All yourPEG Articles

yourPEG Articles

  • Staying Comfortable with Less

    Despite the frigid temperature outside his triple-pane windows, Frank Crawford, P.Eng., is warm behind the thick, insulated walls of the home he designed and built in 2015, one of the first in Alberta built to the international Passive House standard.
  • A Mainspring of Collaboration

    She slowly turns the watch over, then cajoles off the embossed backplate and then the base plate. Gears spring out untethered. "I couldn't think of a time when I didn't take things apart to understand them,'' explains Dr. Susan Hockfield, neuroscientist and the first-ever biologist and woman to serve as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The ability to visualize things as components and systems that consort to make a greater whole enabled Dr. Hockfield to turn MIT into a collaboration supernova. At APEGA Nexus on June 7 and 8, she'll share how the combination of engineering and biology, along with some cooperation and innovation, can solve some of the world's greatest challenges.
  • Teamwork Reigns at APEGA’s Branch Science Olympics

    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.
  • Learn the Capability of the Collective at APEGA Nexus

    The teens gather in the middle of the ice, tossing their hockey sticks into a haphazard pile. One player slides sticks towards alternating nets and the owners follow. This age-old tradition determines the teams of the game—and, in part, inspired Dr. Jay Van Bavel’s future career. His wonderment at group behaviours led him to become a professor of psychology and neural science. Join him at APEGA Nexus on June 7–8 to learn why the success of the group is the ultimate goal.
  • To See the Brain Through the Forest

    Dr. Shimi Kang is lit by the sun streaming through the tall emerald tapestry of century-old Douglas fir. Walking through this ancient grove, she moves into a play mindset, an area she specializes in as part of her two-decade-long study of psychiatry and neuroscience. As a keynote speaker at APEGA Nexus on June 7–8, Dr. Kang will teach attendees how to harness the power of play to adapt and thrive.
  • Hit the Links with Your APEGA Branch

    Each year, branch executives organize area-specific golf tournaments. These well-attended events are great for making connections and developing a network of fellow engineers and geoscientists in your area. Check out the tournaments happening in your area in summer 2023, and glean some tips from each branch on improving your game.
  • A Tune of Praise for Branch Participation and Mentorship

    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.
  • Regulating to Baseline Standards, Inspiring to Excellence

    APEGA Past-President L.B. Staples, P.Eng., FEC, FCAE, FGC (Hon.), discusses the role of professional regulatory organizations in the changing milieu of shifting public attitudes and potential modernized legislation standardizing and streamlining regulatory activities.
  • Your Dues Sustain Self-Regulation

    Your member dues enable the continued integrity and sustainability of the self-regulation of the engineering and geoscience professions in Alberta. Ensuring public safety and well-being through regulation is paramount for APEGA and our members.
  • Fluids Move Us Forward

    Professional engineer Dr. Amy Tsai’s passion for fluids began flowing early in her childhood. Now, she studies how fluids interact with surrounding surfaces and uses her findings to innovate our industries.
  • Algorithm for Success

    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.
  • A Constitution for Community

    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.
  • 2022 Year in Review | Editors' Choices

    APEGA's editors are revisiting the stories we published in 2022. During a year of committed change, mindful growth, and increasing optimism, we found promise and inspiration in the stories of our members and communities. Check out five of our top picks!
  • From Adversity to Innovation

    Professional engineer Dr. Rafiq Ahmad is an innovator working to make the world a better place to live. For his efforts, Dr. Ahmad has been awarded an EDify Top 40 Under 40 award. Dr. Ahmad's passion for problem solving leads him to do what most only think about, helping to fix or improve what's gone awry in the world, from starting a digital education society to developing an artificially intelligent and robotic agricultural process.
  • Swimming Against a Colonial Current

    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.
  • Year in Review 2022 | APEGA’s Regulatory Roundup

    APEGA took innovative strides forward this year, making practices safer by streamlining the permit holder review process and updating practice standards and guidelines.
  • A Beacon of Strength and Freedom

    Major Marie-Michèle Siu, P.Eng., CD, M.Sc., is an electrical engineer serving in the 3 Canadian Space Division (3 CSD) in the Canadian Armed Forces, contributing to our safety by improving and protecting Canada's global positioning systems.
  • A Quality Boardroom

    Ambiguity is a frequent and comfortable visitor in professional geoscientist Julia McElgunn's office. She’s spent the last 20 years poring through data to find underground oil and gas deposits, and one can never be flawlessly certain of what they'll find in the elusive caverns. She brings this quality to her role on the Calgary Minor Soccer Association Board, a position she found through Board Ready Women.
  • A Circular Social Service

    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.
  • The Backbone of Your Practice

    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.
  • Join Your Resolute Regulator

    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.
  • Lockstep to a Liquid Future

    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.
  • In Memory of APEGA Past-President Gordon Williams

    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.
  • A Tangible Benefit

    At APEGA’s Emerging Professionals Summit in 2021, Karan Bhavsar, E.I.T., appreciated the chance to connect with other professionals and see what decisions they made when faced with challenges similar to those he has encountered. Since attending, he's implemented communication tips and has completed his competency-based assessment.
  • Meet APEGA President Lisa Doig: In Her Own Words

    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.
  • Chasing Helium

    The charms of the cache have enticed professional geoscientist Kevin Morrissette. Throughout his body of work, he's been in pursuit of underground knowledge. Now, he's chasing helium for APEGA permit holder Avanti Energy.
  • Ten Things You Need to Know About Professional Practice

    Self-regulation can be complicated, and for new registrants it can be a lot of information to take in while launching a career. Knowing whether you are licensed to do the work you are asked to do in your role or are meeting all your professional obligations and practice requirements can sometimes feel overwhelming. Check out 10 things Professional Practice says you need to know.
  • Bennet Den Hoed: Emerging Professional, Enthusiastic Connector

    Student Bennet Den Hoed is excited to connect with others in the industry at APEGA's next Emerging Professionals Summit in Sept. 2021.
  • A Milestone to Remember

    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.
  • Meet the President: The Ballet of Business

    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.
  • A Spirit of Societal Change

    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.”
  • Celebrate the First Footfalls on the Moon

    The anticipation is palpable as APEGA President Lisa Doig, P.Eng., speaks at the opening of a star-studded exhibit at TELUS World of Science - Edmonton. APEGA is the presenting sponsor of Apollo: When We Went to the Moon, which features interactive educational displays and artifacts from early space missions, including Apollo 11, the legendary spaceflight marked by the first-ever footfalls on our cratered sidekick.
  • A GLOEING Recommendation

    Nicole Imeson, P.L.(Eng.), is proud to be a voice amplifying the collective experience of women in male-dominated professions in her podcast the Glorious Ladies of Engineering. She explains engineering failures and what we can do better next time in her podcast Failurology. She's hoping to improve the profession, one episode at a time.
  • A Bridge to Bolster Reconciliation

    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."
  • A Fair and Transparent Council Nomination Process

    Following a member bylaw vote in November 2021 to accept the recommendations made by the Special Committee of Council on Nominations, APEGA's process for identifying Council candidates will be more transparent, beginning with the 2023 Council election nominations.
  • Atlas Reframes the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

    Oil and gas professionals lean in head to head, watching a geoscientist's fingertip run along the edge of a drawing of a mountain formation on the page, tracing out the range's stress direction. It's 1996, and the group is using the Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin to find new areas to develop for the oil and gas industry. Now, the atlas is getting an update, going digital, and helping drive green industry development. The industry-famous tome is targeted for completion by 2027, thanks to a group of dedicated geoscientists.
  • A Fearless Endeavour

    Dr. Maydianne Andrade, a professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), is the leading expert on neurotoxin-rich Australian redback spiders, working out of a lab complete with 100,000 elegant, black-hinged legs stretching across white webs. Ironically, entering a lab teeming with spiders bearing enough poison to down a human is not the most courageous thing Dr. Andrade does. She is an activist, president and co-founder of the Canadian Black Scientists Network, and founder and co-chair of the Toronto Initiative for Diversity and Excellence, and she has served as the vice-dean of faculty affairs and equity at UTSC. She shares data and stories of bias to educate others in hopes of creating a more equitable world.
  • Preventing Tragedy Through Regulation: New Practice Standard Preserves Public Trust

    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.
  • A Symbiotic Asset for So Many

    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."
  • Murray Smith, Nexus Conference Keynote: When Preparation Meets Opportunity

    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.
  • GRAPHing Our Way to the Safest Alberta: APEGA’s New Permit Holder Review System

    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.
  • Announcing Colonel Chris Hadfield, APEGA Nexus Conference 2022 Keynote Speaker—A Slice of Space

    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.
  • A Blocked Pipeline to Success: Changing the Female Geoscientist Experience

    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.
  • Star of Alberta Builds Thriving Community with Small-Town Soul

    Clayton Bos, P.Eng., wants to cultivate a community of collective thriving. "I really believe we need to build an environment that's obviously right for our natural environment, but the bigger part of that is our social environment." He reflects perhaps this is where his drive for volunteerism comes from. Bos volunteered more than 500 hours of his time in 2021, earning him a Star of Alberta Award.
  • ELITE Program Prepares Black Youth to Revolutionize STEM Industry Status Quo

    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.
  • Wayfinding by the Rocks

    People have been using rocks and fossils to find their way for centuries, and professional geoscientist David Hills has always found himself guided by the Earth, and now he's helping his fellow geoscientists, and all of Alberta, navigate using technology, mapping, and the rocks underfoot.
  • 2021 Year in Review | Editors' Choices

    As we wrap up this year and get ready to ring in the next, APEGA's editors curated the article vault to bring you five of our favourite stories of 2021. It wasn't always an easy year, but we found solace and inspiration in the stories of our members and communities. Join us as we stroll down memory lane and revisit some of the themes that helped make 2021 a year to remember.
  • Pupdate: From Ruff Around the Edges to a Pro Searching Pup

    A sleek black pup races by cars perched helter-skelter atop mounds of cement and rubble on a snow-frosted morning in Brandon, Man. With ease, she leaps up jagged grey juts, pauses at a crevice and sticks her head in, her back end waving with nervous excitement. She has searched for and located a person trapped in the debris in under a minute, which spells a test well-passed for the black Labrador. Peggy, who APEGA is proud to sponsor through our partnership with Canada Task Force 2, has earned her level two certification as a search canine.
  • Year In Review: APEGA's Five Most Read Articles of 2021

    Find out which stories most interested our members and the engineering and geoscience community and decide which one tops your list.
  • Nominations Now Open | Join a Community of Cultivated Fellowship

    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!
  • Engineer Programs World’s First Commercial Electric Airplane to Take Flight

    The soft, peach-hued horizon traces the outline of the vivid yellow frame of Harbour Air's DHC-2 Havilland Beaver, C-FJOS, as the pilot pulls the yoke, the plane lifts, and water spray sparkles off the pontoons. It's the first commercial electric airplane to ascend into the air, leaving the crowd gathered at the Fraser River squinting upwards, following the path of the four-minute historical flight with their fingertips. In celebration of International Civil Aviation Day, APEGA is sharing the story of how one of our professional engineers, Siyu Leng, P.Eng., helped the first commercial electric airplane take flight.
  • Past Their Peak: The Changing Landscape of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains

    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.
  • Encircling Albertans in Safety

    Matt Oliver, P.Eng., has spent the past two years treading steadfastly into discussions about COVID-19 spreading through aerosol transmission and how to best protect ourselves. His steps into the conversation are guided by his wholistic Metis worldview, his scientific brain, and his people-first perspective.
  • Living with Pride in the STEM Community

    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.
  • Energizing a Future for Yitong Wu

    Yitong Wu, E.I.T., is currently earning his master's in electrical engineering, specifically in energy systems, at the University of Alberta. He explains he puts himself in new situations to promote self-growth and improve his skills. "The most important thing would be whether you are able to communicate well with other people." He is reaching out to others in the engineering profession through APEGA's Mentoring Program and by attending APEGA's Emerging Professionals Summit.
  • Automating the Land

    Dr. Rafiq Ahmad, P.Eng., sees the best in systems. He leverages all the useful parts, sloughs off the useless, generates maximum efficiency. "Farming is one of the least automated industries," he explains. "That's where I see a lot of opportunity." For him, this opportunity comes through creating an aquaponics system for the future. He is the founder and director of the world's first aquaponics learning factory.
  • Driven by Values: Professional Engineer Recognized with Top 40 Under 40 Award

    "Mach 32 is the speed at which one can travel around the entire world in an hour," smiles Chris Terriff, P.Eng. It's also a combination of the first two letters of his and his partner Dr. Marc Curial's' given names and the age at which they launched their Edmonton-based start-up, aptly named MACH32, through which they create innovative medical devices. Terriff is named one of Edmonton's Top 40 Under 40 for 2021 for engineering these life-saving devices and making Edmonton a better place to live.
  • The Power of a Name

    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."
  • Refining Recycling: A Practical Dream

    "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."
  • Your Bones in Space

    Dr. Steven Boyd, P.Eng., examines the most sophisticated structures, pinpointing their strengths and weaknesses, their changes over time and environment. Structures possessing an electrical grid, a plumbing system, and most important to his studies, an intricate internal framework holding everything in place. Dr. Boyd studies bones and joints in the human body, and his most fascinating subjects are those who have returned from outer space.
  • Exploring the Riverbank with a Geoscientist

    "Every rock has a story to tell." Professional geoscientist Keith Diakiw's love of Mother Earth and her mysteries flourished as he went rock and mineral hunting as a young boy and later became a geoscientist. Now, he's sharing his knowledge with the children of Alberta at APEGA's Rock and Fossil Clinic held virtually over two weekends, on Oct. 16 and 23, 2021. Check out some rocks and minerals you can find along Alberta's rivers.
  • Mentorship in Any Language

    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.
  • APEGA Awards Get K-12 Students Electrified for STEM

    With the Innovation in Education Awards, APEGA is helping teachers create hands-on and engaging classroom experiences to foster a love of science, technology, engineering, and math in their students.
  • Energy Engineer Calculates a Cooler Tomorrow

    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.
  • The Ingredients of an Engineer

    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.
  • Braiding Strong Engineers

    Weaving materials together to create strong, resilient, and useful products is professional engineer Dr. Jason Carey's specialty. He is a braiding expert. Now, he's spending his time weaving ethics and values into engineers. He's doing such a great job, he was recognized with a 2020 Summit Award.
  • Lighting the World into the Next 100 Years

    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?
  • Gliding to Great Places

    "The crowd started this roar that came across the field, into the tunnel, and hit us. I felt that sound physically. Its impact was almost at a molecular level." In an instant, Rod Garossino felt like the Olympian he was. This same dedication that brought him to the Olympics eventually led him to the APEGA Foundation in 2015, where he served as executive director.
  • Efficient as Electrowetting

    When his research assistant contract was coming to an end, Juan Sebastian Marin Quintero, E.I.T., attended APEGA's Emerging Professionals Summit to explore options for his future. He wanted to meet other engineers and find ways to improve.
  • A Software Engineer and a Nurse Strike the Match of Innovation

    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
  • A Perspective on Mentoring: Cultivating a Successful Relationship

    If you look at the photo above, you may see a young woman or you may see an elderly lady. You may see neither, or something or someone completely different. Recognizing people see things differently is what AJ Conway, APEGA's mentoring and networking coordinator, says is paramount to creating successful mentoring relationships.
  • Alberta Communities Go Circular for the Environment

    Lindsay Seidel-Wassenaar, P.Eng., is a consultant with the Recycling Council of Alberta, leading a team making big changes for Banff, Strathcona County, and Lethbridge as part of the Circular Economies Initiative.
  • Engineering Equity in a Male-Dominated Profession

    Engineers gathered for a virtual conference in June to address the culture of exclusion many women and under-represented groups in the profession experience, a problem Megan Bowen, P.Eng., personally encounters and passionately strives to solve.
  • APEGA's Science Olympics Teaches Students How the Professions Change the World

    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.
  • Meeting Calgary's Infrastructure Needs of Tomorrow, Today

    Professional engineer Vivin Thomas, capital projects engineer with the Calgary Parking Authority, is on his way to his newest accomplishment, the 1,000,000-square-foot, $80-million Platform Innovation Centre and Parkade. He is going to marvel at the building's engineered dexterity to morph to meet the future needs of the area. He's also going to shoot some hoops.
  • A Tale of Wisdom and Engineering

    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.
  • APEGA’s Mentoring Program: Connecting to Grow

    AJ Conway, APEGA's mentoring and networking coordinator, has connected mentors to mentees at APEGA since 2018, moving the process from a formal year-long match to a more informal up-to-a-year timeline, making the program more accessible for busy engineers and geoscientists. He enjoys breaking down barriers so people can connect and network to grow their careers.
  • Forging a Path for Future Indigenous Engineers

    Lucy Kootenay, E.I.T., has always worked to forge a path for those who identify as Indigenous to become engineers, just as her father did for her. She began an Indigenous Engineering Student Association while attending the University of Alberta and is currently an active member of AECOM's Blooming Program, working to hire and mentor professional engineers identifying as Indigenous.
  • Meet the President: Brian Pearse in His Own Words

    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.
  • Meet the President: Saddling up to Lead APEGA into 2022

    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.
  • Helping Hands Inspire Deputy Minister Paul Wynnyk

    What's better than Albertans helping Albertans? If you ask Paul Wynnyk, P.Eng., Alberta's deputy minister of municipal affairs, the answer is easy: nothing. "I'm really inspired by that good, old Albertan spirit to pitch in and lend a hand," he attests. It's a maxim he carried through his career in the Canadian military, and now carries as chair of Alberta's COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force.
  • Communicating the Rules at Play

    Remember meeting friends at the park as a child to play the game the floor is lava? Players demonstrated ideal self- and co-regulation. We’re no longer children on a playground, but self-regulation remains a guiding process.
  • An Investigation in Trust

    Garth Jesperson is not who you would expect to encounter when you think of a professional investigator. He is warm and quick to laugh, yet his background is serious. He was an RCMP officer for 28 years. Now, he's APEGA's director of investigations.
  • A Longstanding Tradition of Women Supporting Women

    A place to gather. An opportunity to make friends. A support network. These are just three of the offerings the PEGG Women's Club of Calgary provides for its members, and has done so since its inception 76 years ago.
  • Engineering Safer Personal Protective Equipment

    Professional engineers in Alberta are designing a textile treatment that would enable personal protective equipment to kill viruses and bacteria on contact.
  • Pupdate: Peggy Comes Home

    In February 2020, APEGA announced a long-term partnership with Canada Task Force 2 (CANTF2). Our sponsorship supports the purchase and training of a search-and-rescue black Labrador retriever named Peggy. While saving lives in disaster zones all over Canada and the world, Peggy will be a living beacon of APEGA's mission to protect the public's safety.
  • The Science of Flight: APEGA’s Partnership with TELUS Spark

    One thing Laurie Shinkaruk, the director of advancement at TELUS Spark, loves most about her job is how her dual passions of science and learning about engineering intersect. At TELUS Spark, she watches as others discover those same things, gaining an appreciation for the role science plays in their everyday lives.
  • Moving Mountains: The Fight to Increase Representation in the Professions

    As our society wakes up to social inequalities, industry leaders are adopting strategies to foster equity, diversity, and inclusion in the engineering and geoscience professions.
  • The STEM Revolution: Finding Gender Parity

    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.
  • Water on the Moon: An Engineer's Plan for Space Resources

    The possibility of life on Venus. The discovery of water on the moon and Mars. The advancement of the Artemis program , which intends to return humans to the moon by 2024. Indeed, recent NASA announcements have the public buzzing with excitement about space exploration and the future of interplanetary travel. Zac Trolley, P.Eng., can relate. He has long been interested in what lies beyond our world and he has a plan for reaching the stars.
  • Diversity and Engineering: A Collision of Passion and Intellect

    A post-secondary facility without a women's washroom. A professor sharing photos of topless women sunbathing in the Rivera. These are just two of the realities that left an impression on Anjum Mullick, P.Eng., as she started her first year of an undergraduate degree in civil engineering. Although it sounds like a story straight out of the 1940s, it actually took place half a century later, in 1992.
  • APEGA’s Top Stories: A Year in Review

    As we close out the year, and one century of service to the public, join us for a walk down memory lane as we revisit some of the stories that meant the most to us and to our members. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight the APEGA's top-read stories and our member profiles as we get ready to dive into our next 100 years of leadership, innovation, and excellence.
  • If: Ball, Then: Catch

    All Dot wants for her eighth birthday is a real, live puppy to cuddle. Instead, she gets a robot dog named Sparky. The duo's adventures are highlighted in this children's book that teaches kids about friendship, perseverance, computer programming, and robotics.
  • Paws for APEGA Centennial News: The Canada Task Force 2 Partnership

    In February, APEGA announced a partnership with Canada Task Force 2 (CANTF2) as part of our centennial celebrations. We kicked off the multi-year partnership by introducing three canine members of the team (and their handlers), and enjoyed a mock search performed by one of the dogs at TELUS Spark in Calgary. However, due to the global health emergency, we haven’t been able to formally introduce the face of the partnership until now.
  • Coming to the Aid of Little Warriors: PCL and the Playground

    When health authorities deemed the playground at the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch east of Sherwood Park, Alberta--the first specialized, intensive treatment centre in Canada for children and adolescents who have been sexually abused--unsafe, Little Warriors CEO Laurie Szymanski was at a loss.
  • Preparing for Takeoff: A Conversation with a Canadian Astronaut

    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.
  • We Remember: Canada's Military Engineers

    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.
  • Never Settle: A Geophysics Journey

    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.
  • Emerging Professionals Find Career and Networking Help at Inaugural Summit

    To help the next generation of professional engineers and geoscientists find their way, APEGA hosted the inaugural Emerging Professionals Summit earlier this fall. Read the recap from university student Evangeline Saclamacis.
  • From Humble Beginnings: An Examination of APEGA’s Investigations Department

    In 2013, APEGA became one of the first regulatory bodies in Canada to employ a professional investigator to review complaints. Seven years after that modest start, that solo position has grown into a team of six investigators with more than 100 years of experience between them.
  • CBC's Bob McDonald Tells Us About Science As He's Seen It

    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.
  • Professional designations open a world of opportunity

    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.
  • Making Room at the Drafting Table: One Woman’s Quest for Gender Equality in Engineering

    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.
  • Meet the President: In His Own Words

    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.
  • Meet the President: A Lifetime of Leadership

    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.
  • The next evolution of The PEG

    In recognition of our centennial, we are proud to announce the next iteration of The PEG magazine as a new section on APEGA.ca. Welcome to yourPEG!
  • Everybody wins at Branchopoly

    In early June 2020, the executive leadership from all 10 APEGA branches came together for a two-day, online conference to discuss new and innovative ways to connect the branches with their membership.
  • From Venezuela to Canada: A Professional Engineer’s Journey Home

    Being a great engineer means following your passion, regardless of which continent you end up on. After growing up in Venezuela and training in Spain and Scotland, Sara Naveda is proud to call Calgary home.
  • APEGA reheats branch luncheons as online learning opportunity

    On March 26, the APEGA Calgary Branch took its luncheon event, Pioneering Alberta's First Conventional Geothermal Energy Facility, online and accepted registrants from across the province, setting a precedent for a post-pandemic world.
  • Parenting Resources: #MakerMonday with the TELUS World of Science

    Looking for a new way to bring science into your child's life? Look no further than your kitchen (and the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton) for #MakerMondays!
  • Parenting Through COVID-19

    As we move through our new normal, the demands on working parents are at an all-time high. The line that separates work and home life is blurred at a time when maintaining that balance has never been more important.
  • E-mentoring: Spend This Time Finding the Right Fit

    As Albertans continue to work from home to help flatten the COVID-19 curve, professionals are forced to find new ways to connect to keep the economy moving. However, this change in how we communicate also creates new opportunities for professional engineers and geoscientists to build stronger connections with each other and help nurture the next generation of self-regulated professionals.
  • A Powerful Impact

    From Afghanistan to Kenya and beyond, solar power expert Faruq Vishram, P.Eng., is using his professional engineering skills to empower developing communities in Central Asia and East Africa, paying it forward as a volunteer with the Aga Khan Development Network.