Winner of the 2007 Governor General Silver Medal

As a child, one of Clifford Ting’s favorite books was The Way Things Work by David Macaulay. “It had many detailed illustrations of various machines from simple pulleys and levers to telecommunication systems…In some way, this natural curiousity [led] me to study science in public school, and, eventually, applied science…in university.” Since those early days of turning the pages of his favorite book, Ting has worked hard and achieved recognition for his efforts. In 2007, Ting, an Electrical Engineering student, was the awarded the Governor General Silver Medal.

The Governor General’s Silver Medal is awarded annually to only three University of Toronto undergraduate students who have achieved the highest academic ranking. Ting is the 10th engineering student to have received the silver medal in the past 11 years.

Ting applied to six universities; however, he chose the University of Toronto because it is “one of Canada’s top universities” and began his studies in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering in 2002. While studying in the Faculty, he spent a summer working on—under the guidance of Professor Iravani—a research and development project sponsored by the University of Toronto and the NSERC undergraduate award.

For his fourth year design project, Ting worked with two other students designing the hardware from scratch for a PVR that was portable, simpler in design than others on the market, and therefore more cost-effective. They designed a printed circuit board from scratch and had it fabricated and assembled with USB ports instead of a hard drive so the PVC could be plugged in and removed.

On winning the Governor General silver medal, Ting said, “I was very surprised. It’s an honour. The medal brings memories of good times I had at U of T and all the help and support I got from my professors, TAs and family.”

When asked who he’s inspired by, Ting offered Thomas Edison as his example. “[Thomas Edison] said, ‘Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Accordingly, a ‘genius’ is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.’” Ting admits to being “an average person” who works hard. “Studying can be compared to a journey; you can have a high academic achievement at the end, but it is essential to enjoy the journey itself.”