Engineers honoured with degrees and awards June 14

Monday, June 16, 2014
Waterloo Engineers received undergraduate and graduate degrees in two ceremonies on June 14. 
During the morning ceremony, 811 students were on hand to receive degrees in architecture, chemical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, geological engineering, management engineering, management sciences, mechanical engineering, and mechatronics engineering.

Professor Bruce Rittmann was presented with an honorary Doctor of Engineering. Rittmann is director of the Biodesign Institute in the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, and is a Regents’ Professor at Arizona State University. As a distinguished academic and a successful innovator with multiple patents, he earned his PhD in environmental engineering from Stanford University in 1979 and he is considered to be a world leader and a visionary in the area of environmental biotechnology. 

Michael Weingert delivered the valedictory address and Stanley Craig received the Alumni Gold Medal, which is given out in recognition of academic achievement.

In Saturday's afternoon ceremony, 652 students received degrees in business, entrepreneurship and technology; computer engineering; electrical engineering; nanotechnology engineering; software engineering; and systems design engineering.

Professor Ralph Keeney received an honorary Doctor of Engineering. Keeney is professor emeritus of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Southern California and a research professor emeritus at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He earned his doctorate in operations research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, and he has pioneered the development, use, and dissemination of systems engineering concepts and techniques that help governments, businesses, and individuals facing important decisions. 

Ayman Nadeem delivered the valedictory address at the afternoon ceremony. During the afternoon ceremony Mehrdad Eichel received the Amit and Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student and Matthew Brymer was honoured with the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering Gold Medal, which is granted for outstanding academic achievement in mechanical engineering.

Additonal convocation honours

Muhammad Iqbal received the George Dufault Medal for Excellence in Communication; Christina Belbeck the John Fisher Award for Leadership; and Ming-Ho Yee the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education Gold Medal for Academic Achievement.

The Roy Duxbury Leadership Award was presented to Alexander Rosewarne; Sonja Vangjeli received the Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Studies award (master's) and Shiva Abbaszadeh the same award in the doctoral category. Anthony Cerami received the Sir Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski Medal for Excellence in Communication.