Michelle Lin | BASc MSE 2T2 + PEY, MASc MSE 2T5
Forensic Engineer
Michelle Lin is a Forensic Engineer whose work focuses on uncovering the hidden stories within materials — understanding how and why things fail, and what their microstructures reveal about performance and durability over time.
During her MASc in Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto, Michelle completed a thesis titled “Bridging Time Scales: Evaluating Natural Analogues and their Role in Long-Term Corrosion Prediction”, co-supervised by Dr. Jane Y. Howe and Dr. Doug D. Perovic. Her research explored how naturally aged silver samples from the Royal Ontario Museum can be used to better understand and predict long-term corrosion behavior.
While in MSE, Michelle developed expertise in advanced microscopy techniques—particularly the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)—to visualize what cannot be seen by eye. Her fascination with how structure and chemistry shape the design and function of materials began in APS110: Engineering Chemistry and Materials Science, a course she later returned to as a Teaching Assistant.
Today, Michelle brings that same scientific curiosity and analytical rigor to the field of forensic engineering, applying the principles of materials science to real-world challenges and investigations.