This text is part of the special Quebec engineering booklet
With a broad smile on her face, engineering student Sophia Roy is the very embodiment of this brilliant new generation determined to act in the face of the challenge of the century: climate change. The excellence of her results and her strong involvement in the student community were rewarded with a scholarship from the Order of the White Rose, awarded by Polytechnique Montréal.
At just 23 years old, Sophia Roy already has an impressive track record. After a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at McGill University, the results of which earned her the Medal of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, she followed directly with an accelerated doctorate at Polytechnique Montreal.
His doctoral research focuses on the decarbonization of steel, one of the most polluting industries in the world. “Counting electricity consumption, the steel industry represents 10% of our global emissions,” says Sophia Roy. We need it for railways, wind turbines, buildings, everywhere… We just can’t stop producing it. »
Reducing its environmental impact could go through the recycling of raw materials or the transformation of production methods, currently dependent on fossil fuels. “And if we change these methods, we have to look at what the new impacts will be,” she continues. It is important to analyze the entire life cycle. »
Search and act
Aware of environmental challenges from an early age, Sophia Roy wishes above all to take concrete action. “I was influenced at a very young age by documentaries on climate issues and biodiversity, in particular those of Jane Goodall, she says. She was a real role model, I wanted to be like her! The world of engineering and research is now a space of choice for developing its own solutions, according to her.
From the baccalaureate, Sophia Roy was interested in ways to reduce the ecological footprint of the manufacture of solar panels. To summarize her work, she publishes an article in The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering in 2020, become one of the most downloaded. An echo which the young woman did not expect, but which makes her particularly proud.
The doctoral student also completed an internship at the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, in 2021. After multiple consultations with experts and other verifications of calculation hypotheses, she is developing a tool to convert the tonnage of CO emissions2 of a government liquefied natural gas project in number of cars. “When I sent the final version to my internship director, she wanted to share it, and the calculator went to the minister, who uses it in his decision-making, she says. I was really happy, it was a great experience. »
Sophia Roy feels hope, despite the magnitude of the climate challenges. “The new generation will bring solutions, it has to move on the technological, social, political, economic level, she enthuses. Talking with my friends in other fields, you realize how much everyone wants to incorporate sustainable practices. »
Excellence in the feminine
If it promotes female excellence in engineering, the scholarship of the Order of the White Rose is coupled with powerful symbolism. Created in 2014, the Order pays tribute to the victims as well as to all those who suffered the tragedy of December 6, 1989, during which 14 young women were murdered. Nathalie Provost, injured during the events, and Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire, the first woman to graduate in civil engineering from Polytechnique in 1963, are also the godmothers of the scholarship.
The emotion is all the stronger, during the handover ceremony, that the mother of Sophia Roy herself began her studies in engineering at Polytechnique a year after the feminicide. “It marked her, and then we often had conversations about the importance of women in engineering,” she says. She encouraged me a lot in this direction. »
As her mother did for her, the young woman says it is important to light the flame of science as soon as possible. She participated in the GéniElles program, whose mission is to raise girls’ awareness of science and engineering by demystifying the career possibilities in this field. “I’ve always liked the idea of passing on knowledge and doing workshops with the youngest,” she explains. We have to show them that they can have an impact on society. It is this same passion that drove her to the doctorate, since she aspires to become a teacher at the university level.
The $30,000 scholarship from the Order of the White Rose will allow her to devote more time to the mentoring activities that she loves. Although more and more women are studying science and pursuing it as a career, they remain underrepresented. Sophia Roy believes that we must go further and promote diversity in the broad sense, because “everyone has their place in engineering”.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.