CivMin’s Samantha Seo, a CivMin MASc candidate under the supervision of Prof. Oh-Sung Kwon and Prof. Evan Bentz, has received the University of Toronto Donald Tong Graduate Scholarship in Structural Engineering from DIALOG.
The annual award was presented by company Partner Daria Khachi and Structural EIT Jordyn Tripp (CivE MASc 2T0) at a ceremony in the company’s downtown Toronto office on Monday, February 24. Seo is the sixth recipient of this award since its inception in 2019. We had a chat with her to learn a little more about them and their work.
Can you please tell us a little about yourself?
I’m currently a master of applied science student at University of Toronto, having done my undergrad at Waterloo. I started in June at U of T, working in the Structural Testing Facilities (STF). I kind of started backwards, doing lab work first, then starting my coursework. I’m currently doing research with Professor Oh-Sung Kwon and Professor Evan Bentz predicting leakage in nuclear containment structures. I’m originally from Toronto, so I’m back home for my master’s, and it’s nice to be like settled down after five years of moving every four months. It’s nice to be back home. I’m excited to get started at U of T, moving into my second semester and second year as well.
What does this mean to you to receive the Donald Tong scholarship from DIALOG?
I am honoured to have been selected for this award amongst several other highly talented first-year graduate student colleagues at U of T. I’ve interacted with many in the lab, as well as many in classes, and find them all amazing. I’m also a very big follower of DIALOG. My undergrad was in Arch Eng, so we used to use DIALOG buildings as precedents all the time. Not only for design, but also for graphical representation as well. For instance, wondering how did they show their structural system in a diagram. And really just respecting the qualities that DIALOG represents – a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to design, with the needs of our communities and the environment in mind. I find this is sometimes not a priority in firms exclusively focused on the engineering side of things. I also like how it’s very community focused as well interdisciplinary, and all the really big focuses that I care about in a building. Because, at the end of the day, it’s not just a building; you’re building communities from that. So yeah, I really have been following DIALOG since first year.
You’ve already done some interesting real-world work. Can you expand on this?
Yes, so I was a structural engineering intern at Tesla in Austin, Texas. A very niche, interesting job to be working at a car company, where I was helping build and prepare the facilities for the Cybertruck line. They were preparing for ramping upproduction and I was in the Factoring Engineering division providing design and on-site support during construction. Super fast-paced environment but an amazing learning experience.That was my sixth co-op role. In total, I have two years of working experience, and then some research experience at Waterloo and now with U of T.
You’ve completed first term and now are partially through second term, are there are classes or professor you recall as standing out or making an impact?
I took pre-stressed concrete with Professor Paul Gauvreau, which was very well structured (pun intended) and I really enjoyed that course. My background is in buildings, but Professor Gauvreau made it applicable to everyone, really, so I like that course. And I’m currently taking quantitative analysis and decision making with Professor Daniel Posen, which is very interesting, very applicable for any engineer. So very nice.
Do you have any place on campus you really like to visit?
I actually like the Robarts Library and I’m mainly in Galbraith Building, which isn’t the prettiest, but that’s where my office is, where the lab is. But I’ve been exploring different libraries like Knox and Gerstein.
Also, there’s a coffee truck right in front of Robarts, Caffe’In. I just go and get my usual coffee, but they have very interesting drinks, like yam coffee, blueberry latte, and more – it’s quite friendly for students.
Do you have any hidden talent, or fun facts about yourself, that you’d want to share with us?
I’m a big music fan and I’m always looking for concerts to go to. My music taste is all over the place but I’m always taking advantage of various online discounts. Toronto has some really great student discount programs for the arts, like Dance Break at the National Ballet and TSoundcheck with TSO, and even free memberships at the AGO. Also, I’m currently taking adult ballet classes at the National Ballet, though I didn’t have previous dance experience, but I started in high school.
By Phill Snel
(Photo courtesy of Dialog)
The award is named for Dialog’s long-time structural team member Donald Tong, who tragically passed away in 2018 after a courageous battle with cancer. In an online description, Dialog provides insight into the motivation for the award: Donald epitomized the integrated design culture at the heart of DIALOG. He started his career as an interior designer, followed by a stint as an architectural technologist, before he found his passion in structural engineering. It is our hope that future structural engineers will embody Donald’s creative, wide-ranging design spirit.
Jane Tong, Donald’s daughter also present for the event, is continuing the family legacy of engineering as a career.