PROFILE
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
What is your favourite movie? I just watched Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World , for yet another time. My kind of movie magic. Favourite lunch spot? Either a mountain top after a hard climb or a super-duper sushi restaurant like Tojo’s. Favourite quote? Albert Einstein: “Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.” Ideal vacation spot? The beaches of south Maui and the Ile Saint-Louis in the 4th arrondissement of Paris have been favourites. What are the top three places on your bucket list? Australia and New Zealand, with a stop in the South Pacific atolls along the way. What is the background photo on your smartphone? Right now, a space shot of Earth centered on the west coast of North America. What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? I guess I’ll be a senior. I’m not 60 yet so I can’t imagine. I hear that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. What was the last book you read for fun? The Billionaire and the Mechanic , by Julian Guthrie. It’s a true story about Larry Ellison, co-founder and billionaire CEO of Oracle Corporation, who decided to run for the coveted America’s Cup sailing race and found an unlikely partner in a car radiator mechanic from San Francisco. Who has been the biggest influence on your life? Ordinary as it may sound, my mother and father in childhood, and, since becoming married, my spouse. It’s predictable and it works. How has your life been different from what you’d imagined? I have been lucky in the lottery of life. There are not many people I would trade places with. I try to keep it in perspective. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why? Anyone who agrees with me that the greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one. What might someone be surprised to know about you? I spoke fluent Arabic and Swahili as a kid, as well as English and French. Although my professional training and career were entirely in English, I think and speak to myself in French. Do you have other hobbies? I recently joined a Scottish pipe and drum band, as a side drummer. I’m a bit short of formal instruction and tend to be more enthusiastic than impressive, but I am having a riot of a time and the rest of the band is understanding.
Over the past decade, Mr. Gupta has reviewed hundreds of licensure applica- tions, a job he takes very seriously. He spends about 30 hours a month assessing files to verify that applicants with a chemi- cal engineering background have the re- quired work experience. “I have a duty to thoroughly review the files and determine whether applicants meet the experience requirements, and then I provide my recommendation on that,” he says. “As a board member, it’s my job to protect public safely by ensuring that only qualified professionals are licensed.” Mr. Gupta understands how important licensure is for engineers and geoscientists who are starting a new life in Alberta. While international applications can be complex, he and other board members are committed to processing all applications as quickly as possible, but without sacrificing the rigour needed to serve the public interest. He’s also part of a BOE policy commit- tee reviewing board processes and explor- ing more efficient ways to assess applicants without compromising professional stan- dards. More recently, he became part of APEGA’s champions collaborative, a group of about 40 Professional Engineers and Pro- fessional Geoscientists who are engaging Members and Permit Holders in APEGA’s ongoing legislative review process. “I find it very rewarding to give back to my profession, because my profession has given me a lot and it’s why I am where I am today,” says Mr. Gupta. “It feels good to volunteer. I feel proud to contribute. And it’s also a learning exercise for me — it keeps me up-to-date on what’s happening in my profession.”
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