ENGINEERING a NEW NORMAL Faculty Researchers and Alumni Share Their COVID-19 Research and Expert Opinions on Life Now and Post-Pandemic

OCTOBER 2020 / ISSUE 66

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER

ENGINEERING A NEW NORMAL Faculty researchers and alumni share their COVID-19 research and expert opinions on life now and post-pandemic. WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER

Waterloo Engineering Alumni Affairs University of Waterloo OCTOBER 2020 / ISSUE 66 200 University Ave. West Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 [email protected]

We respect your privacy and communication preferences. Faculty News 04 To learn more, please go to: alumni.uwaterloo.ca/privacy Featured Story Engineering A New Normal 06 EDITOR: Carol Truemner

Class Notes 11 WRITERS: Brian Caldwell Upcoming Events 23 Carol Truemner DESIGN: University of Waterloo Creative Services

ILLUSTRATION: Julia Nakanishi, BAS ’18, MArch ’20

2 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni FROM HELPING ADVANCE A STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT WORLD THE On July 1, I was thrilled to rejoin I am proud of our faculty members and Waterloo Engineering, where I was a staff for pivoting to online learning soon mechanical and mechatronics engineering after the global crisis began. We continue faculty member for 10 years and associate to offer the best possible remote dean of outreach between 2008 and 2017. educational experience this fall. It is good to be back home and part Many of our researchers, students and of this amazing institution once again. DEAN alumni are addressing coronavirus- I would like to thank my related challenges head-on. immediate predecessor, Rick From creating an antiviral coating for Culham, who led the Faculty personal protective equipment and high- for six months, and to Pearl touch surfaces to developing a promising Sullivan, who served as dean DNA-based vaccine to be delivered for eight years until the end through a nasal spray, the innovative of 2019. I am very grateful to research coming out of our Faculty will Pearl for establishing a clear help society emerge on the other side of vision for the next five years the virus stronger and more resilient. with the launch of Waterloo Engineering’s Strategic Plan As you will read in this issue’s cover 2020-2025 last fall. story, Engineering A New Normal, seven researchers and alumni share their The plan’s priorities and goals provide pandemic initiatives and opinions on a blueprint for ensuring there are how different buildings, education, enhanced opportunities for students, work and everyday activities look now researchers and staff members to pursue and may look in the future. Although their aspirations while also solidifying there are a lot of uncertainties in the the Faculty’s reputation as the dynamic world at this time, our Faculty members hub of innovation and entrepreneurship and graduates all agree on one certainty -- for Canada and the world. life will never return to ‘normal’ again. Highlighted in the plan is our I look forward to meeting you at an commitment to diversity and equity upcoming online alumni event and throughout all programs, policies and hopefully sometime soon at an actual processes, with emphasis on under- face-to-face gathering. represented communities. This commitment will lead to exceptional Until then, stay safe and stay well. outcomes for our Faculty in every way, including education and research. Sincerely,

This year has been one like no other with the COVID-19 pandemic upending our lives in ways we could never have imagined. MARY WELLS Dean, Faculty of Engineering

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 3 FATHER OF PAVEMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT FACULTY Haas, distinguished professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, died on June 19 at the age of 87. A former chair of civil engineering whose pioneering concepts and technologies resulted in better-performing and less costly road networks, Haas was known throughout the engineering world as ‘the father of pavement asset management.’ NEWS Among the dozens of academic and professional honours he received, Haas was a member of the Order of Canada, the Royal Society of Canada and the Engineering Institute of Canada, a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee medals. Remembering four who made a difference This past spring, Waterloo Engineering sadly lost four former FIRST UNIVERSITY PROVOST faculty members who made significant contributions to our Brzustowski, a long-time former mechanical engineering Faculty, the University and their respective fields of engineering. professor, department chair and associate dean at Waterloo Doug Wright, Park Reilly, Ralph Haas and Tom Brzustowski all Engineering, also died on June 19. leave lasting legacies and will be greatly missed. Below are just He is remembered for his many contributions to his profession, some highlights of their many accomplishments. the University of Waterloo, the Province of Ontario and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. FOUNDING DEAN, THIRD WATERLOO PRESIDENT Brzustowski held several senior leadership posts at the University, Wright, the founding dean of Waterloo Engineering and the including service as its first provost, before leaving Waterloo in third president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, 1987 for a position as deputy minister of the Ministry of Colleges died in May at the age of 92. and Universities. In 1958, he left a teaching position at Queen’s University to join the Earlier this year during the pandemic, according to his obituary, upstart University of Waterloo as the first chair of civil engineering. he and his wife of 56 years, Louise, “took to walking together on He soon became dean, overseeing the Faculty’s growth into the the empty UWaterloo campus every day … Tom fending off the largest undergraduate engineering school in Canada. campus geese with a walking stick, a gentleman to the end.” “He had a relentless curiosity compounded by a drive for relevance in university life and practice, along with a sense that in Canada we needed to change the university landscape,” said Ken McLaughlin, a Detecting infection in under 30 minutes Waterloo historian and author. “He pushed, prodded and pulled us with him as he pursued academic excellence and social relevance.” Carolyn Ren, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, received $265,000 in federal backing to develop RESPECTED SCHOLAR a palm-sized device capable of detecting COVID-19 infection within 30 minutes. Reilly, who joined the University in 1967, passed away May 2, just 12 days shy of turning 100. Ren will lead a one-year project with a team that includes professors Emmanuel Ho of the School of Pharmacy at The long-time chemical engineering professor was a respected Waterloo and Keith Fowke of the University of Manitoba. scholar engaged in research and teaching on the application of statistics in engineering. The research builds on Ren’s work on microfluidics and lab-on-a- chip technology to develop a portable, point-of-care instrument In 1986, he was the recipient of the University’s Distinguished to rapidly diagnose COVID-19. Teacher Award. The letters of support for the honour from his undergraduate, graduate and former students and faculty The device is expected to greatly expand testing and control colleagues demonstrated that his appeal as a teacher went spread of the virus through use at drive-through sites and other far beyond credibility and expertise. community locations. One student wrote that Reilly’s greatest asset in the classroom The project is one of 139 across the country announced last “was his willingness and desire to work with the students, spring for federal funding through the Canadian Institutes of rather than just present the information and leave it at that.” Health Research.

4 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni Student project helping teach children in Pakistan

Teachers in Pakistan have an extensive online resource to draw on during the coronavirus pandemic thanks to hundreds of graduate students at Waterloo Engineering. The students spent more than three years building an online library of over 15,000 videos, assignments and exercises that follow the national curriculum by grade and subject. With children forced to stay home because of the COVID-19 crisis, teachers are now using the library to prepare lessons they can send to their students by email. “Technology allows us, even being here in Canada, to help the disadvantaged and improve the world more than ever,” said Peter Carr, a management sciences lecturer who supervises the library project. “We’re using that technology to create a motivating, rewarding learning experience for our students, while at the same time doing some real good in another part of the world.”

Building a safer football helmet

A mechanical and mechatronics professor is part of a team that has been awarded US $412,000 by the National Football League (NFL) to develop a better, safer helmet. Duane Cronin, who graduated with all three of his degrees from the Faculty, will contribute sophisticated impact testing and advanced computer modelling to optimize helmet performance and reduce the risk of head injuries. The goal is to develop a new helmet for evaluation using the latest test protocols by July 2021. The project is part of the HeadTechHealth Helmet Challenge, an initiative by the NFL to encourage teams of manufacturers, academics and other experts to develop safer helmets using advanced technologies. Cronin, a Canada Research Chair in Trauma Biomechanics and Injury Prevention, previously worked with the NFL for several years to develop a leading virtual helmet model that is publicly available for use by researchers and manufacturers in the field. TOP PHOTO: Doug Wright, founding dean of Waterloo Now, he and five members of his lab – research associates Engineering and the third president of the University of Michael Bustamante and Jeffrey Barker, postdoctoral fellow Waterloo, spoke at the Engineering 7 ground-breaking Donata Gierczycka, and graduate students Miguel Corrales event in 2015. He died this past spring. and David Bruneau – will be utilizing the computer model BOTTOM LEFT PHOTO: Engineering researchers are using themselves. a virtual model as a design tool to help make safer “We get to use our own design tool and other next-generation helmets for the NFL. technology to see this through to the development of a real BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO: Professor Carolyn Ren is helmet,” Cronin said. “It’s not just an academic project. We’ve developing a palm-sized device capable of detecting got an opportunity to help make the best helmet out there.” COVID-19 infection within 30 minutes.

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 5 FEATURED STORY 6 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni WITH OUR WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BY A DEADLY HEALTH CRISIS, WATERLOO ENGINEERING EXPERTS ARE WORKING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

t is no exaggeration to say that the silent, Their approach – one of only a handful unseen coronavirus has turned our lives, of similar efforts worldwide – involves institutions and systems upside down and engineering synthetic DNA. inside out. I That DNA would contain instructions for Assessing the social, economic and cells within the body to make particles that psychological fallout of changes that are both resemble SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes big – millions of people suddenly working from COVID-19, but are not harmful. home – and small – elbow bumps instead of Once present, the virus-like particles would time-tested handshakes – will no doubt keep trigger the body’s immune system to produce academics busy for years. antibodies. Particles produced in cultured For engineers dedicated to the development cells in the lab would also be administered and application of technology, plus all of its to boost immunity. related fields of endeavour, that process of “The idea is that if we get the human body to examination, analysis and learning is already make its own particles and proteins to serve well under way. as the vaccine, you achieve a better, stronger To help understand and appreciate their work, overall immune response,” Aucoin says. seven alumni and faculty members of Waterloo With over 100 research teams around the Engineering – from a tech entrepreneur who world working on vaccines, even promising teaches yoga, to a researcher with plans to make approaches face long odds to make it into mass buildings immune – were asked about their production and ultimately protect people. pandemic insights and initiatives. Still, researchers logging long days and seven- Here is a look at how they are both day weeks to put a Waterloo vaccine in the mix contributing in the here and now, and paying are confident their work will have a lasting heed to lasting lessons that could help make impact one way or another. life after COVID-19 better. “Even if we don’t hit it out of the park, DEVELOPING A VACCINE we’re learning a lot and this work is still very relevant,” Aucoin says. “It positions After 15 years as a researcher, MARC AUCOIN’S us to be prepared to respond to situations work has never been more urgent or more like this in the future.” exciting than it is right now. Aucoin, a Waterloo Engineering alumnus and TAPPING INTO CREATIVITY chemical engineering professor, is a key That old adage about adversity creating member of a team working to develop strength is holding true for a lot of a DNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 entrepreneurs who have been put to to be delivered via a nasal spray. a severe test during the pandemic. “There is a clear feeling we can make JANET BOEKHORST, a professor a real difference and my entire team at the Conrad School of has doubled and tripled their efforts Entrepreneurship and Business since this started,” he says. “It’s all out at Waterloo Engineering, fully of a pure desire to help.” expected to find a lot of people Aucoin (BASc ’00, MASc ’03, chemical struggling when she surveyed engineering) and four core members in entrepreneurs, self-employed his lab are working on the project with workers, and small and medium-sized Waterloo pharmacy professors Roderick business owners in Canada to gauge how they Slavcev and Emmanuel Ho. were faring.

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 7 FEATURED STORY

That was certainly the case, with about half of survey “For a number of people there is a real respondents expressing concerns about their ability concern that their domestic space is now to keep their businesses afloat. being fully invaded by work,” she says. Boekhorst was surprised and encouraged, however, That invasion highlights the significance by reports from many people who have adapted by of spaces that are both conducive to work making changes that could actually strengthen their and create clear lines, physically as well as businesses over the long haul. psychologically, between our professional and personal lives. “I think it’s the nature of entrepreneurship,” says Boekhorst, who is handling the Canadian portion “Spaces play an extremely important role of an ambitious, 28-country study led by researchers in terms of framing different activities and at King’s College London in the United Kingdom. establishing boundaries, of distinguishing Spaces play “Entrepreneurs tend to be good at rolling with the a place where you can relax and a place an extremely punches. They’re problem-solvers by nature and where you can work,” Bordeleau says. that is really boding well for a lot of them.” important role She also believes there is growing Examples include brick-and-mortar retailers recognition that shared workplace in terms of opening online shops, adding parcel delivery and spaces – even the hallways we take from framing different consequently expanding their customer bases, one meeting to another – are valuable activities and and restaurants pivoting to take-out when they sources of socialization, energy and were forced to shut down, then retaining it as a spontaneous collaboration. establishing permanent new revenue stream. In practical terms, that could lead to offices boundaries.” Boekhorst credits the creativity and resilience of redesigned to emphasize their informal, entrepreneurs for such successes, as well as the impromptu functions and the in-between ANNE BORDELEAU Director of the Waterloo willingness of consumers to accept new ways spaces that ultimately keep us all together. of doing business during challenging times. School of Architecture “Technology is so portable that we think we “There has been a lot of exploration and that has can work anywhere – and it’s kind of true,” really opened up some windows of opportunity,” Bordeleau says. “But at the same time, it she says. “It’s great to see people using their may also mean that we can relax nowhere, skill sets and energy to figure out ways to keep and this situation should make us acutely moving forward.” aware of the role spaces play in framing our activities and interactions.” ESTABLISHING WORK BOUNDARIES IMMUNIZING PUBLIC STRUCTURES Forced office closures during the pandemic have demonstrated that many people can work After more than a decade of work on productively from home using online a system to protect people in public tools and platforms. buildings from biological agents and chemical toxins, JANUSZ KOZINSKI But for ANNE BORDELEAU, director is optimistic its time has come. of the Waterloo School of Architecture, that fact – a surprise to some, mere Concerns heightened confirmation to others – is only the start of by the COVID-19 an important examination of how we live and work. crisis, plus advances in technology, “For architecture, the pandemic brings large give him hope questions about interconnectedness and vulnerable the system will populations, but also very simply foregrounds the gain widespread importance of our built environment,” she says. adoption. Bordeleau wonders, for instance, if people will “There is a completely different actually want to work from home – and, if so, environment now,” says Kozinski, an how much of the time – even if remote technology adjunct professor of chemical engineering continues to make it possible when the health at Waterloo. “Many stars have aligned.” crisis is over.

8 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni Work on his concept to effectively immunize buildings In his professional life, he is a co-founder and CEO of goes back to the late-2000s, when Kozinski was the Polar, a Toronto-based, 25-member company that provides engineering dean at the University of Saskatchewan, digital advertising technology to hundreds of publishers one of many senior positions he has held. and advertising agencies in over 30 countries. He led a research team in the development of a system As an active and avid volunteer, he works with several to monitor ventilation systems in public buildings such mental health organizations, teaches meditation and as schools, hospitals and shopping malls. yoga, and blogs about leadership, mindfulness and technology culture. The system uses a network of sensors and computer software to identify threats, then issue warnings and take Gupta says that by disrupting ordinary life and business, steps to neutralize them. the coronavirus has forced everyone to reflect on what they do and why they do it. “The key here is to prevent the potential propagation of the harmful agent from one area to another,” Kozinski says. In the process, it has provided a much-needed boost to awareness around the importance of mental health – The system, dubbed eWARN (Early Warning and who hasn’t experienced some anxiety or depression, Response Network), worked well on computer models, or seen someone close to them struggling? – and the in the lab and during limited field trials, but never got value of better work-life balance. much real-world traction. “This time has given everybody more mental space,” When the pandemic hit, Kozinski and colleagues at says Gupta, who started Polar with classmates while Waterloo and several other Canadian schools revived he was still an undergraduate student at Waterloo. the concept, tweaking it for detection of the coronavirus. “We’ve cut out a lot of what we thought of as Ongoing efforts are focused on the use of nanoscale essential – and now know isn’t essential – and sensors to dramatically improve its response time to that has created breathing room for our minds.” split seconds. One lasting lesson for companies, he says, is that their In the case of SARS-CoV-2 – or some new variation of it employees clearly can be trusted to work from home in the future – the system would emit UV light to try to with little or no supervision and still pull their weight. kill it, activate HVAC filters to prevent its spread via ducts and alert people in the detection area to take precautions. “It’s kind of funny that we are surprised by that,” Gupta says. “It took a pandemic for us to get to “We believe this will be very, very useful,” Kozinski says. the point where we have more trust in our people, “The whole purpose is to save lives. The next time but that’s fine. We’re here now.” around we will be much better prepared.”

CREATING BREATHING SPACE FOR OUR MINDS 3D PRINTING PROVES ITS POTENTIAL When one-size-fits-all just isn’t good enough, additive KUNAL GUPTA (BSE ’08) couldn’t be less impressed with manufacturing (AM) is up for the challenge. how the pandemic is highlighting the ability of workers to meet just as often as before it, maybe even more, That became clear early in the COVID- using remote technology. 19 crisis as MIHAELA VLASEA and other researchers at the Multi- His key take-away from the global Scale Additive Manufacturing health crisis is that less is more, that (MSAM) Laboratory were flooded fewer meetings and less collaboration with inquiries from doctors, hospital actually equal more focus and increased administrators and other healthcare productivity. workers in need of help. “Productivity isn’t working more,” he says The lab’s innovative technology, also known as industrial from his home in New York. “It’s working on 3D printing, proved itself nimble enough to quickly the right things at the right times.” produce parts for face shields and frames for reusable N95 Gupta comes to the question as an entrepreneur masks to protect medical professionals and patients. who proudly wears two hats.

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 9 ENHANCING ONLINE LEARNING

It took office closures during the pandemic to show MOHSEN SHAHINI that employees at the company he co-founded could be just as productive working remotely from home. In a similar way, he believes the forced move to online classes is opening the eyes of educators, students and parents to what technology can bring to higher learning. “Once we are out of this, you’ll find fewer professors are afraid of technology because they had no choice but to use it,” says Shahini (PhD ’11, mechatronics engineering), an entrepreneur and Waterloo Engineering alumnus. “That will expedite the transition of classroom learning, which really hasn’t changed much for centuries.” Shahini was still working on his doctorate when he launched Top Hat, a learning software company, with former roommate and fellow alumnus Mike Silagadze (BASc ’07, electrical engineering) a decade ago. Currently, with well over 400 employees and four million users, the Toronto-based company’s core “active learning” product allows students to engage with course content using interactive textbooks and take part in in- And because AM processes – essentially printing parts layer by layer and class activities, online or in-person, using their mobile with multiple raw materials – are so flexible, MSAM could customize devices or laptops. personal protective equipment to better fit people of different ethnicities, ages, sizes and genders. Last year, Shahini took a leave and launched a startup called Kritik, which develops high-level critical thinking One tweak of its mask frames even prevents fogging for users who wear glasses. by enabling students to collaborate, provide feedback “That’s not a problem for us,” says Vlasea, associate research director of the and analysis, and learn from each other. world-class lab. “We just iterate a few times and provide the product.” Now he sees nothing but growth ahead as changes The crisis also demonstrated how well local AM facilities can work necessitated by the health crisis showcase the directly with local clients to design and manufacture the products they possibilities and increase the acceptance of need, eliminating long supply chains, speeding up delivery and enabling online learning. modifications on the fly. “We expect massive adoption of technology and “Imagine having a tool that you can deploy for multiple purposes very massive innovation post-pandemic,” he says. quickly,” says Vlasea, a Waterloo Engineering professor and alumnus Key questions for Shahini include how institutions (BASc ’08, PhD ’14, mechanical and mechatronics engineering). “The will permanently adapt and adopt lessons from the flexibility to print one thing today and another thing tomorrow, or pandemic, and what changes the people who pay quickly calibrate a product to make it better, is hugely important.” to attend them will expect or demand. By boosting awareness of its potential, Vlasea expects high-profile examples “For the first time, there is a challenge to the value of AM providing precise solutions to help speed its adoption by industry proposition of higher education,” he says. “It’s great leaders now and on the other side of the pandemic. for students to be on campus, but will it be worth it “An unexpected outcome of an extremely unfortunate situation is that to spend that much money when most courses can it has shown people this is not a fringe technology or a technology of be delivered online? Probably not, but we will have tomorrow,” she says. “These tools are available today and they can be to see how demands and expectations from return on effectively deployed in sensitive sectors such as healthcare.” investment in higher education change post-pandemic.”

10 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni GEE TSANG (MECH ’68) says “as a senior over 80 BOB FLOYD (MECH ’71) says “I’ve years old, my wife and I have been travelling been a ski instructor/coach at widely in the past several years. We have been Mt. Pakenham since 1991. I CLASS in the UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, celebrated my 50th wedding Austria, Hungary and Russia in Europe. In anniversary with my wife South America, we were in Chile, Argentina Carol on October 10, 2020. and Peru. All these privileges were permitted We have three adult children, three adult because of my graduate study at U of W and grandchildren, one teenage granddaughter subsequent professional career with the federal and one grandson. I’m retired now.” government. However, at this stage of my life, [email protected] NOTES I believe it is not how much you own that is DENNIS VASS (CIVIL ’71) reports important, but how much you can give to the “I retired as the managing underprivileged that counts.” partner of +VG ARCHITECTS a few years back but I still go 1970 in one day a week to help 1961 out. I play with my tractors CLASS REUNION – 50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY on my hobby farm. I have a cottage at Long JUNE 4-5, 2021 Point on Lake Erie with a couple of boats and CLASS REUNION – 60-YEAR ANNIVERSARY belong to a hunt camp on Manitoulin Island JUNE 4-5, 2021 BERNARD D’LIMA (ELECT ’70) and a fish camp on Lake Temiskaming.” retired in 2001 after 27 [email protected] 1964 years with Telesat, an Ottawa-based satellite 1972 MICHAEL GOSS (CHEM ’64) says “thanks communications company. During his tenure he to the University of Waterloo I LAURI GREGG (ELECT ’72) formed worked in satellite engineering, ground have been retired for 28 years LCG Energy Management systems engineering and in international sales. with my wife of 55 years Pat, Group after retirement from [email protected] (Harmer), BSc 1965. After many Falconbridge Ltd. in 2007. tropical winter adventures, we L. BRIAN ROSS (ELECT ’70) was He is a certified ISO 50001 now enjoy our green therapy on Vancouver Island.” inducted as an Officer in energy management systems [email protected] the Order of Honour by implementor and auditor with experience across IAN WATSON (MECH ’64) has been retired since 2005 Professional Engineers industrial, commercial and manufacturing sectors. following a career with Union Carbide Canada Ltd. Ontario (PEO) this year. [email protected] Since being inducted as a and its various divisions. He now resides in North MARK HYMERS (CIVIL ’72) reports Member of the Order of Honour in 2002, Toronto, curling in winter and playing golf in that after 41 years of project Ross has continued his volunteer efforts. the summer. engineering for rail, marine, In his many roles as a PEO volunteer, Brian [email protected] highway, and municipal has been an ambassador for the engineering fields in New Brunswick, he profession. For the past 36 years, he has been retired along with his spouse, 1965 serving with integrity and dedication with Heather, to enjoy time with their four daughters PEO chapters, on council and various and six grandchildren. CLASS REUNION – 55-YEAR ANNIVERSARY committees and subcommittees. [email protected] JUNE 4-5, 2021 ALFEO (AL) SOLIGO (CHEM ’70) says “I have a seven- piece ‘Zoomer band’ called The Greytones. We 1973 1966 play ’50s, ’60s, ’70s music to 55+ seniors who love to dance to the old pop and rock ‘n roll ANTHONY EDWARDS (CIVIL ’73) says CLASS REUNION – 55-YEAR ANNIVERSARY songs. We play at seniors centres, retirement “I’ve been working for five JUNE 4-5, 2021 homes, pubs, adult community centres, years for a company that Sportsplex in Fergus, legions, etc. Here is our has expertise in trenchless 1968 website: www.greytones.wixsite.com/band. I’ve technology and we do been doing this for 12 years now and loving cured-in-place plastic my passion for singing and playing guitar.” GEORGE RHODEY (CHEM ’68, ’70) reports and sewer system grouting work. It’s been [email protected] that he has “patents to make any interesting and challenging to explore this refinery more profitable with facet of municipal engineering.” payout in less than two years. 1971 [email protected] Solution to Bitumen asphaltene problem no diluent required to CLASS REUNION – 50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY meet pipeline viscosity. Lowering sulphur and JUNE 4-5, 2021 nitrogen of petcoke and recovering the metals that are worth more than petcoke; on our way also to ANDRE ARVANITIS (ELECT ’71) reports “I am 81 years carbon steel. LNG process that is unlike Shell’s old and retired since 2001. Most of my working 40 billion plant on west coast. All liqualfraction years were spent at the Bruce Nuclear Power and vapourization of natural gas on ship i.e. Generating facility, the biggest in the world transportation cost only, therefore no capital cost.” comprised of eight generating units and [email protected] support facilities.” WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 11 TOM CULHAM (CIVIL ’76) held 1974 leadership roles in 1978 engineering consulting, SANTOSH GUPTA (CIVIL ’74) and the BC forest RAYMOND KEITH (CIVIL ’78) recently was awarded the industry. Following reports “I’m wrapping Sovereign Medal by the completing a PhD in up my consulting Governor General of education in 2012, he recently joined SFU career (heavy industrial Canada. Last year, he was Beedie Business School to lecture and construction and inducted by PEO as an conduct ethics education research. commercial buildings) Officer of the Awards of Honour. He’s been [email protected] and heading to Vancouver Island for recommended for the Citizenship Award for retirement.” volunteer services to Community and TED PIERCE (MECH ’76) says “I’m still designing [email protected] Engineering Profession. for Supertrak, Punta Gorda in Florida. [email protected] We have recently designed and built three recovery vehicles for Disney 1979 World monorail -- a hi-tech 38,000-lb HUGH ALLEY’S (SD ’79) 1975 and diesel-powered locomotive that book, Becoming the pulls disabled monorail trains or carts Supervisor: Achieving CLASS REUNION – 45-YEAR ANNIVERSARY for rail maintenance.” the Company’s Mission JUNE 4-5, 2021 [email protected] and Building Your RON MITCHELL (CIVIL ’75) has Team, was published never retired 47 years after 1977 by Productivity Press in June 2020. starting a rail career as a Written as a story, readers learn the core University of Waterloo TIM BOWLAND (ELECT ’77) was skills front-line leaders need to succeed. student at CP Rail and principal and VP of [email protected] three long careers later. engineering for The Having worked as a railroader, regulator and Baranti Group, a RAINER HOFF (MECH ’79) is consultant, Ron decided to start working for consulting electronic founder and president himself and launched his own company design and of Gateway Group, a in 2019. This past year, Ron worked on jobs manufacturing house in Toronto, for 12 provider of process in BC and the Yukon as well as Toronto years until 2002. He was then senior safety management and Cameroon. Ron and his wife, Barbara hardware design engineer for Harris Corp solutions. Despite being (BMath ’74), enjoy living in BC. They both n Toronto from 2005 to 2007. Since 2007, a mechanical engineer, he was recently plan to attend the Glory Seekers reunion he’s been retired with his wife and no kids. elected to fellow of the American Institute (45 years) at Waterloo. of Chemical Engineers. Now empty- DOUGLAS HOLM (MECH ’77) retired September 2017 [email protected] nesters, Rainer and his wife Martha and is enjoying golf whenever he wants. live in Buffalo, NY. S.J. (JIM) SCHOFIELD (CIVIL ’75) retired in August [email protected] [email protected] 2018, after 43 years of heavy industrial GARY SHORTT (CIVIL ’77) retired in 2016 from construction across Canada. Jim says his position as chief operating officer at “Alberta has been my base except for 1980 the Toronto Transit Commission. He and two years in Sarnia.” his wife, Kathy, are enjoying Florida, their [email protected] CLASS REUNION – 40-YEAR ANNIVERSARY Toronto condo, cottage and two grandsons. JUNE 4-5, 2021 [email protected] 1976 JIM ESTILL (SD ’80) has LEN TREMBLEY (ELECT ’77) has founded ShipperBee, CLASS REUNION – 45-YEAR ANNIVERSARY retired and spends his a revolutionary new JUNE 4-5, 2021 time with woodworking, courier that saves community theatre and 73.1 per cent of MIKE BURRELL (SD ’76) retired volunteering with the greenhouse gases per this year after 40-plus years Kin Club of Russell. parcel. He also continues to be CEO at in quality, production and Somehow, he is busier now than when he Danby Appliances and was awarded the design engineering was working full-time. The attached photo is Order of Canada for sponsoring over management positions Len as Selsdon Mowbrey in the production 100 refugee families to Canada. in automotive parts “Noises Off.” [email protected] manufacturing in Ontario. [email protected] [email protected]

12 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni RON FINLAY (ELECT ’80) is a DJ/ 1982 1984 MC specializing in weddings with the best sound, BRIAN BASKERVILLE (ELECT ’82) liked Ottawa so FRANK GERENCSER (SD ’84) pivoted 300+ lighting, and five-star, much during all of his work terms, that he’s instructors teaching 3000+ students at his award-winning MC skills to lived in the area ever since. Currently on the triOS College & Eastern College campuses create the most emotionally Quebec side of the Ottawa River, Brian lives to online learning over a weekend because engaging wedding experience. He says “we a stone’s throw away from Gatineau Park of the COVID-19 crisis. He says “our world help couples save thousands of dollars with in Chelsea, and works as a software quality has changed forever.” our planning services to bring a wedding engineer at QNX Software Systems (a [email protected] experience beyond! So much fun.” subsidiary of BlackBerry) in the Kanata PAUL HAMILTON (ELECT ’84) is currently working as [email protected] North hi-tech business park. a high-tech program management consultant GLEN JOHNSON (CHEM ’80) retired in September 2019 [email protected] with the defence industry and as COO of from full-time employment after a 39-year FERNANDO BRANCO (CIVIL ’82) is a his property management company in the career in the upstream petroleum industry. full professor at University Ottawa area. He is moving gradually towards Highlights included leading the subsurface of Lisbon. He was retirement, but still enjoys working and is teams in the Pluto (producing since 2010) president of the European active in the community. and Browse (deferred) LNG mega-projects, Council of Civil Engineers [email protected] offshore of western Australia. He now lives (ECCE) and of the LAUREEN LITTLE (CHEM ’84) says in Melbourne, Australia and does occasional International Association for Bridge and “life changes. Both Ian consulting through Airswift as an oil and gas Structural Engineering (IABSE). He was a van Staalduinen (Chem development advisor. consultant for major public works: the S. João ’84) and I retired a few [email protected] Bridge in Porto, Macau-Taipa Bridge in China years ago from the oil and the Vasco da Gama Bridge, the longest in WAYNE SHAW (MECH ’80) has industry – just before the Europa. He has received six international finally retired after big bust. Now we enjoy time at the ranch, awards. He says “I’m always remembering my successful careers at helping our son raise beef cattle for direct supervisor Professor Roger Green.” Babcock-Wilcox, Honda of sale to the public through the Tall Timber Canada Mfg and Deloitte & [email protected] Cattle Co. We continue to breed and start Touche. He keeps busy KEVIN O’SULLIVAN (MECH ’82) says quarter horses and enjoy ranch versatility making his own rye whiskies, gin and rum, “after 40 years of working and cowhorse work. Horses are the only way cottaging on Lake Muskoka and day-trading, at NELS Consulting in to move or round up cattle in our foothills energy commodities (he says “yes, you can Niagara, I’m fully retired.” area with the dense aspen and spruce cover. make money doing that.”) Recently, a [email protected] This January, we welcomed a litter of seven granddaughter arrived on the scene. lovely Entlebucher Mountain Dog puppies. PAUL VERHEYEN (MECH ’80) says “after a 30-year Check them out at bar-tt-entlebuchers.com.” career at Chrysler, Ford and GM, Tracy and 1983 [email protected] I spend our winters in Avon Park, Florida. JAMES RAMAGE (ELECT ’84) has Days are spent golfing, biking, swimming and PETER BAIN (ELECT ’83, ’85) been working as a security cruising with an occasional trip to see Mickey.” retired in September 2019 engineer at Lightship [email protected] from IBM’s Runtimes Security since May 2019. group where he worked Previously, he was a 1981 since 2007 on the OpenJ9 systems engineer at JSI Java Virtual Machine. Telcom after he spent 20 years in CLASS REUNION – 40-YEAR ANNIVERSARY Previously, he spent 11 years at Bell-Northern engineering with Nortel Networks. JUNE 4-5, 2021 Research doing hardware, IC, and wireless [email protected] system design. After BNR, he worked at a JOHN MCVEY (CHEM ’81) joined startup, later acquired by Altera, designing the Procon Group of communication cores for FPGAs. He 1985 Companies in 2015 as CEO continues to do consulting and plans to CLASS REUNION – 35-YEAR ANNIVERSARY based in the Burnaby, BC expand his volunteer activities. corporate offices. Procon is [email protected] JUNE 4-5, 2021 a privately-held Canadian underground mine development contractor RICHARD LESLIE (CHEM ’83) with operations and projects across Canada reports “40 years after and select international locations. The my first work term, company specializes in working in challenging I retired at the end of remote northern locations, often with April. The production Indigenous business partners. of oil and gas to meet [email protected] the world’s energy needs has provided me with an incredible career.” [email protected]

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 13 CHAMPIONING 1986 ALUMNI CLASS REUNION – 35-YEAR ANNIVERSARY JUNE 4-5, 2021 ERIC BOUTIN (MECH ’86) works for Tetra CONNECTIONS Tech as a senior mechanical engineer on the most interesting mining project going: 26 pieces of hoisting equipment YURI QUINTANA and four shafts with state-of-the-art sinking equipment. BASc ’88, ELECTRICAL; [email protected] MASc ’90, SYSTEMS DESIGN; JACQUELINE WHITE (CIVIL ’86) owns PhD ’95, SYSTEMS DESIGN Raindrop Gardening, a landscaping business in Toronto. After 31 years Twenty-five years after at the City of Toronto, Jacqueline circumstance bumped went back to school to earn her him onto a different college diploma. Now, she’s path, Quintana is still designing gardens, planting flowers, and loving every minute of it! roaring down it as a [email protected] professor at Harvard Medical School and 1987 chief of clinical informatics at one of its NICK COLUCCI (CIVIL ’87) is working at teaching hospitals. the Town of Erin as the director of infrastructure services. He also With a freshly minted volunteers with Professional doctorate from Waterloo in hand, Engineers Ontario, the Municipal Engineers Association and the Quintana landed his first faculty job at Western Ontario Public Works Association. In his spare time, University to develop internet search engines. he enjoys cycling, hiking and trail running. [email protected] But when his boss was diagnosed with breast cancer and asked him to investigate how SUSAN MOOTE (NEE HAUSFELD) (MECH ’87) retired from Daimler Trucks in technology could help her manage the disease, 2018 where she was director of IT it led to a string of increasingly responsible operations for North America. positions in the healthcare field. She’s now pursuing the dream of travel and riding anything with “Each time I think I’m only going to do this for two wheels. When home, she’s in Vancouver, WA. a few years,” Quintana says, “but the ability to [email protected] have social and human impacts has been so KEITH TYNDALL (SD ’87) and Beverley are moving to rewarding I keep expanding my work.” Hawkestone, ON, following the graduation of their twins from UW this year! Keith plans to do some The son of Waterloo Engineering professor consulting and Bev some supply teaching, but mostly emeritus Victor Quintana and father of computer they plan to enjoy life. engineering student Nicolas, he is also an [email protected] enthusiastic champion of his alma mater. LARRY WOOLNER (MECH ’87) has been the general manager at Shaw Almex Quintana is a global ambassador for the and Stanley Boats, both in Parry University, and launched a Boston-area Sound, Ontario. He has started group to bring engineering alumni together Diamond Waters Sailing (www. diamondwaters.ca), teaching keel and mentor co-op students. boat cruising on beautiful Georgian Bay. “I’m so proud of the evolution of Waterloo [email protected] and I hope more alumni connect with each other because it’s such a great community of innovators,” Quintana says.

[email protected] 14 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni MATT MANUEL (SD ’93) works at Microsoft 1988 1990 Vancouver as a principal group program manager in the Office Media Group. TOM LEE (SD ’88) was recently inducted into CLASS REUNION – 30-YEAR ANNIVERSARY He remarried in June 2019. the Canadian Academy of Engineering and JUNE 4-5, 2021 [email protected] honoured by China’s Tsinghua University as Honorary Distinguished Visiting Professor. WILLIAM CHIANG (COMP ’90) CRAIG MCQUEEN (SD ’93) is vice president of Both were in recognition of his work in owns two businesses in innovation at Softchoice. Softchoice helps new methods of engineering education in Asia -- one offers VR companies across North America with the advanced robotics and mechatronics. His solution for health adoption of technology to improve their spare time is spent developing a sustainable, industry and the other businesses. He and his wife, Sophie McQueen off-grid home near Owen Sound. one manufactures (Chem ’93), live in Oakville and their three www.linkedin.com/in/tom-lee-8480111/ industrial ceramics. He is now seeking kids are starting to spread across Canada. academic co-operations and funding [email protected] LYNNE PATENAUDE (MECH ’88) possibilities on the VR project. says “I’m retiring this [email protected] JASBA SIMPSON (SD ’93, ’94) summer after 30 amazing has been splitting his time years working at SEAN MAW (SD ’90) is the University of between Canada and Environment and Climate Saskatchewan’s Huff Chair in Innovative Curacao, his second home, Change Canada, mainly Teaching. He was recently awarded the 2020 while remotely advising on policy and regulations to reduce air Provost’s College Teaching Award and is the corporations on digital pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from PI for Saskatchewan’s Cubesat program, a transformation and doing volunteer work. industry. I’m planning on bike touring and space mission. Jasba is enjoying a welcomed change of other travel.” [email protected] pace after retiring from a career as a chief [email protected] KEN MCQUARRIE (MSCI ’90) information officer. Get in touch with Jasba for some SCUBA diving and mountain LISA RAPOPORT (ARCH ’88) retired in September biking in Curacao. reports that “the Town of 2019. After graduation, [email protected] Newmarket, ON, has Ken worked with selected PLANT Architect Accenture (fka Andersen for the Concept Master Consulting) in Canada 1994 Plan to repurpose Sir and the USA. He is currently living in William Mulock’s former home and Littleton, Colorado, with his wonderful MARCELO S. ALENCAR (ELECT ’94) just started transform the 4.6-ha Mulock Estate into wife of 30 years, Diana. working at CIMATEC, Salvador, Brazil, signature park space. PLANT’s three [email protected] after retiring from the Federal University co-founders, myself, Chris Pommer (Arch of Campina Grande, and publishing his 25th ’88), and Mary Tremain (Arch ’86) are 1991 book, Music Science (River Publishers, Delft, Waterloo Architecture alumni.” The Netherlands). Marcelo has a grandson, [email protected] CLASS REUNION – 30-YEAR ANNIVERSARY Vicente, and a granddaughter, Cora, who live in France. TAMARA WILSON (CHEM ’88, ’94) JUNE 4-5, 2021 has retired and volunteers MARK ROSS (COMP ’94) as VP for the Bruce Trail 1992 became president and Peninsula Section. Along CEO at SEH Computer with husband Tim (Physics DOUG MACINTOSH (ELECT ’92) continues to sell Systems in July 2019. ’84), they are both trail enterprise communication solutions, most Previously, he was captains for the area around Devil’s recently at Rogers. He’s very proud of his director of business Monument. Tamara and Tim work with local daughter Sarah who is in systems design process automation and application Indigenous leaders promoting STEM for engineering at Waterloo, focusing on UX/CX. development at Sun Life Financial. Indigenous Youth. Tamara and Tim built [email protected] and live in an eco-home on Cape Chin, 1993 overlooking beautiful Georgian Bay. 1995 Contact Tamara through social media. ALI KHAMSI (CIVIL ’93) has been with KPFF CLASS REUNION – 25-YEAR ANNIVERSARY 1989 Consulting Engineers JUNE 4-5, 2021 for over 21 years. He is TREVOR STEWART (CIVIL ’95) has been appointed BRUCE TAYLOR (CHEM ’89) announces that Enviro- currently the managing as chief building and planning officer for Stewards, founded by him, is celebrating principal for KPFF Civil the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. its 20th anniversary this year. It is the only Engineering Division in Irvine, California. [email protected] Canadian company to receive a Global The type of work Ali is currently involved SDG award and recipient of B lab’s Best with is primarily land development projects for the World award. serving both public and private clients. [email protected] [email protected]

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 15 ADVOCATING 1996 FOR WOMEN CLASS REUNION – 25-YEAR ANNIVERSARY JUNE 4-5, 2021 FRANK BABIC (CIVIL ’96) is an Acoustic Practice Lead for KIM JONES Stantec and continuing his passion for working in acoustics, noise and vibration. He is married with two BASc ’95, CHEMICAL beautiful boys who keep him busy. He also continues to be involved in music with his project High Park The horrific massacre Society (www.high-park-society.com). [email protected] of 14 women at École Polytechnique in JON EVANS (ELECT ’96) is directing a GitHub program to secure the Montreal in 1989 was world’s open-source software for the deciding factor for future generations, including a Jones choosing to 1,000-year archive beneath an study engineering Arctic mountain in Svalbard rather than science for (archiveprogram.github.com). He reports he is also still a CTO, a novelist and a journalist (rezendi.com). her undergrad degree. [email protected] She wanted to prove women deserve a place in engineering 1997 because, in her words, “they are STAN ALI (CIVIL ’97) has been working as a senior civil every bit as smart and capable as any man.” engineer at Contra Costa Water District in California since November 2018. Previously, he was an associate During her time at Waterloo, part of which she civil engineer at East Bay Municipal Utility District, served as VP External for the Engineering also in California. Society, Jones was a passionate advocate [email protected] for diversity and inclusion in engineering. SHALIGRAM POKHAREL (SD ’97) is a professor in Industrial and Systems After completing her Waterloo degree and Design Engineering at Qatar graduating with a master’s in biology from University, one of the prominent University of Guelph and doctorate in universities in the Middle East. biomedical engineering from University of Prior to this, he worked at the Toronto, she joined McMaster University School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, another as a chemical engineering professor. prominent university. He has also worked as an energy planner with the Government of Nepal and as a A strong role model and inclusion advocate, production engineer with the Mechanical Engineering she became chair of the Ontario Network of factory, a Swiss-assisted technical industry in Nepal. Women in Engineering (ONWiE) two years ago, [email protected] succeeding Mary Wells, Waterloo’s new dean of engineering. 1998

Her focus is to inspire young women to TOM NAGY (ELECT ’98) co-owns consider engineering as a profession and ProVisionIP, a patent and IP discover how many possibilities there are management and strategy firm, with clients ranging from the for an engineer to change the world. smallest Canadian startups to the Jones encourages other Waterloo female largest international organizations. [email protected] alumni to share their stories by becoming ONWiE ambassadors. CARMEN WONG (ELECT ’98) recently completed her PhD in business “We’d love to highlight their amazing at the University of Notre Dame accomplishments through social media,” Australia. As part of the Boral Australia’s Project Management she says. Office, she continues to sell rocks (construction materials) required in mega www.onwie.ca infrastructure projects. [email protected]

16 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni 1999 2004 2008

ARJUN MOORTHY (COMP ’99) BRYAN BELL-SMITH (COMP ’04) PEIHAO JIN (MSCI ’08) has launched The Factual, has been working as a worked as director of which rates the credibility director of development development at Precima, of news using a machine- at RBC since May 2016. a Nielsen Company, since learning engine. The Previously, he was an June 2011. Previously, she Factual’s daily newsletter architect at BlackBerry. was a reporting specialist curates the best stories across the political [email protected] at BlackBerry Limited. spectrum on trending topics. LEANNE WHITELEY-LAGACE (CIVIL ’04) was awarded [email protected] [email protected] an Engineers Canada Fellowship for her HANIF POOYA (COMP ’08) is a global account service with the PEO Niagara Chapter over director at SAP, managing partners and a 2000 the past decade. team of sales reps selling software and digital transformation to companies in the gold/ CLASS REUNION – 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY 2005 mining, manufacturing, utility, healthcare JUNE 4-5, 2021 and cannabis industries. CLASS REUNION – 15-YEAR ANNIVERSARY [email protected] 2001 JUNE 4-5, 2021 PETER SZABO (SD ’08) has been a systems engineer RENE CHUNG (CHEM ’05) has at MDA since 2016 and is the systems team CLASS REUNION – 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY been working as a lead for payloads handled by the Canadarm2 JUNE 4-5, 2021 headhunter for the past and Dextre robotic arms on the ISS. Before 15 years. Based in that, he did his PhD in aerospace science and MARCO ANTONIADES (ELECT ’01) is London and jet-setting engineering at the University of Toronto. the director of the all over the world, she is [email protected] Microwaves and Antennas now a partner of Adamson & Partners, an Laboratory, and an executive search firm operating exclusively 2009 assistant professor in the in Intellectual Property on a global basis. Department of Electrical, [email protected] BAREND DRONKERS (MTRON ’09) has been helping Computer and Biomedical Engineering at businesses and homeowners invest in Ryerson University in Toronto. energy efficiency and renewables at Energy [email protected] 2006 Efficiency Alberta since 2017. Previously, LEILI CHEPELKEVITCH (ENVIRO, CIVIL ’01) has been CLASS REUNION – 15-YEAR ANNIVERSARY he was an analyst at the Pembina Institute working as a hydrogeologist at several Calgary- JUNE 4-5, 2021 and an energy transition researcher. based environmental engineering firms since linkedin.com/in/bpdronkers/ May 2001. Currently, she is an air emissions KHALED AL SABAWI (COMP ’06) specialist at Paramount Resources Ltd. was awarded the Young 2010 [email protected] Alumni Achievement Medal by the University CLASS REUNION – 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY KIRAN KONANUR (COMP ’01) is a of Waterloo in 2016. He JUNE 4-5, 2021 managing director and leads Open Screenplay, partner at the Boston CHRIS BEST (SD ’10) a tech business in Toronto, and UCI/TABO, Consulting Group. is working on his new a social impact real estate investment kirankonanur@ company, Substack. business in Palestine. gmail.com [email protected] 2002 2007 ALIM KHAMISA (MBET ’10) PHIL ZOLDAK (MECH ’02) recently started a position recently joined the ALEX CICUTTINI (GEO ’07) has been a Shell as the manager of engine development and innovation and emerging employee since 2007. He moved to testing operations for Hyundai America technology team at the Oman LNG in 2017 and was promoted Technical Center Inc., where he is the Ontario Teachers’ Pension to construction manager of Power Project principal investigator for the development Plan, where he’s exploring in January 2019. This project is a 180 of the next-generation advanced gasoline blockchain, RPA, ML, and NLP use cases MW gas-engine-driven power plant with compression ignition engine (GCI). He is in asset management. He also teaches in completion scheduled for Q2 2021. also nearing completion of his PhD studies George Brown College’s Blockchain at Michigan Technological University in Development Program. Mechanical Engineering with a focus on [email protected] combustion and fuel Injection. [email protected]

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 17 SARA SALARI (MSCI ’10) 2012 SONJA VANGJELI (ARCH ’13) is a successfully obtained her planning and design project manager at Waterfront PEng in 2013 and started RAHIL ALY JIVANI (MTRON ’12) Toronto, where she oversees seeking her first managerial has worked as an design and implementation role. She moved from industrial automation of public realm projects, UHN, where she spent consultant for Fortune improving connectivity to Lake Ontario. The approximately eight years of her career, to 500 companies since waterfront has been on her mind since her Grand River Hospital, where she started her graduating from UW. Waterloo architecture days, so she describes first managerial role in biomedical He graduated with an MBA from IESE this work as a real pleasure. engineering. From there, she moved to Business School this May and plans to join [email protected] Trillium Health Partners as a corporate a tech startup. manager. She then moved to Olympus Canada, [email protected] where she learned more about managing a 2014 quality assurance team. She is now provincial ALJOSA KRAJISNIK (MECH ’12) director at the Nova Scotia Health Authority says “when I turned 30 REHANA RAJWANI (MGMT ’14) for biomedical engineering. this year, I started a new is an executive coaching [email protected] career in Florida at the and agile consultant. largest healthcare She is also the captain 2011 manufacturing solutions of a women’s cricket provider after seven years of employment team in Toronto. by American Automakers.” [email protected] CLASS REUNION – 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY [email protected] JUNE 4-5, 2021 DAVID NGUYEN (MECH ’12) became engaged to 2015 SUNDEEP KHANDPUR (SWE ’11) Brandy Alexander and has become fully has been an engineering vegan. They aspire to make a positive CLASS REUNION – 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY manager at Google since impact on the community through JUNE 4-5, 2021 August 2011. His team continuing their guided meditation recently published a sessions and young adult outreach RAKAN ELSHERBINY (MMSC ’15) research paper that was program. is a manager at Deloitte presented at the IEEE/ACM International and has been working as Conference. ARTHUR YIP (CHEM ’12) just a strategic sourcing and [email protected] started a new job at procurement solutions NREL after completing advisor. He is now ANNE MA (ARCH ’11) has been an integral member his PhD in engineering based in London, UK. of the architectural team at Hariri Pontarini and public policy. He [email protected] Architects for the new Tom Patterson Theatre also reports just having at the Stratford Festival. a chance reunion with Yuree and Isaac in SUNG HONG (SD ’15) has been a senior product [email protected] Ottawa. manager at Udemy, one of the leading global online learning marketplaces, based in San JONGMU OH (ELECT ’11) is [email protected] Francisco, since 2017. Previously, he was a working as an analytics product manager at Groupon based in its manager at Canada Post 2013 Palo Alto office. helping teams find actional insights to help Canadians BRANDON VAN ASSELDONK STEPHANE LEE (COMP ’15) receive shipments on time. (MECH ’13) previously says he is “still writing [email protected] worked at Apple Inc. in software for hardware in a hoodie.” JEFF PEACOCK (MTRON ’11) has worked as a senior California as a supply [email protected] product owner at National Instruments since base engineer and has 2011. He is based in Toronto. since returned to SANDY MAGUIRE (SWE ’15) has published a book on [email protected] Canada and completed medical school at the University of Toronto. He is two years type-level programming, and is now writing into a five-year vascular surgery residency one about designing elegant software via in Toronto. algebraic manipulation. [email protected] [email protected] MICHAEL PAN (CHEM ’15) has been an energy consultant at Guidehouse in Boston since 2019. Previously, he worked at Shell in Edmonton and earned a master of science in chemical engineering at MIT. [email protected]

18 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni 2016 WARRIOR CLASS REUNION – 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY JUNE 4-5, 2021 GEORGIOS BALOMENOS (CIVIL ’16) has been an assistant HOOP professor since September 2018 with the Department of Civil Engineering at DREAMS McMaster University in Hamilton. Previously, he was the Shell Center for Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellow at Rice University in Houston, Texas. TROY STEVENSON [email protected] JACK FORBES (MGMT ’16) reports BASc ’15, CHEMICAL that “my FYDP/capstone project that I presented as The new head coach of the Waterloo Warriors PadPiper four years ago basketball program has been passionate about has evolved into Kopa.co! all things basketball since he was a toddler. We are a fully remote, YC-backed company that has now helped The youngest of five, Stevenson spent years over 5,000 co-op students find housing and watching his siblings play high school basketball. housemates.” [email protected] “I was the half-time show – the chubby little APURVA NARAYAN (SD ’16) has guy running around trying to shoot baskets,” been an assistant professor he laughs. at the University of British Columbia since 2018. Stevenson took to the court himself as a high He works in the area school student and then as a Waterloo Warrior. of making AI-based Although his sights were set on a professional autonomous systems safe. He also holds an appointment in systems design engineering basketball career, he quit Waterloo’s team at the University of Waterloo. after three seasons to focus on school. [email protected] Shortly after hanging up his jersey, Stevenson PARMINDER SAGGU (NANO ’16) says “I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages was hired as an assistant for McMaster hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, University’s basketball program, a role he and I – I took the one less traveled by, held while finishing his degree. And that has made all the difference. – Robert Frost” When McMaster’s lead assistant, Justin Gunter, [email protected] became head coach of Waterloo’s basketball KRISTANTO TANUSDJAJA program in 2015, Stevenson moved with him. After (CHEM ’16) has been an Gunter left for a financial role at McMaster last environmental specialist year, Stevenson was named interim coach of the at Tremco Canada, Warriors, a position that is now permanent. a division of RPM International, since Although COVID-19 sidelined his team members, 2020. Previously, he was a nuclear Stevenson expects they will return to action in operator for Bruce Power. [email protected] early 2021 putting into motion new skills and game plays learned remotely. MINGXIN (MICHAEL) WU (SWE ’16) is working as a software engineer at Google in the One of Stevenson’s main goals is to have a San Francisco Bay Area. nationally recognized basketball program.

“I don’t see the value in not aiming high,” he says.

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 19 EARNING 2017

FATIMA AWAN (CHEM ’17) says that “after MORE having lived and worked in New York City for the past 1.5 years, I moved back to Kitchener and officially launched my own tech THAN A company, Finiite, in January. We’re developing a facial recognition platform that drives product recommendations based on predictive AI/computer vision models.” DEGREE [email protected] SALMAN LADHA (MBET ’17) is a product marketing manager at Miovision, MARIKO SHIMODA where he acts as a linchpin between the go-to-market and technical side of the business BASc ’20, MECHANICAL for its analytics solutions. [email protected] Shimoda graduated from mechanical engineering this year with a full-time job with MOHAMMED RIDWANUL ISLAM (ELECT ’17) Clearpath Robotics, her last co-op employer, has been a product manager at Dessa (a startup recently acquired along with invaluable volunteer experience by Square Inc.) since mid-2019. gained over the past five years. Previously, he was a data platform engineer at Shopify Inc., an Passionate about giving back, Shimoda racked e-commerce company based out of Toronto. up an impressive list of extracurricular roles in [email protected] the community and on campus including co-op PAOLA RUSSO (MECH ’17) received her and experiential affairs commissioner with the PhD in mechanical engineering’s Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, nanotechnology program in 2017, and first-year commissioner, vice-president of and continued to work at UW as a post-doc in the MSAM group. In student life and president of the Engineering July 2019, she started working as Society (EngSoc). an applications scientist at Angstrom Engineering, a company in Kitchener that custom-builds physical Committed to the well-being of her fellow vapour deposition systems and coating equipment. students, she ran several mental health Her work focuses on coating development. initiatives, wrote a mental health blog and [email protected] developed a mental health resource guide for students located on EngSoc’s website. 2018

She was also the external director for the PAULO DE CARVALHO (MSCI ’18) is University’s Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, continuing his studies to earn a Solidarity and Equity (RAISE) group. PhD in management sciences at the University of Waterloo. “It’s a student-run group that is more important He has been working on the application of blockchain than ever right now and deserves recognition technology in supply chain network design. for its hard work,” she says. [email protected] Last fall, Shimoda received one of two BARAA HAMODI (MTRON ’18) works on Community Leader Awards through the the misinformation team at Facebook tackling President’s Community Impact Awards initiative. the spread of viral fake news “I think if you can give back, it’s great because across the world. With the rise of coronavirus and the 2020 you become more connected to the people US presidential election, he says misinformation living in your city,” she says. is at an all-time high. [email protected]

20 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni SHEHRYAR KHAN (MECH ’18) has continued on at the University of Waterloo as a PhD student working in the field of laser welding of advanced high-strength steels for automotive applications. He urges people to reach out to him if they are looking to collaborate on a research project in a similar field. [email protected] 2019

MOSTAFA ALIZADEH (ELECT ’19) is a research associate in the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) group under the supervision IN MEMORIAM of professor Safieddin Safavi-Naeini. [email protected] NANA BEDIAKO (MSCI ’19) has been a senior The Faculty of Engineering expresses finance business manager for Coca- deepest sympathy to the family and Cola Canada Bottling Ltd. since completing his master’s degree in friends of the following graduates management sciences last year. who have passed away: He’s currently earning his CPA designation from the CPA Western School of Business. Alan Armstrong (SD ’94) [email protected] Duane Baker (Chem ’95, Mech ’97) KEMBA HUGHES (MECH ’19) is the project manager/lead engineer Thomas Brzustowski (DENG ’97) with a mechanical subcontracting company, and a Mojgan Daneshmand (ECE ’06) partner in a design and management startup. She is also Awn Duqoum (Mton ’19) very involved with youth and education on her island. Harry Durham (Mech ’70) KRISTOFF MALEJCZUK (NANO ’19) is a camera hardware engineer at Apple. In Ralph Haas (Civil ’68) January 2020, he converted his John Hodgson (SD ’95) graduate internship to a full-time Zachary Jacobi (Nano ’15) position, forgoing the pursuit of graduate education upon realizing Timothy Jewell (Elect ’88) that none of his heroes have degrees. Kevin Keats (Mech ’66) [email protected] Wayne Louie (Elect ’65) ANKUSH MALHOTRA (MSCI ’19) has been a Douglas Mair (Elect ’67) data scientist at BDO Canada LLP Stephan Matusch (SD ’91) since May 2019. He specializes in developing state-of-the-art prediction, George Roberts (Chem ’79) time-series and text-classification James Stasiuk (Civil ’66) models for clients enveloping Ronald Stoltz (Civil ’63) industries such as automobile, finance and insurance. Gerald Thomas (Elect ’70) [email protected] David (Bowen) Tritter (Elect ’77) BIANCA WEEKO MARTIN (ARCH ’19) is a designer and publications manager Christopher Van Gerwen (Civil ’89) with Philip Beesley, and is writing David White (Mech ’72) a book on Modern Manila Scott Wilson (Chem ’89) architecture with DOM Publishers. Douglas Wright (LLD ’95) [email protected] David Zakutin (Mech ’96) SHERMAN YING (COMP ’19) has started a software engineering position at Google Cloud Canada. Haixia (Heather) Zhang (Chem ’01) [email protected]

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 21 GREETINGS ALUMNI

As the world adjusts to the pandemic and various stages of the “new normal,” so does Waterloo Engineering.

In March, when much of the world went into lockdown, Waterloo Engineering quickly moved to delivering 100 per cent of our courses online to follow Canadian public safety guidelines. It was inspiring to see the effective collaboration from everyone – students, faculty members and staff – to make this online pivot so successful.

Our co-op employers were equally adaptive. In the Spring Term, many continued to hire our co-op students for remote work terms. JOIN THE GLOBAL NETWORK In June, we saw our 50,000th student graduate from Waterloo Engineering in a virtual ceremony. Then, on July 1, Mary Wells began her term as our ninth dean of the Faculty. She returned to the University We’ve made networking and connecting with an extraordinary depth of leadership experience in academia and with Waterloo Engineering alumni and industry, which perfectly positions Waterloo for the next five years. students easy to do with the Ten Thousand Coffees platform. This online EMBRACING CHANGE IN A TRANSFORMED WORLD networking service (free to users) is a University of Waterloo alumni-founded Illustrated by talented architecture graduate Julia Nakanishi, our cover company and offers a personal feature highlights some of the lessons learned during the pandemic that approach to alumni networking. have the potential to make our world a better place as we move forward. All researchers and alumni in this story are embracing change and The concept is that once a month you opportunity in a transformed society. are introduced to other engineering alumni or students (no matter the year If you find yourself on campus after we reopen to visitors, please let of graduation) for a virtual or real-life me know. I’d be happy to buy you a cup of coffee at the C&D and coffee in the future and see where give you a tour of the newest buildings on campus. In the meantime, that conversation takes you. It you can always follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. might be discovering a new career opportunity, a new idea, a new Sincerely, employee or finding old friends.

Join for free at: uwaterloo.ca/ engineering/waterloo-engineering- global-alumni-network GOSIA BRESTOVACKI [email protected] Senior Alumni Officer, Faculty of Engineering Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/gosiabrestovacki P.S. If you have a story suggestion for a future issue of WEAL or eWEAL, please send it to me. Some of our best stories come from your ideas.

22 | engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni UPCOMING FOR THE LATEST WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI EVENTS AND REGISTRATION DETAILS VISIT: EVENTS uwaterloo.ca/engineering/alumni

NOVEMBER 24, 2020 JUNE 4 AND 5, 2021 Alumni Speaker Series Waterloo Engineering Class Reunions in 2021 1:O0 P.M. / ONLINE ALL DAY / UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO, WATERLOO, ON RISE OF THE ROBOTS IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD Due to the cancellation of an in-person Reunion in 2020 because Discover the important role robots will play in the of the pandemic, the Waterloo Engineering Class Reunion in 2021 future. Speakers include Kerstin Dautenhahn, Canada is scheduled to welcome two cohorts of classes! 150 Research Chair in Intelligent Robotics, and alumni Joel Blit, a Waterloo economics professor, and Pablo Feel like you’re a student once again by attending a lecture from Molina, co-founder and chairman of Avidbots. the Back-to-the-Classroom lecture series or the Dean’s Reunion Lecture. Explore campus by attending the Open House in the Engineering 7 building and take a student-led tour featuring JANUARY 22, 2021 cutting-edge labs. Then, celebrate the anniversary of your graduation from Waterloo Engineering in style with a special Waterloo Engineering Alumni Ski Day Reunion Marché-style Dinner Party taking place in the evening. 8:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. OSLER BLUFF SKI CLUB, TOWN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS THIS YEAR’S REUNIONS INCLUDE: (NEAR COLLINGWOOD), ON 60-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1960 and 1961 Join your University of Waterloo classmates at this 55-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1965 and 1966 breathtaking private ski resort to ski and snowboard 50-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1970 and 1971 for the day. Snowshoeing trails are also available. 45-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1975 and 1976 40-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1980 and 1981 Register for MARCH 10-26, 2021 35-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1985 and 1986 reunion events at: 30-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1990 and 1991 uwaterloo.ca/ Waterloo Engineering Capstone 25-Year Reunion for the Classes of 1995 and 1996 engineering/ 20-Year Reunion for the Classes of 2000 and 2001 alumni/reunions Design Symposia 15-Year Reunion for the Classes of 2005 and 2006 ALL DAY, VARIOUS TIMES 10-Year Reunion for the Classes of 2010 and 2011 UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO, WATERLOO, ON 5-Year Reunion for the Classes of 2015 and 2016 You’re invited back to campus to check out a showcase of Waterloo Engineering student innovation. Each undergraduate program presents its projects on a different day.

JUNE 4 AND 5, 2021 REUNION Volunteer to be a Reunion Class Rep for CLASS REPS Department of Management Sciences your upcoming class reunion and be part WANTED 50th Anniversary Celebration of the action! Register today by emailing ALL DAY / UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO, WATERLOO, ON [email protected] or calling You’re invited to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Gosia Brestovacki, senior alumni officer, at Management Sciences! There are various activities 519-888-4567, ext. 46838. taking place on both days to help you to mark the department’s milestone.

WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER 2020 | 23 BRINGING RENEWABLE ENERGY TO NUNAVUT

Martha Lenio’s eclectic career “I work on two levels – one is providing policy has included working as a advice to government about what kind of photovoltaic process engineer, programs they need to put in place to an entrepreneur, a fake make renewable energy and energy astronaut (and a potential transition a viable option,” she real one) and her current explains. “The other is working role as an Arctic renewable with residents to help them energy specialist. determine what solutions will be best for their communities.” The 2004 Waterloo mechanical engineering graduate, who went on to Launching training programs complete a doctorate in Lenio loves the small-town atmosphere photovoltaic engineering at the of Iqaluit, where she is a member of the University of New South Wales in local utility board and co-founder of a society Australia, moved to Nunavut two years to bring green energy training programs to help ago with World Wildlife Fund (WWF)- people living there become solar installers and home Canada after working with the NGO for a energy auditors. year in Toronto. The team commander of the NASA-funded Hawaii Space “It was on my list of places I wanted to live,” Exploration Analog and Simulation mission in 2014, Lenio she says. “So, when the opportunity came was one of 23 women shortlisted three years later by the up to work in Iqaluit, I jumped on it.” Canadian Space Agency for its astronaut program. Lenio is now focused on moving Nunavut While her current working environment seems light years communities off diesel fuel and onto away from one in space, it does have at least one similarity. sustainable and less expensive forms of “Getting dressed to go outside here in the winter is kind energy, such as wind and solar energy. of like putting on a full spacesuit,” she laughs.

PUBLICATION NUMBER 40065122

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING Alumni Affairs [email protected] 200 University Ave., W. Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1 C018755 PLEASE RECYCLE RECYCLE PLEASE