November 2009 issue
|
|
NEWSMAKERS
Professor Elected to Royal Society of Canada
Compiled By CHRISTINE COTTRELL
The PEGG
 |
DR. GRAHAM JULLIEN, P.ENG. |
Dr. Graham Jullien, P.Eng., has been elected to the RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada. The Royal Society of Canada is the country’s most prestigious academic body available to scientists and scholars.
Before retiring in 2008 from the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, this professor emeritus spent many years in the development of high- performance digital signal and processing devices. Along with U of C colleagues, he established the Advanced Micro-Nano Integration Facility to build micro-electromechanical systems — extremely small electromechanical devices.
Each year the RSC selects 60 leaders in their field. Dr. Jullien, along with other colleagues from the U of C, will join a list of about 1,800 distinguished academics who have each made outstanding contributions to the arts, humanities and sciences in Canada.
A formal induction into the society takes place Nov. 28 in Ottawa.
Entrepreneurial Spirit Abounds For Competition Winners
Ways to deal with your dog and bitumen (not all at once) have earned two young members some extra recognition and cash. Gord McKinlay, P.Eng., and Darius Remesat, P.Eng., are winners in the Student Technology Innovation Challenge and TEC VenturePrize’s student business plan competition.
In the Student Technology Innovation Challenge, open to University of Calgary students, each engineer received $2,000. As well, Mr. McKinlay placed first in the TEC VenturePrize Student Category and received $6,000 in grand prize seed money. Mr. Remesat received $2,000 as a runner-up.
The TEC VenturePrize is run by TEC Edmonton, a collaboration of the University of Alberta and Edmonton Economic Development Corporation.
Mr. McKinlay’s entry came out of frustration. When he had to go on business trips on short notice, he could never find a reliable and fast-responding kennel for his two dogs.
His answer is KennelSeek.com, an online kennel reservation and management service. Pet care providers use it to manage their reservations and daily operations.
Mr. Remesat based his entry on a product he designed as part of his doctoral program at the Schulich School of Engineering. He developed a software tool for heavy oil-bitumen optimization, to improve upgrading, as well as refining performance and profitability.
All finalists in the student innovation challenge received an in-kind services package from University Technologies International to help them commercialize their technology.
APEGGA Members Among
Top Ten Movers and Shakers
 |
SHAKING THINGS UP |
APEGGA members Naseem Bashir, P.Eng, and Paul Verhesen, P. Eng., have made Alberta Construction magazine’s list of the top 10 movers and shakers.
Mr. Bashir became president of Williams Engineering Canada Inc. in 2008, after the founder and his son were killed in separate plane crashes. Under Mr. Bashir’s leadership, the company has a new name and an employee ownership structure.
Mr. Verhesen is president of Clark Builders, an Edmonton company established in 1974 by entrepreneur Andy Clark. Mr. Verhesen values an open dialogue with his staff — so much so that he writes a weekly blog and encourages staff to respond.
Making the list is based on a range of criteria, including professional achievement, experience, leadership, and industry and community involvement.
Student Members Click
To Success At Schulich
Several APEGGA student members in the Schulich School of Engineering Internship Program, University of Calgary, have developed winning skills — not only in their work placements but in photography, too.
Each year the Internship Photo Contest features four categories, each with three prizes. First prize is a 16-GB iPod Touch and publication of the photo in the Schulich Engineer, second is a photo printer, and third is a Schulich hoodie. Winners were announced at the Welcome Back Internship reception on Oct. 8 in Calgary.
In the category At Work on Internship, Matthew Stark placed first and Brooks Riley earned an honourable mention. Shannon Payne placed first in Life on Internship and received an honourable mention in Adventures Abroad. In Check This Out, Christopher Moore placed first, Bruce Duong placed second and Aaron Tang received an honourable mention.
Schulich currently has 260 students on internships of 12-16 consecutive months each. These occur between years three and four, in full-time, paid work relevant to their degree. Ten per cent of the interns work internationally.
Alberta Research Council Emerging Technology
Earns Award
The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance has recognized the pulp and paper team from the Alberta Research Council for its wheat sheet technology. The Outstanding Product Achievement Award — Emerging Technology was presented at the Alliance’s annual gala dinner, last May at the University of Ottawa.
The award recognizes the recent launch of an innovative new product. Entries are judged on innovation and market potential.
ISA Honours Member,
Section Chapters
Kevin Harris, P.Eng., of AMETEK Canada Inc. in Calgary, has received the Excellence in Documentation Award from the International Society of Automation. The award, presented Oct. 5 in Houston, recognizes and encourages the presentation of significant information in instrumentation, systems and automation.
Both the Calgary and Edmonton sections of the society received citations for section performance. Calgary garnered the most points among the large gold sections. Edmonton created a new directory website to support the printed Alberta Instrumentation Directory.
Permit Holders Top
International Design List
Delcan Corporation, Golder Associates, Hatch Group, MMM Group, SNC-Lavalin, Stantec and Trow where named on the Engineering News-Record list of top 200 International Design Firms for 2009. The annual list is based on design-specific export revenue generated from projects outside the companies’ own countries.
Who’s Moving Where
-
APEGGA Life Member Curtis Hartzler, P.Eng., has been appointed vice-president of operations, chief operating officer and a company director of Forest Gate Resources Inc., Montreal. Mr. Hartzler brings many years of executive management experience to the company.
-
Doug Lautermilch, P.Eng., has been named as the president and CEO of Gemini Corporation, Calgary. Mr. Lautermilch has held a variety of executive and management positions within the energy industry.
-
Carl Johnson, P.Eng., Gemini Corporation’s founder and its CEO for the past 27 years, will assume the position of executive chairman during a leadership transition.
-
Anderson Energy Ltd. of Calgary has announced the appointment of David Spyker, P.Eng., as chief operating officer. Mr. Spyker, one of the founding members of the company, has served as its vice-president, business development, for the past seven years.
-
Opti Canada, Calgary, has named Christopher Slubicki, P.Eng., as president and CEO. Mr. Slubicki was one of three partners who founded Waterous & Co., a private global oil and gas investment banking firm. Mr. Slubicki earned an MBA from the University of Calgary and a mechanical engineering degree from Queen’s University, Kingston.
-
Vista Projects Limited of Calgary is naming Bruce McRae, P.Eng., as vice-president, business development. Mr. McRae has many years’ experience in the energy industry. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Alberta.