May 20, 2008

Professional Engineers Ontario inducts four new members into Order of Honour

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

A quartet of consulting engineers has been recognized for years of diligent service to the engineering profession.

Geoff Clarkson of Cambridge, Denis Dixon of Orangeville, Robert Gravelle of Cornwall and Jeremy Cook of Brampton have been made members of Professional Engineers Ontario’s (PEO) Order of Honour.

They were inducted into the order at a recent gala in Windsor.

Since 1998, Clarkson, president of Physical Plant Improvements Inc., has been a member of PEO’s education committee. He has led the committee in making decisions and developing policy statements related to the Ministry of Education’s mathematics and sciences curriculum.

“He has arranged many outreach activities for students and is passionate about helping young people understand what engineers do and the profession’s importance to society,” PEO said in a news release.

Clarkson also has been a leading supporter of and chaired the subcommittee responsible for the engineer-in-residence program.

This program is a partnership of engineers, educators, industry and government to bring real-world experience to the teaching of science, technology and mathematics.

“His dedication to the profession’s next generation is evident in his work as a member of PEO’s seamless transition task force which aims to facilitate the transition from engineering student, to intern, to licensed professional engineer.”

The Order of Honour pays tribute to individuals who have rendered conspicuous service to the engineering profession.

An active member of the Brampton chapter executive and several times chapter chair, Dixon, a retired consulting engineer, “encourages and motivates” colleagues to become involved in PEO at the chapter, committee and council levels.

“His unwavering commitment to self-regulation of his profession is demonstrated by his four terms as a PEO councillor-at-large and service on key committees,” PEO said.

Dixon has also been a strong supporter of a separate advocacy body for professional engineers, serving as a member of the first election and search committee of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE).

For his part, Gravelle has been a member of the executive of PEO’s Eastern — now Upper Canada — chapter since joining the chapter in 1989.

During this time, he has “enthusiastically” given his time and experience to ensuring the chapter runs smoothly, PEO said.

“He has tirelessly championed his chapter’s model bridge-building competition since the event’s inception in 2000 and as the competition’s chair has worked to raise its profile as part of Ontario’s National Engineering Week activities.”

Vice-president of Lowe, Gravelle & Associates Inc., Gravelle has also helped build a successful engineering firm recognized by the local chamber of commerce as a business of the year.

Cook, general manager, Terra Discovery Ltd., played a crucial role in formation of OSPE, serving as its first chair in 2000, and leading it through its inaugural year of growth and development.

A member of the Brampton chapter executive since 1995 and well-connected in the local business community, Cook has used his status to assist PEO’s government liaison program.

“These connections have enabled program representatives to provide community leaders an engineering perspective on issues and helped promote the value of a self-regulated engineering profession,” PEO said.

The organization administers the province’s Professional Engineers Act.

Print | Email | Comment