Engineering Alumni Medal
First awarded in 1939, the Engineering Alumni Medal is the highest honour awarded by the Engineering Alumni Association. High achievement is the common thread that links past recipients of this medal. In their diverse careers, these individuals have demonstrated superior accomplishments and have responded with flair and excellence to the challenges they have faced. They are outstanding role models for Engineering students.
Frank Dottori, ChemE 6T3
Frank Dottori, President of FADCO Consulting Inc., held a wide range of positions in both the mining and forest-products industry during his career. He co-founded Tembec Inc. in 1973, which went on to become a large global forest products company with 55 mills throughout the Americas and Europe, and assests of approximately $4 billion. He retired as CEO in January 2006. Throughout his career, Dottori served on numerous industry-related associations including as Chairman of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Vice-Chair of Habitat for Humanity Canada, and Advisor on the David Suzuki National Business Advisory Board. He received the Order of Canada in 1989.
Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction Award
The Hall of Distinction is an assembly of extraordinary alumni, selected for membership by their peers for their lifelong accomplishments. These are graduates whose performances have ultimately defined what is most exemplary in our graduates and in our profession. The careers of the members stand as examples and add a sense of reality to the aspirations of successive generations of Engineering students. Located in the Sandford Fleming Building, the Hall of Distinction is a familiar daily presence in the lives of students and is often visited by alumni and their families.
William Breukelman, ChemE 5T5
William Breukelman is a successful entrepreneur and engineer with over 57 years of Canadian and international leadership experience. A pioneer and visionary in imaging businesses, he was a Co-Founder and past Chair of IMAX Corporation, Co-Founder and past President of AB Sciex Ltd. and President of Fischer & Porter Company (now part of ABB). He is currently Chair and Principal of Business Arts Inc. and Founder and Director of other cutting edge imaging ventures. Breukelman was recently appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, recognizing his long-term entrepreneurial service and achievements to Canada and globally.
Jan Carr, ElecE 6T8
Jan Carr has 42 years of experience in the electricity sector as a professional engineer, holding senior positions in the design and planning of electricity transmission and distribution systems. He was CEO of the Ontario Power Authority from 2005 to 2008. Prior to that, he was Vice-Chair of the Ontario Energy Board during its transition from a government department to a self-funding independently operated tribunal. He is a member of various professional associations. He received an honourary degree from the University of Waterloo in 2010 and was inducted as a Fellow into the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2012.
Jay Cross, EngSci 7T5
Jay Cross has over 30 years of experience in real estate and business. He is President of Related Hudson Yards, where he leads financing, planning and construction efforts of the 28 acre Hudson Yards development on the west side of Manhattan. Cross was formerly President of the New York Jets (NFL) and President of Business Operations for the Miami Heat (NBA). An accomplished sailor, he has been a member of 3 Canadian Olympic teams.
Emil Frind, CivE 6T6, MASc MechE 6T7, PhD CivE 7T1
Emil Frind’s background in engineering combined with his interest in water resources put him on the leading edge of the emerging field of quantitative groundwater science. In 1971, he joined the University of Waterloo’s Department of Earth Sciences as a core member of its newly established groundwater group. Most recently, Frind collaborated with the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in developing a strategy for the sustainable use of local groundwater as a drinking water source, saving the Region’s taxpayers the billion-dollar cost of a Great Lakes pipeline. Frind remains active as a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo.
2T5 Mid-Career Achievement Award
The Class of 2T5 was the first class in Canada to receive iron rings at The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. Since 1975, the Class of 2T5 annually presents the 2T5 Mid-career Achievement Award. This award recognizes a graduate (11 to 25 years from undergraduate graduation) who has earned respect within the profession as well as the broader Canadian community.
Suneet Tuli, CivE 9T0
Suneet Singh Tuli is the Co-Founder and CEO of DataWind Inc., with a mission of bridging the digital divide by breaking the affordability barrier. In 2012, Forbes magazine recognized Tuli in its “Impact 15″ list, a group of education innovators using technology to revolutionize the classroom. With 25 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur, DataWind’s TSX listing represents the third IPO of his career, and was recognized by the MIT Technology Review as among the world’s 50 smartest companies in 2013.
Janet Elliott, EngSci 9T0, MecE MASc 9T2, PhD 9T7
Janet Anne Wade Elliott is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Thermodynamics in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta. Elliott currently serves on the editorial board of the journal Cryobiology and has been recognized for excellence in research and teaching throughout her career. In 2015, she was named a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and in 2002 TIME Magazine recognized her accomplishments in an article titled, “Canadians Who Define The New Frontiers of Science”.
7T6 Early Career Award
The Class of 7T6 annually presents the 7T6 Early Career Award to engineering graduates who have attained significant achievement early in their career and shows promise of further contributions. The award is presented to an individual who is distinguished early in their profession, community, university and other related fields.
Todd Reichert, EngSci 0T5, AeroE PhD 1T1
In 2012, Todd Reichert and Cameron Robertson (EngSci 0T8, MASc AeroE 0T9) co-founded AeroVelo Inc., a company that has focused on using human-powered vehicles as a teaching platform to demonstrate innovative and creative engineering and challenge perceptions of what is possible. In 2010, Reichert and Robertson led a team of engineering students into the history books of aviation with the first sustained flight of human-powered flapping-wing aircraft. Three years later, they achieved what many had thought to be impossible with the prize-winning flight of the Atlas human-powered helicopter.
Stefanie Blain-Moraes, EngSci 0T5, BioMedE PhD 1T0
Since 2012, Stefanie Blain-Moraes has been working on electroencephalogram (EEG) assessment and monitoring of consciousness and cognition as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan and McMaster University. Her primary areas of interest center on developing technologies that enhance the lives of individuals who are unable to move or speak. She is currently developing a technology called “biomusic”, which converts the physiological signals of unresponsive individuals into musical output.
Malcolm F. McGrath Alumni Achievement Award
Named in honour of Malcolm McGrath on his retirement as assistant dean — alumni liaison, this award recognizes contributions of personal service to the Faculty, the University or to the community. McGrath was the first assistant dean responsible for alumni affairs and development in the Faculty. Among his many accomplishments are the growth of the Annual Fund, the Engineering Open House, the introduction of the Skule™ Stage Band, and the establishment of the Graditude Campaign.
Christopher Hinde, CivE 5T0, MASc 5T3
Christopher “Chris” Hinde has played an active role as a member and secretary-treasurer of the 5T0 Engineering Alumni Committee for more than 60 years. Hinde was also Co-Chair of the Ajax Remembered Campaign, which raised $400,000 towards the construction of teh Ajax House. He later assisted in the creation of the 5T0 Leadership Award and is an active promoter and participant in the monthly Skule Lunch & Learn speaker series.
L.E. (Ted) Jones Award of Distinction
This award was established to acknowledge the contributions of Professor Emeritus L.E. (Ted) Jones and is in recognition of the contributions over his long and distinguished career to students, alumni and the Faculty. It also pays tribute to his continuing support and dedication to the Engineering Society and the Engineering Alumni Network (EAN) of the University of Toronto. The award endorses Jones’ great appreciation of the arts and his love of music.
Haruna Monri, CivE 1T4 + PEY
Haruna Monri was a member of the Skule Orchestra in her first year and quickly expanded her involvement, becoming first violinist in the Hart House Orchestra, the Iron Strings Quartet and the Skule Nite Band. She also brought music to the wider U of T community by performing with the Appassionata Music Group at charity events held by various clubs on campus, and at Engineering Faculty and departmental events. Monri was also deeply involved with various school clubs and associations, and earned Dean’s List recognition throughout her degree.
Luca Casciato, MechE 1T5
While studying at U of T Engineering, Luca has found his way into many of Canada’s leading orchestras as a violist and has studied with some of the most distinguished classical musicians of our time. He recently performed with the renowned New York String Orchestra for two sold out performances at Carnegie Hall. Around campus, Casciato could be seen performing regularly with the Appassionata Music Ensemble and the Iron Strings Quartet. Casciato is also an occasional performer of jazz and traditional Italian folk music.
Honourary Member of the EAN
Acknowledges the exceptional contributions of an individual who is not a member of the EAN but has contributed in a very significant way to bettering the Faculty, the EAN and/or the lives of current or future members of the EAN.
Ronald D. Venter
Born in South Africa, Professor Emeritus Ron Venter became a faculty member at U of T Engineering in 1975 after working for DeBeers Diamonds. Venter has served in leadership roles at the University, most notably as Chair of Mechanical Engineering and Vice-Dean of the Faculty. He has volunteered his time and expertise on a number of committees and was a member of the Governing Council. In 2009, he received the University’s Vivek Goel Citizenship Award in recognition of his exemplary service. Venter chairs the Project Planning Committee, which was instrumental in developing the much-anticipated Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship.