P.Eng., LEED AP
Job Title: Senior Specialist – Sustainable Design
Company: Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin (RWDI) Inc., Consulting Engineers and Scientists
Industry: Green Buildings and Sustainable Communities
What I Do
I am the leader of the sustainable design team at RWDI. I work with our clients, bring in projects and assign them to my team members. We provide simulations and analyses for the design of green buildings and sustainable communities. Some of the areas I work in are: energy efficiency, thermal comfort, natural ventilation, and renewable energy systems.
A Day in the Life
I typically interact with many people every day: my team, clients, RWDI project managers, and RWDI marketing personnel. We answer technical questions, develop marketing materials, and plan marketing trips. This can be in the form of phone calls, many emails, and meetings. I participate in design team meetings for buildings where I speak to sustainable design. Typical questions are, for example, “How much energy could we save in a typical year using natural ventilation? Or using a condensing boiler?” or “What would the temperatures be in this space if we did not have mechanical cooling?” We work on projects in many places around the world. I also do a fair amount of traveling to establish and maintain client relationships.
Why My Job Is Great
Designing Green Buildings and Sustainable Communities is a great application of my skills. We build better buildings – better for the environment and for the people who use them. My work has a lot of variety. Every project is different. Working with architects and owners is fun because it adds art and real life to our engineering world. I also enjoy mentoring younger engineers, engineers in training, and engineering students.
The Downside
My work is very dynamic, and sometimes that can be as stressful as it is exciting.
Off the Job
I love the outdoors and the mountains. I get out almost every day for an early morning run and like to participate in road and trail running races. For vacations, I go on yoga retreats, visit friends and family in Europe or travel into the back country. This year we hiked in Mt. Robson Provincial Park for 5 days, last year we canoed and portaged through Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario for 6 days and the year before that we kayaked on a river in the North West Territories. In the winter I enjoy snowboarding.
Experiences to Learn From
Mathematics, especially calculus, was very important in high school. In my undergraduate degree I learned the basics of thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid dynamics, which is now the basis for my work. I need these fundamentals to be able to understand the different simulation programs and to develop analyses for innovative design elements. I also learned to work independently and be self-motivated, as well as to work in a co-operative team. Both aspects are very important.
The Best Part
Understanding how and why things – natural and man-made – work, and contributing to creating the environment we live in.
My Advice to You
When studying mechanical engineering, you have an opportunity to learn many interesting things and grow as a person. You will find an exciting challenge and interesting career opportunities. Don’t limit your options too early.