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Matthew Bell and his dog Ramza - supplied

Matthew Bell’s childhood fascination with math and science sparked an interest in pursuing engineering as a career, but it wasn’t necessarily his first choice. He also loved to cook and was planning to study culinary arts at NAIT when the PGµç×Ó¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾ career day at his high school presented an alternative path. Seeing the starting salary for an engineering graduate on one of the slides, he mused to himself, “I can cook at home,” and promptly submitted his application to the Faculty of Engineering. 

“You can imagine how much of an impression it made seeing the grandeur of campus when you're 10 years old and you're shooting rockets in Quad and you have to design them to safely land an egg,” says Bell. “That was my first exposure to the PGµç×Ó¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾.”

Early on in his post secondary education, Bell discovered an affinity for materials engineering, inspired by the small class sizes and opportunity to really get to know fellow students and professors. It came down to two choices, chemical or materials engineering, but his interest naturally gravitated toward how engineers apply chemistry to understand the fundamental properties and behaviour of materials. It was an area of study that would lay the groundwork for his current role as an APEGA registered professional engineer. “Everything is material,” he says. “These substances, or combinations of substances are the building blocks of everything that we use in society.”

For more than a decade, Bell has been working with , now part of Apave Group, as a senior materials engineer and responsible member for Apave IRISNDT. Specifically, he works in the area of failure analysis. He says every day is different and every problem he sees is unique.   

“I figure out why things break,” he says. “I work across all industries, from fertilizer to petrochemical, oil, gas, pipelines, renewables and refineries — and when something fails, which may have been found with an inspection or an unfortunate release of product, we diagnose the failure. We do all the forensics and materials analysis to figure out what caused the failure. Most importantly, we determine if the failure is isolated or systemic and how to prevent or fix it. Simply changing materials without considering all the factors may introduce other problems into the system, or it could be how they’re operating their systems, but ultimately  I help customers understand the data generated in our lab. We are that lens between all the data and the final answer — the engineering answer. We give them the path forward.” 

Explaining his career journey to students, which he does often as a volunteer mentor with the faculty, Bell says it’s literally from A to Z. “I’ve done aluminum to zirconium and most things in between. I’ve worked on non-metallics like plastics, polymers, fibreglass and concrete, even specialty materials like titanium and mundane materials like carbon steel. I’ve been doing this for 15 years now, and each one is a lot of fun!”

Mentoring future generations of engineers is a priority for Bell, who credits his career success to the mentors he had at university and as a young engineer. “They taught me about professional integrity and ethics, and how to problem-solve,” he says. At work, he also mentors junior engineers, aiming to honour the legacy of the mentors who significantly shaped his career.  Among his many outreach activities, Bell is a frequent guest speaker at the First Year Nights Lecture Series and in failure analysis technical talks, promoting materials engineering and the importance of applying learned skills to real-world challenges. 

The coolest part about being a materials engineer, says Bell, is that his passion for solving problems has afforded him the opportunities to not only have an amazing career, which includes publishing journal articles and attending international conferences as a guest speaker, but to leverage those case studies and talk to students about the value of their degrees.

Toward that end, Bell has established a legacy gift to support struggling students in need. Increasingly, alumni, friends and supporters are choosing to create a lasting impact through their estate plans, after providing for loved ones. These meaningful gifts can support the PGµç×Ó¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾ causes they cherish, including vital assistance for students in need, often without affecting donors’ current lifestyle. Legacy giving is an accessible way for anyone to make a profound difference — an opportunity that resonates deeply with Bell.  

“The cost of education is going up, and even back when I was in school I had to fund my bachelor’s degree with student loans and a line of credit,” says Bell. “Now, I'm in a position where I want to give back. Looking through the PGµç×Ó¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾ awards offerings, I don’t see a materials engineering specific award. That’s where I want to start.”  

Bell describes his life as "intensely busy but deeply rewarding,” adding that cooking and exploring new international cuisines remains a passion. He even sees the occasional parallel in the analytical processes of cooking and his core area of expertise in failure analysis. “In baking, you need precise ratios — but I like to improvise,” he laughs, adding that his cooking skills far exceed his abilities as a baker. 

The newest love of his life, however, is Ramza — a dog Bell adopted in 2022. “We’ve had a profound impact on each other’s lives,” he says. “Ramza wasn’t living his best life in his previous home, and he’s helped me focus on more than just my job, although he often comes to work with me. He even has his own ID badge.” 

Read more about the Materials Engineering program at the PGµç×Ó¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾.

If Matthew’s act of kindness inspires you to want to do more, please contact the PGµç×Ó¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾’s Office of Major Gifts & Planned Giving team. They are here to help and answer any questions you might have on estate planning resources and tax-smart approaches for greater impact.