Dr. Frederick Cheng (PhD ‘22, MASc ‘17 and BASc ‘15), holds three back-to-back degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Waterloo.
In this Q&A, Cheng, a proud Waterloo Engineering alumnus, discusses why he chose to stay for his graduate studies – and how his student career set him up for his professional one.
Waterloo Engineering can be a tough transition for first-year students fresh out of high school. How would you describe your undergraduate experience?
My first year was great from the start. I was in a small class of about 45 or so students and we developed a tight bond quickly. One of our lecturers, Dr. Robert (Bob) McKillop, is a stalwart of student support. He and his teaching team were instrumental in setting up the infrastructure that guided us through our undergraduate experience and helped us adjust to university. This happy beginning set the tone for the rest of my studies. I honestly just loved every minute.
What made you decide to stay for your master’s and PhD degrees?
I was on my last co-op as an undergrad, working as a research assistant with Dr. Nandita Basu who is jointly appointed between the departments of civil and environmental engineering and earth and environmental sciences. I really enjoyed the work I was doing so when I met my thesis advisor (purely by chance), staying on to do my master’s degree just felt right. And I had such a great time that I decided to do a PhD too!
To sum it up though, here are three reasons why I chose to complete my grad studies at Waterloo.
1. The co-op experience which helped shape my career ambitions.
2. The community that opened doors for me and supported my work.
3. The interdisciplinary relationships that broadened my engineering education.
What does your research focus on?
Water.
And I have Waterloo Engineering to thank for that. The Faculty got me hooked by enabling and encouraging interdisciplinary water research with other faculties as well as with the University’s Water Institute. My engineering student experience was incredibly diverse and gave me a multi-faceted foundation to build into a career that goes beyond the traditional siloed approach.
Dr. Frederick Cheng holds three engineering degrees from Waterloo.
My work looks at how we can manage both built and natural ecosystems (such as wetlands, riparian areas and lakes) as green infrastructure to improve water quality for our human and environmental needs.
Tackling this with an engineering mindset alone will only address part of the problem. Much of my work involves geologists, economists, urban planners and municipality officials to name a few. This makes every day different which keeps me challenged, interested and engaged. I honestly just love every minute.
Dr. Frederick Cheng is a postdoctoral researcher in the ecosystem science and sustainability department at Colorado State University. Next January he joins the University of Virginia as an assistant professor of environmental sciences.