Seven members of the U of T Engineering community will be honoured by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) and Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) with Ontario Professional Engineers Awards at a gala on November 12.
In June 2011, it was announced that Dean Emeritus Michael Charles (ChemE) received the Gold Medal, Ontario’s most prestigious engineering honour. Professors Elizabeth Edwards (ChemE), Doug Perovic (MSE) and David Zingg (UTIAS) were awarded the Research and Development Medals. Professor Milica Radisic (IBBME/ChemE) is recognized with the Young Engineer Medal. Alumnus Anton Davies (MechE 7T2 MASc 7T4 PhD 7T7) received the Management Medal, and alumna Anna Dunets Wills (CivE 7T6) with the Citizenship Award. The Ontario Professional Engineers Awards recognize outstanding individuals for engineering excellence and community service. Eleven awards in total were given this year.
Michael Charles served as Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry from 1975 to 1985 and as Dean of the Faculty from 1993 to 2001. He currently serves as President of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE). His many achievements include leadership in the creation of Ontario’s first Centres of Excellence, his expansion of the Faculty’s PEY program, and his founding of the Canadian Association for Internship Programs. He is a Fellow of CAE, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Chemical Institute of Canada, and a Senior Fellow of Massey College.
Elizabeth Edwards is the Director of BioZone, a new centre for collaborative bioengineering in the Faculty, and has achieved international recognition for her pioneering research on how biological processes affect pollutants in the environment. Most notably, she developed a microbial culture called ‘KB-1’ for anaerobic biological reductive dechlorination of chlorinated solvents, a widespread class of groundwater contaminants, which has been used in more than 200 sites worldwide. Professor Edwards received a NSERC Synergy Award in 2009 and was recently inducted into CAE.
Doug Perovic is the Celestica Chair in Materials for Microelectronics. He served as MSE Chair from 1998 to 2008, and during that time led the development of the world’s first undergraduate degree program in nanotechnology. Professor Perovic is recognized internationally for his innovative work in the fields of scanning and transmission electron microscopy of advanced semiconductors and metallic alloys, thin film nanostructures and failure analysis. A CAE Fellow, his distinctions include the Canadian Materials Physics Award and the NSERC Synergy Award.
David Zingg is the Canada Research Chair in Computational Aerodynamics and Director of the University of Toronto’s Institute of Aerospace Science (UTIAS). He has made seminal contributions to computational fluid dynamics and aerodynamic shape optimization for aircraft design. The focus of Professor Zingg’s current research is the aerodynamic design of more environmentally friendly aircraft – he garnered a Guggenheim Fellowship for this research in 2004. He received the University of Toronto Faculty Award in 2009 for excellence in teaching and research, and was inducted into the CAE in 2010.
Milica Radisic’s research is in the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering; her long-term objective is to enable cardiac regeneration through tissue engineering and biomaterials. Professor Radisic demonstrated for the first time that stimulation of contractions using an electrical field improves functional and structural assembly of the heart tissue in vitro. In 2008, she was named one of the Top 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review. Her work was recently featured on the cover ofToronto Life, and she was named one of 2010’s People to Watch by the Toronto Star.
Anton Davies is Vice-President and co-founder of Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc. (RWDI). As one of the Principals in charge of RWDI’s Environmental Team, he has directed many of the firm’s major environmental projects worldwide. Mr. Davies has been instrumental in leading this Canadian success story to its current status as one of the world’s premier engineering consultancies. His expertise on wind engineering and air quality has been sought by countries around the world to help make their large-scale public engineering projects safe and sustainable. He was recently inducted into the CAE.
Through her work with planning Alliance and rePlan Inc., Anna Dunets Wills has dedicated herself to the development of best practices for international organizations operating in developing nations; assisting them in the building of sustainable and culturally appropriate infrastructure such as transportation and sanitation systems and housing. She also volunteers extensively with a number of organizations in Canada and internationally to improve living conditions and infrastructure in remote First Nations communities and in developing nations.
“I am delighted that OPSE and PEO have recognized so many outstanding members of our community for their accomplishments through research, leadership, professional service and service to the community,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “I would like to congratulate all the recipients and thank them for their remarkable contributions to the Faculty, to the profession and to society.”
