The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering is delighted to welcome Leigh McDermott, Director of City Utilities, Integrated Planning & Public Works, in the City of Waterloo as the 2026 Douglas Wright Engineer-in-Residence. The Douglas Wright Engineer-in-Residence (EIR) program is very fittingly named after the first Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Douglas Wright. With oversight by the Turkstra Chair in Urban Engineering, Nadine Ibrahim, the selection of a practicing engineer who serves in a leadership role in industry takes place every year to fulfil the position and hold this title. Engaging EIRs is one way that the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering fosters a diversity of perspectives in the education of future and current graduate engineers.
The Engineer-in-Residence program, more broadly, is an avenue for mutually beneficial engagement between the academic community and the engineering practice community. The Turkstra Chair’s activities are grounded in educational collaboration with the practice community, where the EIR is selected to foster and develop industry-academic engagements as they promote leadership among engineering students for the betterment of our cities now and into the future.
Past Engineers-in-Residence that have held this title include the following professionals:
- 2020: Mike Murray, Chief Administrative Officer, Region of Waterloo
- 2021: Erin Mahoney, Commissioner of Environmental Services, York Region
- 2022: Kealy Dedman, Commissioner of Public Works, Peel Region
- 2023: Kelly Scherr, Deputy City Manager, Environment & Infrastructure, City of London
- 2024 & 2025: Andrew Farr, Chief Administrative Officer, Halton Region
Looking forward to doing more with Leigh on campus, and to collaborations with the City of Waterloo.
About Leigh McDermott, MESc., P. Eng.
Prior to joining the City, Leigh worked for the Region of Waterloo delivering complex capital projects for over 5 years, and for Stantec Consulting as the Water Sector Leader in the local area for over 10 years. Leigh started his career in the water industry with Pall Water (now part of Trojan Technologies) as Director Water Processing, responsible for membrane systems in the Canadian market for over 5 years.
Leigh holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science in Biochemical Engineering from Western University and a Master of Engineering Science in Chemical Engineering from Western University. He is licensed as a Professional Engineer in Ontario (Professional Engineers of Ontario) and Alberta (The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta).
Leigh has contributed over his career to water and wastewater industry associations and is a current member of the Water Environment Association of Ontario. He has participated on several associations, including as the previous chair of the Membrane Systems Subcommittee of the American Water Works Association’s Technical and Education Council.
Leigh is a strong advocate of charitable work and is the President and Chair of the Board for the Nice Day Shining Charity based in Waterloo, Ontario. The charity is focused on supporting education in the fine arts and supporting and awareness of mental health.
About the Douglas Wright Engineer-in-Residence program
The Douglas Wright Engineer-in-Residence (EIR) program is an initiative in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which falls within the mandate of the Turkstra Chair in Urban Engineering, who leads the selection and oversight of the Douglas Wright Engineer-in-Residence.