The event was attended by notable guests such as Lucie Brodeur, Senior Community Affairs Manager at TELUS, Louise Rousselle Trottier and Lorne Trottier from the Trottier Family Foundation, Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire, Chair of the Board of the Corporation de l'École Polytechnique, Diane de Champlain, President-Executive Director of the Fondation de Polytechnique, and Christophe Guy, Chief Executive Officer of Polytechnique, as well as 50 or so guests, partners and students who were treated to an overview of the Chair's many achievements over the last decade and a half.  

Guests congregated in the Lorne-Trottier atrium to enjoy a photo overview of the Chair's accomplishments, and to pay tribute to the four passionate ambassadors who hold the Chair:  

• Diane Riopel, Professor, Industrial Engineering, and Director, Professorial Affairs;
• Annie Ross, Associate Professor, and Associate Director, Department of Mechanical Engineering;
• Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering and Vice-President, Risk and Sustainable Development, CIRANO;
• and Myriam Brochu, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering.

In her opening address, Professor Riopel reiterated that at Polytechnique, equality has been achieved in chemical, biomedical, geological and industrial engineering. In other specialties however, equality is lagging and efforts are still needed. 

Mr. Guy thanked the partners who chose to support the chairholders in their efforts to promote engineering among women. “The awareness that has been raised through the Chair has certainly contributed to the fact that 24% of the students enrolled in the bachelor's program at Polytechnique are women,” said Mr. Guy. “This is well above the Canadian average of 16% and the 18.4% average in the United States.”

The Chair programs target young women at all levels of education, as well as those with whom they interact. In fact, Professor Ross reminded those in attendance that men have an important role to play when it comes to providing information, raising awareness and encouraging young women to consider a career in engineering. The latest Chair endeavour is the Magnifiscience contest, which was created for boys and girls in elementary school in the Greater Montréal area to raise their interest in careers in science and engineering.  The project was made possible with the financial support of TELUS.

The Chair wishes to encourage young women to see engineering as an accessible, stimulating, dynamic and socially important career path.

Congratulations and continued success to the Marianne-Mareschal Chair!

See also:

Marianne-Mareschal Chair website
Exhibition - 15 ans de projets rayonnants
Professor Riopel's expertise
Professor Ross' expertise
Professor Marcellis-Warin's expertise
Professor Brochu's expertise