Paul Kane student chosen to spend her summer as part of WISEST

St. Albert high school student Daria Tsybukova was one of 40 Alberta students chosen to take part in a summer research program for Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science, and Technology (WISEST) at the University of Alberta. 

Every summer, the University of Alberta hosts 40 young women, and gender-diverse students to participate in their WISEST program.

This year around 240 students applied to be a part of WISEST, so when Tsybukova found out she was one of the 40 students selected she was relieved.

"Just seeing that all my efforts were worth it felt great."

After getting into WISEST, each student is issued two supervisors to help them through their program. For Tsybukova, her two supervisors are Mohammad Keshmiri, a PhD student, and Dr. Shalini Singh, the direct supervisor and a Postdoctoral Fellow. 

Tsybukova, who plans to pursue a career in engineering, was lucky enough to be chosen to do engineering research for her WISEST project. The young student's project has been focused on looking at "near-net shapes" where they use Wire Arc Addative Manufacturing, an atomized welding machine, which creates the "near-net shape" parts.

The main focus is finding the optimal way of printing the parameters for the “near-net shapes,” which is the 3D printing of metal.

This technology is used for the printing of large parts in the industry. The hope is to eliminate or minimize the loss or waste of materials. 

All of the research that goes into the WISEST projects will be presented at the 2024 Celebration of Research on Aug. 14, the last day of the program. When asked about the Celebration of research, Tsybukova had mixed feelings. 

“It's a bittersweet moment for me,” said the Paul Kane High School student. “It's exciting to show off what I spent my summer doing, but it also means the program is coming to an end."

“I've enjoyed my time here, getting to know everyone and working in a lab.” 

Tsybukova also shared the impact WISEST has had on her. 

"At the beginning, I wasn't sure what I signed myself up for," said Tsybukova. "But just being here and seeing what it's like has really changed my perspective on everything."

"I now have a good understanding of what it's like in research and what to expect in the future."  

The 2024 Celebration of Research will take place at the Telus International Centre Atrium on Aug. 14. There will be a public viewing from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for anyone who wishes to attend. 

WISEST also has a complete Journal of Student research, which features all the past scientific work done by former WISEST students. To access past research you can go to WISEST Research.