Engineering student Safaa Sebak wins $6,000 Quebec science award

By Lina Shoumarova

Safaa Sebak, an electrical engineering student, was one of the winners earlier this month in Chapeau les filles: excelle science. Sponsored by the Quebec Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sports, the competition promotes women in non-traditional fields and rewards their achievements.

Sebak applied in the Excellence in Science category and won a $6,000 summer internship at Polystim Neurotechnologies Laboratory, a research lab at the École Polytechnique. The position is sponsored by the NSERC/Alcan Chair for Women in Engineering, and the Chaire Marianne-Mareschal, at École Polytechnique.

Sebak was the only winner from Concordia. Her internship, which has already started, gives her the opportunity to do research in biomedical engineering.

“I am currently working with a research team to design a medical device that will eventually help paralyzed people to be able to move their arms and legs,” she said.

Sebak defies the odds by excelling in a traditionally male-dominated field of study.

She is specializing in microelectronics, but plans to continue with a master’s in biomedical engineering.

“This internship is quite spectacular for me,” Sebak remarked. “It is very hard to find relevant engineering or career-related work, much less in biomedical engineering, since it is a new field and is not offered as an undergraduate program in most universities.

“To be able to experience it hands-on during my undergraduate studies is something I never imagined. I am very lucky.”