Aimy Bazylak facts for kids
Aimy Ming Jii Bazylak (born Hom) is a Canadian professor who teaches mechanical engineering at the University of Toronto. She was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. Professor Bazylak is a special researcher, holding a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Thermofluidics for Clean Energy. This means she studies how liquids and gases move and transfer heat, especially for clean energy solutions.
Her research helps us understand tiny fluid movements. She works with microfluidics (fluids in very small channels) and nanofluidics (even tinier fluid movements). She uses this knowledge to improve fuel cells, which create electricity from chemical reactions. She also works on carbon sequestration, which is a way to capture and store carbon dioxide to help the environment.
Education and Early Career
Professor Bazylak finished her first degree in 2003. She studied engineering physics at the University of Saskatchewan and did very well. She even won the Dr. E.L. Harrington Prize for her excellent work.
Later, she earned her doctorate degree in 2008 from the University of Victoria. Her main research project was about how water moves in fuel cells. This research was so important that she received the first-ever Bullitt Environmental Fellowship to support her studies. While she was a student, she also took part in the Shell Eco-marathon. This is a competition where teams design and build super fuel-efficient cars.
In 2008, Professor Bazylak became a professor at the University of Toronto. She used to be the director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy there. This institute helps find new ways to create and use energy that is good for our planet.
Awards and Recognition
Professor Bazylak has received many important awards for her work. In 2019, she became a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Being a Fellow means she is recognized as a leader in her field. She is also a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering.
In 2020, she was chosen for the College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada. This group recognizes Canada's brightest young researchers. She is also a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, which means she is one of Canada's top engineers.
She received an Alexander Von Humboldt Fellowship in 2015. In 2020, she was named a Helmholtz International Fellow by the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. These fellowships helped her work with other scientists, like Roswitha Zeis at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm, on important research projects.
The University of Toronto also honored Professor Bazylak in 2020. They gave her the annual McLean Award. This award gives $125,000 to outstanding researchers who are early in their careers.
