Michelle Liu is a PhD candidate in civil engineering at the University of Ottawa Centre for Law, Technology and Society, under the supervision of Prof. Jena McGill and Prof. Beatriz Martin-Perez.
Michelle Liu is a Professional Engineer (P.Eng), member in good standing of the Law Society of Ontario, speaker, activist, policy consultant, and third-generation settler based on the traditional land of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. As a Queer, non-binary, racialized, and neurodivergent person, Michelle Liu’s focus across their undertakings is on using their subject matter knowledge and lived experience to influence individuals, organizations, and systems to advance social justice. Critical, decolonial, abolitionist, Queer, and intersectional frameworks are among the lenses through which Michelle Liu conducts their work.
Michelle Liu’s speaking, activism, and policy advisory work has touched over 160 events, documents, and organizations. They currently hold research contracts at both the University of Ottawa and Toronto Metropolitan University in addition to their speaking and consulting work. They are also on the editorial team of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, a multidisciplinary and peer-reviewed publication of scholarship on the social, economic, and legal status of women, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming persons.
Michelle Liu earned their Honours BASc and MASc in civil engineering (structural and cold regions engineering) from the University of Waterloo and worked in design and construction management for various consulting engineering firms. Michelle Liu’s encounters with racism, homophobia, ableism, and gender-based violence in engineering inspired them to pursue their law degree (JD, Magna cum laude and Dean’s Award) and engineering PhD simultaneously at the University of Ottawa. While in law school, Michelle Liu served two terms as the President of the Common Law Student Society, President of OUTLaw 2SLGBTQ+ Law Students Association, and member of the University Senate. Michelle Liu has worked at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Ecojustice Canada.
Supported by the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship, Michelle Liu’s doctoral research uses sociolegal frameworks to understand the relationship between technological designs and the dominant norms in engineering such as masculinity and meritocracy.
Michelle Liu’s volunteer work in both law and engineering include serving as a Councillor (Board Member) of Professional Engineers Ontario, member of the Equity Advisory Group of the Law Society of Ontario, mentor with the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Chair of the Waterloo Recent Engineering Alumni Council, member of uOttawa Law’s Recent Alumni Engagement Council, ambassador with the Ontario Network for Women in Engineering, and Co-Chair of the EDIA Task Force of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
Michelle Liu also co-created and co-funds the Liu-Kennington Award for the 2SLGBTQ+ Engineering Community, the first university-level scholarship for 2SLGBTQ+ engineering students in Canada. They are the recipient of over 20 awards from various institutions for their leadership, activism, and impact, including being named an EDI Leader in Engineering Workplaces by Engineers Canada in 2021-2022.