LATITUDE
Movers & Shakers
CHAMPION OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION HONOURED ON THE WORLD STAGE
Building things has always been a passion for Dr. Chandana Wirasinghe, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.), FCAE . As a civil engineer, he’s spent over 40 years building better transportation networks. And as the former Dean of Engineering at the University of Calgary (and the Founding Dean of the Schulich School of Engineering), he helped build one of the top engineering schools in Canada and the world. The World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) recognized his achievements in December at the World Engineering Conference and Convention in Kyoto, Japan, presenting him with the 2015 Medal of Excellence in Engineering Education. WFEO is an international organization representing the engineering profession worldwide. Dr. Wirasinghe is the first Canadian and first Sri Lankan to receive the Medal of Excellence, which honours individuals for their noteworthy contributions to the improvement of engineering education and their significant educational accomplishments. "I believe that much of this award is due to what we achieved as a school while I was dean. It's a big component of my accomplishments. I'm proud to share this recognition with the entire school, faculty, and staff,” says Dr. Wirasinghe, a civil engineering professor at the U of C since 1976. Indeed, his work as dean laid the foundation for the engineering faculty’s continuing success today. The numbers tell the story. Under Dr. Wirasinghe’s leadership, five new undergraduate programs were launched and the faculty’s internship program grew from 35 to more than 400 placements. He oversaw the addition of two new buildings: the Information & Communications Technologies building and the Calgary Centre for Innovative Technology, plus the donation of an existing building, the Petro-Canada Building. Under his leadership, the Engineering Associations Program expanded from 35 to over 100 members, more than 30 research chairs were established, and first-year enrollment more than doubled to 730 students. Dr. Wirasinghe studied engineering at the University of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). A U.S. Fulbright Scholarship took him across the globe to the University of California, Berkley, where he earned an M.Sc. (1973) and PhD (1976) in transportation engineering. After
-photo courtesy University of Calgary
DR. CHANDANA WIRASINGHE, P.ENG…
…Medal of Excellence in Engineering Education recipient
that, he moved to Calgary to begin his career as an assistant pro- fessor in the Department of Civil Engineering at U of C. He took on the role of dean in 1994, spending the next 12 years fulfilling his vi- sion to make the engineering faculty a leader in engineering educa- tion by attracting the best faculty, students and researchers. Dr. Wirasinghe, a former APEGA Councillor, was also recognized earlier in 2015 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Immigrant Services of Calgary. Previous awards include Calgary’s Citizen of the Year Award in 2006, APEGA’s Centennial Leadership Summit Award in 2003 and APEGA’s Volunteer Summit Service Award in 2008.
SPRING 2016 PEG | 49
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