On Monday, Polytechnique Montréal awarded 14 scholarships in the 11th edition of the Order of the White Rose, an initiative established in 2014 to pay tribute to the 14 women killed on December 6, 1989. Those awarded include three outstanding SBME students: Ruth Yu, Angela Wang, Catherine Ko.
The scholarships are awarded to Canadian female engineering students entering a master’s or doctoral degree in engineering anywhere in the world, helping to revive the dreams that were shattered in 1989. This year’s Order of the White Rose fellows embody the courage, curiosity and determination that drive the world forward. Through their unique journeys of engagement and success, they demonstrate that excellence goes hand in hand with audacity, and knowledge can be a force for common good.
To view the full list of recipients, view the Press Release.
Keep reading to learn why the award is so impactful to our students:
Ruth Yu
Bachelor of biomedical engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia
1ST Year MASc, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Dr. Govind Kaigala’s Lab
“In receiving this scholarship, I’m joining a lifelong community of brilliant women in engineering across Canada, and I’m truly excited to grow and learn from them. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the mentorship of many people –particularly Dr. Aditya Kashyap and Dr. Govind Kaigala –and the training I received as an undergraduate at SBME.”
– Ruth Yu
A graduate in Biomedical Engineering from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Ruth Yu embodies a true trilogy of excellence: academically outstanding, socially innovative, and deeply committed to her community. Supported by prestigious awards—including the Engineers Canada Leadership Scholarship—this now-master’s student ranked among the top 5% of her cohort and appeared on the Dean’s Honour List throughout her undergraduate studies. In the lab, she developed an innovative microfluidic method to map the genomic profiles of heterogeneous tumors, aiming to make prostate cancer diagnosis more precise and clinically accessible. Beyond research, she is an engaged community leader: inspired by a high school chemistry teacher, she now shares her passion for science and engineering through youth workshops promoting STEM in Vancouver schools and through the Canadian undergraduate Biomedical engineering Council. Ruth Yu pursues a clear vision: to design equitable, interdisciplinary biomedical technologies to advance cancer research.
Angela Wang
Bachelor of biomedical engineering, McGill University
1st year MASc, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Dr. Calvin Kuo’s Lab
“Being recognized as part of the inaugural group of 14 recipients carries deep meaning for me. Being part of the first cohort of 14 recipients is incredibly meaningful to me. This expansion brings greater visibility to how strongly our community stands behind equity, support, and hope for a more inclusive engineering profession—one that creates solutions with and for society.”
– Angela Wang
Angela Wang had a life-changing moment when she met a resilient man living with locked-in syndrome who used an eye-tracking system to communicate. Fascinated by assistive technologies, the student—then beginning her studies in bioengineering at McGill University— set herself a mission: to put engineering in service of humanity by combining neurotechnology with inclusive design. As a NeurotechX team lead, she developed a brain-computer interface spelling system for nonverbal users. Working with non-profit organizations, she also designed tools that enable students with disabilities to play drums in music therapy programs. Beyond her technical innovations, this master’s student at UBC is deeply socially engaged: she has coached swimmers with intellectual disabilities, mentored women and racialized students in STEM, and created inclusive physical education programs. Angela Wang now hopes to pursue further graduate studies in clinical applications, so she can continue transforming lives—just as others have transformed hers.
Catherine Ko
Bachelor of civil engineering, UBC Okanagan
1ST Year MASc, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Dr. Peter Zandstra’s Lab
“Receiving this award feels incredibly meaningful because it connects me to the legacy of women who paved the way in engineering. I’m grateful for their courage and perseverance, and I hope to honour that by translating the mentorship I received, especially at the University of Calgary, into supporting and uplifting the next generation of women in engineering.”
–Catherine Ko
Catherine Ko is a Biomedical Engineering student at the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia, drivenby a passion for innovation in cell and gene therapy and a deep commitment to translating research into therapies. Following an internship at BlueRock Therapeutics and undergraduate research exploring stem cells for diabetes therapy, she continues her work developing bioprocess control systems for stem cell differentiation and manufacturing. Outside the lab, Catherine has demonstrated her leadership through Go Baby Go, an organization that creates adaptive devices for children with mobility disabilities, and has championed inclusivity in STEM through her involvement with Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). Through her work, Catherine Ko seeks to advance both scientific discovery and social impact, while inspiring the next generation of women engineers to pursue their ambitions without limits.