Professional engineers honoured

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Professional Engineers Ontario have announced the winners of the 2010 Ontario Professional Engineers Awards. The awards will be presented at a black tie gala ceremony on Saturday, November 20, 2010, at The International Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

Awards are given to professional engineers who have shown exemplary service in their respective fields, to their communities and to their profession. Monsoor Barati is being honoured with the Young Engineer Award. Barati holds Adjunct professorship appointments within the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto and within the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Ryerson University.

Dr. Andrew Goldenberg is the winner of the Entrepreneurship Award. He is the founder and president of Engineering Services Inc. (ESI), a high-technology company involved in the development of technology for robotics-based automation.

Dr. Keith Hipel will be honoured with the Research and Development Award. He is a Systems Design Engineering Professor at the University of Waterloo. His research findings are used in courses and undergraduate workshop projects.

Dr. Jeffrey Packer is also being honoured with the Research and Development Award. He is one of the world’s leading experts on structural steel design and construction, and has achieved important advances in the area of fail-safe structures during earthquake events, as well as being involved in research on Hollow Structural Section (HSS) and their innovative use in such landmarks as the Rogers SkyDome. His 30-year research career at the University of Toronto on tubular steel structures has resulted in recognition as one of the top researchers in the world in this field.

Dr. Daryl Macnamara will take home the Management Award. She has had a distinguished 30-year career in the mineral processing of base-metal sulphide ores, demonstrating excellence in process development, test-work, innovation, engineering design, and management of major mills at Falconbridge/Xstrata and Vale Inco. Macnamara is currently the project manager for Vale Inco’s Clarabelle Mill Upgrade.

Dr. Joseph Paradi will also take home the Management Award. He is a dedicated and passionate leader of engineering practice, entrepreneurship and technology management. As a business leader, he has established himself as a vigorous entrepreneur, having founded or provided substantial guidance to 11 companies. Dr. Paradi’s most lasting contribution to entrepreneurship and engineering is through his teaching and theses supervision within the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Deborah Goodings is being honoured for Engineering Excellence. The Chair of the Civil Engineering Department at George Mason University in Virginia, she has become renowned for her knowledge and contributions to the profession both as a researcher in the area of geotechnical engineering and as a professor. Dr. Goodings has made exceptional contributions beyond the classroom, including her support for Engineers Without Borders, with the creation of a chapter at the University of Maryland.

Stephen C. Armstrong is also being honoured for Engineering Excellence. He is the president of AMGI Management Inc., a company that he founded in 1993 and built into a large and thriving strategic consulting company. He has served as a senior management consultant for many of the world’s blue chip companies in aerospace, defense, pharmaceutical, machine tool, systems integration, electronics, automotive, etc. He gained his formal training at international consulting firm KPMG. He developed an extensive educational program in the area of strategic management of innovation. Currently, among other things, Armstrong is the Chair of the central Canada Branch of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK).

Dr. Monique Frize will take home the gold medal. In a career spanning over 40 years, Professor Frize has demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate, the work-related achievements, service to the profession and service to her community that are the essential contributions for the Gold Medal. She has made significant contributions to engineering, and has positively influenced the participation of women in science and engineering in Ottawa, across Canada, and around the world. Dr. Frize became the first Chair of the Canadian Committee on Women in Engineering. In 1992, she was made a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), followed in 1993 by her induction as an Officer in the Order of Canada.