rose-lyne mccall
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AGE: 20
HOMETOWN: MONTREAL, QUEBEC
MAJOR: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
INTERNED AT: FPINNOVATIONS
PC OR MAC? PC
Rose-Lyne McCall may be a self-admittedly sensitive person, but she knows how to go a_ er what she wants. Before starting her internship at FPInnovations, a not-for-profit forestry organization, the third-year chemical engineering student was hoping to gain a better grasp of planning and executing lab experiments. McCall’s job was to research new applications for wood fibre, specifically in hygiene products such as diapers
(infant and adult) and feminine products. “The goal [for my work] was to reduce the size of baby diapers, which are pretty thick,” McCall explains. “We wanted to use a different kind of fibre to help reduce the thickness.”
To set up the experiments to test this new fibre, McCall spent the first month of her internship conducting a literature review, “I looked at patents, researched articles and learned about the subject. From that, I came up with some experiments and tests.”
McCall would create handsheets (a pulp and paper industry term for the sheets of paper made specifically for testing) containing the fibre, leave them to dry overnight, and then cut them into strips and test the strips for their strength and tensile properties.
This process of experimentation taught her the value of persistence.
“I would use different chemicals to make my handsheets and when I would test my paper the next day, I would sometimes get a totally different result from what I expected,” McCall says. “It was pretty frustrating but it was also good because it pushed me to figure out what would make it work.”
While McCall isn’t sure what direction her career will steer her toward, the Montreal native says her experience with FPInnovations was an exciting opportunity to explore. “I learned about different areas where chemical engineering is applied,” she says. “And I solidified my laboratory skills!”