Get to know F&S: Amritpal Kaur

Amritpal Kaur is a building engineer of many skills—ready to act as a first responder to plumbing, electrical, heating, and cooling system disruptions.

Growing up in a town with a power plant, Kaur’s passion for engineering ignited at a young age.  

After moving from India to Canada to pursue her studies in power engineering, Kaur joined the University of Toronto’s Facilities & Services in 2021. 

“I’ve always been a hands-on type of person,” Kaur said. “I knew that engineering was where I wanted to be.” 

Her working day begins with a routine walkthrough inspection of the mechanical rooms in the John P. Robarts Library Building—a 1.3 million square foot facility—ensuring that every system is performing optimally. After making her rounds, she responds to service calls.  

For Kaur, engaging with people on the ground and ensuring customers are satisfied is the most enjoyable part of her job. 

At Robarts Library, Kaur’s responsibility is to ensure the mechanical equipment is operating smoothly. This includes managing cooling systems for a Canada-wide library server that must be reliable for users to access across the country. The mechanical chillers prevent overheating of the servers on the seventh floor and ensure a stable environment for all the digitalized books from many libraries including Robarts.  

Kaur is also responsible for maintaining humidity levels in the archives. This is critical for preserving U of T’s rare book collection that houses, among many prized works, Shakespeare’s first four folios from 1623, which celebrated its 400th anniversary this year.  

“Amritpal is always eager to learn within her work environment and also takes the initiative to enroll herself in courses related to her field in building operations, maintenance and facility management,” John Walker, manager of mechanical operations and maintenance, said. 

When the need arises, she readily extends her support to other buildings like Ramsay Wright Laboratories and Graduate House—tackling different challenges.  

Temperature control is one of the most common issues Kaur receives calls for. It is essential for keeping a building’s unique operations running but often goes unnoticed.  

“People only notice when system fails to work,” Kaur said. “What I do is preventative maintenance to ensure that operation of the building go unnoticed.”   

As one of two female engineers working at F&S, Kaur hopes to see and encourage more women in the field in the future.  

“It’s definitely a male-dominated environment, but my experience here has been great. I’ve never felt judged,” she said.  

Outside of work, Kaur enjoys Olympic weightlifting and hiking.