claudia macedo
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AGE: 22
HOMETOWN: PINCOURT, QUEBEC
MAJOR: MATERIALS ENGINEERING
INTERNED AT: RIO TINTO, IRON & TITANIUM
FAVOURITE SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT: “MURPHY’S LAW. NOT VERY SCIENTIFIC, BUT SO TRUE.”
For Claudia Macedo, working as a research and development intern with Rio Tinto, Iron and Titanium (RTIT) Metal Powders was an eye-opening experience and a confidence booster.
Stationed in RTIT’s product development department in Montreal, Macedo examined the effects of additives in metal powders. “Many of our customers are in the car industry,” she says, “and they expect to receive metal powder that, once it is pressed and sintered [a technical term for moulding and heating powders to create objects], will be the exact size and dimension required.”
The client-focused nature of the research was markedly different from the research Macedo was used to doing at McGill. “If there is something the client wants and it requires a new product, you have to test it and make sure it works, with very limited time to do so,” she explains. In contrast, the focus of her research at McGill is to explore novel concepts, to “try to find something new.”
Still, delving into powder metallurgy was a continuation of the fourth-year materials engineering student’s coursework. “For my internship, I needed to understand many basic concepts that are useful for a materials engineer,” she explains. “There was a lot of data processing and analysis. I learned about methodologies needed to approach a problem and how to design experiments so that your data is significant.”
Macedo’s internship experience also opened her eyes to the importance of collaboration — “You have to interact with your department and other departments to get your questions answered,” she says. “You have to be able to talk to everyone.” She urges interns not to be shy: “Don’t be scared to ask questions. If you don’t understand something, there is probably someone who can help you, and since you are an intern, they expect and welcome the questions you have for them.”