Faculty, students, alumni honoured
Members of U of T’s engineering community have received six of nine national Engineers Canada (www.engineerscanada.ca) awards for their contributions and achievements in engineering. Dean Cristina Amon received the Award for the Support of Women in the Engineering Profession. Professor Constantin Christopoulos (CivE) garnered the Young Engineer Achievement Award. Professor Greg Evans (ChemE) received the Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education. Two engineering science students, Mike Klassen (1T0) and Jane Chui (1T0) were co-recipients of the Student Gold Medal Award, and alumna Julie Payette (ECE, MASc. 9T0) received the Gold Medal Award. Click the thumbnails below to view videos of the award recipients. All videos are courtesy of Engineers Canada.
Cristina Amon is Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. She has made pioneering contributions to concurrent thermal designs, innovation in electronics cooling and transient thermal management of wearable computers. Dean Amon is a leader in the profession and has demonstrated exceptional commitment to diversity in engineering. She was honoured for her dedicated and innovative efforts to attract more women to the profession and to our Faculty. She has previously been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Royal Academy of Spain.
At an age when many researchers are just beginning their careers, Constantin Christopoulos is already recognized as a leader in his field. He has led development of a new damping system that significantly improves the response of high-rise buildings to wind and seismic loading. This system is expected to result in more cost-effective designs and increase the safety of our infrastructure. In 2008, Professor Christopoulos received the Young Engineer Medal from the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
Greg Evans is the Director of the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research and founding co-Director of the Leaders of Tomorrow program. Professor Evans has served as Chair of First Year and Vice-Dean, Undergraduate. In these roles, he led the redevelopment of the curriculum to integrate skills in design and communication into engineering courses. His contributions have been recognized with the Teacher of the Year Award from chemical engineering and the Joan E. Foley Quality of Student Experience Award from U of T.
Jane Chui is an outstanding future engineer who has demonstrated a commitment to her fellow engineering students here and abroad through her involvement in the NSight Mentor Program and the Asian University for Women’s Cybermentor Program. Jane is co-creator of the Faculty’s Peer Support Initiative to raise awareness of and promote mental health within the engineering community. She also founded the Citizen Engineer student club, dedicated to encouraging engineering students to become more involved in public policy.
Co-President of U of T’s Engineers Without Borders chapter, Mike Klassen is an exceptional student who has served as a leader and role model in a number of capacities. Mike was a key participant in the creation of the Faculty’s new Energy Systems Engineering program and the Centre for Global Engineering. He also participated in the development of the Faculty’s “Promise to Future Generations.” In 2009, Mike spent three months in Zambia, assisting in projects to improve sanitation and reduce disease in the region.
In 1992, alumna Julie Payette was selected by the Canadian Space Agency as one of four astronauts from a field of 5,330 applicants. She worked as a technical advisor for the Mobile Servicing System and flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1999. She served as Chief Astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency from 2000 to 2007, and visited the space station again in 2009 as a Mission Specialist aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. Julie Payette is a member of the Ordre National du Québec and holds 14 honorary degrees.“The awarding of six Engineers Canada awards to members of the U of T engineering community is a great testament to the strength of our Faculty and the breadth of our achievements,” said Cristina Amon, Dean, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “On behalf of the Faculty and all the awardees, I extend our deep gratitude to Engineers Canada for bestowing these honours on our Faculty.” The award recipients were honoured at the Engineers Canada Awards Gala in Vancouver on May 29, 2010.
