Past Recipients

2023 - Jennifer Grant, BESc’94, MESc’95, BEd’96

  • President of Dell Tech Laboratories Ltd.
  • Founder of empyri, a ground-breaking skincare product line
  • Served on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Health Foundation
  • Board member of the London Abused Women’s Centre

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2022 - Scott Shawyer, BA'94,BESc'96

  • Managing Partner at Collingwood Capital Partners
  • Former President of JMP Solutions
  • At the onset of COVID-19, Shawyer helped initiate Ventilators for Canadians
  • Completed an 8-day trek to the North Pole that successfully raised $500,000 for charity

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2021 - Peter Hall, BESc’83, MBA’86

  • President and CEO of Autotube Limited
  • Past president of the Young Presidents Organization, Great Lakes Chapter
  • Involved in numerous children’s charities: Former director on the Board of the Roar for the Floor campaign; and served on the Board of Kids Kicking Cancer
  • Generously supports many sports clubs in the Strathroy and Watford community, as well as at Western Engineering

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2020 – Tim Kwan, BESc’73

  • Founder and President of Sheppard Group
  • Chairman of the Mon Sheong Foundation
  • Received the Senate of Canada Sesquicentennial Medal in 2018
  • Received the Chinese Canadian Legend Award in 2019
  • For the past 26 years has helped build senior care facilities and nursing homes to serve the elderly in the Canadian community

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2019 – Tony Vysniauskas, BESc’74, MESc’76

  • CEO of Virtual Materials Group
  • Former CEO & President of Hyprotech Ltd.
  • Merit Award from the graduating engineering class of 1974.
  • Award for Innovation and Contribution to the Betterment of Mankind through Engineering Technology
  • Canadian Gas Processor’s Association: Award for Innovative Excellence
  • Alberta Export Achievement Award 1986
  • Member of Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)

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2018 - Jeff Westeinde, BESc‘89

  • President, Zibi Canada
  • Chair, Clearly Solar Energy
  • Executive Chair, Milestone Environmental Contracting
  • Chair, Envirogreen Technologies
  • Founding Chair, Invest Ottawa
  • Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)
  • Named to Canada’s Top 40 under 40
  • Recipient, Western’s Young Alumni Award of Merit

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2017 – Brian J. Bonnick, BESc’81

  • Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, IMAX Corporation
  • Former Vice President, Operations & Engineering, Electrohome Corp.
  • Former Vice President & General Manager, TSB International, Inc.

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2016 – Marvin DeVries, MEng’83

  • Former President, Trojan Technologies
  • Former Project Manager, World Renew – International Relief Development
  • Former Member, Board of Directors, London Economic Development Corporation.
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

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2015 – Michael Andrade, BESc’86

  • CEO, Morgan Solar Inc.
  • Board Member, Firan Technology Group Corporation (FTG)
  • Founder, T-innovation Partners
  • Former President, Diversified Markets, Celestica Inc.
  • Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)

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2014 – Bruce Washington Ross, BESc’85

  • Group Head, Technology and Operations, Royal Bank of Canada
  • Former General Manager, Global Technology Services, North America, IBM
  • Former General Manager, IBM Global Technology Services, Europe, IBM Global Services
  • Former General Manager and President, IBM Canada Ltd.
  • Member, Board of Governors, The University of Western Ontario

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2013 – Hanny A. Hassan, CM, BESc’64

  • President, Alef Consulting Inc.
  • Former Partner, Dillon Consulting
  • Former Structural Engineer, Hastings & Aziz Ltd.
  • Former Structural Engineer, Richards, Bauer and Moorhead.
  • Former Chair, Board of Governors, The University of Western Ontario.

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2012 – James Douglas Hole, BESc’67

  • President, J.D. Hole Investments, Inc.
  • Director-Energy Conservation, Canada Department of Natural Resources
  • Former Chair and Director, Lockerbie & Hole Contracting Limited
  • Former President & Chief Executive Officer, Lockerbie & Hole, Inc.
  • Board Member, Aecon.
  • Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)

2011 – Keith Stevens, BESc’70, MESc’71

  • Chair Execulink Telecom Inc.
  • Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Execulink Telecom Inc.
  • Former President, Woodstock Chamber of Commerce
  • Warden for the Corporation of Seven Wardens
  • Warden of Camp 11, serving as Chief Warden

2009 – Sarah J. Shortreed, BESc’89

  • Chief Information Officer, Bruce Power
  • Former Vice President, Enterprise Portfolio Management, BlackBerry.
  • Former Vice President, Planning and CIP Program Office, BlackBerry
  • Former Business Development Executive, IBM Canada
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).
  • Member, Board of Governors, The University of Western Ontario

2008 – Catherine Karakatsanis, BESc'83, MESc'91

  • Chief Operating Officer, Morrison Hershfield Group Inc.
  • Member, Board of Governors, The University of Western Ontario.
  • Former Chair and Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)
  • Former President and Chair, Professional Engineers Ontario
  • Former President and Chair, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
  • Former Board member, The Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation
  • Recipient, The Gold Medal, Professional Engineers Ontario

2007 – Boris Jackman, BESc'72

  • Former Executive Vice President, Refining & Marketing, Suncor Energy Inc.
  • Former Executive Vice President, Downstream, Petro-Canada.
  • Former Executive Vice President, First Brands Canada Corporation
  • Former Director of Saxon Financial Inc.
  • Former Member, Board of Governors, The University of Western Ontario.

2006 – Charles F. Ruigrok, BESc'78, MEng’84

  • Board of Directors, ENMAX
  • Former Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, ENMAX.
  • Director, Soane Energy LLC
  • Former Chief Executive Officer, Syncrude Canada Ltd.
  • Former Vice President, Oil Sands Development and Research, Imperial Oil Resources
  • Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)

2005 – Keith Zerebecki, BESc'72, MEng’73

  • Former Director, Business Planning & Alliances, General Dynamics Land Systems
  • Former General Director, General Motors Defense
  • Former Chair, Board of Governors, The University of Western Ontario
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

2004 – G.S. Peter Castle, BESc'61, PhD'69,

  • Professor Emeritus/Adjunct Research Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Ontario
  • Recipient, Richard Harold Kaufmann Award
  • First student to be awarded a Ph.D. from Engineering Science at Western

2003 - Edward M. Aziz, BESc’60

  • Chair & Chief Executive Officer, Hastings & Aziz Ltd.
  • Former President, Hastings & Aziz Ltd.
  • Former Scientific Analyst, IBM Canada Ltd.

2002 – Douglas Muzyka, BESc ’77, MESc’79, PhD’85

  • Former Chief Science and Technology Officer, DuPont.
  • Former President Greater China, DuPont.
  • Former Vice-President and General Manager, DuPont Nutrition and Health.
  • Former President and CEO, DuPont Canada.
  • Independent Director, CCL industries Inc.

2001 - John W. Jardine, BESc‘65

  • Entrepreneur, Jardine Management Inc.
  • Former City Engineer, Corporation of the City of London, Ontario.
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

1999 - John Westeinde, BESc'62

  • Founder & Former President, Westeinde Construction Ltd.
  • Former Vice Chair, Canadian Construction Research Board.
  • Former Chair of the Ontario General Contractors Association and General Contractors Association of Ottawa.
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

1998 - Henry Yip, BESc‘73

  • Founding Member, Treasurer & Secretary, Edmonton Catholic Schools Foundation.
  • Chair, Transmission Facilities Cost Monitoring Committee, Government of Alberta, Department of Energy.
  • Executive Chair, Nirix Technology.
  • President, C’andcee Development.
  • Former Chief Executive Officer, DriveABLE Assessment Centre Inc.
  • Former Executive Vice President, Allstream Corporation.
  • Former Vice President, Telus Communications.
  • Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

1997 - Jack McBain, BESc’66

  • Former President, Operations, Canadian National Railway.
  • Former Chair, Association of American Railroads, Safety and Operations Management.
  • Former Director, Railway Association of Canada.
  • Former Director, The Niagara River Bridge Co.

1994 - Bill Etherington, BESc’63, LLD’98

  • Chair, Celestica Inc.
  • Director, ONEX Corporation.
  • Former Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBM World Trade Corporation.
  • Former Chair, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

1991- Ron Yamada, BESc’64

  • Co-Founder, MDS Inc.
  • Former Executive Vice President, Global Markets and Corporate Affairs, MDS Inc.
  • Former Member, Board of Governors, The University of Western Ontario.
  • Former Chair, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

1990 – The late Brian Hewat, BESc’59

  • Former Executive Vice President, Marketing, Bell Canada
  • Former CEO, Bell-Northern Research
  • Former President, Stentor
  • Former Chair, Nortel Technologies.
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE).

1989 - John M. Thompson, OC, BESc’66, LLD’94

  • Director, TD Bank Group Ltd.
  • Former Chancellor, The University of Western Ontario
  • Former Chair, TD Bank Financial Group
  • Former President & Chief Executive Office, IBM Canada Ltd.
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)

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1986 - Peter C. Maurice, BESc’60

  • Former President and CEO, Canada Trust.
  • Former Vice Chair, London Economic Development Corporation
  • Former Vice-Chair, CT Financial Services
  • Former Vice-Chair, Canada Trustco Mortgage Co.
  • Former Chair, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)
  • Former Member, Western’s Board of Governors
  • Recipient, Dr. Ivan Smith Award (2003)

1984 - John R. Grace, OC, BESc’65, DSc’03

  • Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia .
  • Former Canada Research Chair, Clean Energy Process, University of British Columbia
  • Recipient of the G. Howard Ferguson Award

1982 - Steven Killing, BESc’72

  • Yacht designer
  • Made designs for four of the America's Cup teams, and was lead designer for the Canadian True North challenge
  • Instrumental in developing, with NRC, techniques for tank testing sailboats
  • His book Yacht Design Explained is considered the 'bible ' of yacht design

1981 - Carl Erik Kohn, BESc’64

  • Entrepreneur, CEK Associates
  • Former Vice President, Bell Canada
  • Former Member, Advisory Council for Western Engineering (ACWE)
  • Former Adjunct Professor, Computer Science, University of Waterloo

1979 - Michael Owen Toll, BESc’68

  • Professor, Electronic Technology, Conestoga College
  • Former Manager, Biomedical Engineering, St. Joseph’s Hospital
  • Former Professor, Memorial University

1977 - Ross Leonard Judd, BESc’58

  • Professor Emeritus, Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University
  • Recipient, Ralph R. Teetor Award, Society of Automotive Engineers
  • Member, Order of Honour, The Professional Engineers of Ontario (2013)