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From halfway across the world, Ryan O’Neil never envisioned his academic path taking him overseas. Yet, from his desk at the University of Lorraine in France, he reflects on how his engineering degree from Dalhousie University paved the way for his PhD, a collaborative program between Dal and the University of Lorraine.

Living in France has been an unexpected and enlightening experience for O’Neil, who had spent his entire life in Halifax.

While pursuing his undergraduate degree in engineering at Dalhousie, O'Neil was initially unsure which discipline to choose. Leaning on his strengths in mathematics, he selected Industrial Engineering—a decision shaped in part by the flexibility it offered to balance his rigorous schedule as a competitive martial artist.

From Athlete to Engineer

An accomplished athlete, O’Neil began Taekwondo at age four and later transitioned to karate. Over the years, he competed internationally, earning World Championship titles in Taekwondo and medaling at the Pan American Championships in karate, and most recently competed at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile. However, he admits that balancing his athletic career with an engineering degree had its challenges.

“Growing up, I was always told by my parents that school had to come first,” he says. “So I tried to make sure school was always the primary focus. You don’t have time to mess around. You get your schoolwork done and then you have to go train. You can’t really waste time.”

Finding the right balance was key, and O’Neil credits much of his success to the supportive community around him, including professors and classmates who helped foster a collaborative environment.

“We would work together. We would do assignments together. We would support each other, and help each other,” he explains. “I found it very easy to meet new people and develop friendships. That’s obviously very important in engineering—finding a good group of people you can work with and who you get along well with.”

In the final year of his undergraduate degree, O’Neil says the mentorship from his professors guided him toward a Master’s degree in selective maintenance optimization, a field focusing on improving the reliability of mission-critical systems.

This foundation set the stage for his PhD journey, which eventually took him abroad.

“If you had asked me when I started engineering, I would have thought I’d get my undergrad degree, then go out and get a job,” he admits. “This is definitely not what I thought my future would look like, but I’m glad this is what happened.”

From Halifax to France

O’Neil’s PhD research combines machine learning and large-scale optimization techniques to solve complex maintenance challenges in mission-critical systems, such as spacecraft and military equipment.

“One component of my thesis looks at accounting for different uncertainties like maintenance time, break duration, mission duration, and maintenance quality,” he explains.

His work was recently recognized with the prestigious Young Author Award at the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Systems Management. The award celebrates exceptional contributions by emerging scholars, with O’Neil’s innovative approach to selective maintenance optimization earning him this honour.

He says participating in the joint collaborative PhD program has not only given him the opportunity to study with leading experts around the world, but also to immerse himself in a new environment.

“I think just living in a different country has been a very interesting experience for me,” he says. “I’ve lived in Halifax my entire life, so having the opportunity to go abroad, meet new people, and experience different cultures has been very enjoyable.”

During his downtime, he’s even found a karate club to join. “I find that really helps with my mental and physical health, taking myself out of the office to do something physical,” he says.

Although his experience in France has been enriching, O'Neil says he looks forward to returning to Halifax this December to finish his PhD.

What’s next?

“I have two options really,” he says. “Do I pursue a postdoc, or do I join the workforce and go into industry right now? I’m definitely leaning towards coming home and pursuing a job.”