UPEI honoured at Engineers PEI annual banquet
Engineers PEI held their annual banquet recently with guest speaker UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz who addressed a crowd of nearly 125. Two members of UPEI's staff and faculty, David Taylor and Stephen Champion, received recognition awards for environmental and industry excellence at the dinner.
Abd El-Aziz delivered a lively speech emphasizing that engineering is not new to UPEI. The diploma program has been in place since the 1950s and has supported over 1,400 alumni-28% of which make up the membership of Engineers PEI.
'UPEI produces engineers that will help build the industry by bringing entrepreneurial mindsets and solutions for PEI firms as well as global clients,' said Abd-El-Aziz. 'We will also strive to develop UPEI's engineering program as an industry magnet to bring firms and business to us, here on PEI.'
UPEI's manager of environmental services, David Taylor, was recognized with the Engineers PEI Award for Environmental Excellence. Taylor has led a number of sustainability projects and initiatives on campus since he began working at UPEI in 2007, including a campus-wide policy establishing UPEI as a community leader in sustainability. For example, the University recently received an 'Environmental Calculator' from Cascades Fine Papers Group and Wood Wyant for UPEI's environmental savings in the 2011-12 fiscal year.
The Engineers PEI Ralph L. Woodside Memorial Award for Service to the Profession was awarded to UPEI engineering Assistant Professor Stephen Champion who has worked as an engineer on PEI in a range of professional capacities and is also a key player in the future development of the engineering program at UPEI. He has used his experience to teach first-and second-year university students in the engineering program, bringing them to understand the nature of engineering projects, the role of engineers in management, and many other aspects of the profession. Champion is the third UPEI engineering professor to receive this prestigious award and is in good company with Don MacEwen and Don Gillis; however, what makes this particular award even more special is the fact that he joins his father as a recipient.
UPEI congratulates David and Stephen on these well-deserved honours.
Stephen Champion receiving the Engineers PEI Ralph L. Woodside Memorial Award for Service to the Profession at a recent Engineers PEI banquet.
