Five UBC Civil Engineering professors and one graduate student were honoured by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) during its annual conference in Montreal from May 29-June 1, 2013.
Dharma Wijewickreme was doubly honoured at the conference: he received the CSCE’s Horst Leipholz Medal for his outstanding contributions to engineering mechanics research and practice in Canada; and he was inducted a CSCE Fellow for his outstanding contributions to the development and practice of engineering in Canada in general.
Wijewickreme is an internationally recognized researcher in the field of geotechnical engineering. He gained 11 years of experience in consulting engineering practice prior to joining academia in 2001. His research activities, which are related to the infrastructure, mining and energy sectors, have been of global significance and have been used extensively. Specifically, his research on earthquake liquefaction of soils and on buried pipelines subject to ground movements has effectively and extensively contributed to advancement of knowledge, has been used in the development of design guidelines for practice, and has been applied to many engineering projects worldwide.
Also inducted CSCE Fellows were professors Greg Lawrence and Tarek Sayed.
Lawrence holds a Canada Research Chair in Environmental Fluid Mechanics and is a world authority on wave motion, particularly the instability and mixing of density stratified shear flows; two-layer hydraulics; the physical limnology of reservoirs, lakes, tailings ponds and water-filled mine pits; and in-stream tidal power. As a consultant, he has been retained by numerous private and government agencies here and abroad; and his research accomplishments have been globally recognized and applied in real-world in-situ design and analysis. Last year the CSCE also award him with its Camille A. Dagenais Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development and practice of hydrotechnical engineering in Canada.
Sayed is world-renowned for his research on road safety analysis and evaluation. His work on automated road safety analysis using video sensors is being applied in projects in six countries and is considered by many as the future of road safety analysis. He has a number of prestigious awards including the appointment as a UBC Distinguished Scholar, the Award of Academic Merit from the Transportation Association of Canada, and the ITE Wilbur Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award. Along with his duties leading the transportation engineering group in his department, he is also currently Senior Editor of the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, Director of the UBC Bureau of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Freight Security – Engineering.
UBC Civil Engineering MASc student Ryan I. Thoren and professors James Atwater and Pierre Bérubé received the 2013 Donald R. Stanley Award for the best paper published in 2012 on a civil engineering subject in the area of environmental engineering. Entitled “A model for analyzing water reuse and resource recovery potential in urban areas,” the paper was published in the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 39, pp 1202-1209.
Abstract: Increasing population is putting pressure on urban water and wastewater infrastructure; more efficient use of this resource needs to be explored as the cost of upgrading water and sewer networks is daunting. Wastewater presents a significant source of water and heat and, if properly utilized, can reduce the pressure on existing infrastructure while reducing stress on the receiving environment. This paper presents an optimization model using geographic information systems to locate potential sources and sinks of reclaimed water within an urbanized area. Mathematical optimization then maximizes water reuse using a set of constraints on mass balance, water quality, and electricity used for pumping. Three variations of the model are applied to Vancouver, British Columbia. The first scenario identifies a number of potential industrial sources and sinks for direct cascading with a total potential water savings of 133,400m3/year. With the implementation of a theoretical satellite water reclamation facility (WRF) in scenario 2, water recycling potential is increased to a maximum of 613,800m3/year. The results from the third scenario show a savings of upwards of 1,000,000m3/year using a satellite WRF to supply industrial, commercial, institutional and multifamily water users. This paper presents a model that can be transposed by simple modifications and applied to virtually any group of water users.
About the CSCE
Founded in 1887, the CSCE is a learned society intended to enhance the public image of the civil engineering profession and to develop and maintain high standards of civil engineering practice in Canada through the development, acquisition and exchange of professional knowledge within the field of civil engineering.
For more information: http://csce.ca/committees/honours-and-fellowships/