This award is given to recognize the outstanding work of a young engineer of the Society and to encourage outstanding work by young members of the Society. A recipient must be under 40 years of age as of January 1 in the year that the award is made. This award is given for outstanding contributions to Canadian agricultural, food, and/or biological engineering Prior to 1993 this award was known as "The Canadian Agricultural Engineer of the Year Award". From 1993 to 1996 this award was known as the "Young Agricultural Engineer of the Year Award". The award recipient is selected from nominations by three members of the CSBE/SCGAB and must receive the unanimous consent of the Awards Committee.
Ce prix est décerné pour faire connaître et encourager le travail exceptionnel de jeunes membres de la SCGAB/CSAE. Il est réservé aux membres de moins de 40 ans. Le prix souligne une contribution exceptionnelle en génie rural, alimentaire ou biologique par la conception, le développement, la vulgarisation, la gestion, la recherche ou l'enseignement. Avant 1993, ce prix était connu comme «The Canadian Agricultural Engineer of the Year Award». De 1993 à 1996, ce prix était connu comme «Young Agricultural Engineer of the Year Award». Le récipiendaire est choisi parmi les candidats mis en nomination par trois membres. Il doit recevoir l'appui unanime des membres du comité des distinctions et est membre de la SCGAB/CSAE depuis au moins trois ans.
2024 Young Engineer of the Year Award
Dr. Ashutosh Singh is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at University of Guelph. He obtained a Bachelor of Technology degree in Biotechnology (2007) from Vellore Institute of Technology, India and a Master (2010) and PhD (2014) Degree in Bioresource Engineering from McGill University. He performed postdoctoral research at Dalhousie University, Truro Campus and joined University of Guelph as an Assistant Professor in 2015. The food research lab headed by Dr. Singh focuses on the valorization of food and agricultural byproducts into consumable food products, functional ingredients and nanoparticles, and design and development of microfluidic electrochemical biosensors for detection of food allergens and contaminants. His research group also works on various multidisciplinary research areas including application of Terahertz radiation for maintenance of food safety and quality, and removal of heavy metals such as chromium VI from wastewater. Dr. Singh is an active member of the Professional Engineers Ontario, of the Canadian Society for Bioengineering and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Till Date Dr. Singh has published over 60 peer reviewed journal papers, 6 books chapters, edited 2 books and has supervised over 20 undergraduate students, 15 M.A.Sc students, 13 MEng students, 1 postdoctoral fellow and has graduated 3 Ph.D. students. Dr. Singh has made remarkable and unmatchable contributions to food and agricultural engineering, professional education, mentorship, and leadership.
Ashutosh Singh est professeur agrégé à l'École d'ingénierie de l'Université de Guelph. Il a obtenu un baccalauréat en biotechnologie (2007) au Vellore Institute of Technology, en Inde, ainsi qu'une maîtrise (2010) et un doctorat (2014) en génie des bioressources à l'Université McGill. Il a effectué des recherches postdoctorales à l'Université Dalhousie, campus de Truro, et a rejoint l'Université de Guelph en tant que professeur adjoint en 2015. Le laboratoire de recherche alimentaire dirigé par le Dr Singh se concentre sur la valorisation des aliments et des sous-produits agricoles en produits alimentaires consommables, en ingrédients fonctionnels et en nanoparticules, ainsi que sur la conception et le développement de biocapteurs électrochimiques microfluidiques pour la détection d'allergènes et de contaminants alimentaires. Son groupe de recherche travaille également sur divers domaines de recherche pluridisciplinaires, notamment l'application du rayonnement térahertz pour le maintien de la sécurité et de la qualité des aliments et l'élimination des métaux lourds tels que le chrome VI des eaux usées. M. Singh est un membre actif de l'Ordre des ingénieurs de l'Ontario, de la Société canadienne de bio-ingénierie et de l'American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. À ce jour, M. Singh a publié plus de 60 articles dans des revues avec comité de lecture, 6 chapitres de livres, édité 2 livres et supervisé plus de 20 étudiants de premier cycle, 15 étudiants à la maîtrise en sciences, 13 étudiants à la maîtrise en génie, 1 chercheur postdoctoral et diplômé 3 étudiants au doctorat. M. Singh a apporté une contribution remarquable et inégalée à l'ingénierie alimentaire et agricole, à la formation professionnelle, au mentorat et au leadership.
2021 Young Engineer of the Year Award
Dr. Prasad Daggupati is an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph, Canada. All his higher education is in Agricultural engineering where he received his BS degree (2012) from the College of Agricultural Engineering in India, Masters (2007) and Ph.D. (2012) degrees from Kansas State University in USA. He worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate and Assistant Research Scientist at Texas A&M University, USA before joining the University of Guelph. Dr. Daggupati’s major contributions to research and practical applications are towards solving emerging water quality and quantity issues using GIS, hydrological modeling, machine learning, and field experimentation at various scales (e.g. field scale, watershed scale) across multiple countries around the world. He has authored or coauthored 60+ peer-reviewed journal articles and presented more than 75 presentations which include podium, poster and keynotes. He is currently a division editor (Soil and Water) in the Canadian Biosystems Engineering journal and an associate editor in Transactions of ASABE and Applied Engineering in Agriculture. He was awarded Postdoc of the year award at SWAT conference in 2015 and Young Agricultural Engineer award in 2016 from the Texas section ASABE. He was also part of the Standards Development Award received during the 2018 Annual ASABE conference for developing a new standard (ASABE EP621) which sets guidelines for calibrating, validating and evaluating hydrological and water quality models. He is advisor/co-advisor for 4 phd students, 12 MASc students (6 graduated), 14 MEngg students (9 graduated) and 6 postdocs (3 finished).
2023 Young Engineer of the Year Award
Sébastien Fournel obtained his BEng (2010) and MSc (2011) degrees in Agri-Environment and Agri-Food Engineering from Laval University, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Sherbrooke University (2015). Since 2018, he is a professor in agricultural engineering focusing on farm infrastructures at Université Laval, where he is the Chairholder of the Chair in Educational Leadership on Sustainable Agricultural Buildings, funded by more than 20 agricultural organizations to promote teaching innovation, research and knowledge transfer in the farm building sector. This chair has allowed the supervision of 15 undergraduate students, 3 interns, 6 MSc students, 3 PhD, 3 postdoctoral fellows and 9 research assistants. Dr Fournel currently leads 7 research projects (value of $1.6M) and collaborate to 25 others with the Chair’s partners. He is also waiting after the approval of 3 research projects on the reduction of GHG at the farm level totalizing $6M. To this date, he has submitted or published more than 20 papers and 2 book chapters, and participate to more than 70 conferences, including 28 as an invited speaker. Dr. Fournel has been an active member of CSBE/SCGAB and ASABE since 2006 and has served the society in different roles through the years: 2010 CSBE/CIGR Conference volunteer, 2020-2021 CSBE/CIGR Conference Local Arrangement Committee member, 2021-2022 Quebec Regional Director, and Society Manager since 2022. Between 2012 and 2017, he also served as Vice-President and President of the Quebec’s Agri-Food Engineers Association (AIAQ). Sébastien is a creative, dynamic and organized engineer. He practices his profession by emphasizing the development of knowledge, autonomy and critical thinking skills. He ensures the development of the next generation by offering them opportunities to stimulate their interests by solving problems rooted in the reality of the major challenges facing the society. For him, the future of our planet depends on the social and professional commitment open-minded and competent young engineers. Through his engineering efforts, his work in R&D and his involvement with CSBE/SCGAB, Dr. Fournel contributes significantly to a more sustainable agriculture in Canada.
Sébastien Fournel a obtenu un baccalauréat en génie agroenvironnemental (2010) et une maîtrise en génie agroalimentaire (2011) de l’Université Laval, et un doctorat en génie chimique de l’Université de Sherbrooke (2015). Depuis 2018, il est professeur en ingénierie des infrastructures et des équipements agricoles et agroalimentaires à l’Université Laval, où il a mis sur pied la Chaire de leadership en enseignement des bâtiments agricoles durables, soutenue par une vingtaine d’organisations du milieu agricole afin d’appuyer l’innovation pédagogique, la recherche et le transfert dans le domaine des constructions rurales. Cette chaire a permis l’encadrement de 15 étudiant.e.s de 1er cycle, de 3 stagiaires, de 6 étudiant.e.s à la maîtrise, de 3 étudiant.e.s au doctorat, de 3 stagiaires postdoctoraux et de 9 auxiliaires d’enseignement et de recherche. Le Dr Fournel dirige actuellement 7 projets de recherche d’une valeur de plus de 1,6 M$, en plus de collaborer à 25 autres avec les partenaires de la Chaire. Il est aussi en attente de la confirmation de 3 projets pancanadiens sur la réduction des gaz à effet de serre à la ferme d’une valeur combinée de près de 6 M$. Il a à ce jour soumis ou publié une vingtaine d’articles scientifiques et deux chapitres de livre, en plus de participer à plus de 70 conférences, dont 28 comme conférencier invité. Sébastien est un membre actif de la CSBE/SCGAB et de l’ASABE depuis 2006 et a servi la CSBE/SCGAB dans différents rôles : bénévole lors de la Conférence CSBE/CIGR de 2010, membre du comité local de la Conférence CSBE/CIGR de 2020-2021, directeur régional pour le Québec en 2021-2022 et directeur-général depuis 2022. Entre 2012 et 2017, il a également servi comme vice-président et président de l’Association des ingénieurs en agroalimentaire du Québec (AIAQ). Sébastien est un ingénieur créatif, dynamique et organisé. Il exerce la profession en mettant l’emphase sur le développement des connaissances, de l’autonomie et du sens critique. Il veille à l’épanouissement de la prochaine génération en lui offrant des opportunités de stimuler ses intérêts par la résolution de problèmes ancrés dans la réalité des grands défis de société. Pour lui, l’avenir de notre planète passe par l’engagement social et professionnel de jeunes ingénieur.e.s ouverts et compétents. De par ses efforts en ingénierie, son travail en R&D et son implication à la CSBE/SCGAB, le Dr Fournel contribue significativement à une agriculture plus durable au Canada.
2020 Young Engineer of the Year Award
Dr. Aitazaz Farooque is an Associate Professor & Industry Research Chair – Precision Agriculture at the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island. Based on his student-centered approach to teaching by going above and beyond for students and encouraging students to push the boundaries of their learning, he has been awarded with Dalhousie University Teaching Impact Award 2015. He was also awarded with the Engineers PEI Award for Engineering Excellence 2018 for excellence in the practice of engineering, the teaching of engineering and engineering research. He is also a recipient of the 2019 Presidential Award for Combined Achievement (teaching, research and service) from the University of Prince Edward Island. He is a Professional Engineer and registered in both PEI and Nova Scotia. Dr. Farooque’s research focuses on fundamental understanding and development of state of the art PA technologies for Eastern Canada’s agriculture industry. Development of innovative and novel PA systems utilizes knowledge of engineering design, development and management, instrumentation, design and evaluation of sensors and controllers, development of hardware and software for automation of machines to sense targets in real-time for spot application of agrochemicals on an as-needed basis to improve farm profitability while maintaining environmental sustainability. . Dr. Farooque has developed collaborations nationally and internationally. Dr. Farooque highlighted the significance of his research in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, workshops, industry meetings and farmer’s field days. He is supervising undergraduate and graduate students. He is a Professional Engineer and registered in both PEI and Nova Scotia
2019 Young Engineer of the Year Award
Fahimeh Yazdan Panah is the Research and Technical Development Director at Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC). Fahimeh joined WPAC in April 2019. Prior to joining WPAC, Fahimeh Yazdan Panah was a Research Associate in Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group (BBRG) at the University of British Columbia and the founder of Spark Biomass Consulting Inc. She has been engaged in research and discovery in the emerging area of bioenergy for over 12 years and have managed bio-product projects for a variety of clients including governments, manufacturers and technology developers. She led biofuel densification, pretreatment, storage and handling research studies in lab and pilot scale and has co-authored more than 80 technical reports and peer-reviewed publications in the field. Fahimeh also serves as the Project Lead within ISO Technical Committee 238 (Solid Biofuels) and as the Chair within ISO Technical Committee 300 (Solid Recovered Biofuels). She has received her PhD and MASc from Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and she holds a bachelor’s degree from Amirkabir University of Technology.
Fahimeh is a worthy recipient of the Young Engineer of the Year Award.