Dean Emeritus Michael Charles serves as Chair of the Faculty Committee on Nominations for Honours and Awards, established in 2007.

After serving two terms as Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry and a term as Vice-Dean, Michael Charles was Dean of the Faculty from 1993 to 2001.

He joined the Faculty as assistant professor after working for the Alberta Research Council, obtaining his PhD at the University of Alberta, and working for Imperial Oil. He is an alumnus of Imperial College.

His teaching covered various aspects of transport phenomena in the context of chemical engineering, and his research focused on industrial processing situations involving the flow of complex fluid systems, as for example in pipelines transporting petroleum, natural gas and solid materials.

As Dean, Michael Charles saw his main role to secure resources for the Faculty, including endowed chairs and scholarships, and the Bahen Centre for Information Technology. He is a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and a Senior Fellow of Massey College. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

When was the Faculty Committee on Nominations for Honours and Awards established, and why was it felt to be important?

The Committee was created early in 2007 and the first meeting was held in March of that year. Dean Cristina Amon invited me to chair the Committee as a consequence of my broad knowledge of the Faculty, including its alumni and alumnae. The goal is to achieve appropriate recognition for our faculty and alums on the national stage, and whenever possible internationally, and in so doing add to the already strong reputation of the Faculty both within and outside the University.

What is your most important responsibility as Chair of the Committee?

As chair of the Committee, my main task is to guide the deliberations in our meetings of the representatives of the academic units and help identify candidates for the large array of awards and honours now offered by granting agencies, foundations, government ministries, learned societies, and private organizations. I also meet with the Dean and work closely with Carolyn Farrell (Director of Awards and Honours) who undertakes much of the writing of nominations and co-ordinates their submission. When appropriate I provide letters of support and contribute to the writing of nominations.

What is the most important thing the Committee has achieved since its inception?

We have helped to dramatically increase the number of awards received by colleagues and alumni, and have increased the sense of collective joy in having their accomplishments recognized.

What would you say to convince someone reluctant to go through the sometimes lengthy nomination process for an award?

Most colleagues appreciate being approached and co-operate. Now that this is a priority of the Faculty, and Carolyn is available to do most of the writing (and doing it very well), any hesitation can normally be overcome, at least for the next cycle of awards, if not for the current one.

What are some of the awards in which our community does exceptionally well?

We are doing very well with fellowships in the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada, and the several Canadian Engineering learned societies. We had several colleagues and alumni receive medals at the recent OSPE/PEO gala. Then there has been recent success with the Killam Prize and Fellowships. Several colleagues have been admitted to fellowship in the IEEE, ASME and AAAS. We have colleagues in the Top 40 under 40, and the Top 35 under 35 administered by the MIT Technology Review. And then, we have had outstanding success with awards for teaching.

What are some of the top awards you would like to see our community receive?

Having had much success nationally, we need to focus on international awards, including, for example, the Charles Draper Prize of the National Academy of Engineering. We want to celebrate the achievements of our graduates as well as faculty and target awards which speak to the broader societal impact of our work.

Do you think the Faculty should have more internal awards recognizing faculty and staff?

I believe internal recognition of good citizenship and effort on behalf of the common good would be appropriate when so much time and effort justifiably goes into personal career advancement.

What is the most meaningful award or honour you have received in your career?

Early in my career and shortly after I was named chair of my department, I received the under 40 ERCO Award of the Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering for a “distinguished contribution”. And then, the naming of a chair endowed by John and Margaret Bahen and the naming of the Council Chamber were very meaningful when I finished my term as Dean.

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
Committee on Nominations for Honours and Awards
2008-2009

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