Monique Frize, , née Aubry (born 7 January 1942) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

biomedical engineer Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

medical instrument A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

s and decision support systems. Notably, her scientific research and outreach efforts led her to receive the prestigious distinction of Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

Education

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Frize received a Bachelor of Applied Science ( B.A.Sc.) degree in Electrical Engineering from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

in 1966 - the first Canadian woman to graduate from this program at the university. From 1967 to 1969, Frize was an Athlone Fellow as she completed her Master of Philosophy (

M.Phil. The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

) degree in Engineering in Medicine from

Imperial College of Science and Technology Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1986, she received a Master's in Business Administration (

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

) degree from the

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on highe ...

. She received her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree from Erasmus Universiteit in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

in 1989.

Career

Industry

Monique Frize worked as a clinical engineer for 18 years, starting at Hopital Notre-Dame in Montreal, Quebec (1971-1979) before becoming the Director of the Regional Clinical Engineering Service in Moncton, New Brunswick. While in Moncton, she became the first Chair of the Division of Clinical Engineering for the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering, from 1985 to 1990 /. Dr. Frize was elected Chair of the Council of Societies of the IFMBE 2015-2022 and a Council Member of the Federation.

Academia

In 1989, Frize was appointed the first holder of the

Nortel Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel), formerly Northern Telecom Limited, was a Canadian multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec, ...

NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...

Women in Engineering Chair at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

and a professor of Electrical Engineering. In 1997, she was appointed Professor in the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

and Professor in the School of Information Technology and Engineering at the

. She is currently a Distinguished Research Professor and Professor Emerita. She is also a founding member of th
International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES)
and was President from 2002 to 2008 as well as being President of the Education and Research Institute (ERI) from 2007. In 2018, in collaboration with Library and Archives Canada and the University of Ottawa Library - Archives and Special Collections, as a member of INWES-ERI, she led an initiative to develop a centre of expertise to document the history of women who have contributed to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Canada. INWES-ERI is now CIWES (Canadian Institute for Women Engineers and Scientists)

Scientific research

Frize's research interests include medical imaging, medical decision support systems, medical technology management issues (

clinical engineering Clinical engineering is a specialty within biomedical engineering responsible for using medical technology to optimize healthcare delivery. Clinical engineers train and supervise biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs), working with governm ...

) and technical services for hospitals in developing countries.

Awards and honors

Monique Frize has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career. In 1992, she was made a Fellow of the

Canadian Academy of Engineering The Canadian Academy of Engineering (french: L'Académie canadienne du génie) is a national academy of distinguished professional engineers in all fields of engineering, who are elected on the basis of "their distinguished service and contribution ...

. In 1993, she was inducted into the

, in recognition of being "well-known in the field of

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

" and for being "a role model and an inspiration for women seeking careers in science". She has received several honorary degrees from the University of Ottawa,

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...

and from Mount St-Vincent University. She received the Gold Medal in 2010 from

Professional Engineers Ontario Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO; known until 1993 as the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario, APEO) is the self-regulatory body that governs Ontario's 85,000 professional engineers, and sets standards for and regulates engineering ...

and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and she became Fellow of

Engineers Canada Engineers Canada (French: ') is the national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada. Engineers Canada serves these associations, which are its sole members, by delivering n ...

in 2010. In 2013, she was awarded the honour of Fellow of the

Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society The Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society (CMBES) is a technical society representing the biomedical engineering community in Canada. CMBES is supported by its membership which consists of biomedical engineers, biomedical engineer ...

. In 2019 she was a recipient of the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...

in Commemoration of the Persons Case.

Publications

* ''A Woman in Engineering: Memoirs of a Trailblazer''. University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa, Canada.

References

External links

Women in Science profile

Monique Frize’s archives
from University of Ottawa Library - Archives and Special Collections
International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES) fonds
from University of Ottawa Library - Archives and Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Frize, Monique 1942 births Living people Alumni of Imperial College London Canadian biomedical engineers Canadian academics in engineering Academic staff of Carleton University Officers of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering Academics from Montreal Université de Moncton alumni Academic staff of the University of New Brunswick University of Ottawa alumni Academic staff of the University of Ottawa Women bioengineers Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners