Ontario Professional Engineers Awards

If you’ve ever used Wi-Fi inside a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway station, thanks are in large part due to Endre (Andrew) Bakos, the TTC engineer and project manager who oversaw the successful implementation of its Wireless Services in the TTC Subway initiative that now delivers wireless services to subway riders on Canada’s largest public transportation system.

The achievement illustrates Mr. Bakos’s exceptional ability combined with genuine care in executing public infrastructure projects to ensure better health, safety and wellness for the public. In addition to his work as a TTC engineer, Mr. Bakos helps and mentors young engineers, particularly newcomers to Canada.

Whether redesigning the HVAC system in a new hospital in North Bay to cut energy consumption and capital costs while creating a healthier environment for patients and staff, or directing construction of the Centre Hospitalier de I’Université de Montréal project – one of the largest P3 projects in North America – Nicholas Stark is known as a forward thinker.

His work on the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Generic Output Specifications and various Canadian Standards Association committees has established a strong baseline of design standards for health care in Canada.

Dr. Jan Andrysek’s work has improved the lives of hundreds of young amputees living in resource-poor countries around the world. After first building a new prosthetic knee joint that enabled a greater variety of physical activities for the user, he realized it was too expensive for use in developing countries, so he engineered the cost-effective All-Terrain Knee.

To make the prosthetic available in the countries where it was needed most, and with backing from supporters and investors, he established LegWorks, an enterprise focused on making the All-Terrain Knee and other assistive technologies accessible globally.

As a world leader in heart valve mechanobiology and microtechnologies, Dr. Craig Simmons has made several fundamental discoveries that have improved the understanding of heart valve function and disease.

A pioneer in mechanobiology – the study of mechanisms by which mechanical forces control biological functions – Dr. Simmons explores how biomechanical forces regulate cell function in heart disease and regeneration.

He currently leads over 100 researchers from engineering and medicine in the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, a bold interdisciplinary initiative that aims to dramatically improve heart health.

Max Mantha has risen quickly and steadily as an executive and engineer thanks to his extensive private and public industry knowledge, leadership, team-building skills and dedication.

In the last two years, Looby Construction has experienced unprecedented growth, with Mr. Mantha leading the firm to successful outcomes on multiple, complex Ontario Ministry of Transportation design-build projects.

During his tenure with Infrastructure Ontario, Mr. Mantha was responsible for Metrolinx’s Up Express Spur Line, a rail link between Toronto Pearson Airport and Toronto Union Station.

As a leader in biomaterials and polymer science, Dr. Paul Santerre has led the development of technology that prevents blood clotting on medical devices like catheters, vascular grafts and dialyzers – an enormous problem that reduces the service life of these devices and threatens patient safety.

He founded Interface Biologics, a company that builds on his work on biomedical polymers and their application for medical devices, with a specific focus on blood-contacting materials and drug delivery applications.

He has also helped develop the next generation of biomedical engineers, turning students into engaged, motivated and creative independent researchers and engineers.

Samantha Espley is recognized as a trailblazer for women engineers in the mining industry. She is one of a few female engineers to hold several senior positions in the sector where she has demonstrated engineering and management expertise that has led to significant health, safety and environmental advances. She has also improved productivity and reduced costs through the design of new methods to mine and extract metals.

She co-authored Gaining Insights on Career Satisfaction for Women in Mining, a paper that explored factors that improve and/or inhibit career satisfaction for women in the industry.

Benny Pang is one of Canada’s foremost experts on aircraft noise, working to improve the quality of life of people living and working around airports by continually seeking ways to reduce aircraft-related noise pollution.

Mr. Pang helped create a Canadian R&D program dedicated to airplane and engine noise and emissions reduction, which ultimately became the Green Aviation Research and Development Network (GARDN). Since its launch, GARDN has supported more than 35 collaborative research projects and is now the leader in reducing the environmental footprint of the aviation sector in Canada and worldwide.

For Margaret Kende, former dean of engineering technology at Centennial College, management consultant, and lifelong volunteer and mentor, citizenship has been an integral part of life for more than 50 years.

After immigrating to Canada in 1957, Ms. Kende attended the University of Toronto and was one of the first four women to complete the civil engineering program.

As a volunteer, she has used domestic and international platforms to advance gender equity and human rights, and worked with the Toronto District School Board to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.