Marcia Friesen

Thank you for your interest in the Price Faculty of Engineering! 

We are committed to providing engineering education and engineering research that engages the imagination of our community and contributes to the economic, environmental, and social health of our province and country. Whether you are drawn to engineering for its creative and artistic character, its role in leading technology, its purpose in social development, or any other motivations, the Price Faculty of Engineering has a place for you.

The Price Faculty of Engineering is a vibrant place to be with approximately 1900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Beyond the degree programs, teaching & learning, and research that we represent, the Price Faculty of Engineering reaches out to Manitobans and the needs of industry through the ENGAP Program for Indigenous Canadians, and the WISE-KidNetic Energy K-12 STEM outreach program, and our Co-op/Internships Program. 

We have a strong co- and extra-curriculum of technical societies and student-led design competition teams which regularly place in national and international competitions.  Whether you’re a prospective student interested in designing solar cars, biomedical devices, satellites and rockets, steel bridges, concrete toboggans and concrete canoes, tiny tractors, and much much more, we have a place for that!  

Our Faculty is also a significant research hub including research partnerships with Manitoba industry of diverse sizes and configurations.  Our faculty generates approximately $9M annually in external research funding and is home to Canada Research Chairs and other sponsored Chairs.

We recently celebrated two milestone events. In 2019, we marked the completion and opening of the Stanley Pauley Engineering Building, made possible by the donations of Mr. Stanley Pauley, government investments, and the generous donations of our community through the University’s Front & Centre campaign.  In March 2020, we celebrated a transformational gift from Dr. Gerry Price and family that led to naming the Price Faculty of Engineering. The Price endowment will allow the Faculty to create more opportunities for more students in engineering education through the 2020s and beyond.  

I thank everyone in our community who support the Price Faculty of Engineering through gifts of time, expertise, advocacy, and finances. Your contributions support our responsibility as Manitoba’s only engineering school to be accessible for all learners and their goals via multiple pathways, strong traditional disciplines, strong research programs, and to connect the Price Faculty of Engineering with the community.  Our ongoing vision for the Faculty includes sustainable enrolment growth, enhancing recruitment, growing research impact, nurturing excellent relations with our external community, and promoting the Faculty’s international presence.  

Our students are waiting to take their place in solving the problems that need engineering as part of the solution. They are looking to their engineering education as the foundation to enact their visions and goals, and we’re ready for it! The engineering profession represents technical excellence, leadership, and service, and we’re proud to be shaping the next generation.  

Marcia Friesen, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Professor & Dean, Price Faculty of Engineering
 

Marcia Friesen, P.Eng., received her undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Manitoba. She holds a doctorate in Biosystems Engineering. Currently, Friesen is the Dean of the Price Faculty of Engineering and the NSERC Chair in Design Engineering. From 2003 to 2017 she served as Director of the Internationally Educated Engineering Qualifications Program (IEEQ) and as Director of the Centre for Engineering Professional Practice and Engineering Education and Associate Dean (Design Education) from 2017 to 2020.

Friesen is active in both research and teaching activities, and has received more than $2 million in research funding from local and tri-council funding agencies. She serves on local and national boards, including serving as past president of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, as a director of the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation and as a director of the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-Canada.

Her research program focusses on engineering qualifications recognition for engineering newcomers, the scholarship of teaching and learning in engineering education, mHealth applications, and modelling and simulation for healthcare applications. She serves on numerous local committees, is a board member of the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation and is past president of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba.

As NSERC Chair in Design Engineering for Sustainable Development and Enhanced Design Integration (2018–2023), Friesen focuses on:

• Advancing students’ design knowledge in sustainable development and sustainable design in all disciplines. This is a set of knowledge and skills identified by the practice community as critical for the profession in the future, and it has applications across our programs, ranging from energy resources and security, water resources management, agriculture and food security, transportation and resilient cities, infrastructure resiliency and adaptation, and smart systems.
• Advancing students’ Indigenous Knowledge, perspectives and design principles as part the principle of social inclusion inherent in sustainable development. In addition to cultural awareness, design focuses on important Canadian applications in energy independence, food security, and infrastructure development. In a province with the highest proportionate Indigenous population (17 percent) in Canada and an Indigenous population that is predominantly young and growing, Friesen fosters education and reconciliation through curriculum initiatives by which graduate engineers can more effectively provide design services to and with Indigenous clients and communities in Manitoba and Canada.