Mechanical Engineering Grad & Geering Up Instructor Named 2024 Rhodes Scholar
Phoebe Cheung, a UBC mechanical engineering graduate and former Geering Up team member, has been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship for this year.
One of eleven recipients across all of Canada—and the only recipient in British Columbia—Phoebe will pursue a fully funded DPhil in engineering science, with a focus on biomedical engineering and assistive technologies, at the University of Oxford in October 2024.
Since 1903, the Rhodes Scholarship continues to be the world’s preeminent and oldest graduate fellowship based at the University of Oxford. The selection committee seeks out young people with proven academic excellence who also show exceptional character, leadership, dedication to using their talents to the fullest. and commitment to solving humanity’s biggest and most pressing challenges.
“I want to develop effective and affordable medical devices, using my engineering skills to make a global impact in healthcare and improve patients’ lives.
Receiving the Rhodes Scholarship means so much to me. Not only will I be conducting research at a world-renowned university, I will also engage in insightful and deep conversations with fellow scholars to uncover different perspectives to humanity’s pressing challenges.”
— Phoebe Cheung
Phoebe graduated in May in the biomechanics and medical devices option. While at UBC, Cheung was a dedicated member of the UBC AeroDesign engineering design team and served as team captain for two years, where one of her favourite memories was watching their team’s plane take flight for the first time after the countless hours they spent designing and building the aircraft.
During her Undergrad degree, Phoebe worked with Geering Up as one of our instructors so that she could be a part of the engineering outreach initiatives at UBC that first inspired her to pursue engineering.
When asked about what she would say to girls or other groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering, Phoebe said, “Don’t be afraid to explore what’s out there. Take the chance to learn about something new before deciding whether you like it. Join that STEM club or attend that engineering outreach event. You’ll never know: it might ignite that passion in you to pursue a career in engineering, just like it did for me.””
Phoebe currently works as a mechanical manufacturing engineer and was named a 2023 UBC Applied Science Rising Star. She also continues to be involved with the UBC Micro-Electromechanical Systems Lab and assists in developing novel technology in the field of soft robotics.
Congratulations, Pheobe—go out into the world and transform it for the better!
This story has been adapted from its original article on UBC Applied Science.
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