Eng SUMMER'02 #42 · 2020. 5. 8. · 35 Kudos 37 Inmemoriam 22 ParliamentaryMatters Afterasuccessfulcareerin Singapore’spublicservice,SooPing Lim(Mechanical’74)changedcareers

F A L L 2 0 0 7 W W W. E N G I N E E R I N G . U A L B E R TA . C A

Keeping in Touch with

Alumni

From Farm Gate to Dinner PlateThe Avro Arrow Spherical Thinking

CONFIDENCEagiftof

Bill Kay(Chemical '57)

Message from theActing Assistant Dean

U of A Eng i n e e r2

VISIONTo be one of the largest

and most accomplished

engineering teaching and

research centres, a leader

in North America.

MISSIONTo prepare top quality

engineering professionals,

to conduct world-leading

research, and to celebrate

the first-class reputation

and outstanding

accomplishments of alumni.

VALUESDedication, integrity,

professionalism, and

excellence in teaching,

research, and service to

the global economy

and community.

2008Celebrating aCentury ofengineering Excellence

In 1919, after the end of the Great War, many

returning soldiers resume their education. As a

result, enrolment at the U of A swells to 1,000.

In 1914, the Department of Mechanical

Engineering is created.

Historical Highlights

19

10

-1

92

0FE

BR

UA

RY

Celebrating a Century ofengineering Excellence

Taj Mahal, Agra India

Shaun Luong

(Electrical ’99)

Completed in 1648, the Taj

Mahal is a colossal

mausoleum of white marble

commissioned by the Mughal

Emperor Shah Jahan, for his

favourite wife, Mumtaz

Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a

World Heritage Site,

described by UNESCO as

“the jewel of Muslim art in

India and one of the

universally admired

masterpieces of the world’s

heritage.” It was recently

selected as one of the New

Seven Wonders of the World.

Thanks to those who contributed photographs to the 2008Engineering Calendar. This specially themed calendar marks100 years of history of the Faculty of Engineering and includeshistorical highlights plus messages from Engineering alumni.

Your donations to the calendar will benefit the EngineeringStudents' Society. Thanks for your contributions to date.

Are you interested in participating in the 2009 calendar?Contact [email protected] for further information.

The Faculty of Engineering, like the field of engineering itself, continues to evolve. Overthe past several years, you may have grown used to seeing David Petis, assistant dean

of External Relations, addressing you on this page. Last summer, we bid farewell to Davidas he embarked on a new chapter in his career as vice president of University Advancementfor Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. We thank David for his seven years of out-standing work in bringing our alumni, donors, and corporate partners together to strength-en their relationships with the Faculty of Engineering here at the U of A.

As the manager of external relations for southern Alberta for the Faculty ofEngineering for the past six years, I have worked with many of our alumni andpartners in the Calgary region. I’m pleased to be stepping into the role of actingassistant dean of external relations as we embark on what promises to be oneof the most exciting years in our Faculty’s history.

In 2008, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Faculty of Engineering,as well as the centenary of the University of Alberta. Many things have changedon campus during this time and the practice of the profession has become morecomplex and sophisticated. The world is a very different place than it was in1908, but two things remain the same: the competence and contributions of ourgraduates and the dedication of our faculty and staff.

Our 100th anniversary provides an opportunity for us to look back and rec-ognize that this outstanding Faculty has been built by the thousands of engineering studentswho have laid the groundwork for the generations of students that followed. Not to be for-gotten are the hundreds of professors who have dedicated their careers to mentoring futureengineering professionals. Upcoming issues of this magazine will highlight some of the peo-ple and stories that have shaped the culture of our Faculty and set the stage for discoveriesand events that have defined our profession in the 20th, and now the 21st century.

I hope you will mark your calendars and plan on attending the special celebrations weare planning to commemorate our 100th anniversary, as well as the 50th anniversary of theDepartment of Mechanical Engineering. Come home to the U of A campus on September18–21, 2008, for what promises to be a weekend to remember.

Yours truly,

Laurie ShinkarukActing Assistant Dean, External RelationsFaculty of Engineering

C O V E R S T O R Y

10 A Gift of ConfidenceBill Kay (Chemical ’57) has learnedthat confidence develops slowly,through a lifetime of challengingwork and fair opportunities.

F E A T U R E S

6 Spherical ThinkingWith an auspicious start to life inSuccess, Saskatchewan, Harold Kalke(Civil ’62) is now an urban dweller inVancouver with a passion for sustain-able growth. Kalke is the head ofKalico Developments Ltd. and hascreated some of Canada’s most envi-ronmentally sustainable structuresduring his career. Describing himselfas a “spherical thinker” he appliesboth broad and narrow knowledge tohis field.

14 The Avro Arrow – TheMighty Might-Have-BeenThe year was 1953 and Jack Neal(Electrical ’52) signed on with A.V.Roe Canada to work on the aviationproject of a lifetime: the building ofthe CF-105, better known as the AvroArrow. The Avro legacy is oftensummed up as “one of the greatestmight-have-beens of the aviationindustry.” This was an airplane 25years ahead of its time. It was aglorious, if brief, era in the historyof Canadian ingenuity.

18 Engineering ScrimmagesBorn in Hungary in 1924, Grayson(“Mickey”) Hajash (Mining ’47) grewup a poor Saskatchewan farm boy.In high school, he emerged as anatural track and field athlete. In1949 he battled for the Grey Cup withthe Calgary Stampeders. Forthe remainder of his career, hescrimmaged in the oil game.

of ContentsTable F a l l 2 0 0 7

U of A Eng i n e e r 3

D E PA R T M E N T S

5 Sidewalk Superintendent

21 [email protected]

30 Crosshairs on History –Pioneer of ElectricalSafetyNow recognized as a pioneer ofelectrical safety, Ralph H. Lee(Electrical ’34) was the first to drawattention to a significant but previ-ously ignored hazard: electric arcflashes.

35 Kudos

37 In memoriam

22 Parliamentary MattersAfter a successful career inSingapore’s public service, Soo PingLim (Mechanical ’74) changed careersfor the third time. He’s now thecountry’s third auditor general sincethe republic became independent in1965. His job is to report toParliament about any spending ofpublic monies by governmentministries.

26 From Farm Gate toDinner PlateAs chair of The Sunterra Group ofCompanies and Rancher’s Beef Ltd.,Art Price (Mechanical ’73) leads aconsortium of 50 partners consistingof ranchers, farmers, and feedlotowners from across Alberta andBritish Columbia. This is but onecareer trajectory for this farm boyfrom Acme, Alberta.

32 A Jim of All TradesSumming up a four-decade legacy,Jim Newby (Civil '52) has left a markon the Edmonton landscape. Hisproud list of projects includes theGroat Bridge (completed in 1955,predicted to last 50 years, and stillin heavy use), St.Basil's Church,the Edmonton School for the Deaf,and the University of Alberta CancerCentre, among otheraccomplishments.

33 The Trophy BridgeWhat is the defining moment of a50-year career? Dr. Ralph McManus(Civil '42, MSc Civil '46) considers theDunvegan Bridge to be his mostchallenging project. Canada's fourthlongest suspension bridge, it hasspanned the Peace River alongHighway 2 in Alberta since 1960.

10

14


thefrom

EditorMessage

Many milestones in Canadian history bear the marks of University

of Alberta engineers. This issue features a profile of Jack Neal

(Electrical ’52), one of 15,000 employees who worked on the Avro

Arrow, an advanced airplane that captures the imaginations of

Canadians to this day. Although controversy surrounds the

politics and cancellation of this project, the fact remains that it

was 25 years ahead of its time. It was a glorious, if brief, era in the

history of Canadian ingenuity.

The year was 1953, and Canadians were in the

midst of the Cold War. As the Soviet Union began

to develop a fleet of long-range bomber planes

capable of flying nuclear weapons over the pole to

North America, the Canadian military searched for

a counter-offensive aircraft capable of intercepting

and destroying these deadly threats—a supersonic,

missile-armed miracle of engineering. Meeting

extremely advanced requirements for the time, the

Arrow was the first of its kind in the world. It was

an incredibly challenging engineering project, and Neal jumped at

the chance to be part of it.

The Avro project is just one of a growing list of achievements

created and crafted by graduates of the Faculty of Engineering.

If you know of other significant milestones in engineering

history, please contact me at 780.492.4514 or at

[email protected].

Yours truly,

Sherrell Steele

Communications Strategist

Faculty of Engineering

UofAEngineerU of A Engineer is the Faculty

of Engineering alumni magazine.It is published three times

a year by the Dean’s Office andis distributed to Faculty of

Engineering alumni, friends,and staff.

Dean of EngineeringDavid T. Lynch

(PhD Chemical ’82), PEng

Acting Assistant Dean,External RelationsLaurie Shinkaruk

External Relations TeamPeggy Hansen, Katherine Irwin

and Leanne Nickel

Publisher/Managing EditorSherrell Steele

Copy EditorScott Rollans

Art DirectionHalkier + Dutton Strategic

Design

Contributing writersand photographers

Blue Fish Studios, CaitlinCrawshaw, Linda Goyette,

Gail Gravelines, Scott Messenger,Hanna Nash, Lisa Ricciotti, Jim

Veenbass, and Bruce White.

Send your comments to:Sherrell Steele

Faculty of EngineeringE6-050 Engineering Teaching

and Learning ComplexUniversity of Alberta

Edmonton, AB T6G 2V4Tel: 780.492.4514 or

1.800.407.8354Fax: 780.492.0500

E-mail:[email protected]

Website:http://www.engineering.ualberta.ca

Fall 2007 Issue 24

Publications Mail AgreementNo. 40051128

Return undeliverable Canadianaddresses to:Faculty of Engineering,University of AlbertaE6-050 Engineering Teachingand Learning ComplexEdmonton, AB T6G 2V4

e-mail: [email protected]


rom the sixth floor of the Universityof Alberta’s new National Institutefor Nanotechnology (NINT) the ele-vation is such that Phil Haswell can

actually see the white tail feathers of a baldeagle as it wheels in its gyre. This might just beone of the best places in the city for the direc-tor of facilities for the Faculty of Engineeringto bird watch—maybe along side a nanotech-nologist, engineer, biologist, chemist, or med-ical researchers who call the interdisciplinaryinstitute home.

Canada’s flagship facility for the develop-ment of technology built from individualmolecules is unique in purpose and design,the kind of showpiece Alberta’s post-secondary institutions are eager to call theirown. Universities, colleges, and technicalinstitutes across the province are directing thecampus construction boom toward creatinghighly innovative spaces for learning.

“This facility demanded a high level ofenvironmental conditioning,” Haswell says.

“It was a challenge just to meet the specsto accommodate imaging and process tools, fornow and the future. What we think we want todo today is going to be different tomorrow. Sothe building has to roll with the punches.”

Alberta’s consulting engineers are amongthose working to provide that kind of agilityto structures and their systems. If the numberand complexity of upcoming projects is anyindication, the boom should keep everyoneworking for some time. While NINT’sdesign parameters are an extreme exampleof the kind of creativity post-secondary insti-tutions might require, it has still set an

SidewalkSuperintendents

important precedent. Given that tiny mole-cules react to environmental instability in bigways, every effort had to be made to limitfluctuations in temperature and humidity,building vibrations, and even in naturalgravitational fields.

“Scientists are using more sensitive piecesof equipment, and so the environmentalcontrols required for buildings are gettingmore stringent,” explains NINT’s structuralengineering consultant Dr. Jim Montgomery(Civil ’73), who is a partner with the firmCohos Evamy.

Accommodating equipment as finicky asmulti-million dollar electron microscopes wasmostly a matter of choosing a sufficiently“quiet” location. Some of the measures takento assure this were truly innovative. A paperauthored by Montgomery, Haswell, and oth-ers outlines the results of experiments con-ducted by the design group to determine thematerials and methods for reducing vibratiqnto levels acceptable for nanotechnology—3jum/s in some instances. For the uninitiated,that is a movement of about half as wide as astrand of spider’s web in one second.

“You don't get to the moon unless you trythings that are new,” Montgomery says.

Even for an established national consult-ing firm, designing a building with thesekinds of hair-trigger specifications involved asteep learning curve. Until the NINT project,veteran electrical engineer Glenn Stowkowy(Electrical ’76) of Stantec Consulting saidhe's never come across such strict designparameters. Stowkowy is convinced this isonly the beginning.

“I think there are going to be more special-ty buildings in the future,” Stowkowy says.

“Specifically in Western Canada, we'veprobably been lacking research facilities. Forcertain, building technology will change tocatch up with other places in the world thathave these facilities already.”

Projects commissioned by post-secondaryinstitutions may be increasing in sophistica-tion. Control systems are becoming morespecialized; projects are demanding a higherdegree of management. Innovative designs inAlberta may become just as commonplace offcampus as on. However, the shortage of skilledlabour hasn't bypassed the discipline. Therewas a huge gap in enrollment in the 1980s,which means most consulting engineers areeither over 50 or under 30.

This means U of A Engineers in a certaindemographic have years of professional chal-lenge ahead.

Adapted from an article written by ScottMessenger and published by Alberta Venture.Reprinted with permission from the ConsultingEngineers of Alberta

The National Institute for Nanotechnologyreflects the challenges and trends inthe consulting engineering industry.

FThe National Institute for Nanotechnology.


Sphe

Harold Kalke(Civil '62)


alke, the head of Kalico Develop-ments Ltd., has created some ofCanada’s most sustainable structures

during his career. He believes in “densifica-tion from within” (building up, instead ofout) in order to protect valuable farmlandand ecosystems from urban sprawl andmankind’s heavy ecological footprint.

Kalke’s approach is straightforward: usecommon sense strategies to minimizeresource use, and remember that MotherEarth is ultimately in charge.

“If you don’t honour [the Earth] andwork with it, it’ll come back and bite you,”says Kalke. “It’s a bigger thing than mankind.As a species we don’t seem to recognize that.That’s a huge problem.”

Kalke has been on the environmentalbandwagon since long before green livingbecame fashionable.

Born to a farming family in a small townnamed Success, Saskatchewan, Kalke never hadmuch. For his parents and all six children, liferevolved around the whims of the environment.

by Caitlin Crawshaw

ricalThinking

Harold Kalke (Civil ’62)began his life on theSaskatchewan prairie,but these days he’s anurban dweller inVancouver with apassion for sustainablegrowth.

“You’re always subject to the weather andcattle diseases and all kinds of things, so youdon’t feel like you’re in control of the environ-ment; the environment is in control of you.”

Kalke’s farm upbringing also taughthim hard work—and subservience to theplanet. This understanding has shaped hislife philosophy and life’s work. Yet,urbanites who “haven’t got any dirt undertheir fingernails,” don’t always sharehis mentality, though they advocate sustain-ability. “I’m not critical of them, but

K

by Caitlin Crawshaw


they just don’t get it at the heart level,”says Kalke.

In 1945, after contending with a terribledrought, grasshoppers and rust, Kalke’s fami-ly headed west. His father went ahead, jump-ing a freight car and walking from Red Deerto Peace River and back, in the dead of win-ter, searching for a plot of land to call home.

“He found this place just nine miles out-side of Leduc, on highway 2A, and we literal-ly built a farm out of nothing,” says Kalke.

At 14, Harold left his family to live witha dairy farmer down the road who’d been ina serious accident and needed the help. Forthree years he helped the farmer and his wife,before moving in with his eldest sister andher husband on their farm, at which time hefinished high school.

But while other kids his age might have hadmarriage on their minds, Kalke had other plans:he was heading to university. For one year heworked doggedly to save money for the ven-ture, though he didn’t know what he’d studyand knew few people who’d been to university.

Nevertheless, one day he borrowed hisbrother’s car and drove to Edmonton, park-ing at the University of Alberta. “I didn’tknow anything about university, so I justpicked the first building,” he says.

That building was Civil Engineering.After speaking to the secretary, and brieflywith the dean, he filled out an applicationform and handed over his transcript. Kalkedidn’t know what the future would bring, buthe did know that he loved learning.

By the end of his civil engineering program,nearly two-thirds of students had dropped bythe wayside, but Kalke excelled. He had puthimself through school by working on pipelineconstruction projects for the oil industry.

Upon graduation, Kalke worked forPembina Pipelines in Drayton Valley, design-ing pipelines. But, after working on a Calgaryjob for two years, he became acutely awarethat he’d need another degree to put him ona more fulfilling career path.

Fortunately, his work had brought him incontact with a coworker who would serve as

an example. At the time, the two wereinvolved with a feasibility study to

build a pipeline that would stretch fromEdmonton to Walla Walla, Washington.

Kalke helped crunch the numbers, helpingwith cash flow forecasts.

“I was fascinated by how he knew themore complicated stuff about finance and allthat stuff. So, I asked him how he learnedthat, and he said he took an MBA.” Beforelong, Kalke headed to University of WesternOntario to complete an MBA.

“Engineering is fairly narrow, but deep,knowledge. And engineering really teachesyou how to think deductively and analytical-ly. That’s what U of A engineering gave me—it taught me how to think deeply in onediscipline. And that really puts your brain inshape,” he says.

“What you need to supplement with thatafter the fact, is relatively shallow but broadknowledge. …When you combine narrowbut deep knowledge with shallow and broadknowledge, and you continue to work andthink, you begin to think spherically.”

For the next two years, Kalke worked forUnion Oil doing long-range corporate planningand risk analysis. Although it was intellectual-ly rewarding work, and the people were great,Kalke wanted more. “But I became aware thatfor me to go up the ladder at the pace I want-ed to…I would have to get a line job.”

His direction became suddenly very clearduring a business trip to Prince George,where Union Oil planned to build a newrefinery. His itinerary involved a stopover inVancouver, a prospect that most would con-sider unremarkable. But for Kalke, it was amoment of realization.

“It was my first experience seeing anocean,” says Kalke. “I fell in love with[Vancouver] just in that day and I resolvedthat I would move here.”

In 1969, Kalke and his wife and childrenmoved to West Vancouver, where he stilllives. He became a consultant, helping a localentrepreneur—who owned four engineeringcompanies and business interests world-wide—rationalize his assets. It was a fun jobfor Kalke, and it introduced him to a fasci-nating new field: real estate.

In 1971, Kalke formed a real estate devel-opment company and hasn’t looked back.“I’ve been doing this ever since. And I found

The Capers building in Vancouver, amixed-use building heated and cooledby a geo-exchange system.

9U of A Eng i n e e r

my natural niche, if you know what I mean.I really, really love this business,” he says.

Kalke went on to create KalicoDevelopments Ltd, Salt Like Projects Ltd.,Dandelion Geothermal Ltd. and other busi-ness ventures. Along the way, his underlyingenvironmentalism kicked in.

Kalke is a dedicated member of SmartGrowth B.C., an NGO that advocates fordensification of cities, preventing urbansprawl and protecting ecosystems. Not onlyis this a better strategy environmentally, butit’s a better way to create connected commu-nities, he says.

Kalke advocates “microneighbourhoods,”in which families live more closely together,with recreational facilities and amenities astone’s throw away. This use of space encour-ages meaningful interactions between people,reducing the isolation that comes from subdi-visions far outside of the city core.

Kalke’s own projects seamlessly blendenvironmental and human interests.Presently, his company is involved in tworun-of-the-river hydroelectricity projects inthe Kootenays.

Unlike other hydroelectricity strategies,run-of-the-river doesn’t require flooding theupper part of the river; it thus preserves nat-ural habitats and minimizes environmentalharm. The technology, says Kalke, is “themost environmentally friendly power genera-tion, perhaps alongside wind,” and is gainingmomentum in B.C.

Kalke also developed the Capers Buildingin Vancouver, on West Fourth Avenue. The

block-long, mixed-use building is heated andcooled by a geo-exchange system. Beneaththe building, 46 holes, each 90 metres deep,are connected with a pipe loop that circulateswater, utilizing the earth’s energy.

“No one had ever done it before inCanada. For sure, we did all of the researchtrying to find out about this thing, but wecame at it grassroots, and just did it the com-mon sense way. And it works lickity split,” hesays.

The building has become internationallyknown for its sustainable design, and is hometo the David Suzuki Foundation.

Currently, Kalke is the chair of theDockside Green project in Victoria, B.C. Theproject will develop 15 acres of former indus-trial land near the upper harbour and down-town, to create 1.3 million square feet ofresidential, office, retail and industrial space.“It’ll be the most sustainable project inCanada,” he proudly declares.

Kalke has also given back to the commu-nity in other ways. He is a former chair of theUniversity of British Columbia’s Board ofGovernors, and was involved on the searchcommittee that selected Dr. Martha Piper asUBC’s first female president, and Dr. IndiraSamarasekera as UBC’s vice president(research).

Kalke is openly frustrated at society’sreluctance to make changes to protect theplanet. “Man is like a virus on earth, andthat’s why the earth is now warming—it’sgetting a fever. Fevers are natural mecha-nisms in our bodies to kill viruses.”

But while cultural change is paramount, itbegins with a change in individual attitudes.“They can bring laws in, they can bring poli-cies about Kyoto, they can do all of thesethings, but unless you and I want to change,it doesn’t happen. We need to want tochange, we don’t want to be forced tochange. That’s a big difference.”

Still, Kalke’s excited about today’s youth,and their capacity to move society in newdirections.

“I have a great faith in them. I thinkthey’re much smarter than when I was theirage, and I also think they have fewer barriers.They’re prepared to explore intellectually awidth and breadth of topics that we weren’tprepared to think about.”

In other words, they’re ready to thinkspherically.

Kalke advocates “microneighbourhoods,” in whichrecreational facilities and amenities are a stone’sthrow away, and families can live closer together.

A rendering of the Dockside Green project in Victoria, British Columbia. An aerial photo of the Dockside Green project.

Caitlin Crawshaw is anaward-winning Edmonton-basedfreelance writer.


ill Kay (Chemical ’57) points to the photo-graph of a student with dark eyes and a hes-itant expression.

“That’s me,” he says.If only he could reassure his younger self, and

soothe the young man’s doubts with a glimpse of hisfuture achievements. The Class of ’57 at the Universityof Alberta had little to fear. No previous generationhad encountered brighter prospects.

“We are going into a world that desires and needsour skills,” the class valedictorian predicted, correctlyas it turned out.

The 128 engineering graduates offered everythingthe emerging province craved in the decade after the

Leduc oil strike—energy, fresh ideas, ambition, techni-cal and scientific expertise, optimism—but who couldbegin to guess the opportunities ahead?

Kay can’t speak for his classmates, but he doesremember his own uncertainty. On the day he gradu-ated, he encountered a law student at a barber shop.

“I really don’t know if I’d want to be an engineer,”admitted the upcoming lawyer.

“I don’t know if I have the confidence.”The young man wasn’t so sure that western

Canadian employers would want his new engineeringskills, or him. Born in the middle year of the GreatDepression, Kay grew up in Edmonton at a time whenmixed-race marriages brought unspoken social disap-

B

CONFIDENA retired engineer in a beautiful garden in south

Edmonton is turning the pages of a university

yearbook—1957 Evergreen and Gold. He looks at the

self-assured smiles of hundreds of graduates, and reflects

on his own journey from uncertainty to confidence.

a gift ofB Y L I N D A G O Y E T T E


CE

Bill Kay (Chemical ’57)


proval on all members of the family. Hisfather, Gee Soon Kee, was a Chinese-speak-ing immigrant from Malaysia who ran the St.Louis Café on Jasper Avenue. His mother,Jessie Natasia Skedaniuk Kay, was the daugh-ter of Ukrainian immigrants. The eldest of sixchildren, Bill spent the early years of hischildhood in a three-room apartment abovethe café. The family later moved to a smallhome in the downtown neighbourhood ofBoyle-McCauley.

As a teenager, Kay admired four universi-ty students who lived next door in a housenicknamed “Pete’s Shack.” One of the stu-dents was John Slupsky (Chemical ’53, MScChemical ’58).

“John became a good friend and mentor tome when I was in high school,” he remembers.

Kay decided to study chemical engineer-ing, too. His parents supported his dream,but, like most people in their neighbourhood,they could not afford to assist their son withhis university expenses.

Kay worked hard at summer jobs and,with financial assistance and encouragementfrom the Optimists Club and the AlbertaHotelmen’s Association, managed to pay his$125 tuition as well as room and board tohelp his parents.

He loved university, but the difficulty ofthe courses surprised him at first.

“I thought I was a math whiz, but I dis-covered I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was.I had my first crisis of confidence, but I keptmotoring on.”

Inspired by young professors like Dr. BobRitter (PhD Chemical ’61), who taught unit

operations, as well as seasoned professionalslike Dr. George Govier (MSc Chemical ’45)and D.B. Robinson, Kay persevered withhis studies.

One summer, Kay worked in research anddevelopment for El Dorado in Port Radium,Northwest Territories. As his fourth yearapproached, he began to daydream about theexciting possibilities of an engineering career.

A fear of inadequacy plagued him duringhis final exams, and he failed one difficultcourse under pressure. He took the supple-mental, and graduated, but his confidencewas badly shaken.

His classmates waltzed into the expand-ing industry in a buoyant economy.

“Only two of us did not have jobs imme-diately after graduation, and I was one ofthem” recalls Kay.

“I did get a job at Sherritt Gordon, butI was the lowest paid graduate in our class.I was also the first one laid off two yearslater. For six months after that, I looked

Inspired by a Meat GrinderWho would guess that a meat grinder could inspire a technique for planting trees?

Every inventor depends on a spark of memory and imagination. For Kay, a childhood visit to abutcher’s shop with his father provided the answer to an unusual research challenge.

In the late 1960s, the Alberta Forest Service (AFS) was trying to develop a new growing process forreforestation. The conventional seed container—a small block of peat—led to tangled roots. Whenplanters pulled apart the seedlings, they caused root destruction and root shock. The AFS turned tothe Alberta Research Council for ideas.

Tackling the problem with his colleagues, Kay recalled watching his family’s butcher grinding meatinto sausage casings. The research team ordered casings from Canada Packers to experiment, but thestandard kind didn’t work. Trying again with cellulose casings, the team inserted tree seeds in shortlengths filled with peat. The containers looked very much like sausages, and they were manufacturedin links like wieners.

“We tested this growing process on bedding plants, and it worked well,” Kay recalls.

The forest service was interested, and asked for product trials. Extensive work began at the Oliver TreeNursery, and continued for three years.

“After three or four years, we had an 85 percent survival rate on some test plots,” said Kay.

He and his colleagues took out a patent on the process. Kay later developed a “zipper skin” so thatthe polyethylene skin covering could be removed without a knife. He alone applied for this patent.

“I believe a million trees a year were planted with this technique,” says Kay.

“I just wish I knew where, because I’d like to see them!”

The younger engineerwondered whether potentialemployers were avoidinghim because of his Chineseancestry, but he kept his fearsto himself.


for work with no luck. Employers would tellme I didn’t fit the bill, or that they hadalready filled the position, or they wouldn’treply at all.”

The young engineer wondered whetherpotential employers were avoiding himbecause of his Chinese ancestry, but he kepthis fears to himself. In the late 1950s, racialdiscrimination was endured but not discussed.

“It was hard to take, and it followed me,”he says quietly.

He said nothing about the problem, noteven to his parents, as he searched the classi-fied ads in the newspaper. Other Chinese-Canadian graduates of his generation sharedhis experience.

“The undercurrent was always there, butit did not surface.”

At last, Kay made his breakthrough. Anastute recruiter at CIL hired him for theresearch and development team at theEdmonton plant in 1959.

“I was amazed,” he remembers.He threw himself into his experiments,

and was soon the assistant supervisor in thecompounding unit.

Kay might have worked for CIL for theremainder of a satisfying career, but the com-pany wanted to transfer him to its headquar-ters in Montreal. With a large extendedfamily in Edmonton, he preferred to stay inAlberta. Leaving CIL to join the AlbertaResearch Council (ARC) in 1967, he began aseries of assignments that sparked a period ofintense curiosity and creativity.

His successful career intersected with therapid expansion of the Alberta economy ininteresting ways. He conducted early oilsands research—working with a team thatexplored in situ extraction using triaxialloaded methods—at a time when otherCanadians were first learning about the con-struction of huge mining projects at FortMcMurray. He tackled new research in forestproducts for three years in the 1980s, just asthe Getty government began to invest heavilyin the forestry industry in the hope of diversi-fying Alberta’s economy.

In the 1990s, as the public began toacknowledge its responsibility to find waysdeal with industrial wastes, Kay helped man-age the Alberta Waste Materials Exchangeprogram. He worked with his colleagues todevelop a safe way to use oil and pesticide con-

tainers to manufacture strong highway barrierposts, now visible along Alberta’s highways.

“As time went on in my engineeringcareer, my confidence grew a bit,” he said.

Kay enjoyed his professional collabora-tions with scientists and skilled technicians.Among other team projects, he built floor-test-ing frames to test the bending properties oforiented strandboard; developed a new tree-seeding container for tree planting; exploredthe potential of Stevioside as a natural sweet-ener; researched the production of micronizedsulphur for new uses in the pulp and paperindustry, fertilizers, and pesticides; and helpedto develop an extraction technique for low-grade iron ore in the Peace River country. Heobtained two patents with research colleagues,plus one on his own, before he retired in 2001.

Looking back on his long engineeringcareer, Kay describes his good fortune.

“I came along at a time when the ARCand chemical engineering were both expand-ing in new directions.”

He believes that the graduates in chemicalengineering in the 1950s were perhaps thebest-rounded engineers of the time, thanks tothe diversity of their training and assign-ments.

“Our unit operations alone touched onmany industries, directly or indirectly, whilethe other engineering disciplines were morenarrowly focused,” he says.

Chemical engineering graduates had asolid grounding in chemistry, electricalprocesses, mechanical process as well as unitoperations in a wide range of industries frommineral refining, oil sands recovery and refin-ing, to petroleum and chemical processing.

What makes a successful engineer? Kaysuggests a preliminary list of essential qualities.

“Perseverance. An active, curious mind. Awillingness to deviate from the straight andnarrow when solving problems. A love of sci-ence.”

As for the gift of confidence, Kay haslearned that it develops slowly, through alifetime of challenging work and fair oppor-tunities. Once found, it becomes the essenceof creativity.

In the early 1990s, Kay began to workwith colleagues Dr. Edward Bertramand Jim Laidler in new research on themicronization of sulphur for the pulpand paper industry.

Alberta’s petroleum industry produceshuge volumes of sulphur, which is soldfor many industrial uses. The team’sresearch challenge was to producesulphur fine enough to allow a newproduction process that would besafer than grinding solid sulphur,which can cause explosions.

The research teammelted the sulphur,shot it into water, and returned it to apellet form.

“We created a process that wouldallow the forest products industry touse sulphur to bleach pulp for paper,”says Kay.

Sulphur micronization was also usefulin the creation of pesticides andfertilizer.

With a unique and important discov-ery in hand, the team knew it neededto file for patent. Six months later, itwas granted.

Sulphur Pellets

Caitlin Crawshaw is anaward-winning Edmonton-basedfreelance writer.

rom the time he could walk, Nealdreamed of flying. Early familyphotos show him as a small boy,happily waving toy planes in the

air. A faded newspaper clipping from about12 years later is brightened by a beamingNeal, pictured with his fellow prize-winnersof the Edmonton Model Aeroneers Club air-craft-building competition.

“Dad got his private pilot license themoment he was legally old enough to do so,”recalls Neal’s son Steve, “thanks to a scholar-ship for flying lessons that he won as an aircadet.”

And by the tender age of 20, fresh fromthe electrical engineering class of 1952, Neal

had signed on with A.V. Roe Canada to workon the aviation project of a lifetime: thebuilding of the CF-105, better known as theAvro Arrow.

Much has been written about the AvroArrow project, which was also mythologizedin a CBC-TV miniseries “The Arrow.”Unfortunately, the focus often centres on thepolitics behind its sudden cancellation, or con-spiracy theories about why all plans and partsfrom the Arrow were so rapidly and thorough-ly destroyed. The Avro legacy is often summedup as “one of the greatest might-have-beens ofthe aviation industry”—an analysis that failsto recognize the project’s achievements.

In reality, those who worked on the ill-fated project were well on the way to creatingan airplane that would have been 25 yearsahead of its time. It was a glorious, if brief,era in the history of Canadian ingenuity.Neal, one of the 15,000 employees involvedin the ambitious undertaking, offers a freshinsight into those heady days.

The year was 1953, and the climate of fearsurrounding the Cold War was dipping intothe deep-freeze zone. As the Soviet Unionbegan to develop a fleet of long-range bomberplanes capable of flying nuclear weapons overthe pole to North America, the Canadian mil-itary searched for a counter-offensive aircraftcapable of intercepting and destroying thesedeadly threats. The CF-100 Canuck, Canada’sfirst jet fighter, was already in production, butthe RCAF realized it would be outmoded

b y L i s a R i c c i o t t i

F


Some little boys

grow up to live

their dreams—

and Jack Neal

(Electrical ’52)

was one of those

lucky ones.

MIGHMight-Have-Be

the

before it was launched. Something more wasneeded—a supersonic, missile-armed step upfrom the Canuck.

The ideal aircraft for the task carried a for-midable wish list of specifications. It would bea twin-engine two-seater fighter jet, with aradius of action of 1,000 km, a ferry range ofno less than 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km),and a top speed of more than Mach 1.5. Itwould carry advanced missile and fire controlsystems, which would require a large internalengine bay. And, it should be manoeuvrableenough to pull two Gs at 15,000 metres, with-out any loss in speed or altitude.

These were extremely advanced require-ments for the time. In fact, no such aircraftexisted: the creation of the Arrow would

Originalp

aintingby

Michael

Swanson©

1990

(www.swansonart.com

)Pu

blishedby

MillPo

ndPress.

Cou

rtesyJack

Neal’s

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TYen


make it the first of its kind in the world. Itwas an incredibly challenging engineeringproject, and Neal jumped at the chance to bepart of it.

Recently, Steve Neal found a transcript ofa speech his father gave to a local home-builtaircraft club. In it, Neal describes his time atAvro Aircraft—nearly seven years in total. Atfirst Neal was involved in “a kind of practi-

cal training program, spending a few weeksin each of the fabrication and assembly areasto learn the practical aspects of building mil-itary aircraft.” Soon he progressed to theassembly line for the CF-100 Canucks, thenwent on to production flight testing.

After that, things became very interestingindeed for Neal, as he moved into a new posi-tion that combined his love for electricalengineering with his passion for aviation.

“My next stop was Experimental FlightTest, and for the first time I began some realengineering on special instrumentation forthe development of flight testing. Of particu-lar interest were experiments for an airborneradio telemetry system, which could collectaircraft data in-flight, and radio it to theground. Plans were also being developed fora mobile ground receiving station where engi-neers could monitor the data received while atest flight was in progress.”

This was an early phase of a concept nowknown as “fly-by-wire”—a radical innova-tion at that time.

Neal’s speech goes on to clarify “somescenes in the TV movie that never happenedin real life.” As his son Steve remembers, JackNeal “was incensed about a couple of inci-dents in the TV movie, like how they addedin a couple of women engineers.”

The Kate O’Hara character “was a ficti-tious person,” who actually represented thework done by close to 35 staff. And as Nealwrote his speech: “These people were almost

exclusively male. Women with engineeringdegrees are scarce today, and they were evenrarer in the ’50s.”

Neal also complained that the test pilotswere portrayed in a “flamboyant, daredevilHollywood image. Jan Zurakowski, SpudPotocki, and Peter Cope were actually techni-cally informed, professional pilots whounderstood the risks and pushed the limitsvery carefully.” Often, after Zurakowski hadfinished a session in the simulator, “we wouldfind a St. Christopher medal hanging on theinstrument panel.”

Straightening out the errors of the TVmovie takes up about five pages of Neal’sspeech. The design of the Arrow didn’t come“as a flash of inspiration, but [was] the cul-mination of several design studies for deltawing fighters.” Security was far more intensethan shown in the miniseries: “When draw-ings or performance specs were written onpaper, they immediately became classified as‘Secret’ and were kept in a locked cabinet.” Itappears that Neal broke that security codehimself, however, in a minor way; his scrap-book contains photos of test flights of one-eighth-sized models, stamped as property ofA.V. Roe Canada, which he sneaked out ofthe plant on the day of the layoffs.

For a man with Neal’s interests, the timespent on the Avro projects was undoubtedlythe best job ever. Like others on staff, Neal

received no warning that his dream positionwas about to end. On February 27, 1959, aterse announcement came over the companypublic address system. Son Steve remembershis dad describing the day now known as“Black Friday”: “It was like pack up yourthings and go now.”

Neal’s speech ends with a blunt statement:“The cancellation of the Arrow was a tragicwaste of a Canadian-developed aircraft thatcould have out-performed any fighter aircraftpurchased since 1959.”

Unlike many engineers, Neal chose not tojoin the so-called brain drain of talent to theU.S., as former Avro employees were scoopedup by NASA. Instead, he returned toEdmonton, along with the wife he’d metwhile in Ontario.

“The cancellation of theArrow was a tragic wasteof a Canadian-developedaircraft that could haveout-performed any fighteraircraft purchased since1959,” wrote Neal.

Neal, bottom right, was a member of theEdmonton Model Aeroneers Club.

Scale model Arrow test flights.

Cou

rtesyJack

Neal’s

family

Cou

rtesyJack

Neal’s

family


“Dad collected every book on the Arrow,and every model of it that came out,” recallsSteve. Giving his father’s eulogy, he noted,“Itmust have been a sad day indeed for my dad,when that project was cancelled. I imagine bynow there has been a tense exchange of wordsin heaven between Dad and the RightHonourable John Diefenbaker, who cancelledthe Arrow—assuming, that is, that theHonourable Member for Prince Albert madeit to heaven.”

Despite his disappointment, Neal made anew and full life for himself after his return toEdmonton. He took a position at AGT(Alberta Government Telephones, the prede-cessor of Telus), working in network stan-dards until his retirement in 1987.

“There’s an interesting symmetry to hisAGT career,” says Steve.

“When Dad started, AGT had just gottento the point where everyone had a phone,although most were party lines. When heretired, the last party line had just shut down.”

Jack continued his passion for flying as apilot at both the Edmonton Flying Club andthe Edmonton Gliding Club.

One senses, however, that Neal’s favouriterole was the one he played so early in his life:telemetry engineer on the Avro Arrow. Thatwas a hard one to top. To quote anotherspeech, one given in 1958 by Jim Floyd, AvroAircraft’s vice president of engineering, a yearbefore the project was cancelled: “The RCAFnaturally wanted the best and latest integratedelectronic system in the aircraft. From an engi-neering point of view, attempting to meet whatwas probably the most advanced contempo-rary interceptor requirements was an enor-mous pressure. However, we have survived sofar, and there is every reason to believe thatCanada’s biggest military venture will emergefrom a state of national discussion to becomea source of national pride and security.”

Floyd’s hope never came to fruition, butNeal would probably have agreed with theAvro VP’s final words: “For those of us inCanada who have been actively engaged inthis project, this is sufficient.”

Lisa Ricciotti is an Edmonton-based freelance writer.

The headline of an Edmonton Journalarticle, dated September 28, 1954, excited-ly reports, “Former City Man Works OnNew Electronic Device—one that allowsan engineer on the ground to ‘see’ and‘hear’ an aircraft engine 100 miles away.”The story features Neal and his telemetryengineer work with A.V. Roe Canada.The article started with the definition ofradio telemetry as “the process which isallowing engineers to study Canadian-made Orenda engines in actual flight,while the engineers sit in a ground stationand receive data from complicatedinstruments.”

Prior to the addition of telemetry,flight testing could only be done by engi-neers who accompanied pilots on actualflights. This was undesirable for the Arrowfor two very good reasons. First, theamount of data points per flight to bemeasured on such a complicated aircraftcould easily run into several million, mak-ing manual handling of the data impracti-cal. An automated system was also neededfor easy retrieval of data for research andanalysis. Secondly, the Arrow was built in ahighly unconventional manner, to fast-track its production. Instead of a series ofprototypes, the actual plane was underconstruction, with ongoing alterationsmade to the original plans whenever test-ing indicated the need for changes. Thisput both the plane—and the lives of itspilots—at high risk, which could only beminimized through extensive structuraland systems testing.

In addition, the CF-105 Avro Arrowrelied on electronic systems for controls toa much higher degree than any previousaircraft, although it was not a true fly-by-wire design. Its control system was com-puterized, a then groundbreakinginnovation, using an Automatic FlightControl System (AFCS) that worked inthree modes: normal (the system assistedthe pilot by stabilizing the aircraft withoutcontrolling it); automatic (the AFCS con-trolled the aircraft completely, acting asautopilot and blind-landing aid; andemergency (used in case of a serious fail-ure, such as an engine failure, and also toprevent the Arrow from entering a stall).

As Neal described it: “The Arrow wasone of the first aircraft with fly-by-wirecontrols. It had two sets of servos: one setmoved the control surfaces in response topilot control inputs. The second set oper-ated from the in-flight computer, andwould eventually have allowed the Arrowto be guided from the ground to intercept

a hostile aircraft.”Initially, monitors from flight simula-

tors were tied in with a coaxial cable to ananalogue computer room, some distanceaway from the simulators. Later, aircraftmonitors relayed information during actu-al test flights back to an electronic teleme-try unit housed in a large truck trailer.

A 1955 article from an unnamed mag-azine in Neal’s scrapbook describes theprocedure: “From the aircraft, the vari-

Mighty ’50s Technology

Neal, at top, with other techinicans, kepttrack of flight tests with visual indicators,continous trace recorders, and electricalsignals inside the ground station.

ables to be measured are converted intoelectrical signals by a special transducer.These signals are transmitted to theground unit. Among the data sent are airand liquid pressures, accelerations, rotaryand linear motions, temperatures, andvarious applied forces. These signals arereceived in the trailer by an elaborate FMunit and recorded on high-speedrecorders. The receiver is actually a pre-tuned 67-channel set. Each channel is fedindependently to one of 67 discriminatorcircuits which will handle only its prede-termined signal. The output of each dis-criminator varies with the frequency ofthe particular signal fed into it, similar tothe action in a home FM radio set.”

The technology of the ’50s was crudeby today’s standard, but was totally newterritory to Avro engineers at that time.The reliability of the telemetry transmis-sion was generally higher than 95 percent.Jim Floyd, Avro’s vice president of engi-neering, liked to describe how “on oneoccasion a model fired over Lake Ontariohit the water after the test, then skippedout again over the surface—and continuedto send back information to greatly sur-prised technicians at ‘point zero!’”

Cou

rtesyJack

Neal’s

family


is father worked in coal minesand a pottery factory—andonce fell into trouble with thelaw for running an informal

beer parlour selling home brew in the family’sliving room. They later moved to the irrigatedland around Brooks, Alberta, where Mickey’sfather worked his way from hired farm-handto share-cropper to landowner—with theprodigious help of Mickey, his two brothers,and two sisters.

Many of today’s prosperous Albertansmight be shocked to read Hajash’s account ofwhat it took for a poor farm family to survivein the 1930s and 1940s. Their diet was whatcould be grown and preserved—sausages,sauerkraut, potatoes. A flour sack was recy-cled into bedding and foot wraps; socks weretoo expensive for everyday wear.

In high school, Mickey emerged as a natur-al track and field athlete. He once enteredeight events in a provincial track meet inCalgary—including the 120-yard hurdle, eventhough he’d never hurdled before. He learnedby trial and error. After evening farm chores,he set up lanterns and obstacles on the road by

the house. The first time he competed as a hur-dler, he won first place, plus two other events.

Track and field started Hajash along hispath in life. A crew working for an affiliate ofthe Standard Oil Company was exploring foroil in the Brooks area at the time and youngHajash decided the life of an oilman was forhim. Impressed with Hajash’s athletic ability,the oilmen got together with some townsfolkto try to find him a track scholarship. Theymanaged instead to secure Hajash a footballscholarship to the University of Oklahoma.Even though he’d never played the game, hisspeed, strength, and enormous hands madehim an excellent prospect.

Hajash was thrilled by the chance toattend Oklahoma, which had an excellentpetroleum engineering program. He evenplotted the three-day journey on Greyhoundbuses to Tulsa, but Hajash never made the

trip. Wartime rules and regulations trippedhim up. Uncle Sam considered Hajash not aCanadian but a national of Hungary, whichwas an ally of Nazi Germany at the time.Stymied by immigration paperwork, Hajashapplied to study at the University of Albertainstead. He chose mining engineering becauseit included the only geology and geophysicscourses taught by the U of A at the time.

Hajash remembers he was an average stu-dent—although he did bag a perfect 100 inthe fire-assaying course taught by E.O. Lilge(Mining ’33)—and an excellent athlete. Heplayed football for the Golden Bears, waspresident of the engineering track and fieldclub, played hockey for the engineers’ team, alittle basketball, and he wrestled.

Hajash graduated in 1947, only monthsafter Imperial Oil’s discovery at Leduc, andImperial snapped him up.

Scrimmab y B r u c e W h i t e

Engineering

Like many successful engineers

and oilmen of his generation,

Grayson (“Mickey”) Hajash

(Mining ’47) was a farm boy.

Born in Hungary in 1924,

he was five when his father

moved the family to Estevan,

Saskatchewan, just in time for

the Great Depression.

HThe Eternal Fires at Kirkuk, Iraq, 1959.

Allphotographscourtesy

MickeyHajash


ges

“Mickey” Hajash (Mining ’47)

Bruce White is an Edmonton-basedbusiness writer and editor.

By 1949, Hajash found himself inImperial’s Calgary office working in abullpen with 14 other geophysicists to inter-pret seismic data from Alberta’s growing listof oil discoveries at Leduc, Redwater, andGolden Spike. That summer, Hajash tried outfor the Calgary Stampeders and won a spoton the roster; team practices on weekendevenings made it just possible for a player tohold down a full-time job.

The Stamps, reigning Grey Cup champions,won the western conference in a two-gametotal-point playoff against Saskatchewan.Hajash was on the field for half the Grey Cupgame against the Montreal Alouettes, playingflanker and left cornerback. However, the Alscame better prepared for the snow and ice atToronto’s Varsity Stadium. Montreal wore ten-nis shoes, while Calgary stuck with their regu-lar cleats. Montreal relied on short, soft passesand gentle, looping running patterns on the ice.The Stampeders stuck with running sharp-angle plays and slipped all over the place.Montreal won the game 28-15.

Hajash pocketed a cheque for $500 forthe entire season, which he used to buy agood, solid sofa that he still has to this day. Itturned out to be his only year in the CFL.

“I realized that for me the best thing to dowas concentrate on my job,” he says.

Through the 1950s he was transferred toPeace River, Regina, and Edmonton, beforedeciding during a downturn to apply fora job with the Iraq Petroleum Company, aconsortium of western oil companies thatincluded Imperial’s parent company StandardOil. Other than for vacations, Hajash wouldn’treturn to Canada for more than 26 years.

Baghdad of 1960 was a lot like the citythat we read about in the newspapers today.Two years before Hajash arrived, a revolutionoverthrew the monarchy. There was chaosuntil 1963 when the Ba’ath party, whose lead-ers included Saddam Hussein, took charge.

“After the revolution, things were veryunsettled,” Hajash remembers.

In 1959, Cuban-style revolutionaries triedto take control of Standard Oil seismic crews.One Iraqi ruler was killed when his own airforce bombed the presidential palace. Hajashsaw bodies which were strung up on lightpoles on the main thoroughfare and left therefor a week as a message to others. Even theBaghdad golf club was an intimidating place;natural gas seeping from the ground nearbyburned permanently in a biblical vision of hell.

“It was scary, but for a year and a half,we were able to do some effective work,”Hajash says.

Then the government ended exploration bythe Iraq Petroleum Co., a first step towardsnationalization. Hajash first moved to Bahrainand then to London as Standard’s head geo-physicist for the Persian Gulf, spending manyweeks a year on field visits to the Middle East.

In 1967, he moved his family to NewYork for three and a half years as a geophys-ical advisor at Standard Oil’s headquarters inRockefeller Center—reading through piles ofseismic reports during long commutes bytrain between Grand Central Station and hishouse in Connecticut. Next stop wasHouston, where he ended up in a research joband became involved with offshore projectsin the North Sea and South China Sea.

In 1974, after Standard changed its name to

Exxon, Hajash was sent to Kuala Lumpur tohelp develop properties in Malaysia’s Borneostates of Sarawak and Sabah and off theMalaysian mainland in the South China Sea.After that, oil exploration in the North Seatook him back to London, where he was baseduntil retirement in 1986, which took him to asprawling ranch house in Victoria’s Oak Bayneighbourhood.

Although technically retired for 21 years,Hajash has been anything but idle. He and hiswife Donna have a foundation that fundsthree scholarships at the U of A supportinghigh-performing students, engineeringstudents, and student athletes.

A few years ago, Gwen McLaws, widowof close friend and U of A classmate Gordie,talked Hajash into putting his stories downon paper.

“She kept saying, ‘What an interesting lifeyou’ve had. Why don’t you write a book?’ Ifinally succumbed,” he says.

Written with McLaws in a remarkablyshort five months, the result is an entertain-ing memoir of life in western Canada. It is aunique oral history of the oil business, not bythe guy on top but from the point of view ofa hard-working Alberta farm boy who beganwith mud on his shoes and worked his wayup through the ranks.

The books title sums up Hajash’s lifebeautifully: It’s Been Fun.

Copies of It’s Been Fun by Mickey Hajash canbe obtained by sending a cheque for $15 toG.M. Hajash, 3160 Ripon Rd., Victoria, B.C.,V8R 6G5. Proceeds are donated to charity.

One of many Irag Petroleum Companywell sites at Abu Dhabi, 1959.



@ualberta.ca

Civil Engineering

Hunter, Carl (Civil ’61, MSc Civil ’67)

I was delighted to read the article “2016 ANuclear Odyssey” in the spring 2007 issue ofU of A Engineer about Jerry Sovka’s achieve-ment as the ITER project’s constructionmanager. ITER represents an enormous inter-national technical, political, and economiceffort.

I am pleased to hear of his success becausein 1980, as a principal of The Dalcor Groupconsulting management engineers, I complet-ed an industrial benefits and economic assess-ment study of INTOR, ITER’s earlier vision.

INTOR, as I recall, got its name fromInternational Tokomak Reactor, which was amultinational effort led by U.S.A. and Russia.As the startup electric energy required for thistype of facility is enormous, it was decidedthat British Columbia, Canada, with massivehydro power generation, would be theproposed site supported by the U.S.. Russiaproposed Finland, which is equally wellendowed with hydro power. The project wasto cost billions of dollars even in 1980, butthe technology benefits of hosting the facilitywere also significant—so B.C. and Canadawere keen to see INTOR succeed.

Unfortunately, costs, politics, and techni-cal uncertainties prevailed, and the INTORfacility was never started. As the above articlementioned, Canada lost interest and with-drew participation from fusion energy devel-opment in 2003. So far as I know, there isnow only one technical person with NaturalResources Canada in Ottawa who monitorsglobal fusion activity on a part-time basis.This country is very lucky to have the sort oftalent that Jerry Sovka has so that we can con-tribute to, and gain knowledge about, the ulti-mate energy source.

Please send my regards to Jerry Sovka ifyou have contact with him.

P.S. The Dalcor Group also included JohnMcDougall (Civil ’65), now CEO of AlbertaResearch Council.

Mechanical Engineering

Labossière, Dr. Pierre (PhD Mechanical ’87)

Dear colleagues and friends from Canadaand abroad,

Many of you who have worked with me,attended the same conferences, or travelled inmy company know that photography has longbeen a passion of mine. However, few of youhave ever seen my work. Therefore, with greatpleasure, I wish to inform you that the ArtGallery of the Université de Sherbrooke(Galerie d’art du Centre culturel del’Université de Sherbrooke) invited me toexhibit my photographs from the Arctic tocomplement an exhibition of Inuit art. Themajor exhibition of Inuit art, on loan from theQuébec National Museum of Fine Arts(Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec),was shown last year in the Louvre in Paris andthen spent some time in Reykjavik, Iceland. Itstopped in Sherbrooke on its way back toQuébec City. I was extremely honoured to beinvited to display my work in such an excep-tional setting; this is why I hope that you willforgive me for this message that may beviewed as somewhat self-promotional.

May I suggest, if you are ever in Quebec,that you consider a one-day side trip toSherbrooke, a lovely drive from Québec Citythrough Beauce and the Eastern Townships,to visit our university laboratories and, onthe same occasion, that you visit the Inuit andphoto exhibitions, almost next door to theengineering building on the campus. It wouldbe a great pleasure to meet you.

engineer.alum

Top: Pierre Labossière, 70° Nord – Panoramareconstruit, (Détail). 2007. Impressionnumérique, 490 x 97 cm.

Below: Pierre Labossière, Bloc de glace à ladérive# 2 - Détroit de Franklin, Nunavut,Canada, 2006, Impression numérique,30,5 x 20,3 cm.


Soo Ping Lim(Mechanical ’74)


That year, Lim, along with 10 otherSingaporean students, was offered theColombo Plan Scholarship (a scholarship setup among the Commonwealth countries) tostudy in Canada and pursue a degree at the Uof A.

“Because of cost and so on, a scholarshipwas one way of getting a university educationwithout my parents having to take on the bur-den of paying for my education,” Lim explains.

“It was like hitting the jackpot. Thereweren’t that many scholarships given out. Ascholarship to study abroad was even betterbecause it gave me the chance to be exposedto other cultures and to other people.”

Since his time at the U of A, Lim’s interestsand career have taken him to paths both with-in and beyond mechanical engineering. He hasused his background to lay a foundation formore schooling and policy work with the gov-ernment. He was also recently appointed as

Singapore’s auditor general, only the republic’sthird since its independence in 1965.

Mechanical engineering seemed like afavourable career choice when Lim firstdeveloped an interest in the field in juniorhigh. In secondary school, he combined hisinterest in physics and math with a delight forplaying with mechanical toys, making theopportunity to study engineering abroad theperfect way to start his career.

During his four years at the U of A, Limstayed at some of the usual residences—Henday Hall, Newton Place, and ConcordTower.

“There was no better way for me to get toknow Canadians than to be living amongthem,” he says.

Lim also spent much of his time with aCanadian host family, the Schurmans, fromSherwood Park. He took part in theirChristmas celebrations and continues to stay

MATTERSParliamentary

by Hanna Nash

In 1970, without a particular university oreven a country in mind, an eager Soo Ping Lim(Mechanical ’74) decided to try his luck atgetting a scholarship to study engineeringoutside of his home in Singapore.


in contact with them. In 1992, while visitingthe U of A with his family, Lim was able tosee his host family again. They returned thefavour, visiting him in Singapore in 2001.

Lim also maintains strong relationshipswith many of his former classmates. Onesuch friend is Tsun-yan Hsieh (Mechanical’74). Also from Singapore, Hsieh studied atthe U of A under a Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency scholarship. Hsieh nowworks in Singapore as the chair for Mckinseyand Company, a managing consulting firm forbusinesses and institutions around the world.He remembers Lim fondly.

“We shared an apartment together in thefinal year of engineering,” Hsieh recalls in ane-mail interview.

“He is a dear friend—always there whensomeone needs a sympathetic ear. Oh, andhe never loses his cool even when thingsget tense.”

After Lim finished his mechanical engi-neering degree with distinction, he stayed atthe U of A for a few months to complete afluid mechanics project. He then went on ashort vacation to Europe before returning toSingapore. When he arrived home, Lim wasimmediately enlisted in the Singapore ArmedForces (mandatory for all adult males in therepublic). While in the military, Lim wastrained as a combat engineer and served as aplatoon commander in an infantry battalionin the reserves.

In 1975, after completing his military ser-vice, Lim began work at the government’sPublic Works Department as a mechanicalengineer in infrastructural development pro-jects. As Singapore was still a very youngrepublic, Lim’s engineering degree came inhandy. He helped his country create impor-tant buildings including the Long RangeRadar System Building for the Changi

Airport. As a mechanical engineering, Limspecialized in the design of air-conditioningand ventilation systems in buildings. He alsosupervised the installation of the systems hedesigned.

“I am glad to have been part of thenational effort to enhance the physical infra-structure of Singapore, which became a sov-ereign nation only five years before I left forstudies in Canada,” Lim says.

“I am pleased to have put in good use myengineering knowledge and instincts acquiredat the U of A. I made use of most of the engi-neering subjects I took. Except heating! Nosuch need in equatorial Singapore!”

Mechanical engineering was not Lim’sonly interest. He decided to pursue furthereducation in engineering and business. In1979, he completed a Master of Sciencedegree in industrial engineering from theUniversity of Singapore. He went on to

achieve a diploma in business administrationin 1981 from the National Universityof Singapore.

Despite his success in his field, Lim wasnot content to work with the same subjectmatter for the rest of his career. He continuedto work for the Public Works Departmentuntil 1988, when he decided that he wanteda change in career. His broadened educationand hard work paid off when he applied fora position with the Administrative Service towork at the policy level in government.

“I switched to policy only because I feltthe need for greater challenges in my career ingovernment,” Lim explains.

“I therefore decided to take quite a bigleap by applying to go into policy, whichmeans that I get to work in the headquartersof different ministries and serve the politicalleadership.”

Between 1989 and 1996, Lim worked forthe Ministry of Home Affairs, where his firstappointment was as director of planning.

His work in policy also shaped new pathsfor him. He was appointed director of opera-tions and then deputy secretary. In all, he hashandled diverse areas such as Security,Emergency Planning, Immigration, Rehabil-itation, Primary Production, Building andConstruction, Information, and Arts andCulture.

Then, in August 2006, Lim found out thathe was being considered for the position ofauditor general. His position as a senior

“I was glad to be part of the national effortto enhance the physical infrastructure ofSingapore, which became a sovereignnation only five years before I left forstudies in Canada,” Lim says.

Lim (second from left) poses with hisCanadian host family, the Schurmans.


member of the Administrative Service madehim eligible for the nomination. The possibil-ity represented another huge career leap.

Singapore’s auditor general must be aresponsible person who understands how thegovernment works, Lim says. The auditorgeneral reports to Parliament about any inef-ficient government spending. For that reason,the candidate must be approved by the thepresident of the republic who is advised bythe council of presidential advisors.

In December 2006, Lim received a letterconfirming that he would become auditorgeneral. To ensure his independence, Limretired from his Administrative Service career.He was officially appointed as Singapore’snew auditor general on February 8, 2007.

“I felt very honoured to be given thisjob,” Lim says.

“In the whole of the 42 years of Singaporethere were only two previous auditor gener-als. So I am the third one, you see. It is reallyan honour to be appointed to carry out thisresponsibility.”

The new job has been a challenge,Lim admits, but he feels ready to handle it.He has an excellent team working withhim, and is equipped with a clear, simpleobjective: to gain the respect of governmentdepartments, parliamentarians, and, mostimportantly, the public.

Although he no longer supervises contrac-tors directly, Lim still draws on his firstcareer as an engineer. His engineering back-ground has shaped his thinking, and hasallowed him to understand the challengesgovernment departments face at their opera-tional level.

He performs operational audits (he alsorefers to them as value-for-money audits) withofficers with an engineering or managementbackground. They work together to preventpublic funds from being wasted “due to poorproject evaluations and management, andlack of rigour in capital expenditure scrutiny,especially in times of economic prosperity.”

Lim’s new role has kept him busy learningabout the technicalities of government auditwork, and working with staff to plan organi-zational improvements and future directions.

After leaving Singapore as a young stu-dent, Lim has devoted decades to making hiscountry a better place.

Hanna Nash is an Edmonton-basedfreelance writer.


Fromgarden

gate


ust two minutes later, a throng of peopleclusters around the Sunterra salad bar. Aline has formed at the hot food advertisinga Rancher’s Beef steak sandwich luncheon

special. A well-dressed young man clips pastit, nudging his colleague, saying, “Hey,Thursday is butter chicken day. Let’s go!”

From office clerks to CEOs, a seeminglyendless stream of customers peruses the offer-

ings at Sunterra’s French-market-style eatery.The bustling crowd reflects the ongoing suc-cess of the enterprising Price family of Acme,Alberta. It’s also a testament to innovativethinking—a strength Art Price (Mechanical’73) comes by naturally.

“Sunterra is the product of a visionaryfamily, father, mother, and siblings,” observesPrice, chair of both The Sunterra Group of

Companies and Rancher’s Beef Ltd., a con-sortium of 50 ranchers, farmers, and feedlotowners from across Alberta and BritishColumbia, of which Sunterra is a majorshareholder.

“It’s about a fundamental value proposi-tion of providing quality, convenience, andfreshness to customers.”

For three generations, the Price family,

todinnerplate

by Gail gravelines

J

It’s noon at the Sunterra Market, Trans Canada Tower

location, and the Calgary corporate lunch crowd is

descending in droves from the adjacent office towers.

Don Lougheed(Mining ’48)


owners and managers of Sunterra, have builta thriving “farm gate to dinner plate” busi-ness. At the time the Prices started, most pro-ducers saw beef as strictly a commodity-basedbusiness that ended at the feedlot.

The Sunterra Group started as single, cen-tral Alberta mixed farm and has grown to anintegrated family-run business that producesgrain, forage, and livestock through to pro-cessing and on to retail. From a single sectionof land in Acme, Alberta in the early 50s,Stan and Flo Price and their children, part-ners, and staff have grown the operation toinclude 600 employees, 45,000 acres of crop-land and pasture, and six Sunterra Marketretail outlets in Calgary and Edmonton.

Price, the second-born of Stan and Flo’seight children, says Sunterra is not a main-stream bet, not something business consul-tants would readily recommend. And thatsuits him just fine.

In fact, Price has made a career of bettingoutside the mainstream. In his thirties, heserved as president and CEO of Husky OilLtd. and Husky Oil Operation Limited.During his decade-long tenure (from the mid’80s to the mid ’90s) he led Husky’s building

of Alberta’s first oil upgrader in Lloydminister,with current capacity to produce 54,000 bar-rels of synthetic crude oil a day.

He then spent a few years as special advi-sor on international investments to the chairof the board of Hutchison WhampoaLimited, one of the largest companies listedon the main board of the Hong Kong StockExchange. Here, Price added to his knowl-edge of the workings of a leading internation-al corporation and its diverse array ofholdings—from port operators to retailers totechnologically advanced and marketing-savvy telecommunications operators.

In 1995, Price joined Calgary-based AxiaNetMedia Corporation with the vision ofcreating a company that, as his corporatebiography says, “would meet the full spec-trum of Internet protocol-based communica-tions needs for businesses and consumers.”

Consider that, in 1995, most companieswere still getting accustomed to e-mail. Twocomputer science majors at StanfordUniversity had just met and were about tobegin developing the computer search tech-nology that would become the foundation ofGoogle Inc. And the vast majority of ruralAlbertans were chained to traditional tele-com-provided dial-up Internet.

“When I’m in a business, I am giving it 100percent. And I’m spending the other 40 percentof my time thinking about my next business,”Price says of his years before Axia.

While he wouldn’t trade his experienceat Husky, he had always wanted to createa company.

His leap from oil to Axia NetMedia mayhave surprised many (a 1999 CanadianBusiness article on Price, dubbed Axia “aholding company that few people can figureout”) but Price says Axia is a continuation ofa connective theme in his varied business life:quality service, a theme steeped in the suc-cesses of Sunterra.

Today, Axia provides network access ser-vices to the Alberta Government’s Supernet,

providing high-speed connectivity toAlbertans in 429 communities and to 4,400government, learning, health, library, andmunicipal locations. The company has suc-cessfully leveraged its Alberta experience tonow provide its Real Broadband services tothe Government of France.

Axia reported a ten percent increase inrevenues from its Real Broadband sales andvalue-added services in its second quarter of2007—up to $12 million from $10.9 report-ed for the first quarter of its fiscal 2007. Netincome also rose to $4.7 million from $3.1million from the same fiscal period in 2006,partially as a result of revenue from theFrance operation.

“Alberta is unusual in that our rural econ-omy is the big player in all of our businesses.All the important businesses that drive this,”

Price has made a careerof betting outside

the mainstream.

Art Price (Mechanical ’73)


Price says, pointing to the Calgary skylinefrom Axia’s 33rd-floor offices, “are ruralbased. Oil and gas is rural, pulp and paper,mining, agriculture. It’s the world we live in.And, if you’re doing important things inAlberta, you’re doing things that leverage therural economy. I’m trying to make a positiveimpact from an Alberta base to the world.

“Successful businesses start with thinkingabout the ultimate value proposition tothe customer. Once you understand thatevolution, and line up with it, you havesomething. Look at Sunterra Markets. This isnot a fad thing. It is a fundamental valueproposition of providing customers quality,convenience, and freshness. This is how youcreate a brand.”

Price says he would call his approach tobusiness aggressive, perhaps rebellious. Hehas made his way by going against currentmarket wisdom, leading organizations that goagainst the stream. He offers some examples.

“Why can’t we accomplish a petrochemicalindustry in Alberta? Or an oil upgrader? Whycan’t we create downstream value-add to afarming business instead of simply selling grainoff the farm? Why can’t we move the beef

industry from a big, commodity-based businessto a specialty value-added niche business?”

That same questioning led Price to Axia.“Why can’t we accomplish uncompro-

mised world connectivity? Why was there adigital divide between Edmonton andCalgary and the rest of Alberta? Why can’t agroup of Alberta-based people accomplish allof these things? Why would we? Will it makea difference? Will it make a good, profitablebusiness?”

Unfettered by the legacy systems and tra-ditional operating models of the monopolytelecom providers, Axia was able to providea fresh look at how to provide effective con-nectivity to Alberta.

“We started with a blank sheet of paperand asked, what’s the right answer?” says Price.

The answer was to create an open RealBroadband network that any Internet serviceprovider can connect with, to give ruraldwellers rates comparable to those paid byurban customers.

“Real Broadband access is now a criticalpiece of all national economies, a necessarynational infrastructure in this age, just astransportation was in the last century. Axia isnow where we want it to be in terms of atrack record and having a meaningful impactin a lot of places.”

Key to his company’s continued growth iscreating high performance teams with thevision to see what will happen next and posi-tion the company in that spot.

And of course it’s also about deliveringvalue to the customer. Delivering value fromfarm gate to dinner plate . . . or to desktop!

Gail Gravelines is an Edmonton-based freelance writer.

on HistoryCross Hairs

Pioneer ofElectricalSafety

ou could tell a lot about Ralph H.Lee (Electrical ’34) by the way hewalked.

“He was a tall man, who movedfast,” says Don Zipse, a forensic electricalengineer from Pennsylvania, describing hisformer mentor and friend.

“I remember walking with him to anIndustrial Application Society (IAS) conferencein Chicago, where he was presenting a paper. Ihad to take two steps for every one of his.”

In more ways than one, Lee was always astep ahead. Now recognized as a pioneer ofelectrical safety, Lee was the first to draw atten-tion to a significant but previously ignored haz-ard: electric arc flashes. In his seminal paper“The Other Electrical Hazard: Electric ArcBurns,” presented in 1982 at a PhiladelphiaIAS annual meeting, he argued that they posedas great a risk for burns as electric shocks.

“There is another hazard which fewappreciate, which we do not even need totouch to incur injury,” wrote Lee. He wenton to describe and quantify the skin tissuedamage that arc blasts can cause.

Lee was the first to scientifically studythe problem of electrical arc burns. Although

by Lisa Ricciotti

his formulae clearly estimated the amountof arc energy (incident energy/heat) producedby electrical arcs, and defined the degree ofburns involved, the electrical industry wasslow to respond. A full decade passed beforecompanies began to recognize that the haz-ards of arc flashes were significantly differentfrom those of electric shock. Over time,though, their understanding grew.

The petrochemical industry was amongthe first to establish practices to protectemployees from arc flashes. Gradually,more and more companies and safetypersonnel fell in step with Lee’s ideas and lob-bied for change. By 2002, enough momen-tum had been gained to result in widespreadchanges in federal regulations, buildingcodes, design of electrical equipment,and safer work and training practices.Advances had also been made in personalprotective equipment, such as flame-resistantNOMEX clothing.

Although Lee didn’t live to see thechanges his 1982 paper set in motion, heundoubtedly would have been thrilled. Henever stopped learning, and loved nothingmore than having his ideas challenged alongthe way to new solutions.

Gene Fagan, who worked with Lee atDuPont from 1950 until Lee retired in the

late 1970s, recalls, “Ralph never minded ifyou disagreed with him. If you found amistake in his work or his theories, he washappy you did. He wasn’t afraid to discussand share his ideas with everyone, and wasvery happy to include other people’s ideas ifthey were better. He was never possessiveabout his knowledge—a wonderful charac-teristic to have.”

Zipse has a favourite anecdote to illus-trate Lee’s helpfulness. After Lee retired andstarted his own consulting company, Zipsedeveloped a habit of inviting him to lunch,taking advantage of the time together to pickhis mentor’s brain.

“Over lunch, Ralph would freely consultwith me, and guide me toward the solution tomy problem. One morning when I called toinvite him, Ralph said, ‘Don, I am very busytoday and don’t have time for lunch. So tellme, what’s the problem?’ Then he proceededto give me the solution over the phone.”

Both Zipse and Fagan remember Lee’s amaz-ing capacity for original research and writing.

“He was a great author, and wrote many,many papers,” says Fagan, who co-wroteseveral important papers with Lee.

“It was very appropriate that the Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)IAS Ralph Lee Prize Paper Award was set up

Y

Ralph H. Lee(Electrical ’34)


in 1986 after his death, as an annual awardto honour his memory.”

“I aimed my life after Ralph’s,” says Zipse.“I wanted to follow in his footsteps, and I

was very proud when I was made an IEEEFellow in 1994. Ralph was one of the firstindustrial electrical engineers to make Fellow.They weren’t thought of highly back then, andit took three nominations before he was elevat-ed. I made it the first time, which says a lotabout how things had changed. I think Ralphwas greatly responsible for the increased respectindustrial engineers now receive. He was a gen-tleman and a scholar, a very good man.”

Lisa Ricciotti is an Edmonton-based freelance writer.

• Three landmark papers on electrical safety that stand up to scrutiny today, after 25 addition-al years of research and technological advances in the field:

“Electrical Safety in Industrial Plants” (1971)

“The Other Electrical Hazard: Electric Arc Blast Burns”(1982)

“Pressures Developed by Arcs”(1987)

• Promoted the use of rebars in structural footings as a building’s grounding electrode. Firstdeveloped the idea of “grounding to rebar” in a prize-winning IEEE paper co-written withGene Fagan, published in 1970.

• His work on high-voltage cabling splicing helped bring in a new standard of testing at 100%at the factory level, resulting in less downtime and a lower failure rate.

• One of the developers of IEEE Standard 902, “Guide for Maintenance, Operation, and Safetyof Industrial and Commercial Power Systems.”

• Recognized with an IEEE IAS Outstanding Achievement Award in 1976.

There’s no warning before an electri-cal arc flash explosion, no time to flee,not even time for fear. It strikes fasterthan the speed of light, in a violentexplosion of radiant energy. First, there isa retina-searing flash of light. In less thana tenth of a second, temperatures spiketo 22,000º C, four times as hot as the sur-face of the sun. Almost simultaneously, ablast of sound assaults the eardrums.Fast-moving pressure waves, strongenough to crush a chest, rush outward,hurling debris from the explosion andother objects at speeds higher than 1,300km/h. In less than a tenth of a second,even without direct contact, it can meltflesh and ignite clothing, causing fatalburns at distances up to 1.5 metres, andmajor burns at up to three metres. It’s anelectrical worker’s worst nightmare.

The impact of electrical arcing onhumans is well documented. Those whoescape with their lives can still suffer hear-ing loss, blindness, burns severe enoughto require skin grafts, damage to lungs orother internal organs, neurologicaldamage, or injuries from being knockedoff a rooftop or ladder. CapSchell Inc.,a Chicago-based workplace safety organi-zation, reports that flash explosions sendworkers to special burn centres five to tentimes every day. And that tally doesn’t

include less severe incidents and near-misses, says Dr. Mary Capelli-Schellpfeffer,the firm’s principal investigator.

Not surprisingly, electric arc flashesare a major safety concern in the electri-cal industry. New regulations to specifi-cally address arc flash safety wereintroduced in 2002, along with guide-lines for the use of personal protectiveequipment such as flame-resistantNOMEX clothing. The Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)developed nine key steps to analyze arcflash risks, and some companies nowtake it one step further by conductinghazard analysis with software programsdesigned to calculate flash protectionboundaries. New research into the manyvariables of arc flashes continues to pro-vide a lively topic for debate.

With the emphasis they receive today,it’s interesting to note that electric arcflashes weren’t such a hot topic just 25years ago. Although workers and thepublic had a healthy respect for thepower of electricity, their focus was onavoiding shock and electrocution. Today,statistics show that electric shock is notthe main cause of electrical injuries andfatalities; instead 80 percent are due toarc flashes. But back then, arc flashesreceived little attention.

The emphasis began to change in1982, with the publication of an IEEEpaper that has since become a landmarkin the field of electrical safety. Titled,appropriately enough, “The OtherElectrical Hazard: Electric Arc Blast Burns,”it was authored by Lee, a former seniordesign consultant with DuPont.

During his long career at DuPont, Leeworked on the design and start-up ofnuclear reactor control systems, militaryexplosive and commercial chemical andtextile manufacturing, improved perfor-mance of motor installations, industrialdistribution system coordination, andswitchgear and grounding systems.

Today, however, Lee is largely remem-bered for his work with electric arc flash-es and blasts, mostly done after heretired from DuPont. His theories onhow to prevent arc flashes and how toprotect workers from them, consideredradical at the time, have gone on tobecome mainstream practices. Over thepast 25 years, occupational safety figuresshow a 50 percent reduction in electricalfatalities. Thousands of NOMEX-cladworkers, in safer environments, haveLee’s 1982 electric arc blast burn paper tothank for that.

A Flash of Inspiration

Notable Achievements

How One Paper Changed Electrical Safety


b y J i m V e e n b a s s


Jim Newby turned a talent for

model-building into a four

decade legacy.

Even when Jim Newby (Civil ’52) was alittle kid he was attracted to changingthe landscape. Whether his materials

were wooden blocks or Meccano sets he wasable to conceive of different kinds of struc-tures and make them face the elements—gravity, weight, or wind—right there on theliving room floor.

“I have always been intrigued by buildingstructures, the desire to design them is in myblood,” he says.

When Newby and his partner GordDuthie (Civil ’55) opened Duthie, Newby,and Associates in 1963, he had no way ofknowing his manual dexterity and tenacitywould help carve out some of Edmonton’slandmark buildings. Some of his handiworkcan be seen St. Basil’s Church, the Universityof Alberta Cancer Centre, the University ofAlberta Hospital, and the MacEwan College

One of the first projects he worked on wasEdmonton’s Groat Bridge, which spans theNorth Saskatchewan River just west of down-

town. When Newby drives across the bridge,he can’t help but reminisce. When he beganworking on it in 1952, he was fresh out of theUniversity of Alberta’s civil engineering pro-gram. At the time, it was one of the city’sbiggest construction projects. With Dr. RalphMcManus (Civil ’42, MSc Civil ’46) and oth-ers from Structural Engineering Services Ltd.,Newby spent the summer analyzing anddesigning the bridge’s superstructure.

“It was a big project for a young guy tostart with,” says Newby.

“I had a few projects under my belt bythat time, but it was important for the cityand it was exciting. I designed bridges thatwere much more challenging later in mycareer, but I enjoyed this one; lived close byand could watch it being built. It was abridge to be proud of.”

Completed in 1955, the 305-metre con-crete bridge was a good test of his skills. Theloading and designs were calculated with aslide rule and using the old logarithms tables.It took him and his associates at least threemonths to complete an analysis of the bridge,something that can now be done in underthree hours.

Within a few decades of the bridge’s con-struction, computers began to revolutionizethe industry. Newby was one of the first toadopt new engineering practices; he devel-oped a lifelong fascination with computers.He started creating engineering programs inthe 1970s, and didn’t stop until his retirementin 1993. He was determined to keep his com-pany on the cutting edge, even if it meant

A Jim of all

The Groat bridge inEdmonton, Alberta.


b y S c o t t M e s s e n g e r

How a once hungry farm boy became the

lead engineer of the Dunvegan Bridge.

countless hours tinkering with code. Whenno one was around, he would slip back to theoffice at night and rewrite programs.

His programs are still being used by hisformer colleagues, and he occasionally getsrequests to develop and refine others. WhenOrlan Weber joined the firm in 1973, Weberwas amazed by Newby’s ability to keep pacewith the latest developments in the industry.

“Jim really adapted to the changes andwas always aware of the latest codes. Younever got the impression that he was justputting in time. He really enjoyed what hewas doing and that rubbed off on the peoplearound him.”

His expertise was in the design of con-crete, whether it be structural or architectur-al, cast in place or precast, reinforced orprestressed, or preferably a combination ofall. He did, however, keep up with the latesttechnology concerning all other constructionmaterials, including metals and timber. Laterin his career he became interested in the studyof very light structures such as air-supportdomes and tents.

Newby has always been eager toacknowledge that he owed his success to hispartners and the technicians in their firm, andalso to the many great engineers he workedwith along the way. Dr. Ralph McManus, Dr.Leroy Thorssen (Civil ’39), Dean RobertHardy (Electrical ’66, PhD Electrical ’71),and Sir Edmond Happold to name a few.

“I loved my work, I loved my life, I could-n’t have been happier,” he says.

More than four decades after hanging atile on the streets of Edmonton, Newby is stillthe same little kid who could build anything.

Originally published by Alberta Venture, thisarticle has ben reprinted with permission fromthe Consulting Engineers of Alberta.

tradesATrophyBridge

In the den of his quiet Riverbend duplex,Ralph McManus (Civil ’42, MSc Civil’46), 87, takes a tiny silver trophy from

a bookcase.“I’ll tell you a cute story about this,”

he says.“I was teaching at the University until

1956, when they had the men’s faculty clubgolf tournament. I won the cup, which is thislittle thing here. I’ve never posted any informa-tion about myself on the Internet, but I lookedmyself up and it said I won that tournament.

“That’s my history!” he says, replacinghis memento.

McManus finds it funny that, at leaston the Internet, a golf tournament shouldeclipse the defining accomplishments of his50-year career.

Over his desk hangs a painting of theDunvegan Bridge, which has spanned thePeace River along a northern stretch ofHighway 2 since 1960.

“That would probably be the highlight ofmy career,” McManus says.


The only highway suspension bridgebetween British Columbia and Ontario, theDunvegan Bridge stands out as one of themost challenging projects of McManus’ fivedecades in engineering. The bridge is showy,with towers that are 70 metres high andenough lengths of arching cables to run fromEdmonton to Vancouver and back.

Suited to an autumnal colour scheme, thebridge’s towers are brown, its sides cream,and its cables orange.

“That was our attempt to be somethingmore than just engineers on that job,” saysMcManus.

“Up until that time you could have anycolour of black you wanted.”

McManus moved to Edmonton in 1936from a desiccated southern Alberta familyfarm, seeking a university degree. In thedepression-era job market, engineeringseemed a good bet.

“Today you probably have a hundredoptions to consider,” he says.

“I chose civil engineering, and that was it.And it so happened I liked it.”

McManus earned his degree in 1942without ever having to write final exams—aconcession granted by the University inexchange for agreeing to put his new skills towork building the Alaska Highway.

Since the wartime government felt hecould serve his country better in the classroomthan in the army, McManus also taught civilengineering at the University of Alberta. Hepicked up a Master’s degree along the way,and began a two-year sabbatical in doctoralstudies at the University of Illinois in 1949.

“When I went back to teach at theUniversity of Alberta,” says McManus, “Iintended to stay there forever. I didn’t. We gotinto the consulting engineering business whenthe big trucks started tending the oil wells.”

Smaller bridges across the province werebuckling under the weight of trucks ladenwith oil and heavy equipment. The depart-ment head of Civil Engineering at the univer-sity, Dr. “Chick” Thorssen (Civil ’39),proposed to the provincial government aseries of precast concrete bridges. McManuswas hired to design girders, pilings, and capsstrong enough to support Alberta’s industrialrevolution. In 1952 the two men formedStructural Engineering Services Ltd., andrecruited Tom Lamb as a partner in Calgary.

McManus’ double career as professor andconsultant didn’t last. Oil and gas pipelinecrossings over B.C. rivers made classroomobligations hard to meet. The Groat RoadBridge, completed in 1955 for the City ofEdmonton, would be one of the few projectslocated close to home. Upon accepting theDunvegan Bridge contract from the AlbertaDepartment of Highways in 1956, McManusleft his post at the university. A year later, hewas a full-time consultant.

The Dunvegan Bridge remains an anom-aly on the prairies, where slower, shallowrivers allow for conventional crossings. ThePeace’s flow rate and bed instability meantsupporting piers would have to extend farbelow the shifting sediment.

“You don’t decide it’s going to be a sus-pension bridge immediately,” saysMcManus, who led design from the deck up.

“Suspension reigned in costs. We got thewhole thing for about five million. It was areal bargain.”

Now, similar bridges cost more than$50 million.

In 1960, thanks to the work of two dozenengineers and a building crew of up to 60, thebridge was complete. The bridge deck stood30 metres tall on just two 320-tonne steeltowers. At half a kilometre long, it wasCanada’s fourth longest suspension bridge.Depending on the temperature, the bridge isdesigned to rise or fall a metre. Any structurehas a certain amount of give; on a hot sum-mer day the Dunvegan will expands anddrops. On a cold winter day, the materialscontract and the bridge rises.

“It was a real challenge,” says McManus.“We did not have personal computers.

The slide rule was the weapon of design. Wedid have some computer assistance, but itwas in Los Angeles. We had to hook up bytelephone, and because of the long distancethey would come back (with answers) 45minutes later, and sometimes the whole thingwould be lost.”

Bob Morison (Civil ’54), who wasMcManus’ student before becoming anengineer with the firm, says his formerprofessor was a determined worker.

“McManus had a passion for engineer-ing,” says Morison, “and wasn’t afraid oflooking at new ways of building.”

As resident engineer in the summer of1960, Morison provided then-Premier ErnestManning with the wrench for the ceremonialfastening of the last gold-plated bolt, official-ly opening the bridge. The ferry that hadlinked the towns of Peace River and GrandePrairie became history. So did the annualfreeze-up of the region’s economic develop-ment. About 15 years later, McManus tradedmanaging the consulting firm for overseeingconstruction projects for the Alberta govern-ment. He retired in 1989, and now says heenjoys doing as little as possible.

“I really have had a happy career. I’vebeen lucky. If I were offered an opportunityto relive my life, I wouldn’t take it, for fearthat I might mess it up this time.”

Originally published by Alberta Venture, thisarticle has ben reprinted with permission fromthe Consulting Engineers of Alberta.

Artworkby

Keith

Walkerwww.peakexperienceimagery.com


T a k i n g p r i d e i n a c h i e v e m e n t

BADRY, MICHAEL(Civil ’05) EIT

won a 2007Showcase award ofexcellence in pro-ject managementfrom theConsulting

Engineers of Alberta for hiswork on the National Institutefor Nanotechnology. This multi-disciplinary, multi-owner facilityhouses laboratories for nano-scale research. The $65 millionbuilding is one of the quietest inCanada, designed to provideultra-low vibration and minimalacoustic noise and electromag-netic interference. Badry is withStantec Consulting Limited.

BARR, ANDREW(Civil ’88, MSc Civil ’92) PEng

received an awardof merit in sustain-able design fromthe ConsultingEngineers ofAlberta at their

annual Showcase Awards. Thiswas for his work on theBearspaw Water TreatmentPlant—Residual TreatmentFacility. The Facility treatswastewater and recycles thetreated water back to the plant.Residual solid waste is sent to alandfill. This process savesapproximately six percent of thewater taken from the Bow Riverand removes discharges thatwere historically sent to theriver, thus preserving waterresources and protecting theenvironment. The judges com-mented that it was a sophisticat-ed application of technologytoward a sustainable future. Barris with Associated EngineeringAlberta Limited.

BASHIR, NASEEM(Electrical ’92) PEng

won two awardsfrom theConsultingEngineers ofAlberta for a long-term power gener-

ation planning study: an awardof excellence in the naturalresources, mining, and industrialcategory and an award of meritin the studies, software, and spe-cial services category. Bashir iswith A.D. Williams EngineeringInc. His firm was retained byFaconbridge Ltd. to recommenda power generation solutionappropriate for the mine devel-opment plan at the RaglanNickel Mine in Nunavik,Quebec. The plan defines themine development sequence,resource requirements, expansiontiming, and minimized operatingcosts and impact. Ten generationand load scenario combinationswere identified and evaluatedbased on proposed generationcriteria. Recommendations weremade for future installations.This process provided significantvalue to Falconbridge, allowingfuture installations to be ratio-nalized and planned to minimizeconstruction costs and disrup-tions to mining operations.

CARTER, JAMES E.(DSc [Hon] ’04) PEng

has been appointedto the EPCORboard of directors.Carter is the for-mer president andchief executive offi-

cer of Syncrude Canada. Herecently retired from the compa-ny after 27 years—20 of them atthe executive level. Carter playeda prominent role in the growthof Syncrude, and the evolutionof Alberta’s oil sands and thecommunity of Fort McMurray.

CHANG, HELEN(Petroleum ’88, MSc Petroleum’90) PEng

has been elected tothe position ofdirector, RockyMountain NorthAmerican Regionfor the Society of

Petroleum Engineers (SPE). The27-member SPE board of direc-tors is the policy-making bodyfor the SPE and reflects its diver-sity, both geographically andtechnically. As a member of theboard of directors, she willadvise the council on SPE mat-ters, brief the SPE board on thestatus of council activities in theregion, and bring matters ofinterest to the attention of theregional council and the SPEboard. Chang begins a three-year term commencing inNovember 2007.

Chang is a senior develop-ment engineer with TalismanEnergy Inc. in Calgary. She hasmore than 17 years’ experiencein reservoir engineering, produc-tion optimization, and reservesdetermination in gas and bothconventional and heavy oil.

CLAYTON, CARL(Civil ‘77) PEng

won a Showcase2007 award ofmerit from theConsultingEngineers ofAlberta for project

management of the southwestAnthony Henday Drive. This isa joint project completed byStantec Consulting Ltd. andUMA Engineering Ltd. forAlberta Infrastructure andTransportation. The projectincludes a 360-metre-long rivercrossing, three creek crossings,five major interchanges, and 11kilometres of divided highway.Judges noted the wide range ofinnovative approaches and tech-nological advances in this com-plex project.

DIBATTISTA, DR. JEFF(MSc Structural ’95, PhD Structural’00) PEng

was recognized bythe ConsultingEngineers ofAlberta at the 2007Showcase Awards.He received an

award of merit in building engi-neering for the $13 million PCLCentennial Learning Centre inthe Edmonton PCL BusinessPark. As PCL’s learning hub, the2,430-square-metre building is amodel of sustainable design,gold-certified under the USGBCLeadership in Energy andEnvironmental design (LEED™)Green Building rating system.The structural, mechanical, andelectrical systems are exposedand incorporated into the archi-tecture. The facility houses state-of-the-art training rooms,boardrooms, meeting rooms,offices, and a grand hall.DiBattista is a partner withCohos Evamy in Edmonton.

FAULKNER, DR. M. GARY(Mechanical ’63,MSc Mechanical ’66) PEng

was the recipientof the L.C.CharlesworthProfessionalService Awardfrom the

Association of ProfessionalEngineers, Geologists, andGeophysicists of Alberta (APEG-GA). This award was presentedfor his service to the professionand for his substantial contribu-tions to the operation of theAssociation and the advance-ment of its professional status.

Faulkner has experienced ahighly distinguished career inmechanical engineering sincegraduating from the Universityof California, Berkeley, in 1969with a PhD in applied mechan-ics. He has made outstandingcontributions to the engineeringcommunity as a whole and tothe education of undergraduateand graduate mechanical engi-neering students in particular.

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KATOPODIS, CHRIS(MSc Civil ’82) PEng

received theCamille A.Dagenais Awardfrom TheCanadian Societyfor Civil

Engineering. His engineeringexperience and research centreson interdisciplinary work thatbridges hydraulics and ecology.

His engineering career beganwith Manitoba Water ResourcesBranch in 1974. Katopodis isspearheading interdisciplinaryefforts in hydraulics, hydrology,river mechanics, ecology, biolo-gy, ecosystems, fish physiology,migrations, and habitat.

KLOSTER, JOHN(Civil ’89) PEng

received an awardof excellence inwater resourcesand energy produc-tion for his workon the Petro-

Canada recycled wastewaterpipeline project. This honourwas awarded by the ConsultingEngineers of Alberta. The pro-ject is environmentally sound,sustainable and the first of itskind in Canada. Rather thandrawing additional water fromthe North Saskatchewan Riverto produce hydrogen and steam,Petro-Canada can now draw onrecycled municipal water for itsindustrial operations. Kloster iswith Bel-MK EngineeringLimited.

KOSTIUK, DR. LARRY(MSc Mechanical ’85) PEng

was the recipientof the 2007EnvironmentalExcellence Awardfrom theAssociation of

Professional Engineers,Geologists, and Geophysicists ofAlberta (APEGGA). This awardrecognizes Kostiuk’s applicationof engineering methods towardspreservation of the environmentand the practice of sustainabledevelopment.

After graduating with hisPhD from Cambridge Universityin 1991, Kostiuk joined theDepartment of MechanicalEngineering at the University ofAlberta. He is currently chair ofthe department as well as anaccomplished researcher. Since1996, Kostiuk’s research hasfocused on mitigating the envi-ronmental impact of flaring bythe upstream energy industry,in particular, the flaring ofsolution gas.

KRYWIAK, DAVE(Civil ’77) PEng

accepted an awardof merit in waterresources and ener-gy production fromthe ConsultingEngineers of

Alberta for phase one of theCity of St. Albert’s sanitarytrunk sewer. Krywiak is withStantec. The City retainedStantec Consulting Ltd. to pro-vide interim in-line storage andconveyance to relieve existingsurcharging conditions in thecity’s wastewater collection sys-tem and to provide for the long-term servicing of future develop-ment in the northwest area ofthe City. The project exceededthe expectations set in the previ-ous feasibility study by identify-

ing an alternate alignment andconstruction method, whichresulted in lower constructioncosts and significantly lessimpact on the community.

KUEHNE, HERB(Civil ’76) PEng

was congratulatedby the ConsultingEngineers ofAlberta for his roleon the Mill CreekRoper Pond. He

received an award of excellencein sustainable design and anaward of merit in communitydevelopment. Kuehne and histeam applied creative environ-mental design practices toaddress the technical challengeand restored the drainage courseto its natural state. Thisstormwater management facilityprovides a naturalized wetlandarea for wildlife, birds, andwaterfowl nesting. It serves as amulti-use recreational facility,improves the quality ofstormwater, and reduces the riskof flooding.

LEE, MICHAEL(Mechanical ’82) PEng

has been appointedpresident of AlbertaOil SandsIncorporated. Hewas formerly chiefoperating officer

and co-founder of PlatformResources Incorporated. Over his25-year career in the oil and gassector, Lee held several senior-level engineering positions withEnCana Corporation, BurlingtonResources Canada Ltd.,Stampeder Exploration Ltd., andAmoco Canada PetroleumLimited. His expertise encom-passes planning and budgeting,execution, andmanagement of large capital pro-jects, and exploitationengineering.

LONG, DR. DEJIANG(PhD Civil ’91) PEng

won an internation-al award of excel-lence from theConsultingEngineers of Albertafor his report on the

developmental impact ofCanadian Technologies: YellowRiver water resources and floodmanagement. This internationalcooperative project involved thetransfer and adaptation of lead-ing-edge Canadian technologies(RADARSAT Remote Sensingand Water ResourcesManagement Model) to China.These technologies were used toimprove operational decisionmaking, improved flood monitor-ing and assessment, and opti-mized water resourcesmanagement of the Yellow Riverwatershed. This project will gen-erate social benefits to a popula-tion of 235 million,environmental benefits in protect-ing the ecological health of theriver, and economic benefits ofbillions of dollars a year. Dr. Longis with Golder Associates Limited.

MELTON, STEVE(MEng Transportation Engineering’94)

was the recipient ofa 2007 ShowcaseAward for Alberta’snew HighwayGuide andInformation Sign

Manual. The manual providesinformation on human factorsand best practices in sign designand construction. The manualassists designers in creating signsthat are easily read so drivershave time to recognize, read,and react to them. Melton iswith ISL Engineering & LandServices Limited.

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in memoriam

Edward Madsen (Electrical ’49)In memory of

Adair, Barney(Petroleum ’50)Bennett, Susan(Chemical ’00)Blamire, Norman(Electrical ’54)Braybrook, Robert(Chemical ’69)Brent, A. Lawrence(Mining ’52)Cherniwchan, William(Mechanical ’64)Chornopsky, Michael(Petroleum ’51)Daviduck, Lloyd(Civil ’62)Dubas, Jesuit FatherM. Stephen(Civil ’53, MSc Civil ’55)Eckenfelder, George(Civil ’33)Edie, Dr. Ralph(Mining ’45, MSc Mining ’49)Hymas, Donald(Electrical ’49)Jackson, William(Civil ’45)Jakob, Russel(Chemical ’59)Madsen, Edward(Electrical ’49)Marjanovich, Berislav(Chemical ’69)Mcdonald, John(Electrical ’50)

McNichol, Major General Don(Civil ’50)Melik, Michele(Civil ’90)Mutch, James(Petroleum ’53)Patching, Professor Thomas(Mining ’36)Philip, The HonourableJustice(Civil ’62)Popek, Henry(Electrical ’66)Reynolds, Robert(Chemical ’48)Robson, William(Electrical ’49)Sacharuk, Edward(Electrical ’70)Simons, Cory(Chemical ’96)Stollery, Robert(Civil ’49, LLD [Hon] ’85)Tipman, Rudolph(Chemical ’58)Tomilson, Robert(Mechanical ’73)Tyrkalo, M. Tod(Civil ’74)Usher, W. David(Civil ’49)Wacowich, Anthony(Electrical ’49)Webb, Kenneth(Civil ’59)

The Faculty of Engineering sincerely regrets the passing of thefollowing alumni and friends.

Cumming, James(Electrical ’47)Golightly, Robert(Chemical ’61)Holmberg, Hjalmar(Chemical ’43)Kutney, Peter(Chemical ’54)Livingstone, Donald(Chemical ’44)

Pascoe, John(Chemical ’50)Shook, Dr. Clifton(Chemical ’56)

Edward Madsen passed away peacefully on March 24,

2007 at age 84. An only child, he was born in Odense,

Denmark on January 13th, 1923, and emigrated with his

parents at age nine months to Canada, settling on a farm

homestead in Alberta. After attending a small country

school, he completed high school by correspondence. He

built his first radio receiver on the farm as a young

teenager, with many improved versions to follow over the

coming years.

He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force during WW II

and received his pilot’s wings with the rank of pilot

officer. He did not fly after the war, but continued his

lifelong love of airplanes through reading, movies, and

television. Working first in Hamilton, Ontario, he then

joined B.C. Electric Co. in 1955, retiring from B.C. Hydro

in 1985.


In memory of Thomas PatchingProfessor Emeritus (Mining ’36)

Patching was born on October 2nd, 1915 on the family

farm near Etzikon in southern Alberta. His early education

was in a local country school. He finished high school in

Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. He completed the four-year

program in Mining and Metallurgy in 1936. He worked with

the International Nickel Company and the Hudson’s Bay

Mining and Smelting Company in Flin Flon. In 1945, he

returned to the U of A to teach in the Department of

Mining and Metallurgy under the leadership of the famous

Dr. Karl Clark. He taught for 35 years and earned a

reputation as one of Canada’s leading experts in mining

engineering. He became a full professor in 1958. He

followed the careers of his students with interest. Starting

with the existing departmental records from 1916, he added

names of each year’s new graduates commencing in 1947

and continued this until his retirement.

The Faculty of Engineering was recently made aware of thefollowing alumni who passed away more than a year ago.

UofA Eng i n e e r38

SMITH, STUART(Civil ’74, MEng Civil ’79) PEng

received an awardof excellence intransportationengineering fromthe ConsultingEngineers of

Alberta for the Yellowhead Trailand 156th Street interchange.Smith is with BPTEC-DNWEngineering & Land ServicesLimited. Smith’s company pro-vided structural design for thiscomplex and challenging projectinvolving the construction ofroadways and bridges.

STAMBAUGH, WES(Civil ’79) PEng

received an awardof merit in trans-portation infra-structure for workon the Bow Trailwidening and

intersection upgrades. Theaward was presented by theConsulting Engineers ofAlberta. The $14-million BowTrail capital project is the firstphase of the commitment towiden the Bow Trail corridor toa six-lane expressway and willdelay the need for grade separa-tion at key intersections inCalgary’s transportation net-work until at least 2023. Theproject relied on context-sensi-tive design principles to meetthe challenges of severe topogra-phy, major utility conflicts,stormwater drainage, and sub-standard pre-existing geometry.Stambaugh is with ISLEngineering & Land ServicesLimited.

SUNDARAJ, DR.UTTANDARAMAN(Chemical ’89) PEng

was the recipientof the 2007Excellence inEducation Awardfrom theAssociation of

Professional Engineers,Geologists, and Geophysicists ofAlberta (APEGGA). This wasfor his exemplary contributionsto teaching and learning at arecognized post-secondaryteaching establishment inAlberta.

Upon graduation in 1989,Sundararaj received an APEG-GA Gold Medal for top marksin his class. After obtaining hisPhD from the University ofMinnesota in 1994, he returnedto the University of Alberta,where he is now a professor inthe Department of Chemicaland Materials Engineering.

MONTGOMERY,DR. COLIN JAMES (JIM)(Civil ’73) PEng

was the recipient ofthe 2007CentennialLeadership Awardfrom theAssociation of

Professional Engineers,Geologists, and Geophysicists ofAlberta (APEGGA). This awardis presented to a member ofAPEGGA who has attained thehighest distinction relating to thescience of engineering, geology orgeophysics as an executive ordirector of an outstanding projector continuing enterprise in whichthe member has conducted, guid-ed or directed or was responsiblefor the practice of the specificprofession. The recipient mayhave also attained the highest dis-tinction because of invention,research or original work, or anoutstanding or exemplary careerin teaching the professions.

Montgomery has had anexemplary career that spansalmost 30 years. In 1973, hegraduated at the top of his classat the University of Alberta,receiving an APEGGA GoldMedal in civil engineering. Afterobtaining his post-graduatedegrees at the University ofIllinois, Urbana-Champaign, Dr.Montgomery joined theDepartment of Civil Engineeringat the University of Albertawhere he held positions asAssistant and AssociateProfessor from 1977 until 1981.

NEVEU, KEVIN(Mechanical ’82)

has been appointedchief executiveofficer and a direc-tor of PrecisionDrilling Trust,Canada's largest

oil field services company.Neveu has over 25 years’

experience in the oil field ser-vices sector and most recentlywas president of the RigSolutions Group of Houston-based National Oilwell Varco,where he oversaw design andmanufacturing of land and off-shore drilling equipment.

PROCTOR, MARTY(Petroleum ’84, MSc Petroleum’85) PEng

has been appointedto the executivemanagement teamfor NorthAmerican OilSands

Corporation. He joined thecompany in 2006 and is work-ing as senior vice president,upstream. Proctor has morethan 22 years of diverse experi-ence in the oil and gas field. Hehas worked on projects inCanada, the United States,Kazakstan, and China.

SADOWNYK, KEN(Civil ’81) PEng

accepted an awardof excellence incommunity devel-opment for stagesone to four of theengineering and

landscape architecture at theVillage at Griesbach. This awardwas presented by the ConsultingEngineers of Alberta. Sadownykis with UMA Engineering Ltd.UMA provided the engineeringand landscape architecture ser-vices that revitalized one of thelargest urban developments inthe country. Greisbach repre-sents a sustainable and innova-tive use of urban land andinfrastructure that will ultimate-ly provide a pedestrian-friendlycommunity for more than120,000 people.

(Photo sentSept 12)

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Editor’s note: The descriptions of the CEA Awards were excerptedfrom Alberta Innovators, the annual magazine of the ConsultingEngineers of Alberta.

Documents

Eng SUMMER'02 #42 · 2020. 5. 8. · 35 Kudos 37 Inmemoriam 22 ParliamentaryMatters Afterasuccessfulcareerin Singapore’spublicservice,SooPing Lim(Mechanical’74)changedcareers