George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research – Emerging Professors
Dr. Benoît Lessard, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering is proud to announce Dr Benoît H Lessard as the recipient of the 2020 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research: Emerging Professors.
Dr. Benoît Lessard joined the University of Ottawa as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2015, the same year he was awarded the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Advanced Polymer Materials and Organic Electronics. Since then, he has published an impressive 53 peer reviewed journal articles (>81 total), has received numerous awards for his innovative research contributions such as the 2015 Charles Polanyi Prize in Chemistry and the 2018 Ontario Early Researcher Award, was nominated as one of 3 Emerging Leaders of Chemical Engineering by the Canadian Chemical Engineering society in 2017 and again in 2019, was selected as one of the Emerging Materials Researchers at the Can. Chem. Conf. (CSC 2019) and was highlighted as a J. Mater. Chem. C. Emerging Investigator in 2018. Since 2015, Prof. Lessard has mounted an innovative program and research lab as well as mentored over 49 graduate students, postdocs and undergraduate students in the process. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2019.
Prof. Lessard’s applied research establishes strong links with Canadian industry in advanced manufacturing. In fact, he has worked with 9 different Canadian companies since 2019 from small research contracts to multi-year projects. For example, with OTI Lumionics, a Toronto based OLED manufacturing company, Prof. Lessard works on developing thermally stable carbon derivatives with a greater processing window for the manufacturing of OLEDs leading to 7 patent filings, 2 peer reviewed journal articles and multiple student exchanges and knowledge transfer from lab to industry. Prof. Lessard is also a co-founder of Ekidna Sensing a startup company based on cannabinoid sensors developed at the University of Ottawa in collaboration with researchers from the Faculty of Science.
An outstanding number of recommendation letters highlighting Professor Lessard’s accomplishments were sent by his peers and colleagues. Aside from his research contributions, they have emphasized his participation in the faculty life as a creative, driven and passionate professor who is well known for inspiring his students and other young researchers.
“As his colleague in the department and peer in his research field, I am very proud of him, and I can say that his peers at the Department of Chemical Engineering have the highest degree of praise for Benoit as a colleague and as an emerging researcher with tremendous potential to make an impact in his field”. - Professor Xudong Cao, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
“Success of this sort takes more than talent – it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort. And yet, despite the demands this level of success has placed on Benoît, he is a generous and conscientious colleague actively participating in the life of the Department and the Faculty. We are fortunate to have amongst our ranks many whose outstanding research contributes to Engineering’s success both within the University community and upon the global stage”. - Professor Bogusław Kruczek, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates Dr. Benoit Lessard for his highly deserved reception of the 2020 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research – Emerging Professors.
J.V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching
The Faculty of Engineering is proud to announce that the 2020 J.V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching has been awarded to Dr. Arturo Macchi and Dr. Daniel Amyot.
Dr. Arturo Macchi, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Professor Arturo Macchi has continuously gone above and beyond to provide a dynamic and thorough education to his students as well as having mentored, inspired, and guided many throughout his career.
Dr. Macchi has not only received extremely positive teaching evaluations year after year, but he also showed his dedication to the success of students outside of the classroom through his role as Associate Chair - Undergraduate Studies from 2008 to 2016, and is currently a member of the curriculum committee for the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. His passion for his field has also made him an excellent research supervisor to many graduate students, as he is well known to adapt his mentorship to each student’s individual needs and interests.
Students and colleagues of Professor Macchi have sent numerous letters of recommendation in his favor, highlighting his commitment to deliver a unique and interactive learning experience while continuously improving his teaching methods and materials in the aim to challenge his students:
“Throughout my seven years of studies at uOttawa, Arturo Macchi has been recognized perennially as one of the most dedicated and most respected professors in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and beyond. His leadership, his enthusiastic teaching and his motivational tactics have been an inspiration to so many of the students that he has taught. Moreover, Arturo’s passion for teaching as well as his personality made every single one of his lectures a pleasure to attend.” - Antonio D’Orazio
“He is an excellent teacher who is passionate and extremely knowledgeable in his subject, but also because he cares about his students. Dr. Macchi is innovative in that he strives to expand on his research subjects and keeps up to date in the latest developments for subjects pertaining to microreactors and multiphase reaction engineering. He always provides great feedback when asked for guidance and is always able to provide a sense direction when the student is lost in research.” - Robert Ge, student
“There are a number of paths by which individuals may contribute to excellence in teaching. We often focus on the obvious: outstanding teaching evaluations, glowing student testimonials, and the like. Arturo enjoys all of this. But he is also part of the brigade of unsung heroes who labour behind the scenes to make everyone else’s job in teaching that much easier and more pleasant.” - Professor David Taylor, Vice-Dean, Quality Assurance and Teaching Innovation
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates Dr. Arturo Macchi for his highly deserved reception of the 2020 J.V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr. Daniel Amyot, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Dr. Daniel Amyot has demonstrated a passion for teaching since becoming a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa in 1993. His dedication to students’ personal and professional success has always extended beyond the classroom, resulting in innovative changes to many programs and courses at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Dr. Amyot is known to challenge and motivate his students by introducing stimulating projects, such as video games and client-focused experiences, to the courses he teaches. He also made numerous contributions to the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science through his roles as EECS ambassador, as Graduate Coordinator in Computer Science, and as COOP Coordinator for the Software Engineering program, in addition to contributing heavily to the development of the successful and collaborative Ph.D. program in e-Business.
While having supervised over 50 graduate students, Dr. Amyot’s mentorship extends beyond research guidance as he always pushes students to get involved in university life and to seize professional opportunities, leading them to become brilliant researchers and teachers. Many letters of recommendation were received describing his unconditional commitment to students’ professional development and wellbeing.
“Going from a student who lacked motivation and vision in my first year to someone who can confidently take aim at a problem and attempt a solution to the best of my abilities, I owe a great deal to professor Amyot for the transformation I underwent. I believe his persistence, openness, and willingness to be of assistance helped fuel and drive me to become better. The greatest prize that can be given to Dr. Amyot, in my eyes, is the knowledge that his generosity, kindheartedness, and guidance have contributed to the betterment of the students he taught, and that he has made a real difference in the lives of those students.” - Rawaz Kader Kahraman, student
“Dr. Amyot is a passionate teacher. I have talked to many students who have either been supervised by Dr. Amyot or have taken his graduate courses. Without an exception, they all expressed their profound gratitude, high respects, and strong acknowledgement for the deep knowledge, great skills, passionate teaching, caring and supportive personality of Dr. Amyot.” - Professor Bijam Raahemi, Telfer School of Management, Co-Director of the Digital Transformation and Innovation Program
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates Dr. Daniel Amyot for his highly deserved reception of the 2020 J.V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching.
