Friend of the Professions Award
This award was established in 2013 to recognize exceptional achievements or unique contributions by a non-member in the promotion of the professions.
This year the APEGS Friend of the Professions Award recognizes Wendy Paddock.
Wendy Paddock was born Wendy McDonald, daughter of Hugh and Dolores McDonald in Wiseton, Saskatchewan. She attended Wiseton School and was the last grade 12 graduate from that school.
Wendy’s parents raised her with a strong work ethic and the values of life-long learning and community service. As well, all of the McDonald children were required to participate in music, including a family dance band.
Wendy attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating with a Bachelor of Education degree. She taught school in North Battleford and Prince Albert until her retirement.
During her teaching career, Wendy presented teacher in-services in early childhood development, music, visual arts and special education. She also served as a member of the Saskatchewan Department of Education’s advisory committee that created the first Arts Education Curriculum for Saskatchewan.
Her teaching career also provided her with opportunities to mentor students of all ages about engineering and geoscience. She was always delighted to welcome those professionals into her classroom.
Wendy is married to Dennis Paddock, P.Eng. For the past 30 years, she has had the opportunity to promote the professions in a more formal way. She has worked with volunteers from APEGS and its predecessor APES and has promoted the professions in Saskatchewan, across Canada and in the United States.
Wendy and Dennis have two sons, both graduates of the University of Regina. Brett has a Master of Education degree and Jared is a Professional Engineer. Wendy and Dennis are the proud parents-in-law to Chrystal and Jeanelle and grandparents to Elizabeth, James, Julia and Jessica.
Although she continues to advocate for APEGS, she and Dennis are now enjoying a little more casual time travelling, golfing, fishing and spending time with their family and friends at their Elk Ridge cottage.
The Promising Member Award
The Promising Member Award, established in 1995, recognizes exceptional achievements by professional members in the early stages of their careers in Saskatchewan.
This year the award recognizes Michael Walker, P.Eng., P.E., PMP.
Born in Yorkton in 1985, Michael was raised in Regina and Calgary, graduating from Winston Knoll High School in Regina.
From a young age, Michael had an inquisitive nature and loved to dismantle, build and fix things. He was inspired by the do-it-yourself attitude of his parents, grandparents and a few handy uncles who were constantly working on building and repair projects around their farms and homes.
After attending the University of Alberta in Edmonton, he eventually moved back to Saskatchewan to establish the Regina office of McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd and manage McElhanney’s Saskatchewan division. He also has continued his professional development through training such as Arctic Engineering through the University of Alaska.
Michael is a certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute and is in charge of managing multi-disciplinary projects across Western Canada and has consulting and construction experience over a large variety of projects.
Michael is proud of many of the projects he has worked on over the years. Some of his most notable achievements include the Grasslands Scenic Roadway at Grasslands National Park, the York Factory Slope Stability Analysis, the Elbow River Rehabilitation in Calgary, the Warman and Martensville Interchanges, his contributions to the Regina By-Pass and the asset registry and infrastructure improvements for the town of Unity.
Throughout his career, Michael has been an active volunteer with the professional associations in both Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as nationally, and is currently representing Canada’s Young Professionals at the international level.
He is also active in the community. He is working with McLurg School for presentations on science, technology, engineering and math careers, and has volunteered to help build a new playground, designed by McElhanney, for the school. He has also gotten McElhanney involved in designing and contributing to building a park and trail system in Deer Valley. On behalf of the Children’s Wish Foundation and Ronald McDonald House, he has volunteered for the Saskatoon Dragon Boat Festival since 2002 providing water race coordination and safety. He is also an ongoing volunteer for the Cancer Care Manitoba’s Dragon Boat Festival.
Michael received the 2017 ACEC-SK Young Professional Award and was also awarded the 2018 Allen D Williams scholarship from ACEC Canada. Michael has been nominated for the 2018 FIDIC Young Professional Award where he will represent Canada on the international stage.
Michael and his wife Kerri have a two-year-old and are expecting their second child in June.
The Environmental Excellence Award
The Environmental Excellence Award was established in 2005. It is given in recognition of exceptional achievements by an individual or team in the application of engineering, geological or geophysical methods related to environmental protection and preservation.
This year the APEGS Environmental Excellence Award recognizes Shelise Berteig, P.Eng.
Shelise was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. At an early age, Shelise moved with her family back to the Berteig family farm southeast of Swift Current.
Shelise grew up on the farm building forts, riding motorbikes, catching frogs, riding horses and still had time for various sports off of the farm.
After high school, she attended the University of Saskatchewan and obtained a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. Several years later, she earned a Bachelor in Applied Science in Engineering from the University of Regina. Shelise graduated from Industrial Systems Engineering with Great Distinction.
After graduation Shelise was hired with Husky Oil in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta at the Ram River Gas Plant. She started her career working in the plant as an operator on shift work. After eight months, she was moved into the engineering department and worked as a field engineer. Through this she gained experience with both sour and sweet gas facilities and oil facilities. Eventually Shelise was moved into the gas plant to work as a facility engineer.
In 2009 she moved back to her childhood home in the Swift Current area to take on the role of Management of Change and Pipeline Integrity.
In June 2016 Whitecap Resources bought the southwest Saskatchewan assets from Husky Oil Operations. Shelise was offered the same position with the new company. The focus has been reducing risks associated with pipelines. Whitecap Resources has a very proactive outlook on pipeline integrity and understands the importance of addressing pipeline integrity issues.
Every pipeline is reviewed yearly for over a dozen different risk factors. Based on the reviews, action items are generated and tracked to completion. The reviews focus on addressing inactive lines, aging infrastructure, leak detection and water crossings.
Shelise has helped oversee a great deal of pipeline integrity work done in the area but it is an ongoing task. The result is a positive and proactive focus on pipeline integrity from the operational to the corporate level. This has a positive effect on environmental impact, landowner relations and pipeline integrity awareness.
Shelise and her husband, Gregory Genert, live on an acreage north of Swift Current. They have two sons, Hudson age 4 and Sawyer age 5, who keep them very busy.
The Exceptional Engineering and Geoscience Project Award
This award, founded in 2001, recognizes accomplishments in engineering or geoscience. The project team must be predominantly made up of Saskatchewan engineers or geoscientists. The project may be located in or outside Saskatchewan.
This year, the APEGS Exceptional Engineering and Geoscience Project Award recognizes the Co-Op Refinery (CRC) Complex for the Wastewater Improvement Project.
Commissioned in 2016, the Wastewater Improvement Project has been recognized as a world-class achievement in wastewater management.
The refinery requires an enormous amount of water to function. But water is a scarce resource in Saskatchewan. The provincial Water Security Agency tightly regulates Saskatchewan’s water resource and sets strict quotas for industrial and resource sector users. As its use continued to grow, the CRC was faced with the prospect of needing more water than regulators would allow.
To meet this need, the refinery launched its ambitious water recycling initiative. At a cost of roughly $200 million, this cutting-edge environmental initiative was one of the largest mega-projects in Saskatchewan history.
The Wastewater Improvement Project allows the refinery to clean 100 per cent of its wastewater and recycle up to 65 per cent, making it the first refinery in North America to recycle so much of its wastewater for reuse in the oil refining processes.
By recycling, the refinery is making impressive strides in reducing freshwater use. While it’s refining capacity has increased, the WIP cuts freshwater use by roughly 28 per cent – the equivalent of the water used by 3,100 households in the Regina.
The project not only improves CRC’s use of water, it also improves the air. The facility significantly reduces volatile organic compounds which cause odours in the area around the refinery.
On April 24, 2017, the Wastewater Improvement Project was named Industrial Water Project of the Year at the annual Global Water Awards held in Madrid, Spain.
The McCannel Award
The McCannel Award was established in 1983 to honour service to the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan, and to the professions as a whole. The McCannel Award is named after Roy McCannel, a founding member of the Association.
This year, the APEGS McCannel Award recognizes Cathy Lynn Borbely, P.Eng.
Cathy was born and raised in Regina and is proud to have lived her whole life in the Queen City.
Her father, an electrical engineer, says he saw a budding engineer in her at an early age and instilled in her a love of designing and building things. Her current skills in highways and infrastructure were honed at an early age, building miniature cities and highways with her brother in the backyard sandbox.
Cathy graduated from the University of Regina in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in regional systems engineering.
Straight out of college, Cathy went to work for the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure where she has held progressively senior positions. She is currently the Director of Land Acquisition and Management for the ministry.
Over the years, Cathy has been credited with a number of achievements within the Ministry, including managing Saskatchewan`s first recycled asphalt paving contract, developing construction practices for using geotextile fabric in road subgrade construction and implementing improved project management and team building principles.
Cathy has a long list of awards and honours, including the Ministry’s Celebrating Excellence One Team Award, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Sanford Fleming Award, Saskatchewan Centennial Medal in 2006 and the Deputy Minister’s Award in 1996. She has also been named a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.
Cathy has always followed her parents’ example of giving back to the community. She was a fundraiser and participant in the ‘Believe in the Gold’ childhood cancer run in 2017. She was a volunteer for the Canada 150 celebrations. She has been a girls’ camp mentor for the U of R’s EYES summer science camps. She was co-chair and co-master of ceremonies for the CSCE International Conference in Regina in 2015. She has been the prairie region representative on the CSCE Honours and Fellowships Committee since 2011. She has been a fundraiser for the Terry Fox Run, a mentor for the APEGS Women in Engineering Mentorship Program and made numerous other community and professional contributions.
Perhaps her most notable contribution came in 2004 when she was elected the first woman president of the CSCE in the organization’s 117-year history.
The Outstanding Achievement Award
The Outstanding Achievement Award was created in 1998 to honour members who show technical excellence and achievement in engineering or geoscience in Saskatchewan.
This year, the APEGS Outstanding Achievement Award goes to Daniel X.B. Chen, Ph.D., P.Eng., FASME, FCSME, FEIC.
Daniel Chen was born and raised in China, where he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering. His first professional job was a relatively humble one, designing circuits for Scientific Instruments Corporation in China.
He moved to Canada in 1998 to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Saskatchewan. After a brief stint at as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, he returned to the University of Saskatchewan in 2003 where he has been a valued member of the faculty ever since.
Over the course of his career, Daniel has published over 144 peer-reviewed journal articles and has supervised over 46 post-graduate students.
Daniel requires a large trophy wall to hold all the awards and distinctions he has received over the years. He is a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and is a Senior Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
He received the 2016 Achievement Award from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, the 2014 College of Engineering Award for Research Achievement in Engineering, the 2012 University of Saskatchewan New Researcher Award, the Educator of the Year 2007 and the 2002 NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship and was named Educator of the Year in 2007.
One of Daniel’s most significant achievements is creating and leading an interdisciplinary tissue engineering research program with the aim of developing artificial tissue and organ substitutes which would provide a permanent solution to damaged tissue or organs. This program currently involves over 10 professors, clinicians and scientists from both engineering and life sciences.
The focus of the research is on the design and fabrication of tissue to help repair peripheral nerves, spinal cord damage and cartilage, as well as in the treatment of heart attacks and strokes.
In his personal life, Daniel is a big believer in staying fit. No matter how busy he is with his teaching and research pursuits, he dedicates at least an hour a day for some sort of activity such as badminton, squash, fitness, running or biking.
Daniel and his wife Qi Huang have been married for over 26 years. Their daughter Angel is a graduate student at the University of Victoria.
The Brian Eckel Distinguished Service Award
The Brian Eckel Distinguished Service Award was established in 1978 to recognize outstanding contributions in service to the community, the Association, technical and learned organizations, as well as to honour distinctive and outstanding achievements in professional and technical fields. In 2004 this award was renamed the Brian Eckel Distinguished Service Award in recognition of Brian Eckel’s contribution to society, the profession and the Association.
This year the Brian Eckel Distinguished Service Award goes to
Louis-Pierre Gagnon, P.Eng.
Louis-Pierre was raised in St-Bruno near Montreal. From an early age, Louis-Pierre displayed traits of an engineer. He showed perseverance and his commitment to others in the daily delivery of newspapers over five years. Being a long-term planner, he saved most of these earnings and, in grade 12, used them to pay for Class Afloat. This sailing trip around the world inspired his curiosity and determination to make a difference.
Back on shore, Louis-Pierre completed a degree in marine biology. Then a summer engineering position at the Alouette Aluminum Smelter and the excitement of developing large projects led to pursuing a mining engineering degree. In 1995, Louis-Pierre obtained his bachelor of mining engineering from McGill University and earned the British Association medal for highest grade point average in engineering. In 2003, he achieved a master’s in applied sciences from Laurentian University.
Louis-Pierre’s career has included working with many of the biggest players in mining across Canada and around the world: INCO, Vale, Cameco, Mosaic and his current employer ORANO Canada (formerly known as AREVA). Along the way, he also worked for two years at Dyno Nobel, the explosives manufacturer famous for its founder, Albert Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.
Just before moving to Saskatchewan, Louis-Pierre and his family lived for four years on the South Pacific island of New Caledonia. There, Louis-Pierre played an integral role in the start-up of a nickel mine.
In Saskatchewan, Louis-Pierre has made extensive contributions to the province’s mining industry. He served as Senior Mine Engineer for Cameco, Manager of Mining Engineering for Mosaic and today he is General Manager, Mine Projects for ORANO. His abilities have guided decisions for mining projects costing millions of dollars.
In his present role as General Manager, Mine Projects, Louis-Pierre has a diverse portfolio of projects to manage including the development of an innovative uranium mining method and the safe long-term storage of mine tailings.v
Louis-Pierre’s further contributions to Saskatchewan’s mining community include the development of higher education. In 2012, he designed and taught the University of Saskatchewan’s first mine ventilation course. Since 2013, he has been chair and board member of the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Program Advisory Committee for the Mining Engineering Technology Program. Other contributions to the province include Account Executive for United Way Business and Industry campaigns and President and Board Member of the Saskatchewan Sailing Association.