Two Waterloo Engineering alumni were recognized by Canada's Clean50 for their contributions to sustainability.
The annual Clean50 Individual awards celebrate leaders whose collaborative efforts help create a job-rich, cleaner, healthier, innovation based low-carbon economy that supports all Canadians.
Dr. Ibraheem Khan (PhD '07), CEO of Extract Energy, was lauded for his company's heat engine innovation which employs smart materials to efficiently convert low-grade waste heat (LGWH) to electricity in a range of applications including primary power and industrial processes.
Dr. Ibraheem Khan, CEO of Extract Energy.
Over the past 27 months, the team took the pilot design and increased output by 1000x. It is now on the brink of generating megawatt levels of energy. As it scales further, more applications will be unlocked, enabling multiple industries to drastically decrease their carbon footprint as well as enable the realization of generating clean electricity from shallow geothermal sources, potentially revolutionising the primary power industry.
Ron Saporta (MASc '05, civil engineering), COO of the University of Toronto, was recognized for his project to transform the downtown St. George Campus into the world’s first climate positive and greenhouse gas (GHG) negative post-secondary campus by 2050.
Ron Saporta, COO of the University of Toronto.
The strategy, which has been fully developed and costed, consists of a $1.2 billion total investment in infrastructure, building and climate technologies, and renewable energy.
The project is already underway and will result in the university capturing more GHG emissions than it creates.
The Clean50 Awards were founded by the Toronto-based Delta Management Group in June 2011.
The Clean50 Individual awards are selected from 16 diverse categories that transcend industries, academia, different levels of government, thought leaders and advocates, and are based on measurable accomplishments delivered in Canada during the preceeding two years.