The 2024 Annual Conference hosted by the Department of Biosystems Engineering in July 2024 was an overwhelming success. In terms of attendance, there were a total of 219 attendees comprised of 138 undergraduate and graduate students, 2 retirees and 79 professionals from academia, government and industry. The Local Arrangements Committee selected a conference theme of “Engineering Responses to Wicked Problems” with the intent of focusing on several hot topics.  Five plenary sessions were organized on the topics of i) plastic pollution, ii) the role for engineering in healthcare, iii) sustainable agricultural production, iv) generative AI, and v) the role of engineering in truth & reconciliation. The plenary sessions featured a number of invited presentations and were well received. During the afternoons of the two-day conference, there were 19 technical sessions scheduled featuring approximately 120 technical presentations (five concurrent sessions). There were an additional 40 posters presented on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks to all presenters for concisely presenting within the 15 min allocation, and thanks to all poster presenters for the effort devoted to preparing these eye-catching posters. The Local Arrangements committee planned ample opportunity for networking that included a Valour FC soccer game at Princess Auto Stadium, a welcome reception at Canad Inn Fort Garry, a BBQ at Princess Auto Stadium, and an awards banquet at the Pinnacle Club.

Hosting this conference on campus at the University of Manitoba was beneficial to raise the profile of the Canadian Society for Bioengineering in the eyes of our engineering colleagues. The Dean of the Price Faculty of Engineering was excited by the buzz in the building. We appreciate the financial assistance from the University of Manitoba (various academic units) as our primary sponsor with additional sponsorship funds received from MacDon, AGCO, PAMI, and DGH Engineering. Overall, the conference generated a profit of approximately $11,000 for CSBE. Thanks to our volunteers in green shirts, with special thanks to Caitlin Jacques and Jen Beaudoin who were instrumental in making this conference run smoothly!

Conference Proceedings now available on the CSBE/SCGAB Library

2024 Award Recipients

Fellow Award: Dr. Jan Franklin Adamowski, Dr. Manick Annamalai

Maple Leaf Award: Dr. Ying Chen

Young Eng, of the Year Award: Dr. Ashutosh Singh

John Turnbull Award: Dr. Sébastien Fournel

Glenn Downing Award: Dr. Kenny Corscadden

Jim Beamich Award: Dr. Prasad Daggupati

John Clark Award: Dr. Chadra Singh

John Ogilvie Award: P. Goel, P. Daggupati, and R. Rudra

Student Awards: See our website

See 2024 Award Recipients

On August 30, 2024, an ad hoc meeting took place at Dalhousie University's Agricultural campus in Truro, Nova Scotia, involving the council members of the society. Dr. Manick Annamalai, Vice President-Technical, and Dr. Senthilkumar Thirupathi, Treasurer, engaged in detailed discussions with Dr. Travis Esau, President. The primary focus of their conversation centered on identifying and implementing strategic approaches to enhance the society's fundraising efforts. This initiative is seen as critical for sustaining and expanding the society's activities. In addition to fundraising, the group also evaluated potential locations for hosting the society's Annual Meeting in 2027, ensuring that the chosen venue would be capable of supporting the event's scale and significance.

Dear friends of the EIC,

Each year, the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) recognizes outstanding engineering professionals amongst the membership of its constituent societies, both academic and industry-based members, at an awards gala. EIC Senior Awards and EIC Fellowships are awarded in recognition of excellence in engineering and services to the profession and to society.

We urge you to consider nominating colleagues in a manner reflecting the broad diversity of the Canadian engineering community (in terms of ethnicity, gender, private and public sectors, etc.) and who you believe are worthy of being inducted as an 2025 EIC Fellow or of receiving one of EIC’s prestigious 2025 senior medals. The deadline for 2025 award nominations is end of day/midnight (EST) on 15 November 2024.

Nominations are to be sent to EIC’s Executive Director’s attention (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / please send documents in WORD format, or unlocked pdf, to facilitate the assembly of committee packages (please do not forward CVs of nominees). Visit this page (https://eic-ici.ca/honours_awards/nomination/) to review the rules and download the nomination form. Please also feel free to distribute/ forward the attached Call for 2025 EIC Awards Nominations to your colleagues/society members.

For more information on the EIC, including a list of awards and of past award recipients, please visit the EIC website.

Cheers

Guy Gosselin, FCSCE, FEIC, P.Eng.
Executive Director
Past-President 

Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues,

It is our great pleasure to announce the next Young Energy Researchers Conference and Awards held on 4 March 2025 in Wels/Austria in the context of the World Sustainable Energy Days 2025 (WSED) – a leading annual conference on renewable energy and climate neutrality!

What is it all about?

Dedicated to the next generation of professionals and experts,two conference tracks present the work and achievements of young researchers in the fields of energy efficiency and biomass. The event offers the opportunity to interact with researchers and industry experts from all over the world and to build-up a peer network! At the World Sustainable Energy Days, more than 80 international speakers offer latest news on policies, markets, products, technologies, financing, business models, research and case studies. Gain hands-on experience through peer-to-peer exchange. A leading tradeshow on sustainable energy presents new products and real-life solutions. Meet the entire energy transition community and enjoy Austrian hospitality!

Check out the programme & pictures of the 2024 edition to get an impression of the event.

Call for papers – deadline: 10 October 2024

We invite young researchers (born after 1989) to submit contributions by 10 October 2024 using the online form. Submissions are welcome from all scientific fields. A high-level scientific committee selects papers for oral and poster presentation.

"Best Young Researcher" Awards

The best contributions are honoured with the "Best Young Biomass Researcher" and "Best Young Energy Efficiency Researcher" awards. The researchers receive 1,000 Euro each as prize money.

Don’t miss out! – conference costs covered!

The conference organiser, OÖ Energiesparverband, covers the costs of accommodation, meals, participation and local transport for up to 60 selected young researchers (travel costs need to be covered by the participants themselves).

Find out more on the conference website www.young-researchers.eu. The conference office is also at your disposal for further questions (T: +43-732-7720-14386, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

We look forward to receiving contributions and to welcoming you to the World Sustainable Energy Days 2025!