Engineering Now .: Volume 4 - Edition 8 .: May and June 2008

Western Engineering staff and faculty feted for their contributions to Faculty

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Well deserving Western Engineering staff and faculty were celebrated for their hard work and dedication in June, at the annual Western Engineering Awards Celebration.
The awards dinner was held on June 4, at the Great Hall. Congratulations and thanks goes out to all members of the engineering community who were recognized for their achievements this year.

Four major awards were presented to their recipients this years, including: the Sharon A. Ling Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement by a Staff Member (awarded to Sandra Vilovski); the Western Engineering Award of Recognition (awarded to Dr. Don Hewson); the R. Mohan Mathur Award for Excellence in Teaching (awarded to Dr. Maged Youssef); and the award for 25 Years of Service (awarded to Dr. Cedric Briens and Dr. William Greason). For a more extensive listing of awards and recognitions, please view the official program.

The Sharon A. Ling Award of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement by a Staff Member is presented annually to a Western Engineering employee to recognize his or her exceptional contributions in support of the academic, research, innovation, public service or administrative missions of The Faculty of Engineering. The award has recently been renamed to honour and recognize Sharon Ling, a long-time staff member in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Sharon was a staff member who passionately dedicated her time and energy for the betterment of the Faculty.

Ms. Sandra Vilovski, Graduate Coordinator, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering is the first recipient of this newly named award in 2007. Sandra received an overwhelming number of letters of support from her colleagues, students and staff in the Department, Faculty, and University.

Many commented on Sandra being an exceptional team player, her ability to always be on top of things, her devotion to the graduate students in ECE, her innovative methods to ensure top quality service to students, faculty and staff, and her unwavering positive and caring attitude.

Each year the Faculty presents a special Western Engineering Award of Recognition to an individual (or team) who is not an employee of Western Engineering but has made exceptional contributions to help further the academic, research and innovation, public service and/or administrative missions of the Faculty.
Dr. Don Hewson, Managing Director and Industrial Liaison for Western’s Research Park in Sarnia-Lambton, is this year’s recipient of the award. Dr. Hewson received strong letters of support from colleagues, students and staff in Western Engineering and the University.

Many individuals commented on how Dr. Hewson continually goes above and beyond his role in strengthening the relationships between industry, the University and our alumni; and how his enthusiasm and creativity have made a huge impact on the undergraduate and graduate communities in Engineering.

The R. Mohan Mathur Award for Excellence in Teaching is presented annually to an outstanding Western Engineering faculty member to recognize his or her exceptional contributions to University teaching and the promotion of academic excellence amongst our students.

Dr. Maged Youssef, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, is this year’s recipient of the award. Dr. Youssef has received outstanding teaching evaluations at the undergraduate and graduate levels, consistently among the highest in the Faculty of Engineering. He has introduced innovation and information technology into his lectures to keep his course material both relevant and current.

Since joining Western in August of 2002, Dr. Youssef has revised three undergraduate courses and developed a new graduate course. Each year he has also contributed extensively to the Capstone Project (CEE 441). He further enhances the learning experience by encouraging undergraduate students to participate in national and international competitions (Concrete Toboggan, Concrete Canoe, Big Beam Contest) where several teams under his direction have either won or ranked highly in these competitions. In addition, he is very active in supervising a significant number of graduate students at both the Masters and Doctoral level. Dr. Youssef received letters of support from students and faculty commenting on his exemplary teaching contributions.

Every year, Western Engineering also pays special tribute to staff and faculty who have spent their careers helping to make the Faculty of Engineering the dynamic place it is, with the Award for 25 Years of Service.

Dr. Cedric Briens, of the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, and Dr. William Greason, of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have both spent significant portions of their professional careers with Western Engineering.

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Contact

.: Becky Blue
Spencer Engineering Building, Room 2074
Telephone: (519) 850-2917 Fax: (519) 661-3808
contactwe@eng.uwo.ca