On Tuesday, June 14th, the Department celebrated in person (for the first time since March 2020!) the retirement of three faculty members, Juliana Ramsay, Tom Harris, and David Poirier.
Juliana Ramsay (Professor): Juliana joined the department in 1995 as an Associate Professor and has served in numerous roles such as Academic Year Advisor, Transfer Student Advisor, International Exchange Student Advisor, Associate Head, and Acting Undergraduate Chair. Juliana’s research has focused on using microorganisms to clean up environmental pollutants and to develop fermentation strategies to produce bioplastics. More recently, she has been studying the underlying mechanisms of greenhouse gas emissions in oil sand tailing ponds. Juliana is the recipient of many distinguished awards including the Prix d'excellence de la direction des études supérieures et de la recherche, École Polytechnique, Montreal (for Excellence in Research), a Premier’s Research Excellence Award, (Government of Ontario), and a Chancellor’s Award (Queen’s).
Tom Harris (Professor): Tom joined the department in 1986 as an Associate Professor and Queen’s National Scholar. In his time at Queen’s, he has served as Head of Chemical Engineering (1992-96), the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (1996-2007), and the Vice-Principal of Advancement (2010-18). His research activities are directed towards the analysis of process control strategies and the development and use of statistical methodologies in chemical engineering. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors for research and service including the Michael J. Rodden Award (Queen’s), T. Geoffrey Flynn Advancement Champion Award (Queen’s), the D.G. Fisher Award (CSChE), and fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering.
David Poirier (Lecturer and Laboratory Coordinator): David joined the department in 2007 as the first Laboratory Coordinator after many years working as a Research Associate in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences. David has made outstanding contributions through his leadership and development of the undergraduate engineering education at Queen’s University. His teaching philosophy and comprehensive approach in performing engineering laboratory projects have greatly enhanced learning outcomes for all the department’s UG engineering laboratory courses. David recently received The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Innovation in Teaching Award in recognition of his contributions.
Best wishes to Juliana, Tom, and David!
