Mechanical engineer, energy coordinator and a mother, Sana Wasi, is the only woman engineer in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing department at AKU. She is one of the many hidden heroes that have been working behind the scenes in the fight against COVID-19.
As the number of people suffering from coronavirus infections climbed steadily in 2020, the Aga Khan University and the Aga Khan University Hospital had to rapidly transform existing facilities to cater to as many patients as possible.
As the number of COVID-19 patient beds grew at the University Hospital, it led to an additional load on equipment and increased consumption of water and electricity utilities. This is where Sana’s expertise came in.
Her primary role was to ensure that all additional utility loads were distributed evenly throughout the buildings without increasing existing utility costs and making sure that all buildings met international ventilation standards for infection control in healthcare environments. With the support of the plant room, maintenance control room and electronics teams, Sana worked on developing building capacity profiles and operational equipment strategies to make sure that the overall temperature in the buildings with COVID-19 beds was decreased by exactly one degree to meet international infection control standards.
“I feel empowered – I work without any restrictions - and I enjoy facing new challenges. What I would like to see is more women in engineering and in my department.” Sana was one of 10 women out of 150 students in her engineering class. She firmly believes that women should be encouraged to study STEM subjects and build careers in whatever fields they desire.
Sana might not have been on the frontlines during the pandemic but she was on-ground every day making sure that utility costs were controlled and expanded facilities worked to international standards. She continues to help the University and Hospital maintain these standards and researches how to increase the use of green technology in operations around the campus.
Mechanical engineer, energy coordinator and a mother, Sana Wasi, is the only woman engineer in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing department at AKU. She is one of the many hidden heroes that have been working behind the scenes in the fight against COVID-19.
As the number of people suffering from coronavirus infections climbed steadily in 2020, the Aga Khan University and the Aga Khan University Hospital had to rapidly transform existing facilities to cater to as many patients as possible.
As the number of COVID-19 patient beds grew at the University Hospital, it led to an additional load on equipment and increased consumption of water and electricity utilities. This is where Sana’s expertise came in.
Her primary role was to ensure that all additional utility loads were distributed evenly throughout the buildings without increasing existing utility costs and making sure that all buildings met international ventilation standards for infection control in healthcare environments. With the support of the plant room, maintenance control room and electronics teams, Sana worked on developing building capacity profiles and operational equipment strategies to make sure that the overall temperature in the buildings with COVID-19 beds was decreased by exactly one degree to meet international infection control standards.
“I feel empowered – I work without any restrictions - and I enjoy facing new challenges. What I would like to see is more women in engineering and in my department.” Sana was one of 10 women out of 150 students in her engineering class. She firmly believes that women should be encouraged to study STEM subjects and build careers in whatever fields they desire.
Sana might not have been on the frontlines during the pandemic but she was on-ground every day making sure that utility costs were controlled and expanded facilities worked to international standards. She continues to help the University and Hospital maintain these standards and researches how to increase the use of green technology in operations around the campus.