Monique Frize Full Interview

Dr. Monique Frize took two years of pure science and mathematics at the University of Ottawa before being given a tour of an electrical engineering lab with monitors and oscilloscopes that inspired her to switch to electrical engineering. She received an Athlone Fellowship to support a Master's Degree in Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College in London. She worked for seven years at the Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal and then, based in Moncton, was appointed Chief of Biomedical Engineering for seven New Brunswick hospitals. While working, she completed a PhD as a distance student from a university in the Netherlands and in 1990 was appointed Chair for Women in Engineering, and Professor of Electrical Engineering, at the University of New Brunswick. She considers her mentors to include Professor Philip Thompson at the University of Ottawa, Nandor Richter, and Ursula Franklin of the University of Toronto. She collaborated on a system to interpret Electrocardiograms (ECGs), a camera to identify pain, and a Physician Parent Decision Assist System to support the intensive care of infants in hospitals. She has written books about the history of women in science and engineering, three textbooks related to engineering ethics, the story of Laura Bassi, and, finally, her own memoirs. She created the Canadian Institute of Women in Engineering and Science to persuade women to donate their papers to the University of Ottawa archives