11.512 Schulich Fall Rev_Layout 1 - The Schulich School of ...

EDITORIALBY GUY GENDRONFor the firstcouple ofweeks afterstarting asdean of theSchulichSchool ofEngineeringin July,I STAYED AT THE HOTEL ALMA ONCAMPUS. IT WAS A TREAT TO BE INTHE HEART OF THIS COMMUNITY,A VERY INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.One day, I rented a bicycle fromthe Outdoor Centre and rode downtown,then along the river and out to CanadaOlympic Park. As I peddled along,I realized I had joined a city with astrong fitness focus, and I was thrilled.A short while later, I spent two daysbuilding furniture and a deck for theCenovus TRTL solar house, workingshoulder to shoulder with the studentsrepresenting Canada in the internationalSolar Decathlon in Washington, D.C.I realized I had joined a communitywith a strong sense of reaching out,and I was proud.As I discovered all of the expectedcharacteristics of Calgary – westernhospitality, an action-oriented spiritand moral fortitude – I also found lesserknownqualities such as internationalculture and a strong collective spirit, notto mention great restaurants. These arenot things that people outside Calgaryoften hear about.Perhaps soon they will. In August,Calgary was named the fifth best cityin the world in which to live. This is aremarkable ranking.In this issue, we are looking atCalgary and some of the ways thatengineers have helped to shape thisunusual city. You will see from the photofeature on Calgary companies thatengineers have not limited themselvesto engineering. We have helped shapeCalgary culture as well.When we travel the world, whetherto conferences, job sites or on vacation,we can be proud to say we are fromCalgary. As engineers, we can also beconfident that our profession has playeda role in making this a great city. Afterall, Calgary is the “engineering capital ofCanada,” with the highest percentage ofengineers per capita for a city of this size.I am tremendously enthusiasticabout the future of the engineeringschool located in the world’s fifth bestcity. The Schulich School of Engineeringis in the midst of the largest fundraisingcampaign in the school’s history, theEngineering Leaders campaign. Werequire improved spaces and resources tohelp Calgary stay at the forefront of greatcities. Not only does this engineeringschool train and educate an importantelement of the workforce, we also nurturea spirit of giving to the community amongall graduates.And some of them are impressiveentrepreneurs. Meet me at Phil &Sebastian’s – we can carry on thisconversation over a coffee brewed byjust two of the ingenious people in thiscity who got their start at the SchulichSchool of Engineering.Guy Gendron, PhD, PEngDean, Schulich School of EngineeringSCHULICH 3 ENGINEER