As we celebrate 100 years of the department of electrical and computer engineering at UNB, we are proud to recognize the alumni who built its legacy. Throughout 2026, we will share profiles and stories highlighting the milestones and people who have shaped the department's history.
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One of Patricia Dineen's (BScE'72, MScE'79) earliest memories is riding to UNB in a wooden box mounted on the back of her father's bicycle.
On Saturday mornings, former UNB President Dr. James Dineen (BScE'40) would pedal to the Electrical Engineering Building on the Fredericton campus to teach. While he lectured, Patricia waited nearby, playing in his office or outside the theatre where students gathered to learn from one of UNB's most respected professors.
When class ended, she would wander into the classroom and look up at the blackboard. "I can remember when the lecture was over, looking at all the squiggles on the board and saying to myself, 'Someday I'll understand what that means.'"
She did.
Patricia followed in her father’s footsteps and earned the same degree, three decades later. In the same year, her future husband, James Piercy (BScE'72), also graduated from UNB engineering.
The family's connection to UNB continued through the next generation. Four of Patricia and James's five children studied at UNB, including Grace Piercy (BScE'04, JD'14), who followed her parents into engineering before earning a law degree. Together, their family's ties to the university stretch back to Patricia’s father’s graduation in 1940.
But for Patricia, the story is about much more than a family tradition. "It's like a ripple effect," she says. "You throw a stone in the water, and the ripples go out."
Those ripples began with her father. Through decades of teaching, mentorship and acts of kindness, James Dineen influenced students, colleagues and family in ways that continue to spread outward today. His daughter became an engineer like him. His granddaughter and three grandsons did the same. Nearly a century after his graduation, his influence still shapes lives.
Inspired by example
Growing up, Patricia was surrounded by UNB. She slid down hills on campus in winter, attended Saturday lectures with her father and spent holidays skiing, sailing and exploring New Brunswick with her family. In many ways, the university was simply part of life. "We were told, 'We've got a good university in the backyard. Go there for your first degree."
"It occurred to me that I have been the recipient of many opportunities because of this ripple effect.”
When Patricia entered electrical engineering, women were still rare in the profession. "We started with five, and when I graduated, there were two. It was hard."
Yet, she persevered. While still a student, Patricia spent her summers studying in France, working and studying in the Netherlands and hitchhiking through Ireland and Scotland. “I sometimes think I must have been blessed with nine lives when I look back on it."
After graduating, she headed west to Edmonton, where her first engineering job took her to remote communities across Canada's north.
"I was working in Edmonton, and I flew all around the Arctic in a Beechcraft King Air." We did installation and maintenance of instrument landing systems at airports in Yukon and the Northwest Territories. I was up to Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Yellowknife and Fort McMurray, and as far east as Coppermine. It was an adventure."
Her career eventually took her across North America and overseas, including work in Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines. Along the way, she became a role model for her own children, particularly Grace.
Passing it forward
“My mother and father both had electrical engineering careers while we were growing up,” Grace says. “They were role models for my siblings and me."
Her mother's example left a deep impression. "My mom is a leader. She was the first woman to be president of APEGNB. I was lucky to have my mom to look up to; she really influenced me."
“Hearing so many personal stories about my grandfather, I can see the throughline of impact he had on our family. My mother’s work ethic, her commitment to family, and her integrity are clearly a part of that."
Looking back, Grace sees her own career as part of the same story.
"I am grateful that my grandfather inspired my mother to pursue engineering and have a successful career in the industry. I think that inspired me to try to do the same. I am fortunate to have had those influences and opportunities."
The kindness people remember
For Patricia, the clearest measure of her father's legacy isn't found in titles, awards or accomplishments. It's found in the stories people continue to share.
"Often, when I meet people who knew him, they tell me some kindness that he showed them. Many, many stories of kindness that he showed individual people."
Those stories reshaped her understanding of legacy.
"It occurred to me that I have been the recipient of many opportunities because of this ripple effect.”
Patricia believes she benefited from relationships her father built years earlier. His compassion created opportunities that extended to future generations. She hopes it continues through her children and grandchildren.
"I hope it will ripple through to my kids.”
Alumni weekend prompted reflection
As part of UNB's Reunion Weekend, Patricia and Grace joined family members, including Tony Hamill (BScE'88), Jack Piercy (BScE'11) and Elizabeth Ryan (BScENR'12, MEM'20), at the 2026 Electrical & Computer Engineering gala dinner.
The occasion prompted reflection on the people and values that shaped the family's journey through UNB.
For Patricia and Grace, moments like these reveal the true meaning of the ripple effect. Long after her father's passing, former students, colleagues and friends continue to share stories of the encouragement, mentorship and kindness that changed the direction of their lives.
Influence rarely ends where it begins. Sometimes it starts with a professor standing at the front of a classroom, or a little girl riding to campus in a wooden box on the back of a bicycle. From James Dineen to Patricia, from Patricia to Grace, and now to Grace's young daughter, Alice, the values of curiosity, learning and service continue to travel across generations. Decades later, those moments live on through the people they inspire and the kindness they pass forward.
Photo caption: At the 2011 Iron Ring Ceremony, brothers Jim Piercy (BScE ’11) and Jack Piercy (BScE'11) celebrate receiving their Iron Rings. Pictured (left to right): Sean Lee (BScE'98), Jim Piercy, Patricia Dineen (BScE'72, MScE'79), Grace Piercy (BScE ’04, JD’14), Jack Piercy and Jim Piercy (BSc ’72). Sean, Jack, Jim and Grace are all Dr. James Dineen’s grandchildren.
