Engineering professor named U of M Assoc. V-P
The Faculty of Engineering is delighted to announce that Dr. James Blatz, P.Eng., (Civil Engineering) has been appointed Associate Vice-President (Partnerships) at the University of Manitoba effective July 1, 2012.
Dr. Blatz is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and previously served as the Associate Dean Research and Graduate programs for the Faculty of Engineering and as Associate Head of the Department of Civil Engineering. During his term as Associate Dean Dr. Blatz fostered a number of new partnership efforts through stimulating faculty in the use of Engage Grants to create new research relationships. He also supported the development of a strategic research plan for the Faculty with a focus on geographical and regional strengths in the engineering field in areas consistent with the University’s strategic plan. The plan was adopted unanimously by the Faculty of Engineering and serves as a guiding document for faculty members.
Dr. Blatz has served on numerous boards and committee’s for technical societies and other organizations; most notably, he was appointed to serve on the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, which he continues to serve on currently. He also serves on NSERC’s Executive Council, is Chair of the NSERC National Committee on Grants and Scholarships, is a member of the NSERC Prairies Advisory Council and served on the NSERC Strategic Partnerships Initiative Committee that led to the development of new partnerships grants including the successful Engage Grant program. In 2011 he was appointed by Engineers Canada to the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board that is responsible for accreditation of Engineering programs in Canada.
Currently, Dr. Blatz conducts research for a number of private and public sector clients focusing on asset management planning, risk‐based decision analysis for engineering design as well as technical aspects of flood protection systems. His research results on sandbag structures have been quoted in National Geographic and he has appeared on the Discovery Channels Daily Planet to present the science behind sandbag dikes.
The recipient of a number of awards and honours, Dr. Blatz has been acknowledged for his research contributions with the Rh Award in the applied sciences category and the national Canadian Geotechnical Society Colloquium award. He has also been a recipient of the APEGM Early Achievement Award, the Engineers Canada Young Engineer award, the University of Manitoba Student Teacher Recognition Award, numerous University of Manitoba Merit Awards and is a Fellow of Engineers Canada.