Zenith Fellow, Class of 2022
Ryerson University, Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering
Host Organization: Mission Control Space Services
Mentor: Natalie Panek

Vanessa Van Decker is a third-year Mechanical Engineering Student specializing in Mechatronics at Ryerson University under the prestigious President’s Scholarship. She has a passion for robotics and space exploration and explores that passion through the contribution of technical ideas and community leadership.

Vanessa strives to empower her community and is currently on the board of directors for the national non-profit Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Canada (SEDS) as the Events Chair. She led 6 Nasa Space Apps Hackathons across Canada and organized SEDS Canada’s annual Canadian Space Conference bringing together students, researchers, and space industry professionals.

With her president’s scholarship, Vanessa had the opportunity to professionally engage in robotics research in her first year of university. She worked as a research assistant on Cardiac Catheter Robotics helping to bring the robot design from a laboratory experiment to a real-world application by researching protective materials and refining test procedures. Vanessa has also been a member of the R3 student robotics team for 3 years. She has contributed as a mechanical designer, Outreach team founder, Mechanical Chassis Lead, and Science Team Project Manager leading over 40 students in Life Detection, Geology, Controls and Mechanical sub-teams. Her work was recognized with the Ryerson Engineering Exceptional Leader Award.

Beyond her technical accomplishments, Vanessa has a history of volunteerism. She has created discourse on important topics through organizing TEDxAlgonquinPark, and TEDxBrentwoodCollegeSchool. She volunteers for the Mechanical Engineering department as an Orientation Student Leader. Vanessa continues to mentor younger engineering students each year to reach a hand back after she has benefitted so much from mentorship, her mentorship and community work have been recognized by the LORAN provincial scholarship. Vanessa visits middle schools and high schools in her free time, especially in rural areas, to teach engineering and robotics concepts and inspire students with the possibilities available to them in STEM.

Outside of working in robotics and space Vanessa finds joy in the outdoors and her creative pursuits. Growing up on the Madawaska River in Palmer Rapids instilled a love of nature in her. She whitewater kayaks, rock climbs, skis, and seeks out hiking adventures whenever she can. She loves being creative and finds outlets through her writing, painting, and knitting design.

Beyond her bachelor’s degree, Vanessa hopes to pursue graduate studies to deepen her understanding of mechanical design for robotics and space applications. She would like to work on space robotics missions in the future. Vanessa is excited to join the Mission Control Space Services team in Ottawa this summer becoming a Mission Operations Engineering Intern as a Zenith Fellow!