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From left: Gordon Sterling, P.Eng.,
CCPE Past-President; Janet Ronsky, PhD, P.Eng., co-winner
of the Award for
the Support of Women in the Engineering Profession;
Chantal Guay, ing., CCPE Board of Directors; and Marie
Lemay, P.Eng., CEO of CCPE.
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A University of Calgary staff member can count herself among
a select group of Canada’s top engineers, honoured
at the 2004 Canadian Engineers’ Awards gala, May 15
in Charlottetown. Janet Ronsky, PhD, P.Eng., of the Faculty
of Engineering is one of two recipients this year of the
Award for the Support of Women in the Engineering Profession.
Presented annually since 1972, the Canadian Engineers’ Awards
recognize outstanding engineering excellence and achievement.
This year’s award recipients include seven remarkable
professional engineers who have devised innovative engineering
solutions; a highly motivated engineering student who has
contributed to humanitarian efforts; and an engineering project
which has improved the quality of life in a major Canadian
city.
“I am extremely pleased to honour the 2004 award recipients,” says
Marie Lemay, P.Eng., Chief Executive Officer of CCPE. “These
individuals have truly raised the bar of engineering excellence
in Canada. Their outstanding contributions have had a positive
impact on the community, the environment, and the overall
safety and well-being of Canadians.”
The profession’s highest tribute — the Gold
Medal Award – went to Arthur B. Johns, P.Eng. Currently
chairman of the board of directors for Morrison Hershfield,
a multidisciplinary engineering and management firm, Mr.
Johns is a visionary leader and dedicated professional. He
has consistently applied foresight and innovation to solve
complex structural engineering problems.
Alain Saladzius, ing., received the Meritorious Service
Award for Community Service, for exhibiting exceptional
concern for his community and the environment. Founder
of the highly successful Adopt-a-River program, Mr. Saladzius
was instrumental in persuading the Quebec government to
abandon the construction of 33 hydroelectric dams that
could have had a harmful effect on the environment.
The National Award for Engineering Achievement, which recognizes
outstanding engineering work, went to the Millennium Line
SkyTrain Expansion Project. This project saw the addition
of 49 kilometres of track to the SkyTrain, Vancouver’s
light rail transit system. The SkyTrain is now the longest
fully automated transit system in the world.
Andrea Lee, an engineering student at the University of
Toronto, received the Gold Medal Student Award. She has devoted
much of her spare time to RedR Canada, a humanitarian organization
that works to reduce suffering by providing engineering expertise
abroad.
Through the organization, she brought her technical skills
to a mission in Zimbabwe. She is the youngest and only undergraduate
member of RedR Canada.
The Meritorious Service Award for Professional Service will
be presented to Dr. Gilles Y. Delisle, ing., P.Eng. Respected
around the world, Dr. Delisle has been asked by the United
Nations to apply his engineering expertise to assist 15 developing
countries. He has also directed sensitive negotiations with
Costa Rica and Chile, and contributed to the Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Dr. Delisle is currently the director of the School of Information
Technology and Engineering at the University of Ottawa.
The Award for the Support of Women in the Engineering Profession
went to two recipients -- Janet L. Ronsky, PhD, P.Eng., and
Márta Ecsedi, P.Eng.
Thanks to Janet Ronsky’s efforts, the University of
Calgary has one of the largest complements of female engineering
faculty members in Canada. Dr. Ronsky also organized the
annual Women in Engineering Day and volunteers for several
women-in-engineering initiatives.
The second award winner, Márta Ecsedi, was the first
female president of the University of Toronto’s Engineering
Society, and the first chair of Professional Engineers Ontario’s
Women in Engineering Advisory Committee. She is currently
the director of alumni relations and adviser to the dean
on women’s issues for the Faculty of Applied Science
and Engineering at the University of Toronto.
Helmut G. L. Prion, PhD, P.Eng. received the Medal for Distinction
in Engineering Education for superior teaching at the University
of British Columbia. He has developed several graduate courses,
has been awarded numerous teaching prizes, and was named
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada associate chair in design engineering for his outstanding
individual contributions to education.
Jeannette Montufar, P.Eng., received the Young Engineer
Achievement Award for her significant contribution to many
high profile transportation engineering projects, including
the development of Manitoba’s Intelligent Transportation
System strategic plan, and a study on roadway safety benchmarks
over time, used by the federal government to improve road
safety in Canada.
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