Movers & Shakers
LATITUDE
contribute to the greater welfare and development of the people who live there.” Roche has a dedicated team that specializes in community relations and encourages the hiring of Aboriginal employees. In 2015 it instituted its Aboriginal Relations and Partnerships Policy, to further cement the company’s commitment to Aboriginal community development. The PAR certification includes independent assessments of Aboriginal relations in four key areas: employment, business development, community investment, and community engagement.
bulky device, and asked Dr. Chen if he could design something. This started a cross-campus collaboration in Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound (LIPUS), which was recognized in 2006 by Reader’s Digest as one of Canada’s top medical breakthroughs. His U of A biotech company is focused on the dental ultrasound device and the product is currently in phase two of clinical trials. Dr. Chen is currently developing a non-invasive, hand-held biosensor with touchscreen. Similar to the tricorder of Star Trek fame, the device will conduct medical tests to diagnose, monitor, and predict health conditions in a matter of minutes. The device can identify more than 50 common diseases and predict a person’s future health changes. Despite his exciting research and biomedical developments, Dr. Chen considers himself an educator first. A professor in the U of A Faculty of Engineering's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and an adjunct professor in its Department of Biomedical Engineering, his passion for the subject matter is evident. He receives consistently high scores in student evaluations, and many students seek him out because of his reputation for clearly explaining complex subject matter. Dr. Chen sees this as mutually beneficial, as stronger students are invited to join his lab and help advance his research. Dr. Chen has contributed to 85 journal articles and holds seven patents. He is a research officer at the National Institute for Nanotechnology at the U of A.
WHO’S MOVING WHERE
This And That For most professionals, retirement is both an ending and a new beginning. In fact, they often rediscover skills and talents they never had time to explore during their professional careers. That’s certainly the case for retired APEGA Life Member Wayne Elsner, P.Geol. , who continues to try new things and encourages others to find ways to keep busy and contribute to society. Mr. Elsner spent 30 years as a geologist in industry before retiring in 2007. After putting considerable thought into what he would do next, he decided he needed to find a constructive way to spend his time. For Mr. Elsner, that meant writing a novel. He gave himself a timeline of five years to finish it. Now eight years later, he has completed not just one but 13 books, publishing two of them in a series titled the Tannion Series . Described as urban fantasy action adventure, the books follow a protagonist who gains superhuman powers. It has consistently high ratings from readers, who are anxiously awaiting the third installment. In addition to his writing, Mr. Elsner and his wife love to travel and have now visited more than 88 countries. AES Engineering has announced that Sunny Ghataurah, P.Eng. , is the Managing Director of a new office that opened in Calgary on November 1. AES Engineering is one of B.C.’s leading electrical engineering providers and Mr. Ghataurah will be dividing his time between the company’s Calgary, Victoria, and Vancouver offices. Manas Shome, P.Eng. , has been appointed Principal Water Resources Engineer at Matrix Solutions Inc. Dr. Shome has more than 25 years of experience in hydrology and hydraulic engineering research and frequently serves as an expert witness at regulatory hearings. Erwin Sison, P.Eng. , and Albert Lee, P.Eng. , have co- founded a new company. Seagora is an online marketplace for selling or buying surplus oilfield equipment. It matches buyers and sellers of inventory in Alberta.
SILVER CERTIFICATION FOR PERMIT HOLDER
APEGA Permit Holder Roche Ltd., Consulting Group is the first Canadian engineering firm to achieve silver in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) certification recognition program. The company was granted the certification by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business in September. It acknowledges Roche’s efforts to develop sustainable and innovative partnerships with Aboriginal communities in Quebec. President and CEO Alex Brisson says the company’s goal is “to generate a positive impact in the communities — and also
NATHANIEL RUTTER, P.GEOL. . . . . . international medal man
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