Michelle Liu

Michelle is the first person at the University of Ottawa to concurrently pursue a law degree (JD) and an engineering PhD. Her research focuses on evaluating the National Building Code through an equity lens and is jointly supervised by engineering professor Beatriz Martin-Perez and law professor Jena McGill.

Michelle earned her Honours BASc and MASc in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo and has worked in construction and design at national and international engineering firms. Michelle also worked at law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon, where she will be articling in 2023 while continuing her doctoral work. Michelle aspires to become an academic at the intersection of engineering and law, a goal she believes the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship program will help her achieve.

Michelle’s identities and experiences motivate her to serve in roles that advance EDI, including as a member of the Equity Advisory Group of the Law Society of Ontario and Chair of the Waterloo Engineering Alumni Council. Having moved to Ontario from Montréal, Michelle is French-English bilingual, and in the summer, you can find Michelle canoeing to backcountry campsites to escape the world!

Michelle’s research and leadership also placed her among the 2022 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship recipients.