Six members of the U of T Engineering community were honoured by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Professional Engineers Ontario at the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards Gala at the International Centre in Mississauga on Saturday, November 20. Professor Mansoor Barati (MSE) received the Young Engineer Medal; Professor Jeffrey Packer (CivE) received a Research and Development medal; Professor Andrew Goldenberg (MIE) and Professor Emeritus Joseph Paradi (ChemE) were both awarded Entrepreneurship Medals; and ELITE program instructor Stephen Armstrong and alumna Deborah Goodings (CivE 7T5) received Engineering Excellence Medals.
Presented since 1947, the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards recognize outstanding individuals for engineering excellence and community service.
Mansoor Barati’s research is focused on high temperature materials processing; specifically novel and advanced processes for extracting and refining metals and alloys with high performance at low cost. His work has the potential to create innovative solutions for energy efficiency, higher quality materials and environmentally responsible materials processing. He has supervised 16 undergraduate theses, seven master’s students and three doctoral students. His research has resulted in over 40 publications in leading technical journals and conference proceedings, two patent applications and invited presentations at several international meetings.
Jeffrey Packer’s 30-year research career on tubular steel structures has resulted in recognition as one of the world’s foremost experts in this field. He has published more than 200 refereed articles and 14 books, including the Design Guide for Hollow Structural Section Connections; the world’s most popular reference publication on all aspects of hollow section steel connections. Professor Packer is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the U.K. and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nottingham, U.K. He holds a Bahen/Tanenbaum Endowed Chair.
As the Founder and Director of the Robotics & Automation Laboratory, Andrew Goldenberg’s research in robotics and automation has resulted in 33 patents, more than 125 peer-reviewed journal papers, more than 280 conference papers and 12 chapters in books. Professor Goldenberg is the founder and President of two successful spin-off companies; Engineering Services Inc., a high-technology company which develops robotics-based automation technologies and Anviv Mechatronics Inc., which is involved in the development of state-of-the-art mechatronics products. He is a Fellow of ASME, EIC, and IEEE.
Joseph Paradi is Chair in Information Engineering and Executive Director of UofT’s Centre for Management of Technology and Entrepreneurship (CMTE), which he founded. As a business leader, Professor Paradi founded or provided substantial guidance to 11 companies. As an educator, he has taught 13 undergraduate courses and five graduate courses on topics including entrepreneurship and technology management. Professor Paradi has supervised 13 PhD candidates, 42 MASc candidates, seven MEng candidates and 159 BASc theses. He is a Fellow of CAE and won a 2005 NSERC Synergy Award with the CMTE’s industrial sponsors.
Stephen Armstrong is founder and CEO of AMGI, an international strategic management consultancy. He is the author of Engineering and Product Development Management – The Holistic Approach, and has led many of the world’s top aerospace companies to successfully implement this system. His clients include deHavilland Aircraft, Lockheed Martin and Bombardier Aerospace. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, U.K. and currently serves as Vice-Chair of its International Strategy Board. Mr. Armstrong teaches the ELITE course “Management of Innovation in Engineering.”
Deborah Goodings is Dewberry Chair Professor and Chair of the Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering Department at George Mason University in Virginia. Her research in geotechnical engineering has focused on extreme geotechnics and the use of sustainable materials in soil stabilization. Her career accomplishments have been recognized with the U.S. Universities Council on Geotechnical Engineering Research Distinguished Service Award, and the creation in her honour of the Deborah J. Goodings Professorship in Engineering for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland.
“For six members of our community to receive these prestigious awards is both an honour and a testament of the strength of our Faculty,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “I am grateful to OPSE and PEO for recognizing their outstanding contributions.”
