Western Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor Argyrios Margaritis, along with 48 other distinguished engineers, were recently named fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE). The honour was announced at the academy’s 2014 Annual General Meeting and Symposium in June.
“The academy warmly welcomes its new fellows, all of whom are engineers of exceptional ability,” said Richard J. Marceau, academy president, during the announcement. “Each of these outstanding individuals of widely varying backgrounds, no matter whether they working in Industry, academe and government, has demonstrated the ability to perform beyond normal engineering practice and contribute in exemplary ways towards their respective disciplinary fields, and to the wider community.”
MARGARITIS
Margaritis’ contributions to engineering have centred on his pioneering research in the areas of biochemical engineering, biotechnology and nanotechnology. He has supervised/co-supervised, so far, 83 graduate students and authored/co-authored more than 400 refereed journal publications and scientific conference presentations. He also co-authored 10 patents.
He currently serves as associate editor, Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering and on the editorial boards of Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, Current Drug Delivery, Journal of Bioprocessing and Biotechnology, Journal of Institution of Brewing and Current Biochemical Engineering.
He was one of the co-founders of the graduate Biomedical Engineering program and the interdisciplinary graduate program, Master of Environment & Sustainability at Western.
“I am delighted to be recognized by members of the Canadian Academy of Engineering for my research and other contributions to the engineering profession,” Margaritis said. “Most of the credit goes to all of my past and current graduate students who continue to be a source of support and inspiration. I am also grateful to my family for their long and sustained support during my on-going academic career at Western.”
His CAE citation read, in part:
“(Dr. Argyrios Margaritis) … a world-renowned expert in the areas of bioprocess and novel bioreactor design, biofuels production from renewable raw materials, biopolymers and their applications in the biopharmaceutical industry, including biomedical applications. He played an important role with Professional Engineers Ontario in promoting the emerging new engineering disciplines: bioengineering, nanotechnology and molecular engineering. He has been recognized by Professional Engineers Ontario Engineering Medal in Research & Development, and for his service to the profession: Officer, Order of Honour, Volunteer Service Award, 25 Year Service Award, and Fellow of Engineers Canada. He has also been recognized Fellow, Chemical Institute of Canada.”
Established in 1987, the Canadian Academy of Engineering is the national institution through which Canada’s most distinguished and experienced engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to Canada. Members are elected by their peers to honorary fellowships, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession. Every year, the academy selects a few distinguished professional engineers out of about 187,000 nationwide.
