globe. 

He has worked in collaboration with McMaster University through research on hydroxypropyl guar-borate interactions with macromolecules and soft surfaces. The collaboration supported many graduate students in the department of Chemical Engineering, generating numerous key publications with McMaster and resulting in commercialized products for Alcon.  

Dr. Ketelson received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry at McMaster University, Master of Science in polymer chemistry at McGill University and a PhD from McMaster in colloid and surface chemistry.