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February 2008 • Number 53
WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER
An artist’s rendering
of the student
design centre.
In This Issue:
A PLACE TO CALL HOME
■ From the Dean
“ t’s a little odd to walk into the fluids lab and find the solar
car,“ says Derek Hans, project leader of the Midnight Sun
Solar Race Car Team. But the team’s current workshop isn’t
large enough to assemble the car, and the fluids lab is. This
sort of creative use of cramped quarters is common among
Waterloo Engineering’s many student design teams. ■
However that’s about to change. This year, Waterloo
Engineering will break ground on Engineering V. The new
building will be located on what is now a parking lot off
of Phillip Street, across the railway tracks from the Davis
Centre and other engineering buildings. Engineering V’s
centrepiece will be the student design centre: a twostorey space dedicated to undergraduate design, with
multiple project bays and centralized workshops. ■
Engineering V is the first of three new buildings planned
for Waterloo Engineering. When the buildings are
completed, along with expansion and renovation
projects involving existing space, we’ll have added over
400,000 square feet to the existing 800,000 square feet
I
— by far the largest physical expansion in Waterloo
Engineering history. ■ And it’s needed. As work
progresses on implementing Vision 2010, engineering’s
strategic plan, we’ve expanded our graduate studies
program and our research intensity. Both activities have
meant an increase in graduate students, faculty and
staff, which has created an urgent need for space. ■
Hans says that, for the Midnight Sun Team, a dedicated
student design centre means “dirty workspace and a lot
of it. We have to do a lot of sanding when we’re building
the wooden models that we use to make moulds for the
car. It has always been a problem for us to find a space
where we can create dust without bothering anyone, not
to mention without freezing.“ The team’s last space was
unheated. ■ Hans adds he’s looking forward to working
on the solar car in one space rather than several. “It will
be great to be able to just concentrate on building the
best vehicle we can.“
page 2
■ Rewarding
Alumni Achievement
page 3
■ Coursework Master’s Programs
Open Doors
page 4
■ Faculty News
page 6
■ The Design Power Behind
the Bow Tower
page 8
■ Motivating Employees
page 9
■ Young Entrepreneurs Choose
Waterloo Engineering
page 10
■ Alumnus Shifts Facebook
Application into High Gear
page 11
■ Civil Grads Serve
in Afghanistan
page 12
■ Class Notes
page 13
■ Upcoming Events
page 18
■ Mentoring from Experience
page 20
Dean Adel Sedra with alumni
at a Hong Kong reception.
FROM THE DEAN
ou may expect this to be
my last WEAL column;
my five-year term as
dean of Waterloo Engineering
is ending in June. ■ I came to
Waterloo in 2003, tempted
away from my long-time
academic home at the
University of Toronto by an
irresistible challenge: earning Waterloo a place among
the leading schools of engineering in North America. And
I’ve seen the entire Waterloo Engineering community
rise to that challenge. We worked hard to develop Vision
2010, a strategic plan for excellence in engineering
education and research, and are working even harder to
see that plan through. ■ It’s been a privilege serving as
dean. I’ve been energized by my time with Waterloo
Engineering students, faculty, and alumni, and I’ve
learned a lot. One of the things I’ve learned is something
you as alumni already know: Waterloo Engineering is a
hard place to leave. ■ And so, I am not leaving. I was
honoured to be asked to serve another term as dean and
pleased to agree. Although previous commitments
require me to take a year away from the position, I will
return for a second term, this one for three years,
beginning in 2009. Leo Rothenberg, the current chair of
civil and environmental engineering, will be the acting
dean during the year I am away. ■ Over the next few
Y
years, you can look for Waterloo Engineering to continue
to grow. Our undergraduate programs are already
Canada’s best and are the foundation of our reputation as
a premier engineering school. We will work to make them
even better, through lower student-to-faculty ratios and
careful attention to co-op and the Professional
Development for Engineering Students (PDEng)
program. Graduate studies continue to expand
dramatically and we are working to significantly increase
the intensity and impact of our research in our areas of
strength. ■ Of course, all of this requires more faculty
members to strengthen our undergraduate programs,
support the growth of graduate studies and expand our
research teams. ■ To accommodate all this growth,
we’re adding the space you read about in our cover story:
three new buildings dedicated to engineering, with
additions and renovations to others. ■ New faculty, new
graduate students, new research, new buildings: it’s an
exciting, dynamic time here. I think you can see why I’ve
chosen to stay.
Sincerely,
Adel S. Sedra,
Dean, Faculty of Engineering
REWARDING ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT
W
unsafe conditions may arise.
Tomlin will use part of her
MacArthur grant money to
study genetic biology. ■
Last year was the first time
both Waterloo Engineering’s
Team Alumni Achievement
Medal and Friend of the
Faculty Award were
presented. ■ The team
medal was awarded to Camp
15’s eight active members who are all engineering
alumni living in the Waterloo area. Maintaining the
traditions of the iron ring, the symbol of Canadian
engineers, Camp 15 representatives conduct the annual
ceremony at which graduating engineers receive their
rings. They also attend Waterloo Engineering reunions to
provide replacement rings and recently raised more than
$50,000 for the Iron Ring Endowment Fund. ■ The
Friend of the Faculty Award was presented to Research in
Motion. Founded by Mike Lazaridis when he was a
Waterloo Engineering undergraduate, RIM has
maintained a strong relationship with the University of
Waterloo, employing hundreds of alumni over the years.
In the past three years alone,
RIM has hired more than
1,000 co-op students. The
company has also been a
good friend of Waterloo’s
student teams – RIM has
sponsored a number of
vehicle projects including UW
Alternative Fuels, Formula
SAE Race Car, Waterloo OffRoad Mini Baja and Midnight
Sun Solar Race Car.
The nomination deadline for the 2008
Engineering Alumni Achievement medal is
April 30, 2008. Details and nomination forms
can be found at
www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni/medals.
Members of Camp 15
3
Representatives of RIM
Photos by
David McCammon
UW WEAL February 2008
hat do a risk-management expert, a protector of
Canada’s natural resources, a genius, a camp of iron
ring wardens and the industry leader in wireless
communications have in common? They were all recipients of
the 2007 Engineering Alumni Achievement Medal, joining 41
others who have been recognized since the first medal was
presented in 1994. ■ Ron Dembo (PhD ’75, MSci) is a risk
taker – and a successful one at that.
After an academic career that
included professorships at Yale, MIT
and the University of Toronto, he
founded Algorithmics Incorporated
in 1989. Prior to being sold to the
Fitch Group, the company was the
largest risk-management software company in the
world. In 2005 Dembo started using his risk
management skills in a different way — he founded
Zerofootprint Inc., which serves businesses and
consumers who want to reduce their impact on the
environment. ■ Ensuring Canada’s natural resources
remain for future generations has become second nature
to Donald Noakes (MASc ’79 and PhD ’85, SD). He worked
his way up from a research scientist with the federal
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, eventually
becoming director of the
aquaculture division and playing a
key role in developing a sustainable
aquaculture industry in Canada.
Today, as dean of the School of
Advanced Technologies and
Mathematics at Thompson Rivers
University, Noakes is a leading researcher in water
resources and aquaculture. ■ Claire Tomlin’s high-flying
career received a boost last year when she received one
of the world’s most prestigious fellowships: the
MacArthur Award, popularly known as the genius grant.
Tomlin (BASc ’92, Elect) is an
aviation researcher and academic
who teaches at both Berkeley and
Stanford. She studies hybrid
control systems for aircraft flight
control and collision avoidance
and has developed practical
solutions for determining when
Christina Wasilishin at an
on-campus lecture.
4
COURSEWORK MASTER’S
PROGRAMS OPEN DOORS
he one consistent thing about engineering is that nothing
stays the same. ■ Christina Wasilishin knows that’s
true. In part, it’s why she chose to enrol in the new
Master of Engineering program in mechanical and
mechatronics engineering with a specialization in fire
safety. The program was exactly what Wasilishin was
looking for to enhance her career: she’s a civil engineer
whose job is to inspect the factories and facilities of
companies seeking insurance and to evaluate the risk of
fire. ■ As skills and technology change, graduate
education becomes a vital tool for helping engineers and
other professionals keep pace. Waterloo Engineering’s
master’s programs allow engineers to do just that. While
traditional master’s degrees centre on independent
T
research and end in a thesis, coursework master’s
programs are an intensive, advanced, specialized
education structured around classroom work. Students
are drawn to these programs by their speed and
flexibility: most can be completed in a single year and
many are available through part-time study. ■ Waterloo
recently retooled its coursework engineering master’s
programs to give students even greater opportunities to
tailor their education. These specialized MEng degrees in
strategic fields like green energy and software
engineering attract a wide variety of students, from new
graduates looking to get ahead quickly to experienced
engineers interested in switching tracks or upgrading
their skills. ■ Although she’s only started the program,
Wasilishin is already putting what she’s learned to use.
“The first course I took was on fire testing standards,“
she says. “These are referenced in material that I review
This degree will give me more
confidence and will help me do
my job better.
in my job and it helps a lot to understand them in some
depth. This degree will give me more confidence and will
help me do my job better.“ ■ The deciding factor for
Wasilishin was the format in which the courses are
offered. The part-time student spends one week every
couple of months attending on-site lectures. “The rest is
online,“ she says. “I can pace myself and work at my
own speed – mainly after my kids go to bed.“ ■
Coursework master’s programs also benefit engineers
Dan Donovan graduated from Waterloo with a BASc in computer engineering and
landed a job as a machine control and robotics specialist. He liked it – but something
else was at the back of his mind.
“Starting a company really appealed to me. And I thought I should do it now, before
children and a mortgage came along.“
So Donovan enrolled in Waterloo’s Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and
Technology (MBET) program. “I learned a lot in a short time,“ says Donovan. “MBET
took me from ‘Hey, I think I might want to start a company’ to having the knowledge
and tools to actually do it.“
Donovan’s company, HealthSpoke, provides web-based business management software to chiropractors, massage
therapists, nutritionists and other health professionals. The software is designed to help them manage their
business and offer clients online appointment booking and progress tracking.
At the moment, HealthSpoke is a one-person operation and Donovan is very busy. But it’s worth it, he says. “The
best part is the challenge. You have a big goal and it feels so good when you achieve it.“
with international degrees. One such student is Attaullah
Khan who holds an engineering degree in civil
engineering earned in Pakistan. His credentials are
recognized in Canada but like many engineers trained
abroad he found the job market here tough to crack
without Canadian experience. After years of
disappointing jobs, he decided to take a Waterloo MEng
in civil engineering, graduating in 2007. “I had the
Each course in itself provided a
nice balance of breadth and depth
of knowledge.
opportunity to choose from a rich variety of courses,“
Khan says, “and each course in itself provided a nice
balance of breadth and depth of knowledge.“ ■ And the
payoff: an engineering position with Ontario’s Ministry of
Transportation. “After eight long years of struggling to
support my family in Canada, I finally have a job that is
professionally satisfying and rewarding.“
5
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.ENGINEERING.UWATERLOO.CA/GRADUATE.
• Advanced Design and
Manufacturing
• Business, Entrepreneurship
and Technology
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electric Power Engineering
• Electrical and Computer
Engineering
• Management of Technology
• Management Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Software Engineering
• Systems Design Engineering
Specializations are offered in:
• Infrastructure Systems
(Civil and Environmental Engineering)
• Computer Networking and Security
(Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Software Engineering
(Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Sustainable Energy
(Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Management Engineering
(Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Design
(Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering)
• Fire Safety
(Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering)
• Green Energy
(Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering)
UW WEAL February 2008
Waterloo Engineering offers graduate
coursework degrees in:
Student Team Work Praised by
Industry Minister
Waterloo Engineering’s
winning Concrete
Toboggan Team.
Photo courtesy of GNCTR.
6
FACULTY NEWS
Teamwork Cements Concrete Toboggan Win
They chalked up firsts for the best technical report, the
best technical exhibit and even the best attire both on
and off the hill. ■ But it was working together as a team
that Waterloo's concrete toboggan members credit for
placing first out of 24 universities in the 2008 Great
Northern Concrete Toboggan Race held January 30 to
February 2 at the Université de Sherbrooke. "We were all
together working as one," said Mike Sidiropoulos, the
construction manager for the 24-member team. ■
Called Waterloo911, Waterloo's winning entry was a
fourth-year civil engineering design project. One of the
unique features of the 288-pound toboggan was its
reinforcement system developed by three Waterloo civil
and environmental engineering professors to prevent the
concrete from cracking.
Recognizing Outstanding Performance
Last fall’s annual Faculty of Engineering dinner
recognized both faculty and staff for outstanding
performance. Terri Meyer Boake of architecture,
Ray Legge of chemical engineering and Wayne Brodland
of civil and environmental engineering received the 2007
teaching excellence awards. And two staff members were
honoured with the faculty’s inaugural outstanding staff
performance awards: Ken Bowman, a technician in civil
and environmental engineering and Jeff Lederer, the
general manager of the School of Architecture.
Promising research was the reason given by Jim Prentice
for making the University of Waterloo his first postsecondary stop since becoming the new federal industry
minister in August 2007. During a visit last September to
the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research (WatCAR),
Prentice said the work being done by the university’s
Alternative Fuels Team is critical in providing new
economic opportunities for the troubled auto industry.
He was able to appreciate the team’s accomplishments
first-hand: after having
an under-the-hood look
at the team’s hydrogenpowered Chevrolet
Equinox he took the
vehicle for a short
test drive.
Photo by Chris Hughes
Top of the Class
Last year Gordon Stubley of
mechanical and mechatronics
engineering was named one of
Ontario’s top 100 university
teachers. He was presented with a
2007 Leadership in Faculty
Teaching Award, which was
introduced by the Ontario government last January to
honour and encourage teaching excellence at Ontario’s
colleges and universities. Stubley was cited for his
research into new and effective teaching techniques and
his mentoring of fellow teachers. ■ Keith Hipel of
systems design engineering is one of two University of
Waterloo faculty members who recently received an
Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision. Waterloo’s
graduate studies office, in collaboration with the
graduate student association, established the award to
recognize faculty who have demonstrated excellence in
supervising graduate students.
Honorary Doctorates
Inventor Wai-Cheung Tang and energy researcher
Angus Bruneau received honorary doctorates at last fall’s
Waterloo Engineering convocation. Tang, a Waterloo
Engineering alumnus, is a world-renowned expert in
spacecraft communication filtering systems and high
power phenomena. Bruneau, who served as a professor
of mechanical engineering in Waterloo’s early days,
founded the engineering program at Memorial
University and established Fortis Incorporated, a power
distribution utility that serves two million gas and
electric customers.
High Voltage Lab Re–Opens its Doors
Congratulations go out to the 13 graduates of Waterloo
Engineering who were among the 50 campus-wide
alumni recognized last year with the University of
Waterloo’s 50th Anniversary Alumni Award. The onetime award highlighted the impact graduates have had
on the university and marked the school’s 50th
anniversary. The engineering alumni recipients were
Erin-Bourke Dunphy (BASc ’98,Elect), Arthur Church
(BASc ’76, Mech), Rod Coutts (BASc ’64, Elect, DEng ’07),
Larry Galajda (BASc ’76, Elect), Donald Haycock (BASc
’68, MASc ’73, Civil), Mike Lazaridis (DEng ’00), Paul
Koch (BASc ’63, MASc ’64, Chem), Paul Koenderman
(BASc ’71, Mech), Bill Lennox (BASc ’62 Eng Phy, MSc
’63), Vivienne Ojala (BASc ’84, SD), Paul Spafford (BASc
’71, Elect), Dermot Sweeny (BAS ’83) and Bill Tatham
(BASc ’83, SD).
Architecture
Professor in TVO’s
Lecturer Competition
Waterloo architecture
professor Robert Jan van Pelt
is one of 10 contestants who
will be competing this winter for the title of Ontario's Best
Lecturer on TV Ontario. The competition will air starting in
March. One of his students has been quoted as saying “All
good lecturers have the ability to seduce their audience
through a combination of passionate story telling and a
careful calibration of their subject matter to the audience
at hand. Professor van Pelt is a master of this seduction.“
High tech equipment as well as fire resistant materials
and security systems are key features in the high
voltage engineering laboratory (HVEL) that reopened
last fall in Carl Pollock Hall. In March 2005, a fire
destroyed the equipment and months of research by
graduate students and others. ■ The 4,200-square-foot
lab is used by Waterloo electrical and computer
engineering professors whose work includes high
voltage insulation, applied electrostatics, renewable
energy, including wind and solar powers, and electric
vehicles. The lab is also the flagship facility for the
Power and Energy Systems Group, one of the largest
research groups in power engineering in North America.
Photo by Chris Hughes.
7
Alumni Mentors Span the Globe
About 80 Waterloo Engineering graduates living around
the world have volunteered to be online mentors for the
Professional Development for Engineering Students
(PDEng) program. The undergraduate program was
launched four years ago to help Waterloo Engineering
undergraduate students on co-op terms develop their
professional skills. The program’s online mentoring
provides students with alumni advice and guidance
during their work terms. Sandor Weinacht, co-ordinator
of the alumni mentor program, is working on organizing
face-to-face meetings with mentors and students at
engineering alumni events.
FOR THE LATEST NEWS
FROM WATERLOO
ENGINEERING,
VISIT WWW.ENGINEERING.
UWATERLOO.CA/NEWS
UW WEAL February 2008
Alumni Honoured With Anniversary Award
The reopened high voltage
engineering laboratory.
An artist’s rendering
of The Bow.
THE DESIGN POWER BEHIND THE BOW TOWER
avid Jefferies is described
as the ‘tower of power’ by
Alberta Venture
Magazine, which named him one
of the 50 most influential people
in Alberta last year. ■
Jefferies, who graduated from
Photo reprinted courtesy of Waterloo’s architecture
The Calgary Herald.
program in 1976, is managing
project architect of The Bow, the proposed new Calgary
headquarters for EnCana, one of the largest
independently owned oil and gas companies in the
world. When completed in 2011, the 58-storey structure
will be the tallest office building in Western Canada. ■
Now a principal with Zeidler Partnership Architects,
Jefferies has designed some of Canada’s most interesting
buildings during his over 30-year career. His work
includes the SkyDome hotel and the head office of
Rogers Communications, both in Toronto, the National
D
8
Along with the latest building materials
and energy conservation techniques, an
important piece of Calgary’s history
will be incorporated into The Bow.
Aviation Museum in Ottawa, and the Eau Claire Estates in
Calgary. He calls The Bow his “largest, most dramatic and
exciting project.“ ■ Named for its crescent design and
view of the Bow River, the complex is being built on two
city blocks and will eventually house over 3,000 of
EnCana’s Calgary-based employees, as well as retail
stores, an art gallery and a six-level underground
parking garage. ■ The Bow will include many
environmentally-friendly design features that are
expected to reduce energy consumption by about 30 per
cent compared to conventional construction. The
building orientation will passively harness the sun’s
energy throughout the year and the curved bow
configuration is also expected to significantly reduce
wind resistance and drafts. ■ Along with the latest
building materials and energy conservation techniques,
an important piece of Calgary’s history will be
incorporated into The Bow. The façade of the 78-yearold York Hotel, taken apart brick by brick last summer,
will become the cornerstone of The Bow. The hotel’s
second floor once housed CFCN radio, the “Voice of the
Prairies“ from where Wilf Carter (aka Montana Slim)
sang country tunes and William (Bible Bill) Aberhart
delivered his weekly radio Bible study classes. ■
Jefferies says while the York Hotel’s façade is now
featured prominently in building renderings, initially its
restoration was considered something of a waste of time.
“I was able to unearth background on the origins of the
graphics and the design artist who developed the castin-place relief elements found at the top and bottom of
the building faces. The building façade is now an
important part of the heritage restoration component of
The Bow project.“
hen it comes to performance incentives, two
management scientists have discovered that call
centre employees would rather work towards a piece
of jewelry, a game system or a new camera than extra cash in
their pockets. ■ Management sciences professor Scott
Jeffrey and PhD candidate Gordon Adomdza gathered
performance data on 441 call centre employees who
worked for a large financial services organization
collecting past-due accounts. About 75 per cent of the
employees were women and most had been with the
organization for less than two years. Employees were
able to choose one of three incentive levels – low,
medium or high – set by the organization. ■ In each of
the levels half of the employees worked towards
W
Choosing an incentive from a catalogue
to work towards provides many with
the opportunity to end
up with something they wouldn't
have otherwise.
acquiring points to be redeemed for money and the
other half were part of a tangible incentive program.
Those in the tangible incentive program were given a
catalogue with pictures of various prizes and their point
values. ■ Halfway into the two-month program, Jeffrey
and Adomdza asked employees in both groups to agree
or disagree on a five-point scale to the following
statement: “I regularly thought about the potential
rewards from this program while working.“ They also
asked the employees to report on their commitment to
achieving the performance target they had selected. ■
What Jeffrey and Adomdza discovered was that a larger
percentage of employees in the tangible incentive group
focused on the rewards they chose such as a trip or new
golf clubs. Fewer employees in the other group regularly
thought about topping up their bank accounts. Members
of the tangible incentive group were also more
committed to their performance targets. ■ Adomdza
says being able to picture a reward and refer to it in a
catalogue helps employees zero in on their goals. “With
so many changes occurring in the workplace today
having something to concentrate on keeps people both
motivated and focused. The mind is a very powerful and
imaginative tool,“ he says. ■ The two management
scientists say there are several reasons more employees
choose to work towards a reward other than money.
“When someone receives extra cash they tend to pay
bills or spend it on practical, non-frivolous things like
groceries and gas,“ says Jeffrey who specializes in
research on goals, incentives and other aspects of
employee performance management. “Choosing an
incentive from a catalogue to work towards provides
many with the opportunity to end up with something
they wouldn't have otherwise.“ ■ A tangible incentive
also has “trophy value,“ says Jeffrey. “It can make for a
great conversation piece at work or at home.“
Scott Jeffrey, left, and
Gordon Adomdza with
employee incentive prizes.
Photo by Chris Hughes.
9
UW WEAL February 2008
MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES
Enterprising students from
left: Keith Peiris, Salima
Gilani and Eugene Solodkin.
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS CHOOSE
WATERLOO ENGINEERING
eith Peiris founded CyberTeks.net in June 1999 at
just 11 years old. When he entered Waterloo
Engineering’s nanotechnology program in
September 2006 he was not only running a successful
business but had been named one of Canada’s Top 20
Under 20, a Youth in Motion award program that honours
innovation and leadership. His many other
accomplishments include being a member of the Team
Canada Trade Mission to China in 2001. ■ Stephen Lake
(below) was part of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 list in
K
10
For engineering in Canada, Waterloo
is the place to be.
2007. Before beginning Waterloo’s mechatronics
program last September he had launched two businesses
– one that develops high-efficiency LED lighting
systems for mobile vehicles and the other in the
DJ/entertainment business. ■ Waterloo Engineering
has always attracted bright students, but it seems these
days more and more are arriving with impressive
business experience on their CVs along with top marks.
■ Before starting his studies in Waterloo’s software
engineering program in September 2007, Eugene
Solodkin worked in a research lab at Sunnybrook
Hospital in Toronto for two months developing a program
to browse through MRI scans of the brain. With a 99.3
per cent Grade 12 average, most, if not all, educational
opportunities would have been open to him. Last June he
graduated with the second highest average in the
Toronto School Board. Solodkin jokes that the one
subject that may have held him back from having the top
average was English – he only learned to speak the
language three years ago when he and his family
immigrated to Canada from Belarus in eastern Europe. ■
Salima Gilani has only been in Canada for five months
but she’s already made her mark in and out of school.
The Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and
Technology (MBET) student was chosen as the 2007
leader of the Impact Leadership Conference, a student
entrepreneurial event held in Toronto. The conference
honour recognized Gilani’s work on a program that
promotes interactive learning at the American School of
Bangkok, where she completed her undergraduate
degree. She is currently working with a number of
Ontario hospitals to develop better business intelligence
solutions for the healthcare industry. ■ Lake, currently
on a co-op term in Ottawa, says Waterloo was his first
choice of Canadian engineering schools. “For
engineering in Canada, Waterloo is the place to be. On
top of that I love the idea of
the co-op program. Being
able to make connections with
different employers and get a
taste of several different
fields before graduation is a
great concept.“
ALUMNUS SHIFTS FACEBOOK
APPLICATION INTO HIGH GEAR
recent Waterloo Engineering graduate is the driving
force behind Carpool, a Facebook application that has
seen thousands of new users posting shared rides since
the site was launched in July 2007. ■ Rajat Suri (above),
who graduated with a double major in chemical
engineering and economics last June, came up with the
idea of an independent carpooling site during reading
week in 2007. ■ “I was driving home from Waterloo to
Toronto when I realized what a pity it was that I was on
my own in the car. I started wondering how many others
were heading in the same direction and could have
carpooled with me.“ ■ Although there was a bulletin
board advertising ride sharing in the University of
Waterloo’s Student Life Centre, Suri was convinced much
more could be done to promote carpooling. While
A
include music interests, which can be important on a
long drive. The site also allows users to request a shared
ride in a private vehicle or a taxi from an airport. Other
features include systems that track the amount of
carbon dioxide saved by sharing rides. Although he’s not
earning any money from the site right now, Suri hopes
to eventually make a profit through sponsorships. ■
Suri credits the university’s entrepreneurial culture and
engineering’s co-op program for giving him the
confidence to spend last summer working on Carpool.
“My six different co-op placements provided the
reasoning and critical skills necessary for this project.“
■ Late last fall Suri reported there were over 20,000
Carpool users in countries including Canada, the United
States, Finland, Hong Kong and Turkey. Most of the
users were between 18 and 22 years old and were
college or university students – 800 of those attended
the University of Waterloo. Although attracting
thousands of users to the site in less than six months
is an impressive feat, Suri is aiming higher. “My vision
is to have millions using Carpool. I’m trying to change
the way people think about sharing rides on a
fundamental level.“
11
surfing the web for information and ideas he came
across the site zimride.com. Suri got in touch with its
creator, Logan Green, a student at the University of
California in Santa Barbara, and together they worked
almost full-time over three weeks developing the
Facebook site. ■ Suri says one of the main differences
between zimride and Carpool is that users can check out
the profiles of the people they’re considering carpooling
with before meeting face-to-face. Profile details often
UW WEAL February 2008
Users can check out the profiles of
people they’re considering carpooling
with before meeting face-to-face.
Captain Mark Gasparotto
in Afghanistan.
CIVIL GRADS SERVE
IN AFGHANISTAN
“
12
he military had the challenges and lifestyle I was looking
for in a career and I haven’t been let down,“ says Major
Mark Gasparotto (BASc ’96, Civil) of his decision to leave
civilian life behind a year after graduating from Waterloo
Engineering. Although both Gasparotto’s paternal and
maternal grandfathers fought in the Second World War, the
London, Ontario native says that didn’t influence his decision.
■ Many of the skills Gasparotto honed during his
engineering studies, like decision-making, innovative
thinking and problem solving, were put to the ultimate
test as part of the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group
in Afghanistan. Gasparotto commanded the 23 Field
Squadron Combat Engineers from August 2006 to
February 2007, one of the most violent tours of duty
Canadian soldiers have seen in Afghanistan. ■ As a
Waterloo co-op student and later as an engineering
graduate, Gasparotto worked on Highway 407 in Ontario.
His roadwork experience was put to use in Afghanistan
T
Captain Dan Clarke (BASc ’02,
Civil) joined the army shortly
after graduating from Waterloo
when the Canadian military
was advertising for
engineering grads.
“I thought I’d swing by the
recruiting centre for a look and I
really liked what I saw. I liked the challenge of the job and
the emphasis on fitness and teamwork. I’ve always
considered myself to be a patriotic person and I was excited
for the opportunity to give something back,“ he says.
Clarke spent just over five months in Afghanistan working as
a replacement troop commander for Major Mark Gasparotto.
In his position Clarke says he regularly relied on his ability
where he was responsible for building Route Summit, a
key road through the heart of insurgents' territory. But
unlike his Highway 407 experience, Gasparotto and his
squadron, which he describes as “an eclectic grouping of
soldiers, sailors and airmen,“ had to be on constant alert
from the Taliban, drug lords, rival tribes and others who
didn’t want the road to go through. ■ Besides building
Route Summit, Gasparotto’s 135-member squadron
cleared mines and other explosive threats and worked to
improve bunkers, camps and other protection for
friendly forces. “These tasks were often undertaken
under fire and we certainly saw our fair share of
violence. We needed to be on guard all day, every day.“
■ One of the toughest times Gasparotto says he had in
Afghanistan was during particularly heavy fighting in
September 2006 when a member of his squadron was
killed. “It was difficult – no amount of training can
prepare you for what we experienced physically and
emotionally. You learn as you go along.“ ■ Last October
Gasparotto received a meritorious service medal from
Canada’s Governor General. The Department of Defence
credited the combat engineer with “exceptional
leadership under enemy fire that saved the lives of
Canadian soldiers.“ Gasparotto says his medal “speaks to
the incredible efforts of the entire squadron.“ ■ Back
on Canadian soil, Gasparotto is working with new recruits
at Gagetown, New Brunswick. Although he doesn’t rule
out the possibility of returning to active combat in the
future, he is enjoying a more regular lifestyle that
includes spending time with his wife and two young
daughters. “It was certainly great to come home and not
have to worry about possibly not seeing the next sunrise
or sunset.“
to analyze and solve problems – things he learned while
working on his civil engineering degree. “Those are skills
that are valuable in any environment and a warzone is
certainly no exception.“
He says his squadron made a difference in Afghanistan.
“There were some good days and some very bad days, but I
can look back and feel that we made a positive contribution.“
In June 2007 Clarke received a commendation from the
Commander of the Army for his outstanding leadership and
professionalism demonstrated as a replacement troop
commander. He’s now back in Ontario working as a staff
officer with 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa. “I
expect to continue to serve in the army as long as I keep
enjoying the life and feel like I’m making an impact.“
■ 1962
Gerald L. Beebe (Elect ’62) retired
in 1990 from Northern Telecom and
Bell Canada where he worked for 32
years. Gerald was the chairman of
the Brampton and District Chapter
of APEO from 1971-1972. You can
reach Gerald at 905-877-8862.
Alexander MacDonald (Civil ’62) is
retired and lives in Mazatlan,
Mexico for six months each year.
Leonard G. Nobleman (Eng
Phys ’62) says “since 1998, I have
been a sponsor in the Saint
Germain Foundation of South
Western Ontario. A sponsor is
similar to a bishop in the Catholic
Church – there’s no pay and you
encounter many problems. I also
practise my golf game two hours
each day.“ You can contact Leonard
at 519-426-4208.
■ 1963
Class Reunion: September 27-28,
2008
Peter Wozniuk (Mech ’63)
continues to stay busy as an
adjunct professor, teaching
summer modules at the business
school of the Russian American
University in Moscow. He is retired
but continues to operate his
Eastern European import business,
which fits well with his teaching
duties. He and his wife Judy enjoy
spending time with their five
grandchildren in the mountains of
western North Carolina.
■ 1964
Paul Koch (Chem
’63 & ’64) was
thrilled to be one
of the recipients
of the University
of Waterloo’s
50th Anniversary
Alumni Award.
■ 1967
Wayne Brock (Mech ’67) retired
from Freightliner LLC in Portland,
Oregon in December 2001.
Previously he had worked in
Shanghai, China as general
manager of the Shanghai
Freightliner Truck Company. Wayne
says he’s interested in providing
consultation assistance to any
company considering investing in
China. He is currently secretary of
the Evergreen Curling Club’s board
of directors in the
Portland/Vancouver area and curls
at the Lloyd Center ice rink. He is
enjoying the sport and is trying to
help it grow in the USA.
■ 1968
Class Reunion: September 27-28,
2008
Samir Basu (Elect ’68, PhD ’70)
recently travelled with his
daughter Ajanta Basu and another
alumnus, Aninda Dutta Ray
(Mech ’06) to Peru for a one-week
vacation in the beautiful land of
the Inca civilization. They visited
Lima, built by the Spanish
conquistadors, and the famous
Machu Pichu, the seventh wonder
of the world.
Robert Domoney (Civil ’68) retired
from a 29-year career at the
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
in 1997. His most rewarding project
was developing and implementing
the graduated driver licensing
system for new Ontario drivers.
Currently, he is President of R.
Domoney Associates Inc., and
since 1997 has specialized in
carrier (truck and bus) safety
issues. Weather permitting, he
plans to spend a lot of time skiing
this winter in Collingwood.
Andre D. LeBlanc (Mech ’68)
reports he not only spent all six
co-op terms but since graduation
working in research and
development at Pratt & Whitney
Canada. He is planning on ending
his career as an aerodynamic
engineer in 2008. “The past 42
years have been both challenging
and gratifying,“ he says.
■ 1969
Lorne Byzyna (Chem ’69) retired
from full-time work in the global
pulp and paper industry in
December 2006. He spent the last
14 years building and operating
pulp and paper mills with APRIL in
Indonesia and China. He and
Yvonne are now semi-retired and
living on the sunshine coast in
British Columbia. When not
fishing, he is still working part
time as an independent consultant
in BC and overseas. His email
address is [email protected].
■ 1970
David Hogg (Elect ’70) has been
appointed by the Arlington
Heights-based Association for
Manufacturing Excellence to chair
the 2008 AME International Lean
Manufacturing Conference in
Toronto. This will only be the third
time in 24 years that this
conference has come to Canada.
The organizing team of 30
volunteers come from across
Canada, the USA and Australia. The
conference, the largest of its kind
ever held in North America, is
expected to draw about 3,000
manufacturing practitioners from
26 nations. Dave lives in Kitchener
with his wife Beverley. You can
reach him at [email protected].
Glen Robert Phaneuf (Chem ’70)
passed away on March 19, 2007 at
Grey Bruce Health Services,
Southampton, Ontario. Glen was
employed by Lubrizol of Canada
(Niagara Falls) from 1970 to 1975
and by Bruce Power from 1975 until
his retirement in 2001. He is
survived by his wife Linda,
daughter Kim and her husband Rob
Cresswell, and sons Chris and Jeff.
Timo Wadhawan (SD ’70) is the
CFO at Heartwood Studios, a
leading 3D animation and visual
effects studio that provides digital
storytelling. Recently, Heartwood
received the 2007 San Francisco
East Bay Entrepreneur of the Year
Award in the new media category,
placed 13th in the list of the “50
Fastest Growing Private
Companies“ in the East Bay
Business Times and received 2007
Recognition from California state
assemblyman Guy Houston as one
of the finest entrepreneurial
companies in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
■ 1972
Alan Dunn
(Mech ’72) is
completing his
first term as
councillor for the
municipality of
Strathcona
County, Alberta.
His political interests are focused
on environmental sustainability,
development and financial control.
He is also the proprietor of Helal
Ltd., an engineering and
management firm in the Edmonton
area. Alan is a cellist in a string
quartet, violinist in a baroque
orchestra, a fiddler, hand drummer
and piper.
13
Kosla Vepa (Civil ’72) chaired a
session at the Human
Empowerment Conference 2007 in
Dallas, Texas. The conference is an
annual event held in various cities
in North America. Those interested
in participating in this year’s
conference may contact Kosla at
[email protected].
■ 1973
Class Reunion: September 27-28,
2008
■ 1974
Kar Yew Edwin Cheng (Elect ’74)
has been retired since August
2006. He hopes all his classmates
will enjoy retirement as much as
he does.
UW WEAL February 2008
CLASS NOTES
■ 1975
Robert Allen (Mech ’75) is currently
in the process of putting a game on
the market and having the time of his
life doing so! Get ready for Kissplay, a
kissing game for romantic couples.
■ 1977
Eduardo Espinosa (Mech ’77) is back
to consulting after leaving a career in
the manufacturing industry.
John Hamalainen (Elect ’77) is
married to a wonderful woman from
the Ukraine and they have a sevenyear-old daughter and one-year-old
son.
14
Ronald Ristich (Chem ’77) started out
with Dow Chemical in Sarnia, Ontario.
He transferred with the company
numerous times within Canada before
settling in Lake Jackson, Texas in
1995. Ronald and his wife Heather
have two daughters, Jenny and
Kaitlin, and a son, Jason.
Len Trembley (Elect
’77) retired from
Nestle Canada after 26
years and has joined
MHPM Project
Managers in Ottawa as a program and
project manager. Len is currently
seconded to Algonquin College as the
program manager for its 2007-2008
capital investment program. Len and
Elaine live in Russell, Ontario and
their daughter, Erin, works and lives
in London, England. Len can be
reached at [email protected].
■ 1978
Class Reunion: September 27-28,
2008
Ebenezer Alade (Civil ’78) obtained
his first degree, a BASc in civil
engineering, from the University of
Lagos, Nigeria in 1968. After
completing a graduate degree from
Waterloo Engineering he worked in
government at the state level in
Nigeria and retired in 1999 from Ekiti
State Government of Nigeria as
permanent secretary/general
manager. Ebenezer currently operates
his own engineering construction
company and is actively involved in
the politics of Nigeria.
■ 1979
Hugh R Alley
(SD ’79) reports that
after seven years as
a consultant with
Grant Thornton, he
started a new job as
operations manager of Alco Ventures,
an international manufacturing firm
based in Langley, BC. It is an exciting
opportunity to put into practice the
things he has been urging his clients
to do. He and his wife Diana and their
two children, Rebecca, 15, and Ted,
13, have lived in the same house in
Burnaby for 15 years and are just now
redoing the kitchen. He is treasurer of
the Burnaby Canoe and Kayak Club
and is involved in a number of other
volunteer activities.
Robert Scott Boyer (Mech ’79)
continues to expand his company,
BPM Solutions, providing supply
chain and manufacturing consulting
services throughout Ontario. For
relaxation, he plays keyboard and
sings in a number of jazz and
weekend dance bands. He is also the
musical director and conductor for the
show choir, Bravado! from Barrie.
You can contact him at
[email protected] or
705-790-8086.
■ 1982
Shane Ryder (Mech ’82) has recently
been appointed as director, technical
programs and training for the Ontario
Power Generation Nuclear fleet.
Friends can contact him at
[email protected].
■ 1983
Class Reunion: September 27-28,
2008
Richard Gruttner (Mech ’83) says
“two of my four boys are out.“ One is
at the University of Ottawa in
mechanical engineering and one is at
the University of Waterloo in
computer science. Richard will soon
be celebrating 25 years of marriage
with his high school sweetheart,
Cathy.
James McCallum (Mech ’83) is
currently director of engineering for
Curtiss-Wright Marine Defense
(formerly Indal Technologies).
Curtiss-Wright has a long history with
its roots dating back to the Wright
brothers’ first flight in 1903.
Kelly McGillivray (Civil
’83) is president and
chief methodologist of
Peoplecount/
Transearch Group, a
consulting firm
specializing in traffic and pedestrian
research and modelling. A specialized
niche is audience research and
measurement for sign-based
advertising. The company recently
moved to downtown Toronto.
Kelly lives in North Toronto with her
two sons.
Heather Scott (MSci ’83) has lived in
Calgary and worked for Petro-Canada
since graduation. She has had a
number of different roles including
engineering, natural gas marketing
and corporate strategic planning.
Currently, she leads the Western
Canada natural gas production
engineering department and all the
field-based production operations.
She has been married for 22 years and
has two daughters. She hopes all is
well with her classmates.
■ 1984
Anthony Green (Mech ’84) was
awarded a PhD (Aerospace
Engineering) from Carleton
University, Ottawa in October 2007.
His thesis was on the intelligent
tracking control of fixed-base and
free-flying flexible space robots.
S. David Staniforth
(Civil ’84) says “Ciao a
tutti!“ After over 18
years with Saab and
GM, the last four of
which were in
■ 1985
Evan Dust (Civil ’85) says, “I’m
married to a very beautiful lady
from Maui and enjoying life!“ Evan
has returned to work in the private
sector as a transportation planning
consultant.
Andrew Piggott (Chem ’82 & ’85) is
back in Toronto working at a
biotech/pharma process skid
manufacturer after six years in
Vancouver. Adding a second storey
to his East York home keeps him
busy and out of trouble. He and his
wife just celebrated their 22nd
wedding anniversary and his
kids, Alex and Chris, are almost
grown up.
Rick Santing (Elect ’85) hopes all is
well with the electrical engineering
class of ’85. He and his wife Sharon
moved to Calgary where he is trying
to convert his three sons (Tyler,
Cody and Lukas) from Toronto
Maple Leafs to Calgary Flames fans.
He is enjoying lots of
snowboarding, skiing and hockey.
■ 1986
Thomas A. Kinney (Chem ’86)
reports he is alive and well in
Boston and sends his best regards
to old friends and classmates.
■ 1988
Class Reunion: September 27,
2008
Alan Ferguson (Elect ’88) was
recently promoted to vicepresident, business development
at Gennum Corporation, a designer
and manufacturer of
semiconductor solutions for the
global video and data
communication markets. As well as
a BASc, Alan has a BA in economics
(1994) from the University of
Waterloo. Alan is married with two
children and lives in Oakville,
Ontario. He has a black belt in Tae
Kwon Do and stays active
competing and teaching.
Abyd Karmali (Chem ’88) will be
starting a new position with Merrill
Lynch in London, UK as a managing
director and global head of carbon
emissions.
Roland Tanglao (SD ’88) is working
for a start-up company called
Bryght and enjoying living in
Vancouver and family life. He’d
love to meet up for coffee with SD
’88 grads and University of
Waterloo friends whenever they
happen to be in Vancouver.
Thomas White (SD ’88) was
promoted to director of operations
for Rubbermaid Canada last
September. He is now responsible
for all Canadian manufacturing and
company-owned distribution
operations.
■ 1989
Matt Snell (SD
’89) his wife
Kim, and two
daughters,
Mackenzie, 9,
and Paige, 6,
have begun a
new adventure. Matt, who along
with his wife has a law degree from
the University of Western Ontario,
had been working as an in-house
counsel to IBM Canada since 1999.
He recently accepted a two-year
assignment with IBM Corporation
in New York. His family relocated
to Greenwich, Connecticut in
August and Matt is splitting his
working time between Somers, NY
and New York City. The family is
enjoying settling in and exploring
the area. The Snells can be
contacted at
[email protected].
Bruce Taylor (Chem ’89) says it’s
been a very eventful year. He met
Jang ok (Jana) Kim while she was
visiting from South Korea, and they
have since married. Bruce and Jana
celebrated their engagement in
Southern Sudan where they were
assisting a local orphanage and
teaching local church parishioners
how to construct sustainable
drinking water treatment systems
for their neighbours. In 2000,
Bruce established Enviro-Stewards
Inc. (www.enviro-stewards.com),
which helps industry and
commercial institutions to reduce
their consumption of resources
(water, energy, chemicals etc.) and
to appropriately treat any
remaining discharges.
Jacques Tremblay (Civil ’89) has
recently been appointed director,
project controls for the
industrial/process business unit of
Washington Group International,
Inc. and will be relocating to
Houston, Texas. Since joining the
company in 1991, Jacques has
moved from Canada to Thailand,
Germany, Brazil, the Philippines,
the USA and Romania, most recently
as director, project controls for
European Operations. Jacques
enjoyed beautiful Bucharest and
now looks forward to some serious
Texas barbecue. You can contact
Jacques at 281-529-7091 or
[email protected].
■ 1990
Paul Overbaugh (Mech ’90) is
married to Stephanie Bouska (Kin
‘92) and they have three children.
They are living in California
enjoying the sun.
Laszlo Toth (Mech ’90) married
Sossy in August 1997. The couple
has a son Arek, 6, and a daughter
Emma, 4. Laslo, who left Shell
Canada in September 2007, is an
avid cyclist and international
traveller.
■ 1991
Stefan Uriadka (Comp ’91) reports
that after moving from Nortel to
Computer Science Corporation
during the hi-tech melt-down of
2000, he opened his own
consulting company,
StillwaterStudios. He is also
involved in photography and live
audio recording.
■ 1992
Todd Bailey (Mech ’92) now lives
in Montreal, with his wife,
Panagiota Dafniotis, and their two
young children. Todd is working as
Patent Counsel at Pratt & Whitney
Canada.
John Morgan (Arch ’90 & ’92) has
completed his MSc at the London
School of Economics (LSE),
graduating in December 2007 with
merit. After over seven years as an
associate with Allies and Morrison,
John is leaving to pursue other
projects which include a part-time
teaching position with professor
Harry Gugger‘s architecture
research studio at the EPFL in
Lausanne, Switzerland.
15
John Vieth (Elect ’84, SD ’92) says
life is good in “Canada’s
Technology Triangle.“ He and his
wife Angela are pleased that two of
their children are now also
Waterloo alumni.
■ 1993
Class Reunion: September 27,
2008
Eleanor J Morrison (Chem ’93)
says “Hello from London! I moved
from New York to London in May
2007 to help build Lehman
Brothers European Commodity
trading business. Currently, I’m
focused on trading natural gas and
electricity markets. Any friends
and classmates, please contact me
at [email protected].“
UW WEAL February 2008
Germany, he - along with Erik, 13,
and Claire - decided to try Italia.
David joined the Fiat Group last
spring. He reports they have a
great view of the Alpi Maritimi out
their kitchen window and are
looking forward to the ski season.
■ 1994
Nicholas Hesse (Mech ’94 & ’97)
Nicholas is now the director of
engineering at Curtiss Wright Controls
EMT in Stratford where he leads the
department designing rotary sensors
and electric motors for aircraft. After
commuting from London for almost
seven years, he has moved to
Stratford. Nic can be reached at
[email protected] or by
phone at 519-305-1081.
■ 1995
16
Eric Toker (Arch ’93 & ’95) and Dedre
live in Calgary with their son Eli, now
5 1/2, who provides endless
entertainment and welcome relief
from their work. After establishing
their firm, Toker + Associates in 2002,
the office has grown to a staff of
eight, with a focus on both
architecture and commercial interiors.
When not at work, Dedre, Eric and Eli
escape to the Rockies where they
attempt short hikes.
Graham Whiting (Arch ’93 & ’95)
reports he is living and working in
Waterloo at Whiting Design, is
married to Kasia Kord and is father to
Sage, age 4. Whiting Design is a firm
specializing in ecologically
responsible design in the residential
and commercial markets. For details
check out www.whitingdesign.ca.
■ 1996
Jonathan Evans
(Elect ’96) has
abandoned
engineering in
favour of writing
novels set in exotic
locations. His latest novel, a thriller
called Invisible Armies, was published
by HarperCollins last year and will
come out in paperback this April. For
more about Jonathan visit his website
at: www.jonevans.ca.
Karim Hirji (MSci ’96) has recently
been promoted to principal within the
IBM Software Group where he is
responsible for the Americas West
Region and Latin America. Karim
continues to live in Toronto with his
family and can be reached at
[email protected].
Steph Hunt (nee Christie) (Chem ’96)
says “I’ve been with Chevron for over
nine years, working in Hawaii for
seven of those. I’m working as a
process engineer in the refinery but
also helping out with the oils planning
group. My son, Hamilton, will be three
in June and I’m pleased to announce
I’m pregnant with baby #2 and it’s a
girl. Cameron and I are thrilled. Feel
free to drop me a line or swing by
Hawaii!“ Steph can be reached at
[email protected] or
808-626-9770.
Fariborz Lesani
(Elect & Comp ’96)
is currently in
Japan starting up a
mobile internet
consulting and
solutions company after working in
the same field in Toronto for seven
years. He moved to Japan last April
after getting married in March.
Fariborz and his wife live in Tokyo and
are experiencing a life of fast trains
and technology, great food and
culture. You can reach Fariborz at
[email protected].
■ 1997
Sohail Ahmed (SD ’97) is back in
Northern Virginia doing freelance
consulting in the information services
area - a mixture of development,
program management and design. He
would love to hear from other
University of Waterloo alumni in
the area.
Kelly (Soucie) Locke (Elect & Comp
’97) finally saw sparks and was
married to industrial electrician Jay
Locke in September 2004. Their first
child Rowan turned one in October
2007. They are all enjoying a quiet life
in their Victorian mansion in
Milverton, Ontario.
Tony Savor (Elect & Comp ’93 & ’97)
started a new job as head of
engineering and operations at OANDA
Corporation, an online foreign
exchange trading company. Tony is
also an adjunct professor at the
University of Toronto.
■ 1998
Class Reunion: September 27, 2008
Fiorella Dinoi (Arch ’96 & ’98) and
Michelangelo Giombini were married
in June 2007 in the church of Porto
Venere in Ligura, Italy. Ella and
Michelangelo live and work in Milan.
Scott Sharabura (Chem ’98) and his
wife Kim welcomed their first child,
Douglas Hay Sharabura, in December
2006. Scott and his family are living
near Dallas, Texas, where he is
working with Booz Allen Hamilton as a
management consultant in the oil and
gas industry.
■ 1999
Sumana Kundu (Civil ’99) and her
husband Charles welcomed their
second daughter, Anjalina Collins, in
April 2007. Sumana completed an
MBA in 2006 and is currently on
maternity leave.
Michael McGuffin (Comp ’99)
completed a PhD in computer science
at the University of Toronto,
specializing in human-computer
interaction and visualization. In
September 2007 he became an
assistant professor at ETS, a Frenchlanguage engineering school in
Montreal. His wife of seven years, and
children aged 3 and 5, are happy to be
back in Montreal close to extended
family. For more check out:
http://profs.logti.etsmtl.ca/mjm/.
■ 2000
John Baker (SD ’00) reports that
Desire To Learn, the company he
started while still in university,
recently placed 12th in the Deloitte
Fast 50 Award. The award recognizes
the fastest growing companies in
Canada over a five-year growth
period. For more on the company log
on to: www.desire2learn.com.
Shannon Nauman (Mech ’00) moved from
Kitchener-Waterloo to London, taking on a new
career direction with SR&ED Tax Consulting for
Deloitte and Touche. You can contact Shannon at
[email protected].
Mohd Sulaiman (Elect ’00 & ’02) was married in
September 2000 and is a proud father of two
daughters and a son. His wife completed an MES
degree from the University of Waterloo in
November 2001.
David Tunnah (SD ’00) reports he recently made a
career change into professional service and is
now a consultant in Deloitte’s corporate
responsibility and sustainability service. The
move comes after he completed his MBA at the
Schulich School of Business at York University. He
says it’s a refreshing change after five years of
working as an engineer for Sony in Japan. David
lives in Vancouver with his wife Noriko. If you
want to catch up with David you can contact him
at [email protected] or 604-568-3488.
■ 2002
Trevor Fenton (Chem ’97 & ’02) is just settling
back into life on the west coast. After graduating
from law school in 2006 and articling in Ottawa he
and Lucas moved to Vancouver. His practice
involves helping businesses claim tax credits for
doing scientific research.
■ 2003
Class Reunion: September 27, 2008
Paul D’Souza (Comp ’03) has bought an
apartment and is more or less settled in
Copenhagen after going there to do a
master’s degree.
■ 2004
Andrew Cameron (Mech ’04) says the greatest
way to travel is by bicycle. Having never been to
Africa, he figured the best way to see it was from
the seat of a bicycle. He covered just under
12,000 km from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South
Africa. In doing so, he managed to raise $2,500
for a charity that was able to
donate 25 local bicycles to
native health care workers in
Malawi. For more about
Andrew’s trip check out his
blog site at
www.12000km.blogspot.com.
Vasudave Daggupaty (SD ’04) is currently
enrolled in the economics graduate diploma
program at the University of Cambridge.
S. Mani Sarathy (Chem ’04) recently won an
NSERC PGS-D scholarship to pursue a PhD in
chemical engineering at the University of
Toronto. He will use the funding to study the
combustion of alternative fuels derived from
biomass feedstocks.
■ 2005
Hisham Al-Shurafa (SD ’05)
recently left his position at
Amazon.com and moved from
Seattle to Toronto to join NexJ
Systems as product manager.
For his move he travelled by
motorcycle along the backroads of Canada. He
reports that the 12-day, 6,000-kilometre trip was
“a blast.“ You can read about his travels at
www.alshurafa.net.
Andrea Brown (nee Polack)
(Enviro ’05) and Randal
Brown were married in August
2007. They had a small
ceremony and reception in
Toronto and honeymooned for
two weeks in Brazil, where
they enjoyed the Rio beaches and saw the
wonders of Iguazu Falls.
TJ Kelley (SD ’05) has finished basic training and
has been promoted to lieutenant. Although he is
working in an intelligence job, he is still an
engineer, both at heart and by trade.
Gotshal & Manges in New York before returning to
Michigan for his final year. He sends his best
regards to the class of 2006.
■ 2007
Class Reunion: September 27, 2008
Christina Harvey (Enviro-Civil ’07) says after she
completed her degree in April 2007, she accepted
a junior engineering position with the County of
Northumberland in her hometown of Cobourg.
She completed her last two co-op terms with the
county and was pleased to return to an
exceptional work environment.
Tristan Schmelcher (Comp ’07) started work with
the Google Talk team in the Seattle area. He
reports he has a nice apartment and is shopping
for all the household items he didn’t have while
on Waterloo co-op terms.
Vecheslav Silagadze (Elect ’07) recently founded
2G Robotics Inc. with Jason Gillham. They are
currently consulting for companies in
manufacturing as well as the marine robotics
industry. Check out their website at
http://2grobotics.com.
In Memoriam
Jerome N. Capricci, Elect ‘79
Thomas W. Graham, Civil ‘71
Tage Hansen, SD ‘75
Hugh M. Hincks, Civil ‘72
Elaine Howie, Mech ’88
J. Douglas Hubbell, Civil ‘66
Russell E. Kawai, Chem ‘87
Douglas A. MacLennan, Mech ‘80
Kurt D. Mitchell, Elect ‘82
Peter F. Ostertag, Elect ‘82
■ 2006
Gordon F. (Bob) Pearce,
Mechanical Engineering Professor
Ann Lee’s (Elect & Comp ’06) baby, Andre Lee,
was born in April 2007.
Glen R. Phaneuf, Chem ‘70
Howard Li (Elect & Comp ’06) started a new job at
the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton
last September.
Steven Serajeddini (Elect & Comp ’06) is in his
second year at the University of Michigan law
school. He will be spending next summer at Weil
17
Lawrence C. Sentence, DEng ‘74
Steven C. Spicer, Mech ‘84
Cecil J. “Dick“ Sprenger, MSci ‘69
George Tomlinson, Chem ‘72
UW WEAL February 2008
Christopher Castleton (Mech
’00) says a lot has happened
in recent years. After
graduating from Waterloo
Engineering he travelled for a
year, ending up in Germany
where he continued working
for Magna Decoma. After six years there, he
became a consultant in Six Sigma and process
optimization. Recently he married Silvia and
moved to her home country of Italy. He reports
that a family is next on the agenda.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Going Green Workshop Series
Dates: February 2 to May 2008
Times and Locations: Various
The Grand House Student Co-operative, a non-profit
housing co-op comprised of Waterloo architecture
students and community members, is building an
student residence. To find out some of the methods
being used to build the residence, alumni and others are
invited to attend workshops being hosted by the cooperative from February to May 2008 at various locations
throughout Waterloo Region.
18
Learn about a variety of green-building techniques and
technologies from the experts, including straw-bale
construction, renewable energies, eco-home design,
rainwater harvesting, plastering, earthen building, solar
hot water and much more. For workshop and registration
information visit www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumi.
FIRST Robotics Waterloo
Regional Competition
Dates: March 20-22, 2008
Times: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Main Gymnasium, Physical Activities Complex,
University of Waterloo
The FIRST Robotics
Competition
challenges teams of
high school students
to build robots from a
standard kit of parts
and compete in a
series of competitions.
The free event is open
to the public.
www.firstrobotics.uwaterloo.ca.
Alumni Curling Funspiel
Date:
April 5, 2008
Time:
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Dixie Curling Club, Mississauga, ON
Come enjoy a day of curling and socializing with other
Waterloo Engineering alumni. To find out more and to
register, visit www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni.
Alumni and Friends Reception in Detroit
This event will be held during the SAE World Congress to
be held April 14 to 17 in Detroit, Michigan. For details log
onto www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni.
Alumni and Friends Reception
in Niagara Falls
Date:
May 1, 2008
Time:
5:30 to 7 p.m.
Location: Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview
Alumni are invited to meet up with former classmates
and others at this reception being held during the 2008
Ontario Association of Architects Conference. You can
register at www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni.
Alumni and Friends Reception in Waterloo
Date:
Time:
May 13, 2008
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
A special evening is being planned for alumni and
friends in the Waterloo area. Check out details at
www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni.
Class Reunions
Reunions are a great time to catch up with your
classmates, relive memories of your university days and
see how the campus has changed since you last visited.
Your reunion now coincides with the University of
Waterloo Homecoming to offer additional programming
and family-friendly activities. Mark your calendar now
so you don’t miss it. For more detailed reunion
information, visit
www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni/reunions.
Seeking Class Reps!
Reunions in 2008
Classes of ’63, ’68, ’73, ‘78 and ’83
September 27-28, 2008
Classes of ’88, ’93, ’98, ’03 and ’07
September 27, 2008
Future Reunion Dates
Alumni take a look at
student team projects
during the open house at
last fall’s reunion.
19
Your reunion takes place every five years. To check for
the future dates of your reunion, please visit
www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/ alumni/reunions and
add them to your calendar.
If you would like to volunteer as a Class Rep to help
encourage your former classmates to come back for
reunion, please contact Daniella Cross at 519-888-4567,
extension 36838 or [email protected] to
find out how you can get involved.
GREETINGS ALUMNI
T
www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/alumni. Please contact
me if you have an event idea or feedback related to our
services. ■ I look forward to meeting you at one of our
events this year.
Sincerely,
Daniella Cross, Acting Alumni Officer
UW WEAL February 2008
he goal of the Waterloo Engineering
alumni office is to provide you with
opportunities to network, volunteer
and stay involved with the faculty. ■
Last year we held a number of alumni
receptions throughout the world in
locations including Hong Kong, New
York City, Washington D.C., Toronto and San Francisco. As
you can see, we are planning many more for 2008 – be
sure to visit our website on a regular basis for a listing of
upcoming alumni events and developments:
Contact Us
Engineering Alumni Affairs
University of Waterloo
CPH 4301
200 University Ave. W.
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1
Phone: 519-888-4567, ext. 36838
Fax: 519-746-1457
Email
[email protected]
URL
www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~eng-alum
We respect your privacy and
communication preferences.
To learn more, please go to
http://alumni.uwaterloo.ca/privacy.
Contact Us
Engineering Alumni Affairs
University of Waterloo
WEAL
Waterloo Engineering Alumni Letter
February 2008 . Number 53
WEAL is published twice a year by
Engineering Alumni Affairs at the
University of Waterloo.
Circulation: 25,000
Editor
Carol Truemner
Writers
Erin Bow
Carol Truemner
Design
Ampersand Studios
Printing
Ampersand Printing
Printed in Canada
WEAL
MENTORING
FROM EXPERIENCE
s a manager at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond,
Washington, you would think Erin Bourke-Dunphy
would have more than enough to keep her busy. But
Bourke-Dunphy (BASc ’98, Elect) manages to make time to
work towards one of her professional and personal goals –
increasing the number of women entering engineering. To
create more diversity within the profession, she has
mentored many young women and has helped establish a
scholarship for women choosing academic careers in math
and engineering. ■ A University of Waterloo donor and
a lead volunteer for Campaign Waterloo’s Microsoft
Campaign, Bourke-Dunphy was honoured by the
university with a University of Waterloo 50th
Anniversary Alumni Award. She remains connected
with Waterloo Engineering through her work with the
faculty’s Women in Engineering Committee, which
includes making presentations to prospective and
current engineering students. ■ Bourke-Dunphy
says it makes her sad more women aren’t becoming
engineers. “It is one thing that 10 years ago the
numbers were low, but with the increase in women
going to university the fact that the numbers haven’t
significantly increased in engineering is alarming to
me. I feel strongly that for the engineering profession
to be successful in the upcoming decades having a
diverse workforce is key – it brings different
A
perspectives to the table and strengthens the end
product.“ ■ When Bourke-Dunphy started at
Waterloo in the early 1990s she says the biggest
challenge was maintaining friendships with other
women, especially since most were in other faculties
and the engineering course load was heavy. ■ “There
weren’t a lot of women in engineering when I went to
Waterloo. But then there weren’t a lot of women in my
advanced math and science classes in high school or
in my job once I graduated,“ she adds. ■ BourkeDunphy says as a woman it’s not only important to
believe in yourself and your skills, but also to have a
good mentor. “Chances are someone else has already
experienced what you’re going through – reach out
and ask for help. That’s part of building a support
network, which is essential to weathering both the
challenging times and the good.“
WATERLOO ENGINEERING ALUMNI LETTER
Engineering Alumni Affairs
University of Waterloo
CPH 4301
200 University Ave. W.
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1
Return Postage Guaranteed
Publications Number 40065122