uOttawa General Updates

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Dr. Caroline Cao is an example of how the Trump Admin, is making top talent available to Canadian Universities. After 23 years of excellent research in the US she has come to Canada. An interview I heard on CBC radio this morning indicated that she left the US because of how Trump is gutting university research programs. She is now Dean of Engineering at uOttawa.

Professor Caroline G. L. Cao was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa on August 25, 2025.

A researcher, educator, and entrepreneur, Professor Cao brings extensive experience in the design and development of medical systems and devices, as well as enabling technologies such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), simulation and training, decision aids, sensory substitution, navigational aids, and robotics for minimally invasive and robotic surgery.

Before joining the University of Ottawa, she was Director of Health Technology Initiatives and Professor of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, and Director of Engineering Innovation and Medical Simulation, and a Health Innovation Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US. She also served as the International Chair for Industry of the Future and Professor of Computer Science at IMT Atlantique in Brest, France (2021–2023), where she led major academic-industry collaborations addressing the challenges of Industry 4.0 and 5.0, including digital twins, human-robot interaction, XR technology, artificial intelligence, and system resilience.

She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2002 and has since built a globally recognized research program spanning engineering, healthcare, and human factors.

Professor Cao is the recipient of several prestigious distinctions, including the U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Fulbright Scholar award, and the International Chair of RFI ATLANSTIC 2020 in France. She is an elected Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). She also serves as Associate Editor for the journal Human Factors and is currently President-Elect and a Science Policy Fellow of the HFES.

“I’m inspired by our talented, entrepreneurial students, staff, faculty, alumni and partners. Together we’ll tackle grand societal challenges through innovation and collaboration, leveraging our diverse, inclusive community to deliver lasting impact.”