Research Day 2025
Responsible & Sustainable Systems
Engineering for the future
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Register today! Stay tuned for the agenda and session descriptions!
Event Information
Date: Thursday, February 20th, 2025
Event Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: UA Building - Ontario Tech North Campus
Research Day brings undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members, representatives from government and funding agencies, and industry professionals together in an event that showcases the innovative research activities conducted by the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Ontario Tech University. This year's theme is Responsible & Sustainable Systems: Engineering for the Future.
Join us for a day of expert panels, a poster session, research Lab Tours, and remarks from our Keynote Speaker, the Ontario Tech University VP of Research, and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.
Keynote Speaker
Stephanie Smith
Chief Nuclear Officer/Chief Technical Officer Nuclear, AtkinsRealis
Stephanie Smith joined AtkinsRéalis Canadian nuclear business unit (Candu Energy Inc.) in 2022 as SVP of Engineering and currently is the Chief Nuclear officer/Chief Technical Officer, with responsibility for Quality Assurance and Risk Management for the nuclear organization. Overseeing design authority for all engineering, she is responsible for driving AtkinsRéalis’ Canadian nuclear business toward its strategic objectives across profitability, technical excellence, and innovation, with a focused approach to performance management.
Stephanie’s broader oversight of the Engineering group spans the design and delivery of CANDU® reactor technology (of which AtkinsRéalis is the steward and original equipment manufacturer), technical support for the existing fleet of 31 CANDU reactors around the world, the development of advanced fuel technologies for implementation in international markets, and support for the development and commercialization of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the global marketplace.
Stephanie was previously President and CEO at CANDU Owners Group— an organization of utilities worldwide operating the CANDU reactors found on four continents. She also has extensive experience at Ontario Power Generation (OPG) – operator of the Darlington and Pickering Nuclear Generating Stations in Ontario, Canada. Beginning at OPG as an entry-level systems engineer, she was promoted to progressively more senior roles across operations, maintenance and engineering. Most recently at OPG, she was Deputy Site Vice-President of Darlington station, and completed a secondment to the World Association of Nuclear Operations. In 2020, she was awarded the 2020 Leader of the Year by Electricity Human Resources Canada.
Stephanie has also made history as a female nuclear engineer. At the Pickering Nuclear Station, she became the first female licensed shift manager on Pickering 058, and later the first female nuclear plant manager in Canada. She is also on the board at the non-profit organization Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada, an organization AtkinsRéalis proudly supports.
Stephanie graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering and holds the Professional Engineer designation.
