UCalgary researchers receive 2023 APEGA Summit Awards

A trio of Schulich School of Engineering faculty members are being recognized with major awards through the provincial body that regulates their practice.

The has announced the winners of its annual Summit Awards.

Dr. Quazi Hassan, Dr. Lina Kattan and Dr. Mohammad Moshirpour are among the recipients of the annual Summit Awards from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA). They will be honoured at a virtual event on April 27.

“We are extremely proud of the work everyone in our faculty does on a daily basis,” says Schulich Dean Bill Rosehart. “These awards are indicative of the impact we have on our students and the broader community.”

Hassan focused on wildfire forecasting

A professor in the Department of Geomatics Engineering, Hassan, PhD, has always been fascinated by natural disasters, studying them in Bangladesh and now in Canada.

Since moving to Alberta, he has taken a keen interest in forest fires following the disasters of Slave Lake and Wood Buffalo, and hopes to develop strategies and technologies to prevent, detect and mitigate damage using satellite data, sensory technology and historical data.

A winner at the recent ASTech Awards, Hassan has now been named the 2023 recipient of APEGA’s Environment and Sustainability Award.

“I’m honoured to receive this award,” he says. “Along with myself, I believe that it also recognizes the graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, collaborators and academic colleagues with whom I have been working with throughout the years.”

Kattan driven to build connection

In a world that has become increasingly connected, Kattan, PhD, has become a leader in transportation networks.

The Department of Civil Engineering professor has received numerous awards and accolades since joining UCalgary, including being named a Killam Annual Professor as well as being honoured at the 2022 ASTech Awards.

Her goal is to find ways to build more sustainable, livable cities through integrated traffic networks. Looking to further her research in automated and connected vehicles, Kattan has been named the winner of the 2023 APEGA Research Excellence Award.

“I feel honoured and overwhelmed in receiving this award,” she says. “I truly feel it is a recognition for mainly my team of postdoctoral and graduate students, and not just me, personally.”

Moshirpour inspired by collaboration

Whether it’s working one-on-one with his students, creating multidisciplinary hackathons or building relationships with industry, collaboration is at the heart of everything done by Schulich alumnus Moshirpour, BSc’08, BSc (Eng)’09, MSc’11, PhD’16.

As the Software Engineering Teaching Chair, he helped develop the Master in Software Engineering program at the University of Calgary, making sure that practical, hands-on projects were at the forefront of the one-year fast-track degree.

Moshirpour, who is now a software engineering professor at the University of California, Irvine, while remaining an adjunct professor at UCalgary, has received the 2023 APEGA Excellence in Education Award.

“I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to hear I was being awarded,” he says. “I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to contribute to software engineering in Alberta, which is one of the most cherished highlights of my career.”