Faculty of Engineering medal and award recipients celebrated remotely
This week, the Faculty will recognize outstanding Waterloo Engineering alumni as well as a generous corporate supporter of the Faculty.
Normally, the Faculty’s medal and award recipients are lauded in person at a gala dinner but, as we all know by now, this year has been anything but normal!
Instead, an online event will celebrate alumni with awards in four categories and a supporter of engineering research and education. Take a look at what it means to the following 2020 Faculty of Engineering Alumni Achievement Medal recipients to be honoured by their alma mater.
Petri Oksanen – Alumni Achievement Medal in Professional Achievement
Soon after Oksanen (BASc '03, computer engineering) joined Francisco Partners' San Francisco office in 2005, he made an immediate impact with his analytical abilities, drive, and willingness to learn.
One of Oksanen's nominators noted that during the first few years at the technology-oriented private equity firm most associates or vice presidents will do well to complete 
one investment per year.
“That Petri was involved with over 15 transactions over those initial years as an associate and vice president, with an outstanding track record to those transactions, reflects accurately on the disproportionate impact he has had,” he says.
Petri Oksanen credits Waterloo Engineering for his successful career.
Rising in the firm from investment associate to vice president and then principal, Oksanen was made partner in 2014 at 33, an age far younger than most partnerships are named in the private equity industry.
Oksanen recently moved to the company’s London, England office to lead investments across Europe.
He says he came to Waterloo Engineering to gain a deep understanding of computer engineering, a passion of his since childhood.
“That’s really where I started the path of combining deep technical understanding with the business, finance and economics perspective,” he says. “I totally believe I would not be where I am today if I hadn’t gone to Waterloo and for that I’m forever grateful.”
The same high level of commitment and energy Thompson (BASc ’01, chemical engineering) brings to her position as an engineering team leader at General Motors in St. Catharines she also brings to her countless community service roles both on and off the job.
Passionate about promoting STEM, especially to girls, Thompson has developed and helmed numerous initiatives with different groups to inspire young women to pursue education and careers in the field. She also has encouraged other professionals to become role models.
As one of four members of the STEM Corporate Social Responsibility team at General Motors of Canada, Thompson has been instrumental in creating partnerships and designing programs and workshops that promote STEM. She also expanded the GM STEM summer camp program by initiating a girls-only week at Dalhousie University.
Stephanie Thompson is passionate about promoting STEM, especially to girls and young women.
For over 10 years, Thompson has mentored a FIRST team and is an executive member of the Girls in STEM council with FIRST.
In 2019, she created Women in STEM Experiences and STEMbySteph, two initiatives aimed at introducing young girls and women in the Niagara community to subjects such as robotics, environmental science, space science, electronics, and chemistry through fun, hands-on workshops.
Recently, Thompson, who has been called a STEMpreneur extraordinaire, launched a series of STEM-based workshops called Women in STEM Experiences (WISE).
Two of her many other volunteer service roles include professional ambassador for the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering and team leader of the Women’s Build for Habitat for Humanity Niagara.
Besides being honoured this week with Waterloo Engineering's Alumni Achievement Medal, Thompson was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners, a prestigious program that celebrates the achievements of women across Canada who advocate for workforce diversity and inspire tomorrow’s leaders.
Singh’s pathway to success as an entrepreneur took him to several different countries before returning to his homeland of India nine years ago to launch a business that is improving dental health across the country.
Moving to Nigeria at the age of 12, Singh was just 15 when he started his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the University of Ilorin.
After completing his degree in 1990, he worked for a year before travelling to Canada to begin a master’s in systems design engineering at 
Waterloo.
Nominated for Alumni Gold Medal for outstanding graduate work, Singh graduated from Waterloo Engineering in 1992. Four years later, he completed a Master of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
Amarinder Pal Singh returned home to India in 2011 to launch a successful chain of dental practices.
For the next 15 years, Singh worked throughout the U.S. and Canada in senior management roles at leading American and Canadian companies. He also ran a supply chain software company based in San Francisco and founded companies in the healthcare, education, procurement, cloud computing and computer software sectors.
In 2011, he returned to India with his wife and two young daughters to reconnect with family and open a company that would not only be profitable but have a social impact.
After researching many possible areas of business, Singh decided to launch a chain of dental practices in India to provide oral care lacking in many parts of the country at the time.
Over the years, he has grown his business, called Clove Dental, to more than 350 thriving dental practices throughout the country. The largest oral healthcare company in Asia and eighth in the world, it provides free dental consultations to children in need of safe, clean, high quality dental care.
“Hard work and the education that you receive from Waterloo can get you to your professional achievements and your heights,” says Singh. “I’m so proud to have been a graduate of Waterloo and be associated with this great institution.”
Shahini (PhD '11, mechanical engineering) arrived home from class one day in March 2009 to find his then-roommate Silagadze (BASc '07 electrical engineering) had turned the living room of the apartment the two shared into an office, complete with computers and co-op students.
Shahini joked at the time that he didn’t have much choice but to join the fledgling startup and arranged to take time off from working on his doctorate.
It was Shahini, an award-winning Waterloo Engineering teaching assistant at the time, who came up with the idea of developing an online teaching 
program to help engage students with interactive course materials, tools and assessment activities.
Mohsen Shahini, left, and Mike Silagadze started Top Hat in the living room of the apartment they shared.
After designing a prototype, the pair approached a few of their engineering professors for feedback. They came away with funding and sound advice, which they used to launch Top Hat Monocle, now known as Top Hat.
Eleven years later, the company’s learning software is used by thousands of professors in universities throughout North America to engage millions of students in online, blended and face-to-face courses.
Now located in Toronto, Top Hat employs well over 400 employees, including Waterloo Engineering alumni and co-op students.
Last year, Shahini took a leave from Top Hat and launched a startup called Kritik, which develops high-level critical thinking by enabling students to collaborate, provide feedback and analysis, and learn from each other.
Silagadze says the University’s strong belief, support and mentorship of entrepreneurship are unique and valuable.
It provides “a really great model that encourages students to think broadly and apply challenging problems that are out in industry,” he says.
When Ghaeli (BAS ’11) started working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study urban environments, she could not have imagined her research focus would quickly turn to analyzing human waste found in sewage.
Armed with a Waterloo undergraduate degree in architecture followed by a master’s in architecture from McGill University, Ghaeli joined MIT’s 
Senseable City Lab in 2014 to research city communities in new ways.
Architecture alumnus Newsha Ghaeli is president of Biobot Analytics, a wastewater analytics firm.
Her work pivoted soon after becoming a member of the lab’s Underworlds smart sewers team. She quickly became leader of a project that examines human waste found in sewers to pinpoint neighbourhoods with high rates of infectious diseases, illegal drug use, pollutants and even obesity.
Three years ago, Ghaeli co-founded and became president of Biobot Analytics, a Boston-based wastewater analytics firm that analyzes viruses, bacteria and chemicals excreted in urine and stools and collected in sewers to learn valuable insights into public health.
Last spring, Biobot Analytics became the first company in the world to conduct wastewater analytics to trace COVID-19 outbreaks through the stools of infected individuals.
Mariana Matus, who founded Biobot with Ghaeli, says her partner has been instrumental in the success of the company which has attracted over $6.7 million in venture investment, gained selection to the prestigious Y Combinator program in Silicon Valley, and secured U.S. government contracts.
“In the US, a degree in architecture is not considered a technical degree, but Newsha consistently showed us how architectural education in Canada - and particularly at Waterloo - is not only an engineering degree, but one that equips its students with the skills to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams tackling societal problems,” says Matus.
Over the years, Cisco Canada, an industry leader in IT and enterprise networking, has partnered on innovative research and generously supported engineering students and alumni.
Since 2006, Cisco has hired over 120 Waterloo Engineering co-op students tapping talent from the Faculty's software, biomedical, management, mechatronics and systems design engineering programs.
Students gain access to the latest technology to apply concepts and build products in the technical field.
The company has supported the University many other ways including a $100,000 sponsorship of Waterloo’s Problem Lab to work closely with Cisco’s Toronto Innovation Centre in identifying the company’s most significant business challenges.
In 2018, the company endowed a $1-million Cisco Research Chair in 5G Systems in Waterloo Engineering.
The chair, Catherine Rosenberg, an electrical and computer engineering professor, and other Waterloo researchers collaborate with Cisco to explore ways to improve wireless technology and investigate the potential of 5G.
“I believe this chair is an opportunity to generate exciting collaborative and multidisciplinary research on 5G and I am delighted to work with Cisco, a world leader in networking,” said Rosenberg at the time the chair was announced.
