Amyl Ghanem
Engineering Professor
Amyl Ghanem is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Dalhousie University and also the Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion in the Faculty of Engineering. Born in Egypt, she immigrated to Canada at the age of 2 and grew up in New Brunswick. Loving math and science, Amyl chose to study Engineering at University of New Brunswick, not realizing at the time that she was blazing a new career path for young women. With an adventurous spirit, she held several engineering jobs in industry across Canada before her yearning for education returned. Amyl once again moved, this time to the United States to attend prestigious Cornell University where she received a PhD in Chemical Engineering. A few years later she joined the Faculty of Engineering at Dalhousie University where she enjoys teaching students, conducting research on medical and personal care polymeric materials, and actively promoting diversity on and off campus.
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What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?
I'm most proud that I never gave up! There have been so many challenges to get to where I am today, and so many times I wondered if I could do it. But I persisted, and look forward to the next exciting opportunity.
What’s your vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years? What’s our biggest opportunity now?
I would love to see Atlantic Canada be the home of many smallish home-grown STEM companies, spun out of the incredible brains of the students, staff and faculty all across our region. I think we have tremendous human potential here, and with appropriate use of funds and by engaging in creative thinking we are sure to grow.
What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?
I became a mom on my own at the age of 42. This meant I was to take off the mask of who I was pretending to be, and instead show more of the person inside. I now find it too exhausting to fake it, and am more authentic.
What’s your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?
A book that changed my life was "The Power of Positive Thinking". Its very cheesy but it really helped me turn my thinking around. I read it in my mid-20's during a low point in graduate school.
What’s your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?
It was really more of a reminder than a new learning, but I felt deeply how fortunate we are to live in a country like Canada, with its high quality standard of living and national health care. Perhaps the feeling comes from having lived in several other countries, but it's something I will never take for granted.
Who’s inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?
Without a doubt my daughter inspires me every day, to mirror the values and goals that I am trying to teach her, and to laugh! She has a fantastic sense of humour, and lifts up a tense situation so well with her humour and laugh.
What would you have done differently?
If I could go back and do things differently I would have taken more risks and believed in myself more.
What are the principles you live by?
Respect others and be understanding, you don't know what they might be going through or what experiences have shaped them.
Enrich your mind and creativity whenever you can.
Be financially in control of my life.
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Engineer, scientist, educator, science advocate, mom, traveller, DIYer