Dr. Fengfeng (Jeff) Xi

When he was a young boy, Fengfeng (Jeff) Xi loved to take household items, like furniture, apart and put them back together. “It taught me that the best way to learn is through application,” he says.

His second and third year students benefit from this approach, taking part in coursework that involves building composite wings, robots, and landing gear models. “They have a lot of fun with these projects,” Xi says. “And they learn the fundamentals and theory behind why it flies, why it walks—why it works.”

If anyone knows why it works, it’s Xi. His research includes designing smart aircraft cabins and seats, and aircraft manufacturing automation. He’s also engineering a wing that morphs to adapt to different conditions, making air travel more fuel efficient.

Previously, Dr. Xi was the director of the then known Toronto Metropolitan University Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation (now the Centre for Advanced Engineering Research and Innovation in Aerospace), which connects undergraduates to leading Canadian aerospace companies. The intensive program enables the exchange of ideas and information between Toronto Metropolitan University and industry. “That exchange is essential,” says Xi. “Application is the key to learning, but communication is the key to innovation.”