Movers & Shakers
MEMBER NEWS
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION Rock-Solid Teaching
ing of complex subjects. Dr. Elliott continuously receives among the highest student rankings in her faculty. She also enjoys mentoring new faculty members, sharing her methods for student engagement and success. She encourages new teachers and professors to take a student-centred, project-based approach to their roles. Dr. Elliott believes in the value of interdisciplinary research, which is evident in a commitment to cross- faculty and cross-department training. She has supervised graduate students in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and medical science, as well as postdoctoral fellows from the fields of engineering, physics, mathematics, biology, and medicine. Together with Locksley McGann, from the university’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, she created a novel joint-degree program leading to a master’s or doctorate degree in engineering and medical science. How’s that program working out? Its first graduate was invited to do a postdoctoral fellowship at none other than Harvard Medical School — without having applied.
In the words of one of her students, Janet A.W. Elliott, P.Eng., PhD , could “convince rocks to study thermodynamics.” Dr. Elliot, a professor of chemical and materials engineering with the University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering, puts her enthusiasm for education, genuine care for students, and creative mind to work by forging a path to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education. Faced with increased class sizes and limited resources, Dr. Elliott — the Canada Research Chair in Thermodynamics at the U of A — has demonstrated exceptional dedication to her role, implementing new practices to optimize learning and the student experience. Students appreciate her ability to explain difficult concepts with clear examples, along with her selfless dedication to answering their questions, inside and beyond the classroom. Her hard work is reflected in excellent and favour- able scores and comments in student evaluations, and improvements among her students in their understand-
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AND GEOSCIENCE CHAMPION Breaking Down the Barriers
An accomplished scholar, Jocelyn L. Grozic, P.Eng., PhD , is helping create a world that empowers women to pursue the careers they want to pursue and thrive in environments traditionally dominated by men. In 2001, Dr. Grozic became the first female faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. It wasn’t long before she was advocating for change, becoming Co-Chair and later Chair of the Gender and Diversity in Engineering Committee (GDEC) for the school. The GDEC strives to create an inclusive and supportive environment that recognizes and values gender and other diversity at Schulich. In her work with the committee, Dr. Grozic spearheaded the development of new recruitment and retention recommendations, which were approved for faculty and students by the Engineering Faculty Council. Dr. Grozic also served
as faculty advisor for the university’s Gender Equity Project from 2003 to 2006, an initiative designed to maximize the potential of female academics. Dr. Grozic has educated hundreds of female students and strives to create a culture of learning that empowers women in academia and beyond. Half of her doctoral research students have been women, and she is currently mentoring female undergraduate students through the university’s Sophomore Leadership Program. Dr. Grozic puts in countless volunteer hours for initiatives such as Women in Engineering Day. Continuously setting an example of courage, encouragement, and inclusion, others are inspired to follow her lead. The APEGA Summit Awards apparently predicted this or something like it for Dr. Grozic. She was recog- nized in 2004 with the Early Accomplishment Award.
30 | PEG SUMMER 2017
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