Another Fall season is among us with a new president taking on the lead of our Society. I take on this position with pride and sincere commitment to our profession as, moving forward, it will be faced with particularly interesting challenges. We will increasingly be tasked with the need to develop adaptable and agile solutions for the agricultural and food sectors to build resilience in the face of increasing climate change challenges, with 2023 having brought us the hottest summer in history. These resiliency and sustainability challenges were definitely a topic of choice in many of our discussions this past July. I take the opportunity to sincerely thank Dr. Chandra Singh and the entire local organizing committee at Lethbridge College, Alberta, for hosting an engaging, well organized and very well attended 2023 Annual Conference.
I look forward to a productive year and best wishes to our membership.
Valérie Orsat, P.Eng.
President CSBE/SCGAB
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) recently inducted ten individuals as Fellows of the Society, and Dr. Ying Chen and Dr. Michael Ngadi were amongst them.
The grade of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed by the Society and recognizes members whose careers have been marked by extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to the field of agricultural, food, or biological systems engineering. In addition to meritorious achievement, individuals must have a minimum of 20 years of engineering practice or teaching and 20 years as a member in ASABE.
It was an amazing experience to host the CSBE 2023 AGM and Technical Conference in Lethbridge and welcome the guests from across Canada. On behalf of local organizing committee, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the participants who took time to participate in 2023 AGM. I extend my sincere thanks to the members of Local Organizing Committee, volunteers, session chairs, keynote and invited speakers, poster and oral presentation judges, VR workshop organizers and Technical Tour hosts (St. Mary Dam and Greenwood Colony). I am very grateful to the CSBE council for their support and giving Lethbridge College the opportunity to host the 2023 AGM. I must acknowledge the generous support all our valued sponsors which made this AGM possible. I sincerely hope that all guests had pleasant experience in southern Alberta and enjoy the conference. I look forward to seeing you all in 2024 AGM in Winnipeg, MB.
Thanks
Chandra
Chair of the CSBE-SCGAB AGM and Technical Conference 2023
The Canadian Society for Bioengineering (CSBE), or La Société de génie agroalimentaire et de bioingénierie (SCGAB), is looking for motivated members to help us build a dynamic and sustainable organization. If you want to get involved, CSBE/SCGAB has currently three open positions on its Council: Vice-President (Industry), Ontario Regional Director, and Social Media Manager.
The role of the Industrial Vice-President is to liaise with industry in improving relations and serve the interests of industrial members. In addition, this person serves as a member of Council for a two-year term and attend Council meetings, serves as member of the ASABE Standards Council and liaises with CSBE/SCGAB Foundation to raise industry funds/scholarships for students.
The Regional Director for Ontario acts as general contact person for CSBE/SCGAB in the region and as such, gather and communicate regional information (including conferences, seminars, workshops, tradeshows, awards, etc.) via the Newsletter and the Annual Report. In addition, this person is encouraged to organize regional activities, including seminars, workshops, social networking events, etc. Where applicable, she/he serves on the Local Arrangement Committee (LAC) as an ex-officio member for the Annual Meeting. Finally, Regional Directors are members of the Membership Engagement Committee.
The Social Media Manager manages and maintains Society online social media activities, posts and shares bioengineering related content of interest on our social media.
If you are interested in one these challenges, please contact the Society Manager, Sébastien Fournel, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., before October 29 at noon EDT.
The Vancouver Island Engineering Society (VIES) announced a Speaker Series & Special Events that could be of interst for our members. The events are supported by EIC.
Registration:
https://www.viengsoc.ca/events
VIES PROGRAM
2023/24 VIES – Speaker Series & Special Events
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6th October 2023
Lithium Mining Technology
Speaker: Kirsten Pugh, E3 Lithium
3rd November 2023
Development and Operations UVic’s ORCASat CubeSat
Speaker: Professor Afzal Suleman, UVic (CFAR Team)
1st December 2023
Tidal Energy – BC Implementation Opportunities
Speaker: Chair, Professor Brad Buckham, UVic (Tidal Energy Programs, North Island)
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5th January 2024
Deep Space Biomedical Engineering
Speaker: Tristan Richmond, Lead (Health Beyond Initiative)
Canadian Space Agency
2nd February 2024
Carbon Capture in Off-shore Undersea Rock Formations
Speaker: Dr. Kate Moran, CEO, OC
Ocean Networks Canada
1st March 2024
BC’s AI/Robotics Opportunities for Industry
Speaker: Geordie Rose, Co-Founder, CEO
Sanctuary AI, Vancouver (to be confirmed)
12th April 2024
Hydrogen Powered Locomotive
Speaker: Dr. Kyle Mulligan, AVP (Operation Technologies)
CP Rail, Calgary
3rd May 2024
Kicking Horse Canyon Highway Improvement Project
Speaker: (tbd)
7th June 2024
Lunar Gateway – Canada’s Contribution, including Canadarm 3
Speaker: Luc Brûlé VP (Science and Technology)
Canadian Space Agency (tbd)
J. Brian McQuitty died peacefully at Saanich Peninsula Hospice. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 61 years, Melody, in 2016. Brian was loving father of Shaun (Sarah), Mark (Nikki), and Neil (Beverley), and grandfather of Conor and Gemma.
Growing up in a rural community in Northern Ireland created Brian's lifelong interest in agriculture. After high school, he attended Greenmount Agricultural College in County Antrim, followed by The Queen's University Belfast where he received a Bachelor of Agriculture in 1953. Brian later was awarded a Kellogg's Foundation fellowship at Michigan State University and received a MSc in Agricultural Mechanics in 1959.
In Northern Ireland Brian was employed as a government district agriculturist and as a farm manager. The family emigrated to Canada in 1966 when he accepted an offer to teach Agricultural Engineering at the University of Alberta. Brian earned the rank of professor and then served in administrative positions including Associate Vice President Facilities and Services. He retired as Professor Emeritus from the University of Alberta in 1990 and moved to the Saanich Peninsula.
Brian and his family thank Bayshore Healthcare and Island Health, with special mention to Cheri at Bayshore and Sarah RN at the Peninsula Health Unit.
McQuitty was a member of the CSBE since 1959, he was very proud of his long association with CSBE according to his son Neil, and received three awards: John Turnbull (1977), Maple Leaf (1988) and Fellow (2002).
