11.512 Schulich Fall Rev_Layout 1 - The Schulich School of ...
11.512 Schulich Fall Rev_Layout 1 - The Schulich School of ...
11.512 Schulich Fall Rev_Layout 1 - The Schulich School of ...
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COMPUTERENGINEERINGMINORELECTRICALENGINEERINGDEGREESCHULICHSCHOOL OFENGINEERING2000PHILROBERTSONSEBASTIANSZTABZYBSTATISTICALMODELSTHERMO -DYNAMICSPROBLEMSOLVINGPASSION FORTECHNOLOGY& COFFEEDIGITALFILTERSPHIL &SEBASTIANCOFFEEROASTERSTRAVELSebastian Sztabzyb, left,and Phil Robertson withthe vintage c<strong>of</strong>fee roasterthey refurbished.Photo by Jennifer SowaPHIL & SEBASTIANCOFFEE ROASTERSPHIL ROBERTSON ANDSEBASTIAN SZTABZYBPhil Robertson andSebastian Sztabzybgraduated from the <strong>Schulich</strong><strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> Engineering in 2000with degrees in electricalengineering and minors incomputer engineering. <strong>The</strong>yshared a passion for technologyand c<strong>of</strong>fee. After a fewyears <strong>of</strong> research, they quittheir engineering jobs in 2007to open a cafe at the CalgaryFarmers’ Market. That locationclosed in 2010 but Robertsonand Sztabzyb went on to opena roasterie and two morecafé locations. <strong>The</strong> pair travelto c<strong>of</strong>fee growing countriesto directly purchase theirc<strong>of</strong>fee – they’ve visited sixcountries in the past year –and when the c<strong>of</strong>fee arriveson their home turf, theyleverage their engineeringskills to roast the c<strong>of</strong>fee usingthermo dynamics, digital filters,and statistical models.“<strong>The</strong> most important skillthat engineering taught us ismethodical problem solving.Ultimately, that’s what runninga business is: lots and lots<strong>of</strong> problem solving,” says PhilRobertson. “We’ve also leveragedour s<strong>of</strong>tware engineeringskills to write a sophisticatedroasting program that usessome basic principles <strong>of</strong>thermodynamics to assistthe roasting process.<strong>The</strong> program also uses dataacquisition, digital filters andstatistical models.”“<strong>The</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fee industry isquite young compared to thewine industry, for example,and there’s lots <strong>of</strong> opportunityto innovate. It’s pretty exciting,”says Sebastian Sztabzyb.“<strong>The</strong>re’s a great social aspectto it, from socializing withcustomers in the cafés toc<strong>of</strong>fee growers around theworld. <strong>The</strong>n there’s theunity <strong>of</strong> the culinary aspect<strong>of</strong> actually drinking andenjoying c<strong>of</strong>fee with thescience <strong>of</strong> roasting, brewingand growing it. It’s also aglobal community,so we’re sharing ideas withpeople all over the world, fromBrazil to Norway to Japan.”SCHULICH 22 ENGINEER
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