Two of Queen’s Engineering faculty members are recipients of this year’s Ontario Professional Engineers Awards (OPEA).
In the Research and Development category, Vice-Dean (Research) Amir Fam and Associate Dean (Academic) Marianna Kontopoulou will formally receive Engineering Medals at a ceremony in November.
The awards, administered by the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, are adjudicated by a committee based on nominations submitted by P.Eng license holders of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and including personal statements from nominators and at least two referees.
According to the OPEA, the Engineering Medal “recognizes professional engineers who have improved our quality of life through the ingenious application of their engineering skills” and in the research and development category, recipients are recognized “for using new knowledge in developing useful, novel applications, or advancing engineering knowledge or applied science, or discovering or extending any of the engineering or natural sciences.”
An active researcher in the areas of structural engineering using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcements and bio-based composites in new construction and retrofitting aging bridges and buildings, Amir Fam joined the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen’s in 2002 where he is now – in addition to acting as the Faculty’s Vice-Dean (Research) – a professor and the Donald and Sarah Munro Chair in Engineering and Applied Science.
Marianna Kontopoulou is recognized internationally for her contributions in material development through polymer blending and reactive modification for a wide-array of industrial processes, such as automotive applications, rotational molding, thermoplastic foaming, and conductive polymers. She joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s in 1999 where she is now a professor, as well as serving as the Faculty’s Associate Dean (Academic).