ENGINEERING CO-OP PROGRAM

Student, Faculty &
of the Year Award
Each year the Student, Employer and Faculty Member of the Year awards are presented to those who have
This year, the selection committee had the honour of presenting the awards to this year’s winners
Student of the Year
Vancouver
Naeem Mawji, Chemical and Biological Engineering Co-op student,
has actively engaged in his academics, his availing of opportunities
outside of the classroom, as well as his willingness to move beyond
the immediate community by taking part in an international service
learning project. Naeem has developed the skills and networks
necessary to support his interest in alleviating poverty and improving
the quality of life in rural Tanzania. He does this by providing
electrical power to these communities. Naeem’s idea germinated
through a UBC international service learning project and it has
now grown into a company that he co-founded. He has received
funding for the company from the World Bank. Naeem successfully
completed five work terms, three in industry with Syncrude Canada,
one in research with Dr. Tony Bi of the Dept. of Chemical and
Biological Engineering and his final work term with the company he
co-founded, Carbon X Energy, in Tanzania.
Okanagan
Holly Rourke, a Civil Engineering Co-op student, successfully
completed all five Co-op work-terms. She obtained her first
two with Thurber Engineering in the Lower Mainland of B.C.;
her third as a Research Assistant with an engineering faculty
member at the UBC Okanagan; and relocated across the Pacific
Ocean to Australia for her final two terms with SRK Consulting.
She received high praise from her previous employers and was
noted for her contributions. She has always managed to be
on the forefront whether it is the Engineering Co-op Student
Advisory Committee (ECSAC) or the UBC Okanagan Engineering
Undergraduate Society or helping a faculty member in Lab
development or coordinating efforts for Canadian Society
for Civil Engineering (CSCE) and Association of Professional
Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC) as a
UBC Okanagan representative.
Faculty of the Year
Vancouver
Dr. David Dreisinger is a respected professor in the Materials
Engineering Department, Vice President of Metallurgy for Baja
Mining, and the chair holder of the Industrial Research Chair in
Hydrometallurgy. Dr. Dreisinger has held the Research Chair for
nearly 20 years with over 20 current industry partners. At UBC,
he is actively involved in hydrometallurgy research. Not only
does he teach the subject to students but he has also facilitated
the development of students in the field by supervising graduate
students, research engineers as well as hiring Co-op students.
Over the past seven years, he has directly hired 14 Co-op
students to work on his research projects - 34 per cent of the
total hiring by the entire department during that period. He
is passionate about preparing students to be future leaders in
industry.
Okanagan
Dr. Mina Hoorfar has been an Assistant Professor at the University
of British Columbia Okanagan since 2005 and is the head of
the Advanced Thermo-Fluidic Laboratory (ATFL). Her key areas
of research are Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells,
Microfluidic Fuel Cells, Digital Microfluidics, Real-time Water
Quality Monitoring, and In Vitro Red Wine Characterization
through Interfacial Property Measurement. She earned a spot on
the prestigious Teaching Honor Roll at UBC Okanagan. She is a
strong supporter of the Co-op program and assists students in
pursuing their research aspirations through regular mentoring and
coaching. The ability to consistently recruit a high percentage of
students through NSERC USRA is due to her strong commitment
and encouragement. Dr. Hoorfar has hired four students since
2007 and has provided students practical and real-world related
work experiences in engineering along with exposure to publishing
and presenting papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
22
Student of the Year, Naeem Mawji,
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Student of the Year, Holly Rourke,
Civil Engineering
Faculty of the Year, Dr. David Dreisinger,
Professor of Material Engineering
Faculty of the Year, Dr. Mina Hoorfar,
Assistant Professor, School of Engineering