"There’s more than one way to have a great UBC experience and UBC has a lot to offer no matter what your interests."
Dan Look
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Applied Science
- Program:
- Campus: Vancouver
How did you become interested in engineering?
After high school I took science and humanities courses at Douglas College to figure out what I wanted to do as a career. At the same time, my true passion was working on my project car over a period of several years, which often got me wondering about the different components and how and why they’d been engineered in certain ways. My physics professor at Douglas College was enthusiastic about engineering, which led me to look into different pathways I could take to study engineering at UBC. I ended up enrolling in Langara’s Engineering Transfer Program.
How did you choose mechanical engineering?
I was looking through the course catalogue to decide which program I was most interested in. I knew I wanted to work in the automotive industry, but you can do that through lots of different programs, including electrical, materials and manufacturing.
But when I read about MECH 478, a course on the internal combustion engine, I knew mechanical engineering was for me.
I’d been working on my car’s engine for a long time, and I was excited that there was a course completely focused on engines. Wanting to take this course is also what led me to choose thermofluids as my specialization within mechanical.
MECH 478 is a fourth-year course, so I was not able to take it until later on in my degree. It was great experience -- Dr. Patrick Kirchen is a great prof and very inspiring.
How has the car evolved over the last few years?
After my first year, we made changes to almost every single system of the car. Although there was good engineering behind these systems, good engineering alone doesn’t make for a good car.
We switched to a carbon fibre monocoque so it’s all one piece and we remade a lot of the powertrain and suspension systems.
Over each successive year in international competitions, we’ve grown a lot as a team and learned about things to watch out for that can easily end your chances in a competition.
What skills have you developed from being on this team?
When you are part of a design team you learn a lot of technical skills. However, after I became a lead in my second year on the team, I realized that designing and building a car is as much a technical challenge as it is a project management and people management challenge.
You need to figure out how you can create an effective team culture that will allow you to build the individual systems and integrate them into the car by specific deadlines and within budget. Given that this is also a student-led, student-driven project, as a leader you need to figure out how to keep people motivated and on track. The answer to that is different for each member of the team, and it’s the leader’s responsibility to figure out what each person’s connection is to the team and to keep everyone together as a unit pushing forward.
Any advice for incoming students?
I think there’s a common misconception that you absolutely have to join a design team and that you need to do so in first year. I don’t think that’s true at all. Being part of a design team certainly improved my university experience, but that’s not true for everyone.
You might be more interested in your courses or research opportunities, or may want to join non-engineering clubs or just be active on campus in whatever way is good for you. There’s more than one way to have a great UBC experience and UBC has a lot to offer no matter what your interests.
