Mary Wells, PEng (She/Her)
Dean of Engineering
Location: E7-7324
Phone: 519-888-4567 x43347
Status: Active
Biography
Mary Wells is Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo (July 1, 2020 - ), the ninth dean since the Faculty was founded in 1957. From 2017-2020, she was Dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Guelph.
Prior to her time in Guelph, Wells was a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo for 10 years. She received awards for graduate supervision from both the Faculty and the University in 2017.
An accomplished materials engineer, Wells also served as the Associate Dean of Outreach for Waterloo Engineering between 2008 and 2017, and chaired its Women in Engineering committee for many years. She chaired the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering from 2013 to 2018.
Wells began her academic career as a professor in materials engineering at the University of British Columbia from 1996 to 2007, and has worked in the steel industry in Canada and internationally.
The co-author of two books including one on Canadian women innovators and the second on Canadian women in materials, her research focuses on the relationship between processing, structure and properties for advanced metallic alloys used in the transportation sector.
Prior to her time in Guelph, Wells was a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo for 10 years. She received awards for graduate supervision from both the Faculty and the University in 2017.
An accomplished materials engineer, Wells also served as the Associate Dean of Outreach for Waterloo Engineering between 2008 and 2017, and chaired its Women in Engineering committee for many years. She chaired the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering from 2013 to 2018.
Wells began her academic career as a professor in materials engineering at the University of British Columbia from 1996 to 2007, and has worked in the steel industry in Canada and internationally.
The co-author of two books including one on Canadian women innovators and the second on Canadian women in materials, her research focuses on the relationship between processing, structure and properties for advanced metallic alloys used in the transportation sector.
Research Interests
- Process modelling
- Hot deformation of metallic materials
- Casting of light metals
- Boiling water heat transfer
- Microstructure/Processing Models
- Automotive
- Digital Factories
- Lightweight Materials
- Structural Crashworthiness
- Additive Manufacturing
Education
- 1996, Doctorate Metals and Materials Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada
- 1987, Bachelor's Metallurgical Engineering, McGill University, Canada
Awards
- 2017 Engineers Canada Award - Support for Women in Engineering
- 2017 Fellow Engineers Canada
- 2018 Fellow Canadian Academy of Engineering
- 2018 Distinguished Lecturer CIM (2018-2019) “Magnesium Alloy Forgings for Automotive Applications”
- 2020 Canadian Metallurgical Society Silver Medal
- 2021 Fellow Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK)
- 2021 International Magnesium Association Award of Excellence in the “Wrought Product Category” (team award)
Teaching*
- GENE 499 - Special Topics in Fourth-Year Engineering
- Taught in 2022, 2023
* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.
Selected/Recent Publications
- Abolhasani, Atekeh and Langelier, Brian and Worswick, Michael J and Wells, Mary A and Esmaeili, Shahrzad, Experimental analysis and modelling of natural aging in AA7xxx Al alloys, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 164344, 2022
- Prakash, Paresh and Wells, Mary A and Williams, Bruce W, Hot deformation of cast AZ31 and AZ80 magnesium alloys--Influence of Al content on microstructure and texture development, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 162876, 2022
- Gryguc, Andrew and Behravesh, SB and Jahed, H and Wells, M and Williams, B and Gruber, R and Duquett, A and Sparrow, T and Lambrou, M and Su, X, Effect of thermomechanical processing defects on fatigue and fracture behaviour of forged magnesium, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 213, 2021
- Benoit, MJ and Ogunsanya, IG and Winkler, S and Worswick, MJ and Wells, MA and Hansson, CM, Internal Corrosion of Warm Formed Aluminum Alloy Automotive Heat Exchangers, Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, 2876, 2021
- Wang, Yu and Zang, Andrew and Mahmoodkhani, Yahya and Wells, Mary and Poole, Warren and Parson, Nick, The Effect of Bridge Geometry on Microstructure and Texture Evolution During Porthole Die Extrusion of an Al--Mg--Si--Mn--Cr Alloy, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 3503, 2021
- Gryguć, Andrew and Behravesh, Seyed Behzad and Jahed, Hamid and Wells, Mary and Williams, Bruce and Gruber, Rudy and Duquette, Alex and Sparrow, Tom and Prsa, Jim and Su, Xuming, A Method for Comparing the Fatigue Performance of Forged AZ80 Magnesium, Metals, 1290, 2021
In The News
- Dean Wells and Prof. Yu named among Canada's most powerful women
- Dean Wells calls for greater TRuST in science and technology
- Trust in science and technology starts with conversations
- Recognizing Women Engineers
- Dean argues for continuing support of tech startups
- Dean urges universities to promote STEM diversity
- Dean, lecturer offer advice to engineering graduates
- Honouring the December 6 victims
- December 6 attacker could not hold women back
- New dean named for Waterloo Engineering
- Engineers are 'hidden heroes' in COVID-19 battle
Graduate studies
- Not currently accepting applications for graduate students
- Has Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor (ADDS) status