CivE 6T9, MASc 7T1, PhD 7T4
Inducted: 2011
As an inspirational leader of the structural engineering profession in Canada, Denis has led a 30-year effort to
significantly improve the safety and resilience of Canada’s built infrastructure.
Denis has demonstrated to the structural engineering profession that, with deep enough understanding
of the traditional approach to reinforced concrete design, it can be replaced by design based
on first principles. His approach has met tremendous success and has made a significant difference to industry.
As Chair of the Earthquake Design Provisions Sub-Committee of the National Building Code of Canada and Chair of
the Sub-Committee on Seismic Design of the Canadian Highway BridgeDesign Code, he is the key structural engineer
for the Canadian seismic design provisions of both buildings and bridges. When the Concorde Bridge in Laval, Quebec
collapsed in September 2006, Denis was appointed the lead structural engineer, providing experimental investigation
and expert testimony. His research has also helped to form the basis of design methods, adopted worldwide, that
could withstand catastrophic seismic events — from reinforcing floor slabs, to improving the ductility and toughness
of concrete infrastructure.
As a civil engineering professor at McGill University, Denis leads a research team that conducts nearly $800,000
of research per year. For research concerned with public safety rather than potential industry profit, this is an
extraordinary level of activity for a Canadian academic and is a tribute to Denis’s vision and leadership.
His honours include:
- Raymond Reese Research Award for Best Structural Research Paper, American Concrete Institute (ACI), 1976
- Fellow, ACI, 1981
- T.Y. Lin Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1982
- Fellow, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE), 1987
- Gzowski Medal, CSCE, 1992
- Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering, 1999
- Award of Merit, Canadian Standards Association, 2002
- Appointed James McGill Professor, McGill University, 2004
- Fellow, Engineering Institute of Canada, 2004
- Fellow, Royal Society of Canada, 2004
- A.B. Sanderson Award, CSCE, 2005
- Henry Adams Award, Institution of Structural Engineers UK, 2009