USask researcher opens doors for students in engineering
Dr. Reisha Peters (PhD) wants to introduce students to a side of engineering they may not be familiar with.
By Erin Matthews, Research Profile and Impact“Engineering is often seen as a very math-heavy and science-heavy field. We see engineers in the public who like to work on rockets or bridges, but engineering is more than that,” said Peters. “Engineers work to provide clean water to communities, or they work to develop prosthetic limbs. We want to try and highlight that engineers work on a team to help society.”
Peters grew up in rural Saskatchewan and had an affinity for math and science in high school. She was encouraged to enter engineering but didn’t really know much about the profession until she entered her first year of university.
Today, Peters is an assistant professor in the College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan (USask). Her love of teaching has led her down a research path that focuses on getting students of all ages engaged in engineering.
Her latest project is a group activity kit — or “lockbox” — that is a teaching tool that encourages students to work together to solve puzzles, problems, and riddles that help them to develop skills like communication, teamwork, and creativity.
The lockbox is an idea that Peters adopted from USask lecturer Randi Strunk, who developed the activity for first-year engineering students. Peters and her interdisciplinary collaborators from the College of Education and Edwards School of Business have worked to build out the lockboxes to be inclusive, community-focused and designed to be delivered in classrooms to secondary school students.
The project recently received more than $238,000 from the New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF) exploration grant to improve the lockbox design and strengthen the delivery to students.
“We’re really excited about the NFRF exploration grant as it will allow us to further develop the lockboxes, bringing them into classrooms across Saskatchewan which will introduce a diverse set of students to engineering early on,” said Peters.
With this project, she hopes to open the door to those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to learn about engineering.
“I hope this project helps more diverse students see themselves in this field. Young girls are often not interested in engineering, and we are hoping we can help reframe the profession so that they can see themselves in a career like this,” said Peters.