Program Director, Advanced Manufacturing, Manufacturing and Transportation Division, National Research Council Canada
Mélissa Després is Program Director of the Advanced Manufacturing program since 2022. She is responsible for providing the vision, direction and the leadership in the delivery, adoption and impact of the research. She is also responsible for leading world-class resources and actively managing key relationships and alliances with partners, government and industry to ensure optimal positioning, organizational alignment and delivery in the national interest.
She joined NRC in 2013 after a busy career in private industry as a manufacturing researcher at Pratt & Whitney Canada and a research and development program manager at Héroux-Devtek. She then joined École de technologie supérieure as Research, Innovation and Partnership Advisor.
Mélissa holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering with a specialization in numerical simulation, and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. She currently serves on the board of PRIMA Québec.