UNB Engineering News

On June 18, 2018, four UNB engineering alumni were among the 59 new Fellows inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) in a ceremony that took place in Calgary in conjunction with the Academy’s 2018 Annual General Meeting and Symposium.

Dr. Gururaj (Desh) Deshpande (MScEE'85) has combined his engineering expertise and financial skills to start and take over public multibillion-dollar companies (Cascade Communications, Sycamore Networks), and has co-founded and/or influenced the direction of at least seven more in the U.S. communications and technology sector. Through the Deshpande Foundation, he and his wife, Jaishree, have established university-based centres in Canada (including the Pond Deshpande Centre at UNB), the United States and India to encourage the use of entrepreneurship and innovation as catalysts for sustainable change. 

Derrick Green (BScEE'94, PhD'01) is a leader in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology. He and his wife, Jill, have transformed a technology developed at UNB into an international company, Green Imaging Technologies (GIT), providing NMR-based core analysis support to the international petroleum industry. GIT is the quintessential example of a Canadian success story in high technology, clearly demonstrating how engineering contributes to economic growth, and Derrick has provided the technical foundation of this success.

Jill Green (BScCE'95) is an entrepreneur with a wide variety of professional experience in both the public and private sectors managing multi-million dollar projects for major public and private corporations. She and her husband, Derrick, launched Green Imaging Technologies (GIT) to provide NMR-based core analysis support to the international petroleum industry. GIT is the quintessential example of a Canadian success story in high technology, clearly demonstrating how engineering contributes to economic growth, and Jill has provided the entrepreneurial foundation of this success as CEO.

Suzanne Kresta (BScCHE'86) is the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan and has contributed to academic and industrial literature through a well-recognized handbook. Her leadership has been demonstrated through many academic appointments, industrial consulting and serving in engineering accreditation and regulatory bodies. Dr. Kresta is widely recognized for her passion for engineering education pedagogy and has received many awards for her contributions to improving the student learning experience. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2016) and Engineers Canada (2014).

UNB is extremely proud of our alumni and congratulates them all on the great honour of being inducted into CAE. 

The Canadian Academy of Engineering is the national institution through which Canada's most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada. 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 Fellowships, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession. Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering are committed to ensuring that Canada’s engineering expertise is applied to the benefit of all Canadians.

CAE works in close cooperation with other senior academies in Canada and internationally. It is a founding member of the Council of Canadian Academies, along with the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. The CAE is also a member of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences, which includes some 26 similar national bodies around the world.