INNOVATION Mar-Apr 2020

C O M M U N I T Y

DANIEL C. LAMBERT, P.ENG., 1917-2020 The man whose name graces Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s flagship

and Managing Director of APEBC—a position he held until his retirement in 1984. But that didn’t keep Lambert from serving his profession. The year after his retirement, he was appointed to the Acts and Bylaws Committee, where he sat for more than 19 years; he was also a director of the Engineers and Geoscientists BC Benevolent Fund Society for more than 10 years, and a director of the Foundation for nearly 4 years. Lambert received the APEBC Professional Service Award in 1985. In 2009, the award was renamed The D.C. Lambert Professional Service Award in Lambert’s honour. The award recognizes a substantial contribution of professional service, either to Engineers and Geoscientists BC, or to a provincial, national, or international technical association or learned society. In 2017, Engineers and Geoscientists BC renamed its largest boardroom in his honour. Kenneth F. Williams, P.Eng., president of APEBC in 1983, remained good friends with Lambert, and remembers him as a dedicated professional. “He was a great guy,” said Williams. “He was always making sure we didn’t trip over ourselves. He was always advising, and always helping us.” Williams added that he and Lambert used to travel and play golf together. “He was very bright and perceptive. He

boardroom and a president’s award for professional service, has passed away at age 102. Daniel C. Lambert, P.Eng., FEC., past president and longtime volunteer with Engineers and Geoscientists BC, whose leadership and prolific volunteer work continued long past his retirement in 1984, had been a familiar face at Engineers and Geoscientists BC for many years. Born 11 months before the end of World War I, Lambert entered the Canadian military to fight in World War II, landing in Normandy, France, about six weeks after D-Day. His division— charged with establishing signals and communications in newly liberated areas—advanced through France, Belgium, Holland, and ultimately Germany. Lambert was named a chevalier of the French Legion of Honour in 2015. After his war service, Lambert graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in electrical engineering from UBC, and became a member of the Association of Professional Engineers (APEBC, as it was then) in 1960. Lambert began his extensive volunteer work the very next year, serving on a range of task forces, divisions, committees, and even Council. In 1969, Lambert was elected president of APEBC. He also occupied leadership positions in the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (renamed Engineers Canada in 2007), where he served as vice president, and then president. In 1973, he became Registrar

Daniel Lambert in 1969

kept his sense of story and sense of humour to the end,” he said. “He was a born professional engineer. He ate, slept, and drank engineering. It was built into him,” said Williams.

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