People of Georgian: Associate dean a trailblazer in trades, mechatronics

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The Georgian community is full of unique, inspiring perspectives —and we’re sharing them as part of an ongoing series.

People of Georgian: Meet Dr. Nadja Johnson Bressan

One of the first big questions I recall having as a little kid was how it happens that at night you close your eyes and the next time you open them it’s the morning. Like, what happened? Why do we sleep?

I always had questions around how things work – with life, machines, everything.

Ever since, one of my great passions is knowledge and understanding the world.

Two adults and two children take a selfie with Canada flags. — *Nadja with her family on the day she became a Canadian citizen.*

I grew up in a very normal family, so it was not really the environment that sparked this curiosity; it’s just how I’ve always been. But my mom, who was a librarian, was incredibly supportive and intrigued by my questions and always responded, “Well, let’s go look for answers.” I had a lot of access to books.

We were a simple family in south Brazil, and we didn’t have a lot of resources, so I had to help myself and start studying.

Nadja earns extensive educational degrees in pursuit of knowledge

After high school, I received a trades diploma in mechatronics and a bachelor’s degree in industrial automation, and then I decided try teaching at night to see whether it’s something I could do. I discovered I could do it, but I didn’t feel I had enough knowledge to do it properly, so I decided to complete a master’s degree in automation, instrumentation and control, in Portugal.

During that time, I did a research assistantship at the same university in a neurological setting with a group of mathematicians and anesthesiologists who wanted to develop a system for automatic anesthesia. After that, I completed a PhD in biomedical engineering between that same university and one in London, England.

Then, I came to work in Canada with an Australian researcher. Eventually, I completed two postdoctorals and a research fellowship with SickKids before landing at Georgian.

Two people take a selfie with a grizzly bear mascot. — *Nadja, right, with a colleague and Growler, Georgian’s mascot.*

Nadja sees evolution of technology over last 30 years

The world is very different now than the one I grew up in. I started in the 90s and my knowledge evolved throughout the 2000s when nanorobotics was really starting to be a thing.

Over the last three decades, I have seen a few things that remain constant, like artificial intelligence. The funding and dedication of scientists is what made it possible for it to become mainstream today. Now everybody has a piece of artificial intelligence they use, whether they realize it or not. It’s interesting to see that evolution of technology.

Two adults and two children take a selfie in the woods. — *Nadja and her family enjoy weekend hikes.*

I always say: People dream about the future, and I build the future. At Georgian, it’s my role to make sure that the college is up to the challenge to train the future – the students who come through our doors.

I like to tell students how I got to where I am today – from a tradeswoman and apprentice to someone who earned a bachelor’s degree, master’s and PhD. I tell them: This is your beginning, just as it was mine.

I want to make sure our students feel they belong at Georgian and they’re going to progress and succeed – and help them feel that power right at the beginning of their stories.

Dr. Nadja Johnson Bressan (she/her), Associate Dean of Georgian’s Owen Sound Campus.