Marisa Sterling

PEng, FEC, Assistant Dean at the University of Toronto & Board Member, Engineers Canada

Marisa Sterling, a seasoned engineer and academic leader, boasts over 20 years of experience spanning various sectors. Currently serving as Assistant Dean and Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Professionalism at the University of Toronto, she previously held roles in R&D, brand management, and leadership within professional engineering organizations, like Engineers Canad and Professional Engineers of Ontario. Her impactful stewardship extends to student development through her presidency at the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education. She has been instrumental in fostering EIT leadership and promoting initiatives like the Engineering Change Lab. Professor Sterling is a Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Toronto, has received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to engineering and community service. In her free time, she is involved in Camp 1 as a Warden, contributing to the professional growth of aspiring engineers. In her spare time, she enjoys being a Warden of Camp 1 and annually obligating students and graduates who have the academic qualifications for the P.Eng. license.

Dimpho Radebe

PhD Candidate, University of Toronto

Dimpho Radebe (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Engineering Education at the University of Toronto. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from UofT and completed a Master’s Degree in Management at the University of Bath, UK. Drawing from several years of professional experience in process engineering and project management, her research interests include engineering culture and identity, engineering careers in the public sector, and ethics, equity, and social justice in STEM. Dimpho’s career vision is to drive efforts to diversify engineering and encourage culture change that enables engineers with different viewpoints and varying career path interests to thrive.

Philip Asare

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream

Professor Asare joined ISTEP in July 2020, assuming the role of Assistant Professor in the Division of Engineering Science with a cross-appointment to ISTEP. His pedagogical focus lies in engineering design and transdisciplinary competencies, rooted in the belief that engineering is a human endeavor imbued with compelling narratives of innovation. Professor Asare’s educational approach centers on this human-centric view of engineering, exploring its implications for both engineering education and practice. Central to his teaching and research endeavors is the examination of how engineers can navigate the intricate socio-technical landscape. He particularly delves into fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable engineering community, underscoring the societal benefits such a community can yield.

In recognition of his commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity, Professor Asare assumed the role of Dean’s Advisor on Black Inclusivity at U of T Engineering in February 2023. Prior to his tenure at U of T Engineering, Professor Asare held the position of Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Bucknell University. His academic journey also saw him as a Scholar-in Residence at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration while pursuing his PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Cindy Rottmann

Assistant Professor of Engineering Leadership

Cindy Rottmann brings her doctoral training in educational leadership and policy studies to her work as an Assistant Professor of Engineering Leadership at the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP) in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. Professor Rottmann’s interdisciplinary research examines how engineers lead and learn to lead in professional practice contexts, the integration of equity and social justice into engineering ethics education, and engineering career paths. Professor Rottmann currently serves as the Division Chair of ASEE-LEAD, the Engineering Leadership Development division of the American Society for Engineering Education. She has taught courses on engineering leadership and educational policy studies in the past, and will be adding courses on social justice in engineering and the power of story for engineering leaders in 2024/25

Peter Eliot Weiss

PhD in Theatre History (Toronto), MFA in Directing (UBC) and BA in Theatre (UBC)

Associate Professor

Peter Eliot Weiss is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream Emeritus in the Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice and currently the Dean’s Designate for Academic Integrity. For over a decade, he was well-known to students as the Communication Coordinator for APS111 and APS112, Engineering Strategies and Practice. He is co-author of Engineering Communication: From Principles to Practice (Oxford Canada) and Designing Engineers: A First Year Text (Wiley). He has worked to foster equity, diversity and inclusivity in the faculty, including the creation of Engineering Positive Space in 2009 and the course Engineering and Social Justice (TEP324).

Professor Weiss has a PhD in Theatre History (Toronto), MFA in Directing (UBC) and BA in Theatre (UBC). Plays he has written have been performed across Canada, in the US, Great Britain, New Zealand and elsewhere.

Photo credits: Sian Richards

Leah Weiner

MS, Computer Science – Brown University

Applied Science Group Leader – Canada, Xero

Leah is an algorithm developer and data scientist with experience developing, implementing and evaluating statistical machine learning techniques in Python to extract information from large and messy social media, geospatial, textual and time series datasets. She did her undergrad in Math and Computer Science from McGill University, and her Master’s in Computer Science from Brown University.

Adriana Diaz Lozano Patino

PhD Candidate, University of Toronto Water Energy and Research Lab

Adriana Diaz Lozano Patino, graduated from engineering science at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. She received the Troost ILead Difference Maker Award in 2022, which recognized for her resilience, passionate commitment to social justice, and transformative leadership. She excels in motivating peers and driving change within the Engineering community. Through her involvement as a former Hi-Skule director and Skule Mental Wellness STEM outreach teams, she demonstrates humble leadership and a dedication to serving others.

Adriana’s dedication extends to addressing global water and energy challenges in low and middle-income countries. Her research initiatives, conducted within the Water and Energy Research Lab (WERL), encompass analysis of ultraviolet reverse osmosis systems in Bangladesh, rainwater harvesting technologies in Mexico’s Isla Urbana, and sanitation initiatives in peri-urban areas of Mexico City. She is currently working towards her graduate degree focusing on global development, STEM outreach, field research, and sustainable development projects.