Dr. Monique Frize is both an engineer and an advocate for women in science and engineering. She is currently a professor both at Carleton University in the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering and at the University of Ottawa in the School of Information Technology and Engineering. Before taking these positions, she was the Women in Engineering Chair at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Now that she teaches in Ontario, she is the NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair for Women in Science and Engineering in Ontario.

Monique Frize was born and raised in Montreal. She attended the University of Ottawa where she received a Bachelor's of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering. Then she went on to take her Master's in Philosophy in Electrical Engineering (Engineering in Medicine) at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England. Next, she took a Master's of Business Administration from the Université de Moncton. Finally, she took her Ph.D. from Erasmus Universiteit in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Her career has been very successful. She worked from 1971 to 1979 as a clinical engineer at Hôpital Notre-Dame in Montreal before she was appointed as the Director of the Regional Clinical Engineering Service in Moncton, New Brunswick. It was during her time in Moncton that she became the first Chair of the Division of Clinical Engineering for the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering. In December of 1989 she was appointed the first holder of the Women in Engineering Chair at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton. She was also holding a position as a professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at UNB. In 1993, Monique Frize was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Monique Frize has also done much work outside of the university system. She has served on many prominent boards including the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology. In 1997, because she is so well-known in her field, she was appointed by Industry Canada to serve on the Board of Directors of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The CFI's goal is to support organizations that are doing leading-edge scientific research in areas like health, the environment, science, and engineering.

She is a strong advocate of women's roles in science and engineering. As a young, bright student, she faced professors steering her away from engineering because it wasn't a woman's field. Now, as a successful engineer, she works to encourage young women to pursue their interests in this field. She has published many papers, and maintains websites all about women in science and engineering. She sees the stereotypes that society still holds for women and men as one of the barriers to women in science and engineering. She feels that a woman's unique contribution to traditionally male-stereotyped vocations is very important. It is people like Monique Frize who help break these stereotypes by showing how much success can come from pursuing your interests.

You can learn more about Monique Frize's work on the NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair for Women in Science and Engineering in Ontario website, available both through Carleton University and through University of Ottawa.