Mechanical Engineering faculty member Dr. Peter Ostafichuk was elected an inaugural Fellow of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACEG). The organization announced the recipients at their virtual AGM on June 19, 2020. CEEA-ACEG created the title to recognize engineering educators who have made notable contributions to the field:
The designation of Fellow honours individuals who have demonstrated noteworthy service to engineering education, engineering leadership, or engineering design education through their work with CEEA-ACEG.
Dr. Ostafichuk has made innumerable contributions to engineering teaching at UBC and to the CEEA-ACEG as a member and presenter. His contributions to instructional leadership in the department and Faculty of Applied Science run deep, as he is the current Chair of First Year Engineering and former Mech 2 Coordinator, as well as a member of the team that developed this award-winning second year program that is the foundational bedrock of the UBC Vancouver Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program. He has been involved with the CEEA-ACEG for seven years, contributing as an author and presenter on over 20 papers, as a conference organizer and reviewer, and the lead of the Institute for Engineering Teaching.
As an educator, his teaching interests involve the areas of team-based learning, outcomes-based assessment, active learning, and team dynamics. As a researcher on engineering education, his interests span areas of equity, diversity and inclusion; educational technology; curriculum design; design education; accreditation; first year education; and student wellbeing. Previous honours for his work have included the Margaret Fulton Award, 3M National Teaching Fellowship, the Killam Teaching Prize, and the Wighton Fellowship.