Meet the Team

Chirag Variawa is an Assistant Professor, Teaching-stream, and Director, First-year Curriculum, in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto.  Variawa received his Ph.D. from the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in 2014, and his B.A.Sc. in Materials Science Engineering in 2009, both from the University of Toronto. Variawa is an active member of the Canadian Engineering Education Association, the founding faculty member of the First-year Engineering Education Research Group, and a former member of the Governing Council at the University of Toronto. His multi-disciplinary research uses principles from artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, higher education and aspects of neuroscience to investigate the design of engineering learning environments. In his leisure time, he enjoys tinkering with cars and electronics, and sharing this passion students interested in STEM.

This year, Chirag Variawa is living-in at Chestnut Residence as the Faculty in Residence (FiR). As the FiR, Chirag will organize programs and special events geared towards Chestnut’s Engineering student population. Through programming and connecting with students he aims to build an even stronger sense of community and support here at Chestnut residence for Engineering students. Look out for regular Dinner with Your Prof events, Coffee with your TA, and industry nights planned in collaboration with leading companies.