UNB Engineering News
Dr. Erik Scheme: Pioneering research and mentorship at UNB
UNB Engineering
Posted: May 17, 2024 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight , News & Events
Dr. Erik Scheme, an associate professor in Electrical Engineering and the Associate Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at UNB, has recently been nominated for a University Research Award. Reflecting on his journey from UNB to where he is now, Dr. Scheme shares, "I finished in 2003 and then worked in Halifax for a little while through the professional experience program for a company called Amirix Systems." After completing his master's degree at UNB's Institute of Biomedical...
Subramonian Shankar inducted into Engineering Wall of Fame
UNB Engineering
Posted: September 29, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight , News & Events
After graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras with a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering, Subramonian Shankar (MScEE'76) wanted to go on to do a master's degree. But in India in the 1970s, the $10 application fee for universities proved to be a roadblock. Thankfully, UNB did not require a fee to apply in those days. This was the story Mr. Shankar told as he was inducted into UNB's Engineering Wall of Fame on September 28th. "I took the chance and applied to UNB and...
Cable communications pioneer Bill Stanley inducted into Wall of Fame
UNB Engineering
Posted: September 22, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: News & Events , Alumni Spotlight
Bill Stanley (BScEE’62) grew up on the island of Grand Manan in New Brunswick listening to long-wave radio and fascinated by both local stations and those from across the border in Maine. Though he was supposed to enroll in an arts degree at UNB, he found the registration lineup too long and decided he’d switch to electrical engineering. Although he said the program was difficult for him, he enjoyed it, and after graduating in 1962 went to work with Northern Electric based out of...
The tradition of the Ketchum Medal runs deep
Faculty of Engineering
Posted: June 1, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: News & Events , Alumni Spotlight
One of the greatest benefits of being an engineering graduate from UNB is the strong sense of connection with history and with each other. The Ketchum Medal Winners Club is a prime example of that. The Ketchum Silver Medal is awarded to the student who has the highest standing in the senior year of the Civil Engineering program at UNB. The winners meet once every five years – gathering to honour the newest recipients and share stories of those from the past. It’s an esteemed...
Engineering alumnus making waves in hydrogeology
UNB Engineering
Posted: September 30, 2021 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
University of New Brunswick civil engineering alumnus, Dr. Barret Kurylyk has been recognized by the International Association of Hydrogeologists-Canadian National Chapter (IAH-CNC). Presented with the Early Career Hydrogeologist award for 2021, Dr. Kurylyk’s contributions to the hydrogeological community have been labeled ‘outstanding’ by the IAH-CNC. A two-time UNB alumnus, Dr. Kurylyk completed his bachelor of...
How a UNB Alumnus Became the Official Rink Engineering Consultant of the NHL
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: October 20, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
When Ian Storey (BScME’96) left UNB with a mechanical engineering degree in hand, he never imagined he’d become an entrepreneur. Ian had developed an interest in energy efficiency and energy systems early on in his bachelors’ program and geared his courses toward a career at an energy utility. But after graduation, with few prospects for that kind of work available, he took a job in the aerospace industry managing international engineering contracts. After a few years...
The Future of Surgical Robotics is Here - and This Alumnus is Creating It
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: October 18, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Jason Currie (MSE’15) may be working from his San Francisco Bay Area home these days because of the pandemic, but he’s still hugely excited to log in each day and tackle his current project – a general-purpose surgical robot. Jason is a senior robotics and controls engineer with Auris Health, Inc., now owned by Ethicon, part of Johnson & Johnson’s medical devices companies. Since 2018, he’s tackled this technical lead role within a huge team working on...
Catching Up With Young UNB Engineering Alumnae
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: June 23, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, we asked three young UNB alumnae about where they are currently working and how their programs have helped them succeed. Trupti Abhang (MScEE'15) is a Transmission Planning Engineer at Énergie NB Power in Fredericton, New Brunswick. What engineering stream did you graduate from at UNB and what did you like about the program?I did my Masters in Electrical Engineering at UNB. It was a course-based program and liked that I...
Celebrating UNB Women in Engineering
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: February 11, 2020 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight , News & Events
We're giving a shout-out to many amazing female #UNBEngineers who are making a huge impact in Canada and around the world. Anna Robak (BScCE’01), is leading WSP's national Future-Ready Research Program to understand how international trends will impact clients and users, and how the company can incorporate designs to become more Future Ready. Read all about Anna's story. Kimberley Clarke (PhD’15) is a chemical engineer who works in the BioAg division of Novozymes...
Bill Cooper Named to Engineering Wall of Fame
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: February 2, 2020 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
On January 31st, 2020 the UNB Engineering Wall of Fame had a new face on display: Bill Cooper (BScCE'62) was honoured with the Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award at the Annual Engineering Awards Dinner held on campus. In addition to Bill, over 100 students were in attendance to receive awards and scholarships, and the room was filled with faculty, alumni and employers from across the region. William Press Cooper (Bill) is CEO of Cooper Construction, a third-generation...
UNB Alumni Take the Helm of Engineers and Geoscientists Across Canada
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: January 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Jean Boudreau (BScCE’83) says that being “behind the scenes” of the regulation of the engineering industry in Canada is “eye-opening and hugely rewarding.” Boudreau is President-Elect for Engineers Canada and will take the helm in May of 2020. A Senior Transportation Engineer at GEMTEC Limited in Fredericton, Boudreau brings not only many years of industry experience but also board experience to her new assignment. She served with APEGNB for many years,...
Coming 'Back Home' was a Step Forward for this Engineering Alumna
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: May 21, 2019 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Anna Robak (BScCE’01) is a proponent of always moving forward and conquering new things. So the decision to move ‘back home’ to Fredericton from New Zealand, where she had spent the last thirteen years working in global asset management, was not made lightly. A Fredericton native, Anna had gone through UNB’s civil engineering program concentrating in transportation and economics. “I wanted a career that was versatile and offered many opportunities,”...
Engineering Humanitarianism: Dr. Eugene Lewis’s Amazing Stories of Helping People in Need
Kelly Anderson
Posted: March 22, 2019 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
You would certainly be correct in calling Eugene Lewis (BScEE’64) an engineer, a professor and an entrepreneur. But beyond all of those things, the title that seems to truly fit him is humanitarian. Dr. Lewis, who taught at UNB for 37 years and Chaired the Electrical Engineering Department for 22 of them between 1980 and 2006, spent many years guiding students to think critically and problem-solve. All the while, he was applying those skills himself to solve pressing problems around...
Becoming an Industry Student Mentor Has Been a Win-Win for Brad McPherson and UNB
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: December 6, 2018 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
St. Stephen native Brad McPherson (BScCHE’05) may not have traveled far up the highway to work in Fredericton, but his career has expanded in many directions on paths that he never would have guessed. With an interest in joining the wrestling team at UNB, McPherson needed to figure out what he would study. He liked chemistry in high school and was interested in problem-solving, so chemical engineering seemed to make sense. After graduating he did a short stint with a municipality in...
Asif Hasan Is Making a Positive Impact at Home – in New Brunswick and Bangladesh
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: November 26, 2018 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
You’ve no doubt been seeing the economic impact that the tech sector is having on New Brunswick – from exits like Radian6 and Q1 Labs to new startups like Eigen Innovations and Resson – innovative companies have been putting money into our economy and providing well-paying jobs. You may not, however, have seen how many of the entrepreneurs behind these companies are personally making a big impact on our province as well as other countries around the world. One of those is...
From Classroom to Wall of Fame: Alumna Denise LaForge Shares Five Lessons Learned
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: October 30, 2018 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Denise LaForge (BScME’88) has always been determined to succeed. She came to UNB from Edmundston knowing very little English to take mechanical engineering. She excelled and stretched out of her comfort zone once again by applying during her final year to jobs outside of the province. Upon graduation, she became an Engineer-in-Training at Petro-Canada’s head office in Calgary. “It was a big move but I was determined to embrace change. And it changed the whole course of my...
Combining Mechanics, Coding and Entrepreneurship to Grow an Innovative Business That’s Taking the Aerospace Industry by Storm
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: September 6, 2018 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Shaun Kennedy (BScME’07) says he was always an inventor. In high school in Cape Breton, he came up with a new model for a Zamboni and even started the patent process. In the early 2000’s, taking Computer Science at Acadia seemed like a smart move, but his heart wasn’t into it. Still, he finished his degree and then began an Engineering degree, transferring to UNB to the mechanical stream. It was a good move, as he was able to pick up skills from both degrees like...
Four UNB alumni inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: August 29, 2018 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
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...
Pushing Boundaries Drove this Engineering Alumna into Entrepreneurship
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: August 29, 2018 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Eva Choi (BScGE’03) has always loved boundaries because she can push them and explore what might come next. That kind of bold thinking combined with the attention to detail and technical skills she learned as an engineer allowed her to switch from geological work to co-owning and managing her own company. But not in a field that you might expect from a geologist: it's in creating and selling high-end chocolates. Eva and her husband Dallas Southcott (BA’95) started The Chocolate...
Problem Solving Helped Ian Naish Build an Exciting High-Profile Career
UNB Engineering
Posted: August 22, 2018 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Ian Naish (MEng’71) is a face that might seem familiar. That’s because as a transportation consultant and former director at the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, he’s a media go-to spokesperson for train derailment and other major transportation news stories. Ian’s been in the transportation field since 1969 when he came to UNB fresh off a civil engineering degree from the University of London. One of his professors in London told him that transportation...
Graduating student fulfills her dream of being part of something with the potential to make a real difference in the world
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: May 31, 2018 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Valini Deonarine (MEng’18) knew that she wanted to pursue a Master’s degree, but would never have considered moving to New Brunswick until the head of her department at the University of the West Indies at Saint Augustine, in Trinidad and Tobago, recommended she speak to a recruiter from Atlantic Canada. Only a few weeks earlier she had been involved in a serious car accident, and while recovering, Valini decided that she wasn’t content to continue following the traditional...
Hatched at UNB and Driven by Alumni: Envenio Provides Engineers Faster Simulations without Sacrificing Accuracy
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: May 15, 2018 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
There are plenty of examples that prove New Brunswick is a great place for innovators and startup companies to thrive. Envenio, in Fredericton, is one of them. Envenio is a growing company that develops fast and cost-effective Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation solutions for engineers. CEO Ian McLeod (BScME ’04, MScME’06) helped create the company, along with Dr. Andrew Gerber and Dr. Gordon Holloway of UNB’s Faculty of Engineering, in response to a significant...
Real-World Experience through Co-op was a Game Changer for this Engineering Alumna
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: May 2, 2018 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Bryna McMurtrie (BScCHE’17) says that the engineering co-op program made her a better student and gave her a stress-free final year with a full-time job waiting for her after graduation. It’s not something every engineering student can say. McMurtrie entered UNB out of high school with strong math and science grades and landed in chemical engineering because of her proclivity toward environmental sciences. She knew it would be a challenging program, but felt that if she could do...
UNB names Emera's Chris Huskilson to the Engineering Wall of Fame
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: April 18, 2018 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
The University of New Brunswick is saluting Chris Huskilson, the recently retired president and CEO of Emera, for being a visionary and a champion of innovation. At a special ceremony in Halifax on April 11, Dr. Huskilson was awarded the UNB Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award and inducted into the UNB Engineering Wall of Fame. “Chris has been a strong champion of building a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Atlantic region, helping to foster the big thinkers of...
Why This Future of Work Thought Leader Says AI Will Enhance Human Work Not Eradicate It
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: March 10, 2018 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Krista Jones (BScEE’88) sees an “enhanced future” for the human workforce, dispelling the many recent media reports of a “jobless future” due to the rise of AI. Jones, who is the managing director of Work and Learning at Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District (the world’s largest urban innovation hub), says that the headlines are preying upon people’s fear of losing jobs but not reflecting the reality of how it’s people who are actually rolling...
The Ability to Problem-Solve Led Matt McCarlie from a Robotics Lab to Canada Post
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: February 15, 2018 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Matt McCarlie (BScME’08) affirms that applying a problem-solving technique is the same no matter what challenge you face. From UNB’s Robotics and Mechanics Lab as a co-op student to his current position as Manager, National Parcel Process Engineering at Canada Post, the ability to identify and solve problems has been a transferable skill that has served him well. After graduating from UNB (where he was a varsity wrestler as well as a mechanical engineering and co-op student) Matt...
UNB Names Dr. Robert (Bob) Neill and Dr. Roderick (Rod) Nolan as the first Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award Recipients
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: February 12, 2018 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Bob Neill is a name that is synonymous with Engineering in Fredericton. After graduating from UNB in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, he went to work for New Brunswick Electric Power Commission, intending to stay for the required two years needed to become a registered professional engineer before going into business for himself. It turned out to be a 10-year exciting learning opportunity where he advanced to retire as Chief Design Engineer. “It was such...
Eric Cook Proves You Don't Need to Leave New Brunswick to Drive Innovation
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: February 6, 2018 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
You might not immediately think that a young boy loading potato trucks in the red-soil fields of Prince Edward Island would one day be a leader in the innovation business. Yet accelerating innovation is exactly what Eric Cook (BScME’88), P.Eng, is doing in his role as CEO/Executive Director the Research and Productivity Council (RPC). RPC is New Brunswick’s provincial research organization that provides scientific services and technological innovation to business partners and...
Employing Entrepreneurial Thinking at One of the World's Tech Giants
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: December 1, 2017 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Kevin McCracken, (BScEE’92) loves what he does. As Director of Business Development for Cisco Systems he works with service providers like Bell, Telus and Rogers to understand their needs and provide solutions to help them streamline and grow. It’s a career that combines business and technology every single day to solve problems. Kevin knew early on that he wanted a career that blended business with engineering. He was finance-oriented even in high school when he first started...
Making a Contribution is Key to a Fulfilling Career for this Alumna
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: November 29, 2017 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Anne Tennier (BSc Chem’79, MEng’83) didn’t really have a plan when she graduated from science at UNB and began working in a lab in Saint John. She just wanted a job and didn’t look a whole lot further down the road. Little did she know that her road would lead her to some of Canada’s largest corporations, important community work, leadership roles, and even riding the rails. Originally from northern Quebec, Tennier returned to UNB Fredericton after her stint in...
A Chicago Startup with Roots at UNB
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: November 28, 2017 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Photo by Kendall Karmanian via Crain's Chicago-based Coapt is an award-winning company that provides revolutionary and intuitive myoelectric control technology for advanced prosthetic arms. The medical tech company’s pattern recognition system decodes signal patterns of muscle activity in real time, giving users complete control of their prostheses. CEO and co-founder Blair Lock (BScEE’03, MScEE’05) says the original idea behind the technology actually dates back to the...
Operating On a World Stage at Home in New Brunswick
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: November 14, 2017 4:00:00 AM AST
Category: Alumni Spotlight
When Carolyn Campbell (BScCHE’04) graduated from UNB she jumped from a classroom in her home province to nuclear power plant floors in Ontario. Her 16-month internship with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) was an “eye-opening” experience – she had never even been on a plane prior to traveling to Ottawa and had never experienced big city living or working for a large organization. “Moving out of province was scary for me but it gave me...
The World is Not So Big for Global Oil & Gas Engineer Michael Stairs
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: September 18, 2017 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
It would have been easy to follow his father’s footsteps into the family plumbing and heating business, but the young northside Fredericton native took what he learned from his Dad’s work ethic and decided to make the leap into engineering instead. During his time as a student at UNB, he bolstered his admittedly average marks with experience that pushed him to expand his horizons: a study and work exchange in Athens, Greece, where we worked with their water...
This Trio of UNB Grads Invested in Innovation Education to Launch A Clean Energy Tech Company
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: August 29, 2017 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Jordan Kennie (BsCEE’16; MTME’17), CEO of Stash Energy, considers the $14,000 he spent on tuition for the Master of Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (MTME) program at the University of New Brunswick as an investment that he’ll quickly see returned. Without the program, he feels the probability of successfully launching his tech startup would have been much lower. Kennie is part of a trio of UNB engineering alumni that also includes Daniel Larsen...
Meet Kimberley Clarke: An Alumna Helping to Build Sustainable Agriculture that Won't Harm the Planet
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: August 8, 2017 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
One of the most pressing challenges in our world today is building a sustainable agriculture industry that will feed a growing population with nutritious food while not harming the environment with toxic chemicals, soil quality depletion, and over-consumption of water and non-renewable energy. The UN estimates that the world population will grow to 9 billion by 2050. To meet this demand, farmers will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than they did in the last 10,000 combined. So...
Meet An Alumna Who s Changing Cities Across Canada: Kate Whitfield
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: July 25, 2017 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Given that Kate Whitfield (BScGGE’03) is a professional engineer and registered professional planner, you might think that she planned out her career meticulously. Not so. She maintains that remaining malleable and open to opportunities and suggestions has led her down the right path. Kate came to UNB in 1997 because her father saw a MacLeans magazine article reporting the merits of the Forest Engineering program and suggested she consider it. Since she had to pick something to study...
From Collision Prediction Models to Revenue Analytics: How Alumnus Jeremy Adamson is Using a Multidisciplinary Skillset to Build A Challenging Career
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: July 18, 2017 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
Jeremy Adamson (BScCE’10, MEng’13) has always chased challenges. After growing up in Harvey, New Brunswick, he moved to Fort McMurray and started his own web development business, even though his father and grandfather were engineers and it would have been a natural path for him to take. When he did eventually decide to return home and attend UNB, he not only earned a civil engineering degree but also a diploma in Technology Management & Entrepreneurship (TME). He then went...
Civil Alumna Lisa Pfister Combines Tech and Love of Horses to Launch Innovative New Product
Engineering Alumni Office
Posted: June 14, 2017 5:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Alumni Spotlight
The equine industry in Canada alone contributes $20 billion per year to the economy, and one young alumna is vying for a piece of that pie with an innovative new product that will change the lives of horse breeders. Rob Blanchard Photo UNB Lisa Pfister (BSCEng'16, MTME'17) is graduating with a master’s degree in Technology Management & Entrepreneurship at the University of New Brunswick. The one-year program is unique in that students come with an idea and launch their company as...