Michael McCulloch (Year 4 MinE) is a recipient of Canadian Mineral Industry Education Foundation (CMIEF) scholarship. We chatted with him about the award, his experience in the Lassonde Mineral Engineering program and his view towards the future.
Michael McCulloch (Year 4 MinE) outside of the Galbraith Building. (Photo by Phill Snel, CivMin)
You’re in your fourth year of Lassonde Mineral Engineering and a recipient of the Canadian Mineral Industry Education Foundation (CMIEF) scholarship. What made you a particularly worthy recipient?
I don’t know if I am a particularly worthy recipient, to be honest. One thing that perhaps makes me different, though, is that I’m 14 years older than most of the other students in my program and pursuing a second bachelor’s degree. When I apply for scholarships, I try to make clear that being an older student has allowed me to approach the mining industry with greater maturity and perspective than I would have had when I was younger. Also, having previously worked in policy and conservation, I see both the industry’s ability to harm as well as its power to enact positive change.
Graduation is looming. Do you know what you’re going to do? What does the future hold for you?
My hope is to find a job at an engineering consulting company and then begin learning about life and work as a mining engineer.
Is there a particular area of Engineering you discovered while at U of T that you didn’t know too much about, but wound up, perhaps unexpectedly, really enjoying?
Everything I know about engineering, and mining in particular, I’ve learned here. In fact, if it weren’t for U of T, I don’t think I ever would have stumbled on the possibility of building a new career in the mining industry. There are many things about mining engineering I find interesting and exciting. Probably nothing more so than the challenge of mine development. This semester, for instance, I’m taking a course in mine optimization, which, among other things, considers the advantages of probabilistic ore body modelling. For the time being, the industry has been slow to adopt this practice, but it is one of many innovations that could help to make mining more efficient and less damaging to the environment.
You mentioned returning to university for the second time, this time for Engineering. Have you found you approach it differently than most of your younger classmates, who are perhaps arriving directly from high school?
I think so, yes. Being an older student, though, is part blessing and part curse. On one hand, I don’t have the same youthful vitality as my classmates and can no longer pull all-nighters or grind-out assignments at the last minute. On the other hand, being older means that I’m a little more organized than I was previously and certainly more motivated. Because I’m now married and a father, I understand the importance of transforming this opportunity into a sustainable career.
You’re part of the U of T team going to Vancouver for the 2023 Canadian Mining Games. It’s the first in-person Games since 2020, with the last two years online, because of the pandemic. Are you looking forward to this chance to engage in some in-person networking with your future industry colleagues?
Yes, I think meeting the other participants in person will definitely be one of the highlights of the competition.
Has the Lassonde Mineral Engineering program provided you with everything you need to succeed professionally? To equip you to be an engineer in the field?
Yes, I feel that I’ve been very supported by the program and am extremely grateful to all of the Lassonde staff and professors for all of their help and encouragement of the last four years. Nearly everyone has bent over backward to accommodate and include me as an older student and a student with a family. Additionally, from a financial perspective, a large percentage of my education was free. The Fields Institute supported my part-time studies in the early years of my degree and a Lassonde Scholarship has paid for much of my last two years of the program.
It’s often said that Toronto is the world’s mining capital, especially for generating the working capital – the funds needed – for the business of mining. Have you found that to be the case? And have you made any connections or taken advantage of big events? Something like PDAC, for instance?
I went to PDAC for the first time last year. It was a great opportunity to meet people from every corner of the mining industry as well as to realize just how small it is in terms of active participants. It often seems that nearly everyone in mining is connected by at most two degrees of separation.
As for Toronto as a capital of mining finance, yes, I think that’s true. Our capstone class this semester has featured a number of guest speakers from Bay St. and many have described Toronto as ‘ground zero’ for raising capital for junior and mid-size mining companies.
This is more personal. Did you ever have a go-to spot to study, or just visit, on campus or off campus?
I’ve found two good ones over the years. One is the third floor of the Fields Institute, which is always quiet and normally features some ‘Good Will Hunting’ style math problems on the blackboards. The second is the Newman Centre, on the northeast corner of Harbord and St. George, which I’ve always found charmingly monastic and a perfect place to prepare for exams.
Do you have any kind of hidden or unusual talent? Something we wouldn’t know about other than asking here?
One hidden element of my personality is that I’m dyslexic. When I was younger, I had great difficulty learning to read and write and, to this day, still need extra time for writing exams. For these reasons, I always considered my dyslexia to be a learning ‘disability’. Interestingly, though, I’ve recently found some studies that suggest that dyslexics may also benefit from certain neurological advantages, particularly in terms of spatial reasoning. While dyslexics are under-represented in text-heavy fields like law, medicine and accounting, they seem to be over-represented in more spatially oriented fields like architecture and engineering.
My own theory is that though dyslexics’ neurology makes processing information in two dimensions more difficult, it may somehow facilitate processing in three dimensions. Obviously, this makes reading and writing for dyslexics more challenging, but potentially gives them a leg-up in working with 3D representations of material structures or even ore bodies.
I would say this is a great advantage in being able to visualize spaces, particularly underground in the mining industry, where so much is hidden. Thank you.
Christian Smith at Varsity Stadium during the 2021 season | Photo by Tiffany Luke
Each Thursday, varsityblues.ca will highlight a U of T student-athlete and their academic pursuits. Each of these students achieved first class honours with an AGPA of at least 3.50 in the previous academic year. These are our Student-Athlete Stories.
Varsity Blues men’s rugby player Christian Smith credits the University of Toronto’s Track One engineering program for helping him decide his future.
“I was always interested in engineering in high school, but I couldn’t decide on a specific field,” said the veteran from London, UK. “Fortunately, I was able to take a general first year in the Track One program, which allowed me to choose my specialty at the end of the year. I particularly enjoyed the civil engineering courses during this year, which led me to choose civil engineering as my specialty.”
As a part of the engineering program at U of T, Smith did a co-op placement at Mattamy Homes, working on a 58-story tower in Etobicoke.
“This role was on site and was very different to my university experience,” he said. “My main takeaways from the experience were the importance of time management and organization when working on a project with so many moving parts. I was also lucky enough to be a part of a great team, which taught me a lot about the importance of teamwork in industry.
(Smith, right, receiving his OUA academic achievement award at the 2022 Intercollegiate Athletic Banquet)
That co-op placement opened Smith’s eyes to a potential future in project management.
“I recognize that this will likely require further education, and I am considering pursuing a Master’s in civil engineering as well as a MBA once I have gained some experience in the field,” he said. “My studies in civil engineering have taught me not only how to schedule and manage large projects, but also how to design many of the individual components. I believe this understanding is essential for effectively solving the complex problems that arise during major construction projects.”
Smith, who earned OUA academic achievement award laurels following the 2021 season, enjoys the teamwork that U of T’s civil engineering program involves.
“I have loved collaborating with so many amazing people throughout my time here and I have learned so much from these partnerships,” he said. “They have pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me more than I ever could have learned in a classroom.”
(Smith and the Blues taking on the Trent Excalibur during the 2022 season | Seyran Mammadov)
One such project involved designing a bridge in a team of three students.
“Although we struggled greatly to get to a feasible design, I think it was really rewarding to see the project at the end and how much we had accomplished,” he said. “I also completed a group research project this past year on the deterioration of concrete where I learned a huge amount from working with another student.”
Smith praises U of T for its academic accolades and global recognition.
“You can go anywhere and do pretty much anything with a degree from U of T,” he said. “I also think the amazing facilities and resources, both athletic and academic, are unparalleled in Canada and match up to the best worldwide.”
Pierre Lassonde (front, centre) with current Lassonde Scholars. All photos by Phil Babcock
The day after he first arrived in Canada from Sri Lanka, Channa Kumarage (BASc 2016) headed to the University of Toronto to pay tuition fees. But there was a snag.
“I had to change my cheque to a lesser amount!” he says. “I discovered I had received the Lassonde Scholarship. For a kid who’d just come from far to start a new life, that was a wonderful surprise. I thought it couldn’t get much better than this. Except it did.”
The Lassonde Scholarships, valued at up to $10,000 per year, support students in the Lassonde Mineral Engineering program at U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. Philanthropist Pierre Lassonde (Hon DEng 2001) founded the awards in 1996 as the first step in a visionary program of giving. He has also created two chairs, supported an interdisciplinary research initiative, and donated generously to help renovate the Lassonde Mining Building and its sustainability-focused Goldcorp Mining Innovation Suite.
In December, Lassonde Scholars and friends gathered for a special 25th-anniversary celebration of the scholarships. “You are going to be at the forefront of a sustainable transformation,” Lassonde told the assembled Scholars. “That is because, for the greening of the world, 80 per cent of our energy in the next 10 to 25 years will have to come from electricity. And what conducts electricity? Copper! If you don’t have copper, you will not have any lighting, heating, communications or transportation.”
“You’re going to end up as presidents or CEOs,” he added, “and I hope you will be a Canadian beacon in the world in terms of environmental stewardship.”
You are going to be at the forefront of a sustainable transformation. You’re going to end up as presidents or CEOs, and I hope you will be a Canadian beacon in the world in terms of environmental stewardship.
The Lassonde Scholars make a difference, in school and after graduation
Channa Kumarage
“Pierre Lassonde has set the highest standards for excellence, ingenuity and leadership in the mining industry,” says Meric Gertler, President of U of T. “Following his example, Lassonde Scholars are spearheading efforts to advance safety, innovation, sustainability and social responsibility in the field. We remain profoundly grateful for Mr. Lassonde’s passion and generosity in helping these future leaders to succeed.”
Just six years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mineral engineering, Kumarage is well on his way to being one of those beacons. As Director of Corporate Development for Minto Metals Corp., he’s planning expansions, mergers and more. He knows the Lassonde program helped him reach this point. “I got my first job thanks to a U of T alum,” he says. “It was not a job that I applied for—they reached out directly only to U of T and that shows what kind of a connection the school has with the alumni.”
New graduate Joleia Marie Bucad (BASc 2022) also drew on the alumni network—for her co-op placement, an integral part of the program. “I was able to ask an upper year who had worked at
Joleia Marie Bucad
the same mine about her experience there. That helped me decide…I took the job and had the most amazing experience!” she says. Today, she’s working at Newmont’s Musselwhite Mine as a mine planner.
“We have an unparalleled sense of community, not just between people in the same class but also between the different years of the program,” adds Alec Gilvesy, who will be graduating in June. Relief from financial worries allowed him to become deeply involved in student life, from co-captaining the Mining Games team to playing trombone for the Lady Godiva Memorial Band.
Principally, however, the scholarship means he gained the time to help others. He’s president of the Mineral Engineering Club. “We’re working with the students who are looking for summer jobs and co-op placements,” he says. “A lot of us fourth-years do this.”
Alec Gilvesy with Pierre Lassonde
Students also get the opportunity to visit a mine, paid for by Lassonde. For Bucad, the experience was transformative. “In first year I was still unsure what discipline I wanted to enter,” she says. “With the deadline coming up. I chose Mineral Engineering on a whim. After going on the Lac Des Iles field trip in my second year, I knew I had made the right decision and wanted to work at a mine after I graduated.”
Today, Kumarage attends U of T open houses to encourage undergraduates and hopes to join the faculty’s new alumni advisory panel. “I owe everything in my career to U of T and the Lassonde mining program so it’s all about giving back to it,” he says.
“Mineral engineering serves a critical role in our Canadian economy and in the world at large,” said Christopher Yip, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, in his remarks at the celebration. “U of T Engineering and the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program are in the proud tradition of innovation in this field. Pierre, I want to express how grateful we are for your invaluable support. The more than 200 Lassonde Scholars are the makers, innovators and leaders of the next generation. We are so proud to partner with you on passing the torch to them.”
Pierre Lassonde’s extraordinary impact on mineral engineering
In 1982, Pierre Lassonde co-founded Franco-Nevada Mining, launching an exceptional career in both the mining industry and investment industries. Generous with his success, he has created a legacy of remarkable giving to educational institutions. His donations of more than $10 million to the University of Toronto have helped energize the Lassonde Mineral Engineering program for a quarter century.
The program has one of the faculty’s highest rates of graduate employment and career advancement.
“Pierre’s vision, enthusiastic involvement and generosity for more than 25 years has been nothing less than transformative,” says David Palmer, U of T’s Vice-President, Advancement. “We’re grateful for how he has helped U of T Engineering attract top students from around the world and launch them into leadership positions. We couldn’t be more pleased with how our incredible Lassonde alumni are helping to grow the strong, healthy and sustainable mining sector so essential to the innovations of the future.”
We sat down to chat with Alec Gilvesy (Year 4 MinE), Chair of Min Club and Co-Captain of the U of T Mining Games Team, about preparing to take the U of T team to the 2023 Canadian Mining Gamesin Vancouver. The 33rd iteration of the annual event gives students across Canada a chance to showcase their knowledge of mining, problem-solving and adaptive skills. Students and industry representatives have the chance to meet and network within this tightknit, but diverse community.
U of T students participate in a rescue scenario during the 2020 Canadian Mining Games in Halifax.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your position and what your role involves?
I’m Alec Gilvesy, a fourth-year Lassonde Mineral Engineering student and Min Club Chair. Every year there’s two co-captains who take care of the planning, organization, putting the Mining Games team together and all that. This year it’s myself and Evan Beri– he’s currently on PEY Co-op, working with Imperial Oil in Calgary.
Where are the Mining Games being held this year?
This year’s event is being held in Vancouver, B.C. It’s jointly hosted by the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. The Games run February 23rd to 25th, a Wednesday to a Saturday, during our Winter Break.
As you’re in your fourth year, you’re certainly aware there’s been a gap during the pandemic for hosting in-person events. Is this the first in-person one since 2020? Is there any difference you’re expecting from this experience?
Yes, this is my fourth Mining Games, but only the second in-person one, since we held two virtually in 2021 and 2022. There are only going to be three of us, including myself, from our entire team of 16 [team list at bottom of article] who have ever been to an in-person Games.
A group photo of U of T Lassonde Mineral Engineering students, dressed up for the event, at the 2020 Canadian Mining Games in Halifax.
You’re a veteran, and a team leader, so what are you telling people who have not been to a real Games before?
I’ve had some people from the team ask me what to expect, as they’ve never had the chance the last two years to attend an in-person event. There’s a lot of events and programming going on constantly. For example, every night there’s a banquet where you can meet with the sponsors and other teams from the other schools. It’s always suit and tie, which a lot of people don’t even realize, so there’s a need to be prepared to dress up every evening. We pack not only for semi-formal evenings, but for some activities where you can wind up quite dirty and sweaty too. We need to pack and be ready for everything.
Some of the in-person events are starting up again, which we didn’t have the chance to hold over the last two years. There’s a number of events which are very physical – jackleg drilling, equipment handling, surveys, emergency rescue scenarios and more. Those will be returning this year, but they’ve also kept some of the online events that started during the pandemic, like sustainable development and a few others.
Can you tell us a bit more about those in-person events you’ll be doing? Is it an intense itinerary?
Some events I mentioned, like jackleg drilling, can only be done in person. It’s a drill that runs on compressed air and is actually like a pneumatic jack, so it’s jackleg or air drill. They call it lots of things, depending on where you are, but can jackleg is an Eastern Canadian term. Basically, very few mines still use them, other than for just the occasional time. It was invented in the ‘30s or ‘40s. It’s just something we’ve just traditionally keep carrying on, because it’s physical and it’s fun. It’s a challenge, as well.
We also do equipment handling, which is where they’ll bring in a mini excavator or something like that. We’ll have to do some assigned tasks, with someone on our team driving and handling the machinery.
It’s a lot of time working together and overall pretty fun. The whole event is intense, as you leave the hotel at 7 a.m., start your event by 8 a.m., you go for four hours until lunch, and you break an hour for lunch. Following, there’s a sponsor presentation, then you go out for another four hours, until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., you come back to a banquet, which goes to 9 p.m., and then you go out and have nightlife and networking until 1 a.m. And then you do it all over again.
This is an opportunity to meet your future industry colleagues, who you might not otherwise have an opportunity to meet in person. And it’s certainly an excellent networking opportunity. Do you use this opportunity to connect?
All the events are sponsored by a different company, and not necessarily a mining company but a company involved in the mining industry. You get to network with those people, connect, stay in touch, and you might get jobs out of these connections. I do know several people who have gotten at least interviews out of the process, so it’s beneficial to meet people in person, and keep a connection.
It’s fun, because you get to meet all the other mining students in Canada. And you get to meet some friends and colleagues you might have met over your co-op or PEY. It’s a very connected community who come together from all over. You create bonds, essentially, with future professionals here who might wind up working all over the world.
A group photo of U of T Lassonde Mineral Engineering students, during a team activity, at the 2020 Canadian Mining Games in Halifax.
Has the Lassonde Mineral Engineering program truly prepared you for a career in Engineering? Does it reflect on your team’s performance at the Mining Games?
Our LME program is pretty heavy on mineral economics and the finance side of things, in addition to the geology side of things. We usually do quite well, versus the other schools, in those events. We have events in mineral economics and a stock market challenge, which begins running a month or two before the Games. It’s a virtual competition – I do know it’s ongoing, and the people who are doing it are doing a good job.
On the geology side of things, we take three geology courses in our second and third years. When I went to the Games in 2020, I had just come out of those courses, so it was all sharp in my mind. I finished first in the mineral identification competition, which was great to do as a second-year student.
On the diversity end, I would say that U of T is fortunate to be located in such a diverse city as Toronto, which gives us access to a lot of different experiences and perspectives from many different people and cultures. Not all of the schools competing are in such a position, so it definitely gives us some unique advantages.
Hopefully, we can take home some more hardware this year.
By Phill Snel
Team U of T Lassonde Mineral Engineering students attending the Mining Games:
Peter Anderson Evan Beri (Co-Captain) Raymond Bhushan Alec Gilvesy (Co-Captain) Shaan Hudani Yuefeng (Jason) Jiang Jessie Jung Shi Kai Li Andriy Kalatskyy Grant Liao Edmund Mah Komal Mann Michael McCulloch Jamil Shalabi Ayuan (Belinda) Wang Sami Zantout
The CivMin Class of 1T5 and 1T5+PEY gathers to reunite and fundraise for a new scholarship
The CivMin Class of 1T5 gathers for group photo at their reunion event in the Prenup Pub in Toronto on Friday, February 3, 2023. (Photo by Phill Snel, CivMin / U of T)
The CivMin Class of 1T5 and 1T5+PEY had an impressive in-person turnout for a recent reunion. On Friday, February 3, 2023 some 50 attendees included about 40 alumni from the graduating class of 2015 (and 2015+PEY) of both Civil and Mineral Engineering students, as well as some spouses, and some CivMin faculty and staff. The venue: the unofficial gathering spot for Engineering – the Prenup Pub on College St.
The goal of this gathering was not just social. There’s ulterior motives afoot; a new scholarship named for the class is planned. Now, into the fundraising campaign, a halfway point in the fundraising is being surpassed. With a goal of $25,000, the group is reinvigorating its ranks to push towards the finish line.
Spearheaded by alumnus Ernesto Diaz Lozano Patiño (CivE 1T5), ever the perpetual organizer of gatherings since his time at U of T as an undergraduate. The group first heard of this lofty proposal as they celebrated a class reunion virtually on Friday, May 28, 2021. The pandemic necessitated an online gathering, since in-person gatherings were limited in attendance. The digital platform, Gathertown, allowed for navigating around a virtual room as an avatar walking and socializing in groups, as well as giving the host the ability to address all gathered.
As their first-ever class reunion it wasn’t as they’d imagined, but was in keeping with protocols and, by happy accident, allowed more classmates to join from further away. The strength in numbers, with nearly 50 signed up for the online reunion. It was followed with an August Zoom meeting and, finally, this most recent in-person event.
As a third-year student, a decade ago, Diaz Lozano Patiño first conceived of the idea to found a scholarship for their year’s graduating class. With early thoughts of providing support to a student in need, the then future benefactor has now challenged his colleagues with fulfilling this ultimate objective.
With fellow Engineering alumni Stephanie Daou, Boze Xu and Matheos Tsiaras lending their expertise, the endeavour is receiving plenty of attention. Support not only comes from classmates, but the Department and the Faculty as well. Engineering Alumni Relations attended the pub night, generously offering branded tuques on the frigid evening. CivMin’s Chair, Prof. Brent Sleep, along with Student Services Director Nelly Pietropaolo and Prof. Evan Bentz all offered their support and admiration for the worthy cause.
The scholarship will have a lasting legacy far beyond the lifespan of the donors, which is exactly what has been intended from the outset. Giving a little back can last generations, with ripples of influence casting far and wide. Examples of alumni class donations of the past, such as 3T5, 5T6 and more, were given.
Though many have opted for a lump sum payment, to make it nearly pain-free it’s been offered to have monthly donations of $41.60 per month spread out over two years, resulting in a $1,000 donation per alum. All donations are tax deductible and will receive a charitable tax receipt.
Just how far and wide did attendees come from? As Diaz Lozano Patiño notes, “Seth Hayto attended from Vancouver, and I think they would get the long-distance award!”
By Phill Snel
If you would like to make your scholarship pledge online, please visit: http://uoft.me/CivMin1T5.
You can also make your pledge by phone or email by contacting
Karen Lee at U of T: 416-428-9594 or kare.lee@utoronto.ca.
As a reminder, you can pledge a donation to be paid in instalments over a period of months or years;
for example, $200 a year (or $17/month) for five years results in a $1,000 donation.
All donations will receive a charitable tax receipt.
February 9, 2023 | The Globe and Mail
February 6, 2023 | Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
