Bobby Tang: The Renaissance Man

Bobby Tang is a Renaissance Man, or at least the modern equivalent. 

Too soft-spoken and polite to make the claim himself, the PhD student and men’s volleyball middle is involved in a lot of different fields, all at a very high level. Most notably, volleyball and medical physics, which make a perfect pair for the soon-to-be Dr. Tang. Part of a delicate balance that compliments each other.

“Just knowing myself, I know that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to do one without the other, all that effectively,” Bobby Tang reasons, “A lot of who I am as a person is how I view myself. I’m very passionate about contributing to the field of science, in particular my field of physics, and I’m passionate about being able to compete in volleyball.”

It’s perhaps the similarities between the two that allows Bobby to excel at both. His work on X-Ray Fluorescence looks to improve the ability to identify elements such as lead in living patients. The process moves slowly but surely, making tiny adjustments to improve. It’s meticulous.

It’s Bobby’s meticulous scientific nature that also allows him to be a varsity volleyball player. He cites the obsession with technique, and the incremental improvement through repetitive drilling, as being the first thing that drew him to the game.

“It kind of requires a lot of thinking, but also it’s really technical, and that really intrigued me, especially at a young age,” said Bobby. “Being able to think about things I’m doing in volleyball and being able to think about how it can be improved and achieve better results.”

As one might expect, Bobby Tang’s journey to TMU was non-linear. His path began in high school playing club volleyball, but took shape during his first-year of university at McMaster. Initially there for a life sciences degree, Bobby quickly found his passion in a first-year medical physics class with his future supervisor. He would officially transfer into the biomedical physics program in his third year before joining the masters program.

During his undergraduate degree at McMaster, Bobby kept connected to volleyball, but had begun to focus more earnestly on his studies. Despite the newfound passion, the volleyball itch remained. So Bobby tried to find a way back to the game.

“It’s kind of a funny story with that,” Bobby claims.

In an effort to get back on the court, Bobby enrolled at Sheridan College, while completing his Masters, in order to be eligible to play. Not only was the coursework of two programs significant, so was the time commuting between the two locations. For nearly everyone else, just the thought about committing to the effort would be too much to seriously consider. For Bobby, it’s just what he wanted to do.

“I really wanted to get back to playing high level volleyball but at the same time I also knew that I wanted to really go on the process of getting my career going,” Bobby added. ” I think that was a really big stepping stone for me. It was being up to me to plan out what I had to do and really being able to put all my attention into that one thing. 

Of course, it worked out. Bobby won an OCAA bronze medal with Sheridan, and was named Sheridan’s Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2022. It was this success, both on the court and in the lab, that brought him to TMU.

“My time with the team has really been positive in terms of developing myself both as a volleyball player, but also just kind of like how I’m as a person.” Bobby mentions. “I kind of find that I put a lot more intent and thought into the things I’m doing. I really enjoy playing for head coach Niko Rukavina because then it gets me to think a lot more about volleyball in different ways.”

Since arriving on campus, Bobby has suited up for 20 contests with the Bold, primarily as a middle, recording 62 kills across 73 total sets. In the classroom, Bobby has helped grow the Da Silva lab from its infancy, continuing his work on X-Ray Fluorescence. With a clear vision, Bobby hopes to eventually turn his focus into a career as a medical physicist. For now though, Bobby is content with cultivating the strong legacy he’s quickly building at Toronto Metropolitan.

“The biggest point that I want to leave behind would be to show anyone in the program, that if you have a mental image of who you want to be as a person, but you’re not really sure how you could do it, as long as you stick with that image and give everything you can to it, you will be able to find success,” Bobby added. 

“I want my legacy to essentially instill belief and hope within the future people in the program, so that they can kind of reach their own potentials.”

Tang’s impact may be seen on a campus building, or x-ray machines that bear his name in twenty. However his impact will be most felt by the people on campus in the lab, on the court and in who understood the incredible drive of one person looking to achieve the best version of themself.