July 2008 IssuE
Newsmakers
Russia Beckons for Albertan
COMPILED BY FRANCINE MAXWELL
The PEGG
It’s not everyday you receive an award from the president of Russia. But Clement Bowman, P.Eng., did exactly that — and it’s a big one, too.
Dr. Bowman is one of a trio of winners of the Global Energy International Award, designed to foster international cooperation in solving important problems in power generation. Founded in 2002 by Russian scientists, the award has gone to a number of influential people in the energy industry.
The new winners will share a $1.2-million prize. They received the award for “the development of highly efficient technologies and utilities for extracting oil from oil shale and oilsands, thus contributing to the energy saving problem of humanity,” says the award’s official website.
This is recognition Dr. Bowman has certainly earned, during a career spanning more than 40 years in oil and gas. The founding chairman of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority, he has been involved in pioneering events that have reshaped Alberta’s oilpatch.
Dr. Bowman has worked for both Syncrude and Imperial, and is a past president of the Alberta Research Council, and a former adviser of Peter Lougheed.
Despite all that, the APEGGA life member was surprised when told he’d won. No one had mentioned he was even nominated.
“A Swedish scientist who had met me once in Canada put me in and nominated me for the award,” he said. “I’ve been working on the oilsands since 1962, and over the years I guess they felt I’d done something worth recognizing.”
The award’s first Canadian winner plans to donate some of his winnings to educational scholarships in Canada. The other winners are Oleg Favorsky and Eduard Volkov, both Russian physicists.
The winners received their award in June from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
<next article continues below>
 |
RUSSIAN KUDOS |
Three Times The Green
Water, water education and carbon capture were the green winners of the day at this year’s Emerald Awards. As usual, APEGGA membership came up more than once in the list.
Winning in the large business category were EPCOR and Associated Engineering for their collaboration on the E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant upgrade. The two APEGGA permit holders calculated how to double the capacity of the Edmonton water treatment plant while only increasing the environmental output by 20 per cent.
This marks the second time this year the same water treatment plant has been cited in an environmental award. Associated Engineering received an award of merit for its work there from the Consulting Engineers of Alberta.
In the government institution category, the City of Calgary made a big green splash with its Water Centre. This municipal building in Calgary was designed and constructed to a high standard of environmental sustainability, and also helps educate people about water and wastewater.
In the research and innovation category, Dr. William Gunter, P.Geol., took home the hardware for his research on the capture and storage of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas believed to be contributing to climate change.
The Emerald Awards are presented annually to individuals, not-for-profits, communities, government institutions and corporations that demonstrate commitment to the preservation and enhancement of Alberta’s environment. This year’s gala was held June 3 in Edmonton.
Volunteer Group Wins Award
The University of Alberta chapter of Engineers Without Borders has won an award from the group’s national counterpart. The U of A student group received the Student Group of the Year Award for its contribution to university life and for making a positive difference in the lives of its members.
E.I.T. Wins Olympics Berth
An Edmonton member-in-training and triathlete will compete this summer in the Beijing Olympics. Paul Tichelaar, E.I.T., placed ninth in the men’s elite race in Vancouver in June.
Although his finish in the swimming, cycling and running event was a place shy of an automatic berth, the selection committee decided Mr. Tichelaar would go to the Olympics.
Mr. Tichelaar is a 2005 electrical engineering grad from the University of Alberta. He’s taken a leave-of-absence from employer Magna IV Engineering to pursue his Olympics dream.
Designer Digs
Reaps Rewards
Cohos Evamy has reason to whoop and holler after the Prairie Design Awards.
The company’s integrated design team received three awards for work on three different projects. An award of excellence was received for work done on Hall D at Edmonton’s Shaw Conference Centre. The new NAIT Spartan Centre for Instrumentation Technology and Petro-Canada Centre for Millwright Technology, along with Cohos Evamy’s new Calgary studio called Customspace, earned awards of merit.
The Prairie Design Awards are held every two years to celebrate excellence in architecture and interior design. The tri-provincial awards program is open to registered architects and interior designers from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The 2008 awards were presented May 9 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Who’s Moved Where
Brenda Kenny, P.Eng., of Calgary has been appointed president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. Ms. Kenny brings with her more than 20 years of experience in regulatory and policy development. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Kenny was vice-president of the association.
Mike Koziol, P.Eng., of St. Albert is the new lead of Edmonton’s newly formed Capital Construction Department. Mr. Koziol, a former APEGGA councillor, has been the manager of streets engineering since 2004. He brings more than 20 years of experience into his leadership role.
Dan Motyka, P.Eng., of Calgary was elected Engineers Canada President-Elect at the group’s Annual General Meeting in Quebec City in May. Mr. Motyka, a past-president of APEGGA, will begin his term leading Engineers Canada in 2009.
Randall Pryor, P.Eng., of Calgary has been appointed operations manager of Groundstar Resources Ltd. The company pursues exploration in Guyana, North Africa and the Middle East.