INNOVATION September-October 2017

TEACHING AWARD OF EXCELLENCE DR. MINA HOORFAR, P.ENG.

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL AWARD TIJANA SMILJANIC, P.ENG.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD GARY SCHUBAK, P.ENG.

Tijana is an exceptional engineer with more than 10 years of design, leadership, and project management experience. Throughout her career with McElhanney, she has specialized in transportation design-build projects and public-private partnerships, and contributed to major projects including the Powell Street Overpass, the Port Mann/Highway 1 Upgrading, and the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission. She has emerged as an inspiration to the company’s young professionals, particularly to women, and quickly risen to positions of responsibility, not only because of her technical knowledge but also her creativity, strong interpersonal skills, and willingness to take on leadership roles. Tijana is a tireless volunteer, exhibiting poise and wisdom beyond her years. Within the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies BC (ACEC-BC), she has chaired the Young Professionals Group and championed school outreach activities. She volunteered with Science World’s SciTech Summer Camp, and was an active mentor with KidStart. Her professional service contributions throughout the first decade of her engineering career were recognized in 2016 when she was awarded the ACEC-BC Young Professional Award. For her leadership and inspirational accomplishments, Engineers and Geoscientists BC is honoured to present Tijana Smiljanic with the Young Professional Award.

Mina is an outstanding professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan whose passion and dedication to using engineering knowledge to impact society motivates students to succeed in her classes and become lifelong learners within the profession. Tirelessly supportive of student research endeavors, Mina has helped to bring more than $3.5 million in research funding to UBC and the surrounding Okanagan region since 2007, and has assisted more than 50 students with publishing academic journal articles. She also finds time to work with a variety of organizations to inspire female students, and makes frequent visits to local and international schools to share her passion for the value of an engineering education. Mina’s teaching has been recognized with a number of awards from UBC Okanagan, including the Pioneer Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008, and the Provost Teaching Excellence and Innovation Award in 2014. Since 2016 Mina has been Director of the School of Engineering, where she is able to share her insights into pedagogy with her peers. For her dedication to teaching, commitment to students, and contributions to research and innovation, Engineers and Geoscientists BC is pleased to present Dr. Mina Hoorfar with the Teaching Award for Excellence in Engineering Education.

Gary stands out among his peers for an exceptional combination of engineering expertise and compassion towards his community. Despite being highly involved in BC’s cleantech sector, dedicated to commercializing technologies that make a positive impact on the environment, Gary always finds time to use his engineering and business skills to improve our community. Gary has been a long-time public advocate for increasing awareness and funding for recovery support, attending community forums and media events about the cause. For the past 11 years, he has been a volunteer board member with Turning Point Recovery Society, where he also served for six years as board president. Under his leadership, and with the dedication and effort of the board, staff, and volunteers, the organization dramatically expanded its ability to support individuals and families struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction. Adding 50 beds and five facilities, as well as the new drop-in centre and outreach program in Richmond, Turning Point is able to provide safe and supportive housing and programs that deliver a foundation for recovery to more people than ever before. For his dedication and inspirational leadership in helping his community, Engineers and Geoscientists BC is pleased to present Gary Schubak with the Community Service Award. j

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