Mechanical Engineering Professors, Gary Faulkner, Ming Zuo, Andre McDonald and Albert Vette have been recognized with Faculty of Engineering Awards
Professor Emeritus, Dr. Gary Faulkner, received the Faculty of Engineering Career Leadership Award for "exceptional career and leadership contributions within the Faculty of Engineering."
"I feel very honored to see that so many of my colleagues, students and mentors would put in so much effort to nominate me for this award," says Faulkner.
Dr. Faulkner joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1969 and was an integral member of the Department until his retirement in 2003. He served as Department Chair from 1984 to 1990, taking the department through some tough financial times while steering it through a major overhaul of its undergraduate curriculum. During his tenure in this department, Dr. Faulkner taught at all levels, and across the curriculum, receiving the department's undergraduate teaching award five times, and supervising over twenty-five graduate students.
"Leadership is all about finding ways to have the members of your team succeed," says Dr. Faulkner. "Leaders need to develop a vision but success will depend on the imagination and ingenuity of the whole team."
Dr. Faulkner has dedicated himself to service as a professional engineer. He is currently a Director of Engineers Canada. He is a Fellow of Engineers Canada, a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers, and an honorary Fellow of Geoscientists, Canada. In 2012 he was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal, to recognize significant contributions by Canadians that benefit the country and its citizens.
Dr. Ming Zuo received the Faculty of Engineering Research Career Award in "recognition of [his] excellence in research within the Faculty of Engineering."
Dr. Zuo is Fellow of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers, USA, the Engineering Institute of Canada, and a Founding Fellow of the International Society of Engineering Asset Management, Australia. His research findings in the field of reliability engineering have been published in over two hundred refereed papers in top journals in the field. His publications have been cited over 13,000 times. His reliability algorithms have been adopted by Magnetische Prufanlagen of Germany, Syncrude Canada, and Luhang Technology Inc. of China, generating huge economic benefits, benefiting consumers and preventing industrial accidents.
"It's great that the Faculty has established these awards to recognize its own faculty members," says Ming. "Receiving the award encourages me to continue in my efforts to promote our Faculty of Engineering on the international stage," says Ming.
Dr. André McDonald received the Faculty of Engineering Mentorship Award for "exceptional contributions to student and faculty mentorship."
Of his approach to mentorship, McDonald says, "I provide information and guidance and leave it to the recipient to decide how to proceed. My hope is that this will allow people to develop as creative and independent thinkers."
"I appreciate this recognition by my colleagues," says McDonald. "It inspires my commitment."
Dr. Albert Vette received the Faculty of Engineering Graduate Teaching Award for "excellence in teaching" at the graduate level within the Faculty of Engineering.
In teaching graduate students, Dr. Vette's primary objective is to foster critical thinking, independence, and enthusiasm for their topic or field.
"In teaching graduate students, I encourage independence and establish an environment that allows students to explore and make mistakes. This allows them to acquire a comprehensive skillset. I provide a lot of feedback and focus on training for both technical and non-technical aspects of the engineering profession."
"I feel extremely honoured to receive this particular award," Vette says. "It further confirms that the Faculty of Engineering values my instructional commitment and efforts on the graduate level, both in terms of delivering course material and supervising graduate students."
Awards will be presented at a ceremony on May 23.