Awards, Chairs and Professorships

Awards, Chairs and Professorships

Teaching & Research Awards

The Department is renown for both its teaching and research. With 49 regular faculty members and over 700 students, the department strives for excellence and has been recognized through multiple awards.

Please click below to view our Department’s awards and honours.

Recent Awards

Faculty teaching and research awards from within the last ten years:

  • 2023 - Graham Hendra, Junior Faculty Teaching Award
  • 2023 - Bill Rawlings, Junior Faculty Teaching Award
  • 2023 - Markus Fengler, Richard Hare Memorial Award
  • 2023 - Jon Mikkelsen, SNAME Faculty Advisor of the Year Award
  • 2023 - Pete Ostafichuk, Engineers Canada Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education
  • 2022 - Ian Frigaard, Stanley G. Mason Award, Canadian Society of Rheology
  • 2022 - Juan Abelló, UBC Killam Teaching Prize, the University of British Columbia
  • 2021 - Gwynn Elfring, UBC Faculty Research Award: Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship
  • 2021 - Boris Stoeber - Dean's Award for Excellence in Service
  • 2020 - Agnes d'Entremont, Outstanding New Mechanical Engineering Educator, American Society for Engineering Education
  • 2019 - Ian Frigaard, Killam Research Prize, The University of British Columbia
  • 2019 - Gwynn Elfring, Killam Research Fellowship, The University of British Columbia
  • 2019 - Patrick Kirchen, Killam Teaching Prize, The University of British Columbia
  • 2019 - Lyndia Wu, Scholar Award, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research
  • 2017 - Antony Hodgson, Excellence in Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery Award
  • 2017 - Gwynn Elfring, Dean's Excellence in Service Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2017 - Peter Ostafichuk, Margaret Fulton Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2017 - Sheldon Green, Dean's Excellence in Service Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2017 - Thomas Oxland, Killam Teaching Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2017 - Walter Merida, Peter Wall Scholar Research Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2016 - Dana Grecov, Peter Wall Scholar Research Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2016 - Nima Atabaki, Killam Teaching Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2016 - Yusuf Altintas, Georg Schlesinger Award
  • 2016 - Yusuf Altintas, NSERC Strategic Research Network in Virtual Machining Grant
  • 2015 - Douglas Romily, AUTO21 KTTF Award, AUTO21 NCE for Canada
  • 2015 - Peter Cripton, Dean's Excellence in Service Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2015 - Peter Ostafichuk, 3M National Teaching Fellow, The University of British Columbia
  • 2014 - Agnes d’Entremont, Postdoctoral Travel Award, Child and Family Research Institute (CFRI)
  • 2014 - Clarence de Silva, Peter Wall Scholar Research Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2014 - Hongshen Ma, Institute of Genetics Maud Menten New Principal Investigator Finalist Prize, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • 2014 - James Olson, Meritorious Achievement Award, APEGBC
  • 2014 - Steve Feng, Killam Teaching Award, The University of British Columbia
  • 2013 - Agnes d'Entremont, Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Student Leader Award (Graduate Student), Department of Mechanical Engineering, UBC
  • 2013 - Antony Hodgson, Best Technical Poster Award, International Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Society
  • 2013 - Douglas Romily, Honourable Mentions Award for Poster, AUTO 21 Conference
  • 2013 - Gary Schajer, B.J. Lazan Award, Society for Experimental Mechanics
  • 2013 - Jon Mikkelsen, OMAE Conference Appreciation Award, ASME
  • 2013 - Thomas Oxland, Humboldt Research Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
  • 2013 - Yusuf Altintas, NSERC Synergy Award
  • 2013 - Yusuf Altintas, Special Distinguished Scientist Award in Engineering and Science, Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey
  • 2013 - Yusuf Altintas, The Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award, ASME

Recent Honours

Faculty honours from within the last ten years:

  • 2024 - W. Kendal Bushe, Fellow of The Combustion Institute
  • 2022 - Yusuf Altintas, member of National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
  • 2021 - Yusuf Altintas, member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering
  • 2021 - Walter Mérida, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering
  • 2020 - Peter Ostafichuk, Fellow of the Canadian Engineering Education Association
  • 2019 - Ian Frigaard, Fellow of the Society of Rheology
  • 2019 - Robert Rohling, Fellow of IEEE
  • 2018 - Tom Oxland, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
  • 2017 - Peter Ostafichuk, Wighton Fellowship, Sandford Fleming Foundation
  • 2016 - Yusuf Altintas, President of International Academy for Production Engineering
  • 2016 - Farrokh Sassani, Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • 2016 - Jon Mikkelsen, Fellow of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
  • 2015 - Mu Chiao, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • 2015 - Carl Ollivier-Gooch, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • 2015 - Christopher McKesson, Fellow of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
  • 2013 - Agnes dEntremont, Engineers-In-Scrubs Postdoctoral Fellowship, Biomedical Engineering, UBC
  • 2013 - James Olson, FPInnovations Professorship in Pulp and Paper Engineering
  • 2013 - Yusuf Altintas, Fellow of Engineers Canada
  • 2013 - Yusuf Altintas, Honorary Doctor Causa, Budapest Technical University and Economics

Canadian Research Chairs

Dr. Amanda Giang Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Environmental Modelling for Policy
Dr. Xiaoliang Jin Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Advanced Manufacturing
Dr. Naomi Zimmerman Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Sustainability

Industry Funded Chairs and Professorships

Dr. Yusuf Altintas NSERC/Pratt & Whitney Canada Industrial Research Chair in Virtual High Performance Machining
Dr. Rajeev Jaiman NSERC/Seaspan Industrial Research Chair in Intelligent and Green Marine Vessels (IGMVs)
Dr. Jasmin Jelovica NSERC/Seaspan Industrial Research Chair in Intelligent and Green Marine Vessels (IGMVs)
Dr. James Olson FP Innovations Professorship in Pulp and Paper Engineering
Dr. Christoph Sielmann Marshall Bauder Chair in Experiential Learning and Leadership