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Students got a taste of real-world engineering on March 24 when they designed, built, and tested prosthetic legs at the eighth annual APEGA Science Olympics: Lloydminster. Students in grades one to 12 solved challenges demonstrating how engineering and geoscience impact our everyday lives, and volunteers fostered a love and understanding of the professions.
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At his new position with the Town of Peace River, engineer-in-training Arun Thomas found a mentor to propel his career forward: Jim McCuaig, CD, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.). McCuaig also introduced Thomas to a whole other group of supportive professionals:
the membership of APEGA's Peace Region Branch.
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Dr. Mohammad Moshirpour, P.Eng., is providing bona fide industry experiences for students as an associate professor and the newly coined software engineering teaching chair at the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering. By creating
partnered projects and mutual support in his lab, the Software Engineering Practice and Education Research Group, he hopes to marry the interests of the exploding tech industry in Alberta and the skills of his students.
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Professional engineer Nancy Manchak has always been interested in her local and global community. Paired with an engineering degree, this trait has led her to support her profession through volunteerism with Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science,
and Technology, as a senator at the University of Alberta, and as a member of the Women in APEGA Advisory Group. These efforts earned her the 2022 Alberta Women's Science Network Athena Outstanding Volunteer award.
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Professional engineer Kerry Black is an innovator making Calgary a better place to live. For her efforts, Black has been awarded an Avenue Top 40 Under 40 award. Black swims against a colonial current, working to change systems, policies, infrastructures,
and beliefs. Her work is helping to ensure clean water and equity for Indigenous communities.
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Shantanu Naikade, E.I.T., a decarbonization engineer-in-training at Shell working in agriculture and forestry is a big supporter of circular economies—physically and socially.
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The Professional Practice Management Plan (PPMP) documents and defines how you practise engineering and geoscience. It provides the framework to articulate optimal standards and practices that are safe and ethical. The Professional Practice Management
Plan practice standard came into effect on May 1, 2022, giving permit holders a year-long transition period to comply with the standard before enforcement begins on May 1, 2023. It addresses what a PPMP is, what its purpose is, and who
is responsible for it. It also explains the nine parts of a PPMP in detail.
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George Eynon, P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.), current Alberta-director of Geoscientists Canada, welcomes students and new graduates of geoscience as they register with APEGA. He invites them to pore over the stores of knowledge of their predecessors, tracing footsteps and leaving their own.
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Brothers Kim Kingsmith, P.Geol., and Kelly Kingsmith, P.Geo., have had a synchronous, decades-long professional run, leading the way in responsible fluid disposal and teaching others to do the same.
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A consummate professional geologist, educator, and leader, Dr. Gordon Williams, P.Geo., FGC, FEC (Hon.), was integral to bringing geoscience professional regulation to almost all Canada's provinces and territories.
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In part two of this two-part series, we sit down with APEGA President Lisa Doig, P.Eng., MBA, FEC, FGC (Hon.) to get to know the woman behind the presidency in her own words.
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Members were honoured with their lifetime member status and members-in-training swore their oath to become professional members at the Member Milestones celebrations in Calgary on June 21 and Edmonton on June 28. These celebrations were APEGA''s first
in-person events in more than two years. For the first time, members representing the two different points in their career journeys came together to be lauded by their peers in the professions.
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Professional engineer and business advisor Lisa Doig, MBA, FEC, FGC (Hon.), APEGA's newest president, twirled
through ballet classes when she was young. Years later, she implements the
skills she learned into the choreography of excellence in leadership.
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To honour National Indigenous History month, we are featuring Connor Scheu, P.Eng., ally to women in APEGA's Women in APEGA advisory group and proud Metis person and advocate - he is a member of Engineers Canada and Indigenous Advisory Committee. “I
believe that being raised Metis with some Indigenous values gave me an innate sense of societal good and a respect for nature and the Earth.”
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On his tours, Diakiw joins Metis heritage to geoscience, speaking to the history of the land geologically and spiritually, as an absolute piece of who he is. "I see myself now as that connector, the bridge from the past to the present."
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After related incidents causing injury and loss of life occurred, APEGA Council saw the need to develop a clear and defined standard to regulate the practice of outsourcing engineering and geoscience work to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future and to safeguard Alberta's public welfare. The practice standard, Relying on the Work of Others and Outsourcing, defines the requirements APEGA licensed professionals and permit holders must follow when they outsource or rely on the work of others. After a year-long transition period, this practice standard becomes enforceable on May 1, 2022.
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APEGA's 2022 Women in Engineering and Geoscience Champion Summit Award recipient, Dr. Qiao Sun, P.Eng., is simultaneously an educational leader, a government influencer, and an entire grassroots organization unto herself. She imparts the courage to fail
and succeed on her mentees, and is a symbiotic asset to her students and colleagues at the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering. She says, "Engineering training gives you that attitude: If you don't like it, change it."
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The sun shines on Murray Smith as suit-clad, he treads five blocks of grey sidewalk, from 501 Pennsylvania Avenue to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., pitch book enclosed in his grip. It's 2006, a hot day in May, and a congressman from
the Carolinas has phoned: he wants to meet in the Canadian Embassy to talk about Alberta's oilsands. He ponders what the potential $100 billion of investment capital in this 14-month endeavour of proving the oilsands exist will mean for Alberta's
economy.
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APEGA's Professional Practice team is performing a greater number of permit holder practice reviews than ever before, thanks to the implementation of a new flow chart system called Graduated Risk Assessment of Permit Holders (GRAPH). This system targets permit holders that are most at risk based on industry trends, company or organizational size, Responsible Member knowledge, and past compliance for review, creating greater efficiency within APEGA's operations.
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The whole world sits atop the side table in Colonel Chris Hadfield's living room; a globe, angled so with a glance he sees a slice of our planet, a sectional view, akin to how he'd photograph Earth while floating upside down in the cupola of the International Space Station (ISS). Flipping through his book of photos he took as an astronaut aboard the ISS, You Are Here, one realizes he has a special perspective: as a person who travelled to outer space, as someone with an eye for artful aperture, and as an individual
who has aspired to be many things, achieved them, and advanced human knowledge as a celebrated explorer of our era.
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Mandy Williams, P.Geol., stayed up much of the night directing the drilling progress of a horizontal well. Even though she hasn't slept much, she's still invigorated. Drilling wells is a responsibility she enjoys as a professional geologist at a junior oil company.
Ambiguity trails through regions of the geoscience landscape in more ways than oil-pool prospects. It is similarly plaited into the experience of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. The data is bringing this to light, in part by APEGA's just-released report Women in the Workplace: A Shift in Industry Work Culture, made possible by Women and Gender Equality Canada.
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Professional engineer Dr. Andre McDonald is preparing Black youth to innovate industry and make history through a program designed to create opportunities and provide mentorship.
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As APEGA's branches begin their election processes, consider putting your name forward to become a member of your local branch's executive team, or nominate an engineer, geoscientist, or member-in-training you think would be a great fit!
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The Rockies have long made a mammoth impact on the province, but for a century of prospectors, their draw involved something more chilling: madness, murder, and the Lost Lemon Gold Mine.
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Dr. Philip Egberts, P.Eng., is an associate professor in the mechanical and manufacturing engineering department at the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering, where he is setting an example, giving support, and creating a safe space for students.
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His mother, one of his greatest influences and the catalyst for his move to Calgary from Lagos, Nigeria, always told him, "Make sure you connect with others, because you can't do things alone." Habib Adesola Jinadu, E.I.T., has taken this to heart. "It's a personal goal of mine to try and network and meet different engineers. Attending APEGA's Emerging Professionals Summit was one way I met this goal."
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"Only nine per cent of Canadian plastic is currently recycled, and recycling processes are not very sustainable," Dr. Rafiq Ahmad, P.Eng., explains. "We want to create new, cheaper processes and a bigger impact by combining different technologies. We can do this because we are one of the labs in the world pioneering artificial intelligence and digitization."
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When she first moved to Canada, mentoring was a foreign concept to Mairim Neves, P.Eng. "I remember a friend told me I needed a mentor. I didn't know what the term meant." Fast forward 12 years, Neves has become the mentor she once needed, volunteering in APEGA's Mentoring Program.
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When Dr. Amit Kumar, P.Eng., began his career as an energy engineer in the 1990s, few people were talking about climate change. That has changed recently in the past few years, and now it seems climate change is top of mind for many.
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Already a tenuous time of unknowns for every new graduate, entering the workforce while living through a global pandemic brought a new element of ambiguity for Nima Macci, E.I.T. She was looking for answers and direction, which she found at APEGA's Emerging
Professionals Summit in 2020.
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Alison Thompson, P.Eng., is about progress and perpetual movement forward towards a cleaner country. This drive earned her the APEGA Centennial Leadership Summit Award in 2020. For years she worked in the oil and gas industry before having an epiphany about geothermal energy. Why was the Canadian sector not leveraging this system that had been in use for more than 100 years in other countries?
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Dr. Moshirpour, P.Eng., and Dr. Duffett-Leger, a registered nurse, use their commonalities to produce software to benefit patients, health-care providers, and students. Their latest endeavour, Ignitingale, teams up engineering and nursing students to innovate software solutions for real
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Grade 3 students at Elmer Gish School collect outdoor debris and recycled materials to create ingenious floating birds' nests in their outdoor classroom as participants in APEGA's 2021 Science Olympics. They are solving a real-world problem: providing a safe wetland home for birds with threatened habitats.
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Professional engineer Steven Vaivada is in a unique position to help Indigenous communities thrive. He is Blackfoot, Niitsitapi - a member of the Blood Tribe. He is a wise middleman navigating the touchpoints between business, engineering, and the culture
and traditions of Indigenous Peoples to create sustainable, equitable developments.
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Previously, we brought you part one of our two-part Meet the President series designed to introduce the man leading APEGA as we inch closer to the end of the pandemic. In part two, we sit down with Brian Pearse, P.Eng., to get to know the man behind the presidency in his own words.
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In this two-part Meet the President series, you'll gain insight into what defines APEGA's current president, Brian Pearse, P.Eng., personally and professionally. In this first part, he explains how his long involvement with horses, in particular
the sport of cutting horses, primed him to become APEGA's president.
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Laleh Behjat, P,Eng., PhD, is working with industry to find better ways to recruit and retain women in engineering and science while preparing them to lead global change.
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As part of APEGA's centennial celebrations, our Edmonton branch and The Personal Insurance Company invite you join us over the lunch hour on October 6 as we chat with Dr. Robert Thirsk, a highly decorated physician and astronaut.
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On Remembrance Day, we reflect on the sacrifices made by Canada’s military veterans in times of war, conflict, and peace. This includes Canada's military engineers, who support the survival, mobility, and combat effectiveness of the Canadian Forces.
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As a young girl in Russia, Svetlana Bidikhova, P.Geoph., thought she'd grow up to become a theoretical physicist like her father. But when she learned about the world of geophysics, she knew she had found her calling.
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Having brought science and engineering to television, radio, and stages across North America for more than 40 years, Bob McDonald, host of CBC Radio's long-running Quirks and Quarks program, can rightfully say he's seen it all. Read more about his approach
to science, engineering, and our energy future.
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The work of professional engineers and geosciences is in demand around the world. You never know where your career might end up. For Calgarian Teresa Waddington, P.Eng., it was as a plant manager in Scotland.
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How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. This proverb, which has been attributed to several different historical figures, including a philosopher, an activist, and an army general, offers a charming visual, but for Elinor Linney, P.Eng., it wasn't just a statement. It was a way of life.
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Last week, we brought you part one of our two-part Meet the President series designed to introduce the man leading APEGA through our centennial year. In part two, we sat down with John to get to know the man behind the presidency in his own words.
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This past April, amid a global health emergency, collapsing oil prices, and a strained economy, APEGA welcomed its 101st president. From the very first days of his term, John Van der Put, P.Eng., has been paving his own way as the first president in the association's history to take the helm during a pandemic.
