Shé:kon! 

I am James Ropotar, a 4th year undergraduate Manufacturing Engineering student at UBC Okanagan, entering to my Masters of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. In addition to my major, I have a concentration in Aerospace, a minor in Computer Science, and a certificate in Communications and Rhetoric. 

My professional passion is to foster optimization and equity within engineering systems and automation. My previous works include creating randomized problem set generation for engineering dynamics problems in an open resource bank, allowing access for many students outside the traditional course textbooks. To further enhance this project, I worked with students to understand how their learning changes with access to digital problem sets, and how to optimize the sets for the highest impact on learners. Another project of mine focused on equity in healthcare for women in space, focusing on the study of menstrual product behaviour in space. All of these projects focus on improving equality in engineering environments. 

My future research will focus on automated systems. I seek to understand the why behind automation, what determines which systems get automated. A key focus of mine is in relation to automation failure, and how human interaction with automated systems shapes the system as a whole. I hope to extend these concepts into topics surround the automation of emotional labour. This labour includes roles such as caregiving, and the research will focus on the effects of automation on humans interacting with these systems. A key focus of this work is ensuring equity in automation of systems, and ensuring no group suffers as a result of automation. I also seek to optimize the automation process, and ensure complete efficiency in operation of these systems. 

My secondary focus is on effective communication. Throughout the last year, I have focused on studies in communications and rhetoric, in order to deepen my understanding of what makes an effective communicator. Communication is a key skill in engineering and project management. I work to improve it for both my professional life, and my own personal life. Not only do these skills apply to my professional work, but they also work to help me with video essays and my time as a debater. Optimizing my rhetoric has helped me effectively communicate my ideas, and bring other's to my viewpoint. 

Finally, I see myself as a community contributor. I have worked in indigenous communities all of my life, and continue to work to serve them. Currently I work with Indigenous Programs and Services at UBC Okanagan as a mentor and tutor. Through this work, I seek to provide guidance and education to indigenous students as they enter and work through university. I also am a part of the local AISES chapter, and through it work to promote STEM in indigenous communities. Through this work I seek to build community, and advance the interest of young indigenous professionals in STEM fields. It ties into one of my top goals in life: Giving back to community. Throughout all my work, that is the number one thing I try to achieve. 

Personal Interests

Beyond my professional life, I am a creator. I spend my days writing, working on side-project code, and streaming. All of my more creative works can be found at JamesShadowfyre.ca. When I'm not creating things, I love to be outdoors. I am an active swimmer, skier, hiker, and love to paddle board. I'm always open for new experiences, and love to make new connections. 

 Projects