Two Water Institute faculty members have been elected fellows by Canada’s most distinguished engineering academy.
Dr. Monica Emelko and Dr. Carolyn Ren are among the newest cohort of 55 fellows to be elected to the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) by their peers. Fellows have been selected because of their "outstanding contributions to engineering and for serving as role models in their fields and communities,” said CAE’s president Dr. Soheil Asfarpour in a media release.
The Canadian Academy of Engineering is foremost national engineering institution through which Canada's most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to the country.
An in-person induction ceremony honouring the 2023 elected fellows will take place June 20 in Victoria, British Columbia.
Dr. Monica Emelko
Dr.
Monica
Emelko is a
civil
and
environmental
engineering
professor
and
a
Canada
Research
Chair
in Water
Science,
Technology
and
Policy.
She
is
the
director
of
the
University’s Water
Science,
Technology
and
Policy
Group,
and
was
the
world’s first
researcher
to
identify
climate
change–associated
threats
to
water
security,
including
the
deterioration
of
and
fluctuations
in
water
quality
after
wildfires
and
floods.
Currently, she and her research team are investigating the role of both “grey” in-plant treatment and “green” forest management-based technologies to address water quality challenges. Their findings will help inform water treatment technology innovation for adaptation, resilience and decision-making.
Emelko co-leads forWater, a Canada-wide and internationally-partnered strategic research network focused on forest management-based approaches for drinking water source protection. The network brings together researchers, government agencies and industry professionals from different disciplines across Canada who are focused on understanding and developing response strategies to climate change threats.
Dr. Carolyn Ren
Dr.
Carolyn
Ren is
a
mechanical
and
mechatronics
engineering
professor
and
a
Canada
Research
Chair
in
Microfluidic
Technology.
As
director
of
Waterloo’s
Microfluidics
Laboratory,
she
is
recognized
as
one
of
Canada’s
top
microfluidics
researchers,
with
her
work
having
a
broad
and
profound
impact
on
the
global
biomedical,
pharmaceutical
and
environmental
sectors.
Ren is a Member of the Royal Society of Canada College (2018), a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering (2012) and was recently named one of WXN Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women (2021).
She was recognized as one of 20 leading innovators in Women of Innovation: The Impact of Leading Engineers in Canada. Ren is also an entrepreneur; her microfluidic innovations have spurred the launch of four start-up companies with her students (Advanced Electrophoresis Solutions, Alphaxon, QuantWave Technologies, and Air Mircrofluidics Systems.