Melissa Ma
Junior Mechanical Engineering Student @ University of Toronto | Engineering with a Purpose
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Hi! I'm Melissa Ma.
I grew up as a Chinese-Canadian with my mom. To help her out, I took care of a lot of maintenance work around the house throughout my childhood. As time passed, I found joy in fixing things, learning about mechanisms, and building things to improve the quality of our lives. My desire to contribute to society and give back to the community that raised me has led me to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto.
I'm also a self-made chef, a dancer (I do a ton of different styles), and a guitarist. I have a keen eye for seeing the scientific processes in art, and the artistic elements within science. The topics I'm currently passionate about are electric vehicles, additive manufacturing, and computer-aided design.
Aside from engineering and projects, I'm an avid cook, dancer, guitarist, hiker, camper, and fan of trying all things new. I love exploring new places, meeting new people, and learning about different cultures (and of course, I'm always on the hunt for new recipes to try out)!
Work Experience (view my Resume here)
May 2022 - August 2022
July 2020 - PRESENT
Alstom/Bombardier — Project Engineering Intern
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Used CATIA V5 (part design & generative shape design) to route complex steel pipes for air intake systems that are to be installed on 20 trains under Go Transit
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Drafted 10+ toleranced engineering drawings of pipes and complex geometries, which were successfully used in the manufacturing process
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Sourced parts to create mockups and prototypes for conduit systems (fittings, pipes, conduit brackets etc) from hardware stores and McMaster-Carr
UofT Hyperloop Design Team — Braking Team Lead
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Assembled the pneumatic braking system by contacting suppliers, researching about 30+ parts specs, and using drill press, milling machine, tube bender/cutter, wrench...
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Created FMEA and performed testing on the pneumatic system using an air compressor and solenoid valve (integration with electronics) to ensure that the system meets safety requirements
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Re-designed the configuration of ten battery modules using SolidWorks, to reduce the space they take on the Hyperloop pod by 15%
May 2021 - May 2022
UofT Decisionics Lab — Research Student
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Received First Place at UofT Undergraudate Engineering Research Day 2021
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Pioneered a microscopic image analysis process by writing a script in MATLAB
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Assembled an automatic image collector using Arduino, belt-drive motor, and a 3D printed motor mount that reduced the image collection time by >75%