From building Mars rovers as a student to founding a Canadian space launch company, Rahul Goel (EngSci 1T6, UTIAS PhD candidate) embodies what it means to turn curiosity into impact. A U of T Engineering student, alumnus, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Goel’s journey is rooted in a deep belief that engineers have the power, and responsibility, to shape the future of Canada.
In 2022, he founded NordSpace to build and launch rockets from Canadian soil in support of a sovereign space program. He is also the founder of PheedLoop, a cloud-based event management platform, and Genepika, a biotechnology company developing life extension technologies.
Committed to paying it forward, Goel volunteers his time with groups such as the U of T Aerospace Team (UTAT) and Robotics for Space Exploration (RSX), and mentors students through the Entrepreneurship Hatchery. In 2025, he established his first student award, the Dipika Goel PhD Scholarship in Aerospace Studies, to ensure students receive the same support he once did.
In this Giving Day Q&A, Goel reflects on the formative experiences that defined his path and why giving back is essential to building a nation of builders.
What first sparked your interest in engineering, and what ultimately led you to choose the University of Toronto for your studies?
Engineering has always felt intrinsic to who I am. Fundamentally, I’m driven to solve hard problems that affect many people and I’ve never been comfortable standing by when meaningful challenges go unmet. Engineering gave me the discipline, structure and leadership foundation to turn that instinct into impact.
I grew up in Toronto and always admired the University of Toronto. Studying here felt like the best way to contribute to the city, country and community that shaped me while working alongside people I’d grown up with to make a difference close to home.
Do you have a favourite memory from U of T Engineering that stands out as especially meaningful or formative for you?
Without a doubt, starting the Robotics for Space Exploration (RSX) team was transformative. U of T Engineering gave me the trust, resources and motivation to build something from nothing. What began as a single student with a vision became a thriving design team earning international recognition, from Mars rover competitions in the Utah desert to small experimental satellite payloads tested in low altitude rockets.
Seeing RSX continue to grow and carry its culture forward is so rewarding. I still sponsor the team each year and it has even become a talent pipeline for NordSpace. It’s proof of what’s possible when students are empowered to build.
You founded NordSpace with a goal to build and launch rockets from Canadian soil in support of a sovereign Canadian space program. In your view, what role do engineers play in shaping the future of Canada’s space and broader technology sectors?
Canada’s future requires sovereign command, capability and collaboration across all domains (air, sea, land, space and cyber) and technology sectors from energy, the economy and beyond. Engineers are builders and problem-solvers, and our country needs more of both. At NordSpace, our motto is “Advance Life on Earth, From Space,” and at RSX it was “The Sky is Not the Limit.”
Empowering Canadian engineers to solve the hardest problems will have massive direct and indirect effects on the lives of everyday Canadians. We must become a nation of builders, not just buyers, and of constructors, not just consumers. Space, in particular, is uniquely powerful in inspiring multidisciplinary innovation. Canadian engineers can, and must, shape this future.
During your studies, you received multiple scholarships and awards. How did that support influence your academic experience and opportunities beyond the classroom?
Quite simply, I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to study at U of T without that support: it made my education possible. I didn’t come from a background with the resources to easily pursue higher education away from home. That financial support gave me freedom and clarity, allowing me to focus fully on learning and building, rather than worrying about how to pay for it. I carry deep gratitude for this.
You just made your first philanthropic gift to U of T Engineering. What inspired you to start giving back?
Receiving support instilled in me a responsibility to pay it forward. Even today, I feel humbled by the belief others placed in me, and that pushed me to become someone worthy of it.
Giving back is one way to help ensure future engineers are inspired, capable and empowered. If we continue to create a culture of paying it forward in Canada, every generation of gestures will result in exponential growth. It isn’t only monetary, as I’m committed to contributing my time, knowledge and experience as well. It’s meaningful to begin this journey with the institution that gave me so much.
You established the Dipika Goel PhD Scholarship in Aerospace Studies. Can you share the motivation behind this particular gift?
My late mother, Dipika Goel, shaped how I live and think every day. She gave up her own career in science to raise her children, one of the most powerful and noble commitments a parent can make. She faced immense hardship, including a decade long battle with ovarian cancer, and yet I have never met a person who loved life as much as her. She cherished every experience, every meal, every moment, and embraced life with remarkable optimism.
As an engineer, her illness was the first time I truly felt helpless. This scholarship is both her legacy and a statement of hope: that by investing in future engineers and scientists, we can solve problems that once felt impossible — and spare others that same helplessness.
What advice would you give to alumni thinking of making their first gift?
Reflect on who helped you get to where you are today, and the role education played in your journey. Supporting education is one of the most tangible ways to shape a stronger Canada and a better collective future.
You also volunteer your time with U of T Engineering. Why is that important to you, and what kind of influence do you hope to have on future engineers?
Time is our most precious resource. Contributing it signals what truly matters. I don’t want to be a passive observer of the future, I want to help build it.
This means operating companies, not just investing in them, as I am at NordSpace, Genepika, PheedLoop, etc., and studying for advanced degrees, instead of just funding scholarships, as I am with my PhD studies at UTIAS. Until you invest your time, you cannot understand or improve things at the grassroots level. That is where real change happens, and that’s the influence I aspire to have.
If there’s one lesson you’d like readers to take away from your journey, what would it be?
Start something. In fact, start lots of things. Businesses, relationships, teams, hobbies, a family, philanthropy, education, volunteering, anything. Start small if you need to, but start. Progress only comes from taking that first step.
A new cybersecurity certificate for undergraduate students aims to prepare students for careers in one of today’s most rapidly evolving areas of engineering.
Canada has seen a surge in high-profile cyberattacks in recent years. In 2023, both the Toronto Public Library and a group of five southwestern Ontario hospitals were hit — incidents that led to months-long disruptions in service and the theft of personal health information of more than 516,000 people.
“Cybersecurity has become a critical engineering issue from multiple perspectives, including national and digital sovereignty, economic stability and societal well-being,” says Professor Deepa Kundur (ECE), Chair of The Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity of Intelligent Critical Infrastructure.
“Engineers working in sectors such as energy, manufacturing and healthcare, to name a few, need to understand how security threats intersect with design and operational decisions,” says Kundur.
“With that said, cybersecurity can no longer be treated as a niche specialty or an afterthought. Everyone entering the engineering profession needs a baseline understanding of cybersecurity.”
Kundur says that Canada is currently experiencing a sustained and accelerating demand for cybersecurity professionals, driven by increasing digitization across a range of industries.
As engineered systems — such as transportation networks, health care databases and even drinking water treatment plants — become more intelligent and interconnected, they increasingly rely on sensors, communication networks and complex computing infrastructure.
However, these complexities introduce new classes of vulnerabilities that expand the potential for cyberattacks from increasingly organized hackers from around the world. The Canadian cybersecurity market is expected to nearly double by 2030, growing from approximately US$14 billion in 2024 to nearly US$28 billion.
This expansion comes alongside a pronounced workforce shortage. As of 2024, there are an estimated four million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally, with talent gaps expected to persist through the coming decade.
“At a national level, Canada faces a substantial and growing shortage of cybersecurity professionals, estimated at approximately 150,000 roles,” says Kundur.
“As the leading engineering school in the country, U of T Engineering is well positioned to take a leadership role in educating students who can help address this need.”
Students participating in the certificate will take ECE381: Foundations and Frontiers in Cybersecurity, a new course that introduces core cybersecurity concepts along with the analytical tools needed to understand and engage with contemporary threats and technologies.
“The curriculum emphasizes understanding how attackers think, how vulnerabilities emerge, and how cybersecurity risk can be analyzed and dealt with in complex engineered systems,” says Professor Dimitrios Hatzinakos (ECE), lead on the new certificate and one of the instructors for ECE381.
“Learning is grounded in applied perspectives and practical case studies, helping students connect theory to actual breaches and incidents along with engineering practice.”
In addition to the core course, students choose two technical electives, such as Quantum Information Processing and Algorithms and Data Structures, enabling them to explore specific areas in greater depth.
The certificate will launch in September 2026. While many of the courses are currently from ECE, the certificate is open to undergraduates from all engineering departments.
“The certificate is intentionally designed to be accessible across engineering disciplines, reflecting the fact that cybersecurity is relevant to any branch of engineering today,” says Hatzinakos.
“It was created with government, industry and not-for-profit sectors in mind, all of whom hire our graduates and increasingly require engineers who understand cybersecurity risks and responsibilities in complex systems.”
As the program grows, the department hopes to add even more course offerings and expand into a formal undergraduate minor, as well as a new professional MEng emphasis in cybersecurity.
Kundur says students who participate in the certificate will be prepared for a variety of emerging roles such as software, system and platform engineers where secure design is essential.
They will also be qualified for data, AI and automation roles where model integrity, robustness and secure deployment are critical.
“The certificate provides a formal credential in an area that cuts across every engineering discipline,” she says.
“It signals to employers that cybersecurity is part of how students think about engineering design and responsibility.”
A team from U of T Engineering is the first to synthesize long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) outside the cell — a new approach to drug discovery that has already yielded some promising anti-inflammatory molecules.
The team was inspired by advances in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein replacement therapies. They realized that a similar approach could be used to deliver lncRNA to the body, unlocking a potential new source of drugs.
“Only about 25% of our DNA encodes for proteins, including everything from insulin for regulating blood sugar to antibodies for immune defence,” says Professor Omar F. Khan (BME), senior author on a paper published in Science Signaling that describes the new discovery.
“Proteins are made via messenger RNA, or mRNA, which conveys the instructions for how to build proteins from our genes to our ribosomes, the part of our cells where proteins are assembled.”
“But a significant amount of our DNA doesn’t do that; its function is something we’re still trying to understand. One thing we do know is that about 45% of our DNA produces these long strings of RNA that do not act as messengers, but which still interact with other biomolecules. We call these strings long noncoding RNA, or lncRNA.”
Khan says that so far, approximately 40,000 lncRNA transcripts have been identified — a set of molecules sometimes referred to as the ‘dark transcriptome’ because their functions are still largely unknown. He and his team were fascinated by the contrast between the large size of this chemical library and the limited amount of knowledge about it.
What research has been done on lncRNA transcripts suggests that they may be involved in gene regulation — for example, interacting with other molecules to increase or decrease expression of certain genes. This means that lncRNA could become a new method for researchers looking to treat disease.
“There’s no way evolution would allow these lncRNAs to take up so much space in our genome unless they were giving us some kind of survival advantage,” says Khan.
“If we can figure out what these lncRNAs do, make them in the lab, and then administer them to sick patients like any other medicine, we could modify or enhance the body’s natural processes to promote healing.”
Khan and his team began with a literature search through the dark transcriptome, looking for sequences that had the potential to be used in this way. For their first target, they selected lncRNA transcripts that other researchers had found to be associated with inflammation.
“Although inflammation is one of the body’s natural responses to injury or infection, extreme or chronic inflammation can become a problem,” says Janice Pang, a PhD student in Khan’s lab and lead author on the new paper.
“For example, sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by an overactive inflammation response, and chronic inflammation is associated with many conditions, from arthritis to cardiovascular disease.”
“The idea was that if we could identify lncRNA sequences that regulate inflammation, we could use them to shut it down when it gets out of control.”
The team identified three lncRNA sequences — GAPLINC, MIST and DRAIR — that previous research had suggested could be involved in regulating inflammation. Using a variety of techniques such as in vitro transcription synthesis, chemical modifications and high-performance liquid chromatography purification, they made the first copies of these sequences outside the cell.
They then used their extensive expertise at creating RNA delivery systems to package these lncRNA sequences into nanoparticles and inject them back into human cell cultures, as well as mice that were sick with an inflammatory disease.
“We found that each sequence reduced inflammation in a different way,” says Pang.
“They did this by decreasing the production of specific cytokines, which are signalling proteins produced in the body that trigger inflammation.”
The team then went one step further: they explored structural and chemical changes to each lncRNA to increase their potency. These changes allowed them to use much lower doses, which can potentially improve clinical use.
“It’s a very tricky thing, because the shape of these molecules matters to their function, and you don’t want to break that by changing too much,” says Khan.
“But through hard work and thoughtful choices, Janice and the team were able to find modifications that actually increased their potency.”
While the team is excited about the new anti-inflammatory molecules they’ve created, Khan says the larger accomplishment is the opening up of a new frontier in drug discovery research.
“The traditional way of making drugs is time-consuming and costly: so many candidate molecules fail because of negative interactions with the body or a lack of performance in humans,” he says.
“What’s so great about these lncRNA sequences is that they’ve been honed by millions of years of evolution, so we know they’re biocompatible with humans: they’ve already been de-risked, in a sense. On top of that, each lncRNA evolved to have a very narrow, specific mechanism of action. That specificity reduces the potential for side effects, and it also enables us to get the desired response with minimal doses.”
“This is a completely new paradigm for drug discovery, and we think that the dark transcriptome is a great opportunity to find new treatments that will really change lives in the future.”
A paper by Professors Michael Sefton (BME, ChemE) and Malcolm King and Alexandra King from the University of Saskatchewan, introduces the term regenerative healing as a complementary, more holistic concept to regenerative medicine. Published in Tissue Engineering Part A, the authors suggest the framework may better reflect Indigenous views on health and wellness, and encourage more inclusive conversations about emerging biomedical therapies.
Regenerative medicine focuses on repairing, replacing or regenerating tissues and organs using cell- and gene-based approaches. Tactics include technologies such as cell therapies, tissue engineering, and gene editing.
In contrast, regenerative healing broadens the lens beyond biomedical intervention to consider physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual dimensions of well-being. It encompasses medical treatments but does so alongside rehabilitation, lifestyle, culture and community relationships.
The paper draws on discussions with First Nations and Métis Knowledge Holders held during gatherings in advance of the 7 Directions Summits on regenerative medicine and organ donation. Participants emphasized the importance of community-driven decision-making, the need to include diverse Indigenous voices and the connection between individual consent and community values. They also raised questions about spirituality in relation to new medical technologies and highlighted the role of ceremony in healing processes.
The authors note that early engagement with communities and people with lived experience remains limited in preclinical research. They argue that integrating Indigenous ways of knowing — such as Two-Eyed Seeing, which combines strengths of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems — can help guide equitable development, access and evaluation of regenerative therapies. They also call for attention to affordability, ethics and social impacts as technologies advance.
The paper concludes that building trust in health research will require ongoing public engagement and openness to broader definitions of healing. Framing discussions in terms of regenerative healing, may provide a more inclusive starting point for dialogue with patients, families and communities.
You may not expect engineering students to catch the acting bug but the convergence of this science-based discipline and the thespian craft is a long-held University of Toronto tradition. Skule Nite is a boisterous annual event, featuring sketch comedy and musical numbers, where engineering students get to shine in a whole different way.
Last year, four of these talents from U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering decided to form a new troupe: the Engineering Drama Society (EDS). This new entity captivated audiences with their 2025 production of Spring Awakening; and this March, they are returning to Hart House Theatre with Mean Girls, a hugely popular musical based on the 2004 film written by American comic Tina Fey.
Meet EDS’s executive team: Artistic Director Lincoln Macdonald (Year 4 EngSci), Executive Producer Vedant Gupta (Year 4 EngSci), Educational Director Isobel Arseneau (Year 4 EngSci) and Marketing Director Victoria Zhou (Year 4 EngSci).
The quartet launched EDS primarily for the engineering community. “We felt that this community has a strong work ethic, a drive and a mentality that the success of one person is the success of all,” say Arseneau.
“We think that’s a very special ideology.”
She says EDS members also noticed that the demographic of engineering students is changing. “There’s a lot more diversity of students coming in — people with a big artistic background who are looking to grow their creative skills at a more professional level.”
The most formidable challenge in creating this new group, says Vedant, was funding — not only for the Spring Awakening production, but also for sustaining the Society. “The vision is bigger than one season. It’s about creating a space for engineers going forward,” he says.
The four were keenly aware they were building on the foundation of Skule Nite but also creating something quite novel.
“Writing grant applications that set EDS apart from what already exists within engineering was a challenge,” says Gupta.
“The onus was on us to explain how we’re different, how we’re looking to tap into different communities to make these shows come together.”
A second hurdle was what he calls “cementing the vision.” They asked themselves what they wanted the future to look like. Propping up engineering talent on stage was key for every position, including directors, assistant directors and creative team members.
Legacy was central too. They have already begun thinking of who will oversee the Society after they graduate.
Spring Awakening proved to be a real learning experience, with Zhou and Gupta ultimately co-directing the production, even though she had intended to remain in choreography and he was originally slated to produce.
Zhou says it was rewarding in the end. “Being able to put it all together and see that people enjoyed it was hugely gratifying. It was nice to see how much the engineering community actually cared.”
With a sense of pride and accomplishment, she recalls how awestruck the cast members were when they first saw the stage decorations.
Success was unmistakable: Spring Awakening sold 1,500 tickets. “That’s crazy, right?” says Zhou.
Reflecting on this great learning exercise, she emphasizes the importance of the people they met and the lasting connections they forged.
Today, each of them is still active in other productions at the same time as pulling together Mean Girls. “We utilize those connections to push ourselves into creative spaces,” says Zhou.
EDS members say the biggest learning lessons were around theatrical production and understanding how it all works, as well as seeing how great the community at U of T truly is. Zhou notes that engineering students often show up for non-engineering events in large numbers.
Arsenau appreciated how everyone came together, understood the vision and worked exceptionally hard.
“Everybody was pushing for the best they can possibly do, never settling on anything less,” she says.
“That was very special to see. The fact that community was there was one of the biggest lessons. We hope to achieve this with all future productions.”
For the March production, student engagement remains top of mind. With Mean Girls, Arsenau notes that they’re encountering students who have theatre backgrounds but, sadly, stopped this interest after high school. She emphasizes that these kind of groups on campus make students feel they can continue their creative expression.
“An arts-based or theater-based community is something so specific, very emotional,” she says.
“It gives students a place to find a sense of identity. They could have had the worst mid-term exam of their life … and still show up to rehearsal and feel like they did something excellent.”
Macdonald believes all of this would not have been possible without Hart House Theatre. The group was impressed with the Theatre’s stellar reputation, historical significance and vast outreach.
“Being on campus means being connected to so many students,” he says. “You’re going to reach a lot of people.”
He recalls first pitching the idea of Spring Awakening to Doug Floyd, director of theatre and performing arts, who was tremendously supportive from the very start, as was Gillian Lewis, education and production coordinator.
“Theatre staff were amazing at helping us through any technical problems and making us feel comfortable in pitching some crazy ideas,” he says. “They helped us to rein in the ideas and make them a reality.”
Further still, Macdonald believes that Hart House Theatre legitimizes productions like those of EDS “because it forces individuals to push themselves to another level of professionalism and quality.”
On March 4, U of T Engineering released its new Strategic Academic Plan, 2026–2031. The document sets out the faculty’s goals and priorities for the next five years.
Engineering Strategic Communications sat down with Dean Chris Yip to find out more about then plan and what it will mean for the U of T Engineering community.
How did this plan come together?
The heavy lifting was done by Professor Heather MacLean (CivMin), our Vice-Dean, Strategic, as well the Strategic Academic Plan Steering Committee. I’m grateful for their hard work on this project.
Consultation has been an important part of this process. We talked to our students, professors, staff, alumni, units across U of T and of course the many organizations that partner with us. We identified what makes U of T Engineering special, and what makes it stand out in a globally competitive marketplace for engineering education and research.
We’re leaning into our strengths, but we’re also pushing ourselves to the next level. We know the world is changing fast, with socio-economic pressures, evolving models of education and growing demands in areas like AI and cybersecurity. Those could be viewed as obstacles, but we see them as opportunities.
Our mission is to be a global leader, convener and partner of choice in advancing transdisciplinary engineering research, innovation and education.
The strategic academic plan is built around four pillars that are closely interconnected. Can you walk us through each? Let’s start with the first one: Educating adaptive thinkers to address complex challenges.
If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that we can’t always predict what challenges will arise. What we do know is that these challenges — pandemics, climate change, effectively deploying AI — don’t confine themselves to any one sector, domain or area of expertise.
We are dedicated to cultivating adaptable, globally minded engineers who collaborate across and within disciplines to address complex societal challenges. That means prioritizing skills like leadership, career readiness and global perspectives.
It also means hands-on experiences from day one, and throughout all years of study: design courses, capstone projects and programs such as the Professional Experience Year Co-op, which is already one of the largest of its kind in Canada.
I really believe that engineering is for everyone, and I want everyone to be able to see themselves in what we do.
Research Excellence
We’re already producing world-class research. From next-generation autonomous vehicles to new medical treatments to greener infrastructure, I can’t help but be blown away by the work our students and professors are publishing.
Our researchers will continue to have unparalleled access to multidisciplinary research centres, industry partnerships and collaborative programs. We also plan to modernize our research infrastructure and streamline support for new initiatives. All this will enhance our research excellence, innovation and impact.
Community, collaboration and resilience
I said before that I truly believe engineering is for everyone, but the fact is that if you look at our profession today, it still doesn’t reflect the full diversity of the societies we serve.
We’ve made progress — our student body is now about 40% women across the board — but we have to keep going. We’re going to continue advancing the integration of equity, diversity and inclusion across our academic programs, practices, policies and infrastructure.
That includes strengthening connections between Indigenous knowledge systems and engineering education, and also supporting community well-being and professional growth for our students, staff and faculty.
Building transformative partnerships
Strategic partnerships enable us to address the really big, complex challenges of our time. Our industry partners get early access to student talent, and to the expertise that our professors have been accruing over their long and distinguished careers. This enables them to develop innovative solutions that they couldn’t necessarily achieve on their own.
In return, our undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to work on real products and challenges that will make an impact in industry. It’s a fantastic way to apply and consolidate what they’ve learned in their courses.
Many of these partnerships also have an international component, creating opportunities for our community members to gain the global perspectives that are so crucial to engineering.
But most importantly, partnerships help us see that engineering is a human discipline. Whenever you design a new tool, technology or approach, you need to start with the end users in mind. If it doesn’t work for them, it doesn’t work, period.
We are going to strengthen the partnership pathways we already have — research collaborations, co-location opportunities in our Engineering Partnerships Office, exchanges, Master of Engineering Co-op — and build new ones. This will enhance the global network of partners we already have and increase the impact of our work.
That’s a long list. How are you feeling about it?
Incredibly optimistic. I’ve experienced the U of T Engineering community as a student, a professor and now as Dean, and I’ve never stopped being impressed with the quality of our people. It’s a community that is truly unique, and indeed stretches all over the world — more than 60,000 alumni in almost any country you could name.
We have a strong track record: Times Higher Education ranked U of T 14th in the world for graduate employability last year. Add to that our global reputation as Canada’s #1 engineering school and among the best worldwide and you’ve got a network that opens doors everywhere.
Our vision for the future is ambitious, but I have faith in the ability of this amazing community to bring about lasting, positive change.