Dr. Carole Emilie Baddour, a mechanical engineering assistant professor, is one of the newest faculty members to join Wilkes University this past fall semester.

Before becoming an assistant professor in 2017, Dr. Baddour was a visiting professor in the chemistry department in 2016 and also had a hand in developing a polymer chemistry class at Wilkes.

Engineering has always been a part of Baddour’s life, as her father, brother, and uncles were all engineers. The heavy exposure to the engineering field and her father’s labs as a child, as well as the support from both of her parents, all helped guide her interests and helped her become who she is today.

After being submerged in the field throughout her childhood, Baddour chose the chemical engineering route because of all of the applications that were possible through the field; specifically nanomaterials and technology.

Baddour is originally from London, Ontario, Canada. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Western Ontario in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. She also obtained her Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal.

After she received her degrees, Baddour did a year of postdoc industry work in London, Ontario, about renewable fuels.

Baddour also was a part of many groups who developed patents and publications. With her master’s, she was a part of a team who developed an industry patent with Arkema, a specialty chemicals and materials company located in France.

After working in industry for a year, Baddour then realized the place for her was not in industry like she had believed, but in academia.

Baddour taught at a junior college in Quebec for three years before coming to the United States to be with her husband, where she found the open position to teach at Wilkes University.

Baddour added her favorite parts about the position.

“You feel that at Wilkes, anything is possible,” said Baddour.

When coming to Wilkes, Baddour loved the overall welcoming atmosphere from the campus.

“Everybody is so friendly and you really feel that Wilkes is a family,” said Baddour.

Baddour also has taken part in many outreach programs, specifically one that has become one of her biggest passions; Women in Engineering.

“I would like to see more women [in the engineering field],” said Baddour. “That is actually something I am hoping to do here because right now in mechanical engineering we don’t have a lot of women students.”

Aside from reaching out and trying to get more females into the mechanical engineering field, Baddour is also in the process of setting up her own nanomaterial lab where she hopes to get students involved in her research.

“Thank you to students and to faculty, staff, everybody for making Wilkes what it is,” added Baddour, “it’s been such a wonderful experience and I just look forward to everything that’s to come.”