April 25, 2013
Professors Joyce Poon, Jason Anderson and Tarek Abdelrahman and administrator Mary Stathopoulos from the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering were each honoured with awards at the Celebrating Engineering Excellence reception Wednesday, April 24.
Professor Joyce Poon was announced as the 2013 recipient of the McCharles Prize for Early Career Research Distinction. She is the third recipient of the McCharles Prize, which was established in 1907 by Aeneas McCharles and re-established in 2007 as an award for exceptional performance and distinction in early career research on the part of a pre-tenure member of the Faculty.
Poon is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Integrated Photonic Devices. Already considered a thought-leader in her field, her research focuses on the creation and exploration of novel photonic devices. Joyce received an Early Researcher Award in 2009. She garnered IBM Faculty Awards in 2010 and 2011 – the only Canadian to receive this prestigious award in either year. In 2012 Joyce was named one of the world’s Top 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review.
This year’s winner of the Agnes Kaneko Citizenship Award was Mary Stathopoulos, an administrative coordinator in ECE. Named in memory of a valued staff member, this award recognizes staff who have served with distinction and made contributions to the Faculty’s mission above and beyond their job description.
Stathopoulos has been with ECE since 1986, and prior to that spent seven years at the Faculty’s Registrar’s Office. Over the last three decades her dedication to the department and the Faculty has been exemplary. Above and beyond her meticulous and professional approach to her difficult administrative role, Stathopoulos’s caring and compassion have helped to make the working environment at ECE positive, inclusive and welcoming for all its members.
Professor Tarek Abdelrahman was the inaugural winner of the Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award, recognizing someone who has demonstrated excellence in teaching in the Faculty over a sustained period of time.
Since joining ECE in 1991, Abdelrahman has established himself as one of the Faculty’s most dedicated and talented teachers. He is particularly known for his interactive lectures and superb ability to generate class discussion. Abdelrahman has received the ECE teaching award five times (a record in the department) and won the Faculty Teaching Award in 2008.
A leader in curriculum development, he created two fundamental undergraduate courses which have significantly improved the programming skills of ECE students and are now integral to the Department’s curriculum. Abdelrahman has also been a role model and mentor to his junior colleagues, setting a high standard and helping young professors to improve their teaching skills.
Professor Jason Anderson garnered an Early Career Teaching Award, which recognizes an instructor in the early stages of his career who has demonstrated exceptional classroom instruction and teaching methods.
Professor Alberto Leon-Garcia was also honoured at the event as the Faculty’s Distinguished Professor in Application Platforms and Smart Infrastructure.
“It’s wonderful to have ECE so strongly represented here today,” said Farid Najm, chair of the department. “To see our professors and administrators recognized for their exemplary work in research, teaching and citizenship reflects our deep commitment to excellence in these areas.”
Media contact:
Marit Mitchell
Senior Communications Officer, ECE
416-978-7997
marit.mitchell@utoronto.ca