Fall 2012 - The Schulich School of Engineering - University of Calgary

Department News
Killam Annual Professor Award
Uttandaraman (U.T.) Sundararaj, PhD,
Department Head, has received a Killam
Professorship. Recipients are recognized
widely for their research and have
demonstrated excellence in the areas of
research, student mentoring and teaching.
Dr. Sundararaj has received previous awards
for teaching and research excellence. In
March 2010, he was a named a 3M National
Teaching Fellow, an honour that goes to 10
professors across Canada each year.
Career Panel Lunch Event
The Career Panel lunch event was held on January 16, 2012. Undergraduate students had
an opportunity to interact and learn about what it takes to prepare for a specific career and
to be successful in the engineering field. The panel featured the following speakers: Mr.
Charlie Fischer former CEO of Nexen and member of Petroleum Hall of Fame (far right,) Mr.
Dale Dusterhoft CEO of Trican Well Service, Ms. Liana Thornbush Senior Reservoir Engineer,
Enerplus, Mr. Cam Kramer Senior Vice President-Operations, ARC Resources.
Department Retreat - Banff, July 2012
Faculty and staff gathered at the Department’s annual retreat July 5/6th in the beautiful town of Banff. Participants discussed strategic plans
and best practices in a variety of sessions. There was also opportunity for team building with activities such as hiking, a volleyball tournament
and a banquet dinner for participants and their families on Thursday evening. A big “thank you” to all who made this a productive and enjoyable
time together!
From the left,
Front row: Diana Kislitsyna, Maureen Brost,
Jerry Jensen, Nancy Chen, Jennifer Lawtey,
Jamie Tymstra, Jinny Kim, Ayo JeJe,
Karan Kunal, Tony Settari, Nader Mahinpey
Second row: Arin Sen, Ian Gates,
Michael Kallos, Joule Bergerson,
Arlene Wallwork, U. Sundararaj, Brij Maini,
Kary Duque, Michael Foley, Anil Mehrotra
Third row: Lorne Abbey, Bernie Then,
Matthew Clarke, Jean-Marc Labonte,
Hassan Hassanzadeh, Daryl Kowalchuk,
Richard Then, Andrew Sutton,
Harvey Yarranton, Mingzhe Dong
Schulich School Block Party
On May 24, 2012, the Schulich School of
Engineering welcomed nearly 600 guests
to the engineering complex for the biggest
party in its history. In addition to celebrating
our growth, the event featured the unveiling
plans for the new SSE building including
enhancing teaching and learning space with
new research labs, student homerooms and
lecture theatres. Among many engineering
showcases, the Chemical & Petroleum
Engineering’s “Schulich Jeopardy” game
highlighted the evening. Participants
answered a variety of questions about
the school’s history as well as answered
questions that may have appeared on
exams over the years.
June 2012 Convocation
Every year, our Chemical & Petroleum Engineering students celebrate a major milestone
in their lives with the completion of their degrees. Congratulations to all our graduates on
your remarkable achievement! The following students were recognized with a record of
outstanding academic achievement at the convocation ceremony that took place at the
University of Calgary on June 4, 2012.
Chemical & Petroleum Engineering
Joseph Lagasca, Brendan Clark, Calvin Gee, Petar Lachkov, Evan Klimick
The APEGA Gold Medal Award for Chemical Engineering,
and Muriel Kovitz Prize went to Brendan Clark.
The Senate Service Award went to Evan Kimick
(BSc in Chemical Engineering with a minor in
Petroleum Engineering.)
Oil & Gas Engineering
Grahame Smith, Azat Latpov, Christopher Lomheim, Cody Weiss
Alumni Spotlight
Department Student Juggles Offers From Top
By Rob Deptford
Graduating chemical engineering student Joseph Lagasca recently had a tough decision to
make. Really tough. He knew he wanted to pursue graduate studies in petroleum engineering.
He just didn’t know where. Many students could only hope for an offer from at least one
prestigious school like Cambridge, MIT, Stanford or Yale. The trouble was Lagasca received
offers from all four.“It was a really hard decision to make,” Lagasca said, as he explained
he was initially leaning towards MIT, but he later changed his mind based on his interests in
a very specific niche of the petroleum industry. “At first, I didn’t really understand what the
energy industry was all about. There’s an urgent need for sustainability in the energy sector.
We need to be able to keep up with changes in the way we live, operate and do things. We
need to be able to adapt,” Lagasca said. “I chose my school based on the opportunity to
specialize in the area of energy sustainability because I wanted to make a difference.”
Striving for improvement is nothing new for Lagasca. He came to the Schulich School of
Engineering as a recipient of a Schulich Scholarship—the largest engineering entrance
scholarships in Canada—awarded for his academic achievements. And yet, he doesn’t
always study. This year, Lagasca found time to be the president of the University of Calgary
Petroleum and Energy Society, one of the largest energy clubs on campus. “Whatever your
passion is, focus on that and stay true to yourself,” he advised. “Having goals outside of the
classroom fosters friendships and leadership skills.”
So, where will he go? After much discussion, debate, and even some agony, Lagasca will
hang his hat at Stanford this fall. Rest assured that hat will be to keep the sun off rather than
keep the heat in. And if the warm climate didn’t provide Lagasca any additional incentive
to move to California’s Silicon Valley, perhaps a familiar face did. Joseph’s older brother,
John Lagasca—also a Schulich School of Engineering alumnus and an alumnus from the
department—began his graduate studies at Stanford last year.
Last row: Peter Basnak, Apostolos Kantzas,
Raj Mehta, Gord Moore
Joseph Lagasca
Schulich.ucalgary.ca/chemical Fall 2012
Schulich.ucalgary.ca/chemical Fall 2012