Three profs and alumnus recognized for excellence

Three Faculty of Engineering professors and an alumnus have been inducted as new Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE): Zarah Moussavi, Nariman Sepehri, Abraham (Quan) Wang, and alumnus Leonard Lye.

The CAE is an independent, self-governing and non-profit organization established in 1987. Members of the CAE are nominated and elected by their peers to honorary Fellowships, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession. Fellows are committed to ensuring that Canada’s engineering expertise is applied to the benefit of all Canadians.

“I congratulate my distinguished colleagues for this recognition and their contributions to the field of engineering,” says Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (Research and International).

“I am pleased that the contributions of these three faculty members have been recognized by the Canadian Academy of Engineering,” says Jonathan Beddoes, P.Eng., Dean of Engineering. “This recognition is an affirmation of what their colleagues have known for quite some time – that they are outstanding engineers and researchers.”

Zahra Moussavi

Zahra Moussavi

Zahra Moussavi, electrical & computer engineering and Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Engineering, has used her vast knowledge to produce ground-breaking research to improve the lives of others. Most recently she has been working on early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and has established the only repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) centre for treatment of the disease in Canada. Lately, she has also started a memory program for people of age 60+ with memory problems, called “Soroor Memory Series”. These pioneering programs have made Manitoba a unique, world-class centre of research for Alzheimer’s. As a full professor at the University of Manitoba, as well as a Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Zahra Kazem-Moussavi has served as a role model, particularly for her female students.

Nariman Sepehri

Nariman Sepehri

Nariman Sepehri,mechanical engineering, is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is an expert in the engineering field of fluid power systems and control. He is a leader in detecting system faults and merging them with control corrections to create a self-healing approach in safety critical applications. He has published over 100 journal articles, is holder of five patents and co-author of a textbook on Hydrostatic Actuation. He has allocated a good portion of his time to serve technical societies, most notably as Chair of the ASME Fluid Power Systems and Technology Division. He was involved in the organization of over 60 international conferences and has served on editorial boards of eight journals.

Abraham (Quan) Wang

Abraham (Quan) Wang

Abraham (Quan) Wang, mechanical engineering and Canada Research Chair in Solid Mechanics, studies structural mechanics. He has made outstanding contributions in applications of nano-materials in composites and sensor designs. He is also a world leading expert in smart materials and structures and applications in energy harvesting, structural health monitoring, and repair. He has published around 200 research papers in internationally refereed journals with high citation counts. He has played various active roles in and contributed to research, education, and public services. Because of his substantial contributions and leadership in the engineering profession, Dr. Wang has been elected to be as a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Institute of Physics.

There are currently 11 University of Manitoba professors who are Fellows of CAE and three Fellows Emeritus. The new CAE Fellows and Honorary Fellow were inducted on June 4 in Hamilton, ON, as part of the Academy’s Annual Meeting.

Leonard Lye, a U of M alumnus will also be inducted. Lye, professor of civil engineering and associate dean in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland, received his PhD in engineering from the University of Manitoba in 1988. His inventions have been commercialized and are being used worldwide by universities, professional coaches and internaonal companies. He has won awards for teaching and community service including the PEGNL Community and Teaching Awards and Fellowships by Engineers Canada and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. As an academic, he has mentored over 30 graduate students and published over 120 papers in journals and conferences.