Civil Engineering

Civil transportation engineer Dr. Chan Wirasinghe describes the basis of his analytical models to optimize the geometric design of airports. In particular, selecting the number of "pier fingers" and the number of departure/arrival gates at each finger, defines the average time it will take a passenger to walk to the gates. Other airports have "satellites", so the analysis can determine the optimal number, size and location of the satellites. He has worked with airport authorities in Hong Kong, Soeul, and Pittsburgh.

Civil engineer Emily Cheung describes changes to her field of engineering since she started practice. She highlights the more holistic approach to designing structures like bridges – now the designer has to think about the environmental aspects, the fluid mechanics and impact on fish if it is a river crossing, the consideration of cultural aspects and social impacts. It is no longer just about getting the structure right or getting the hydraulics right – or what is the cheapest structure!

Civil and environmental engineer Sarah Devereaux describes one of her projects, the "Million Dollar Hole". Her company was retained to work on the decommissioning of the United States naval base in Argentia, Newfoundland. A number of environmental "situations" were left, including the "Million Dollar Hole", a large repository for "everything you can think of, like tanks, trucks". She oversaw digging up the hole, recycling material whenever possible, over a two-year period.

Wind engineer Dr. Nicholas Isyumov talks about his work on the Sears Building – now the Willis Tower – in Chicago during the late '60s. It was to be the tallest building in the world, taller than New York's World Trade Center. The World Trade Center was sensitive to cross-wind dynamic excitations due to vortex shedding. The Sears Building had a more irregular shape – only two of the nine modules extended to the full building height – so vortex shedding was mitigated but significant wind-induced torques were possible. These combined drag, cross-wind, and torsional loadings eventually were codified.

Civil engineer Dr. Susan Tighe describes her work in leading a team from across Canada to develop the Pavement Management Asset Design and Management Guide for the Transportation Association of Canada. The guide represents a "crown jewel", containing the results of many laboratory projects she worked on with various graduate students and many field projects, including over 100 test sections located in Canada and internationally. Sophisticated modeling and life-cycle costing were used to develop the recommended best practices. She also briefly describes some of her 200-odd research projects.

Chan Wirasinghe wanted to be a civil engineer from about Grade Six, and completed his first engineering degree at his birthplace, Sri Lanka. At the time, Sri Lanka had compulsory civil service, so although he did not take transportation courses as an undergraduate, he was recruited to work for two years at the Department of Highways, which germinated his interest in transportation engineering. An American Fulbright Scholarship supported his Masters and PhD studies at the University of California at Berkeley under the supervision of Dr. Gordon Newell. His research involved the application of mathematical analysis to model public transport systems. He then joined the University of Calgary as an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering, pleased to be the third transportation professor on faculty there. His subsequent research included: further work in public transportation systems; optimizing the geometrical design of airports; and, response to natural disasters, particularly tsunamis and tornados, through the International Institute of Infrastructure Renewal and Reconstruction. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering for 12 years, overseeing the renaming of the Faculty as the Schulich School of Engineering for a total matched donation of $50 million, then the largest donation to a Canadian engineering school. He also led initiatives to increase the number of women faculty members and woman students in the Faculty.

Emily Cheung took civil engineering at the University of British Columbia because "dams and bridges, that's where I want to be." Her interests evolved from structural engineering to hydrotechnical engineering, and she earned a Master's degree in environmental fluid mechanics. She and her husband decided to leave Vancouver, where the housing market was "unreachable" and the work opportunities "not overly exciting" and found work in Prince George, where the opportunities were numerous and interesting. She designed small resource road and highway bridges and worked in small-scale hydroelectric development, including initial feasibility studies. She designed highway segments to replace segments that had been washed out by river floods. She and her husband spent time in Ecuador assisting with small hydroelectric developments, and continue to work with a Spain-based non-profit organization that does water projects in Africa. She discusses the need for teamwork in engineering practice and how the basis of design is much more holistic than it was when she started practicing. She also volunteered to serve on the Prince George Airport Authority Board, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, the council of Engineers and Geoscientists BC, the board of Engineers Canada. She also teaches design engineering at the University of Northern British Columbia and initiated the Prince George Camp of the Seven Wardens, Camp 28, which co-ordinates the local Iron Ring Ceremony.

Friends of Sarah Devereaux's family were civil engineers, so she knew from an early age that this would likely be her calling. While an undergraduate student at the Technical University of Nova Scotia, her interests transitioned from structural to environmental engineering, and she stayed to earn a Master's degree in Water Resources. She then joined Halifax office of Dillon Consulting, initially conducting construction reviews, and then transitioning into project management, starting with small projects and graduating t multimillion dollar assignments. She designed storm water systems, storm water ponds, and landfills and became the business unit manager for community infrastructures. She describes several projects, including: work for the Municipality of Guysborough, Nova Scotia; review of waste management systems for remote coastal communities in British Columbia; and resolving the "Million Dollar Hole" left at the US naval base in Argentia Newfoundland. She also volunteered with Engineers Nova Scotia, the Consulting Engineers of Nova Scotia, and eventually Engineers Canada. She has served on committees dedicated to increasing the participation of women in the engineering profession.

Wind engineer Dr. Nicholas Isyumov chose to study engineering at Western in London, his home town, and became interested – in the days before computers – in the use of physical models. His first job, in 1960, was with the Timber Mechanics Section of the Forest Products Laborator in Ottawa. While testing roof trusses, he had many technical discussions with Bill Schriever, a snow engineering expert with the Division of Building Research at the National Research Council. He took a paid leave of absence to return to Western to start a Masters degree, supervised by Alan G. Davenport, researching snow loads on roofs. After a busy year conducting model tests in a water flume to simulate the effect of wind on snow drifting, he returned to Ottawa to resume full-time work. In 1965, Davenport invited him back to Western to work at the new Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory (BLWTL), and complete his snow research to earn a PhD degree. The BLWTL became a world-renowned facility, developing the science of testing models in turbulent winds to detect potential structural instabilities and dynamic responses. The wind tunnel projects included Toronto's CN Tower, CIBC Commerce Court, the Bank of Montreal, Scotia Bank, Canada Trust Centre. International projects included the Sears Building – now the Willis Tower – and McCormick Place in Chicago, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Canary Wharf structures in London, England. Their clients included Skidmore Owings and Merrill in Chicago, Carruthers and Wallace in Toronto.

Civil engineer Dr. Susan Tighe was named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 for her leadership and vision supporting Canada's transportation community. Although her undergraduate degree was chemical engineering, she worked summers for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and developed an interest in civil engineering materials, particularly pavements. She completed Masters and PhD degrees at the University of Waterloo and then carried on as a professor there. One of her major achievements was the publication of the Pavement Asset Design and Management Guide for the Transportation Association of Canada. Her other research has investigated polymer-modified asphalt, the use of nano materials in concrete and asphalt, the design of safe airfield runways, safety in construction work zones, and many other transportation-related topics. In her current role as Vice President, Academic and Provost of McMaster University, she continues to rely on her skills at project management, strategic thinking, and budgeting. She also describes some of her volunteer roles with the Transportation Association of Canada, the Canadian Technical Asphalt Association, and the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering, where she served as President.