John V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching
Dr. Martin Noël, Department of Civil Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering is proud to announce that the 2021 J.V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching has been awarded to Dr. Martin Noël.
Since 2015, Dr. Noël has been teaching two academic courses, has developed two new graduate courses and contributes to pedagogical improvements. He has excelled and continues to inspire his students by his teaching methods and research. He employs engaging learning tactics and utilising innovative online teaching platforms to retain student interest in the course at its peak, he displays remarkable talents in teaching his courses. His outstanding teaching evaluation and student feedback makes him one of the most reputable professors in the Department of Civil Engineering.
Dr. Noël has also made significant contributions to the University of Ottawa's graduate and undergraduate education. Through the UROP, NSERC CREATE, and NSERC programs, he has trained 2 postdocs, 9 PhDs, 15 masters, and 4 MEng students, as well as supervised over 32 undergraduate research assistants. He's also hosted seven master's students from other countries and formed international partnerships with scholars from Brazil, Chile, and Spain. With his continuous involvement and dedication to his work, numerous letters of recommendation were received expressing his unwavering devotion to students' professional development.
“What is unique about Dr. Noël is that he excels in both teaching and research and, as such, he truly represents the best of the new generation of professors who have demonstrated ability to perform exceedingly well in a very competitive environment. The quality of his teaching contributions is particularly impactful given the strong practical, engineering content of his teaching materials. Dr. Noël has been an excellent mentor to many undergraduate and graduate students in the faculty of engineering. He is known to engage his research group with various research institutions and design professionals in state-of-the art collaborative research projects.”.
– Dr. Ghasan Doudak, Professor, University of Ottawa
“As I sat through the first lecture I was struck by Dr Noël’s innovative use of technology to structure the information presented and how clearly he conveyed this information and solved example problems. Throughout the semester, not only were we provided with concise class notes, but we were also given the choice to download these notes as PDF, PowerPoint, before class to annotate them during the lecture or download the annotated versions after class. Professor Noël even posted additional examples and review videos on Brightspace to ensure that students had more than enough teaching material to understand the concepts taught in class. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was a perfect example of what I am currently researching under the supervision of Dr Noël: universal design. By allowing students to learn with their preferred medium, to drop their pencils and simply listen during lectures, to listen to videos online (which was rare in 2016), Professor Noël was allowing them to choose what was their preferred way to learn, he is to this date the only professor I have witnessed do this to such an extent.”.
– Isa-Bella Leclair, Student
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates Dr. Martin Noël for his highly deserved reception of the 2021 J.V. Marsh Award for Excellence in Teaching.
George J. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research
Dr. Ioan Nistor, Department of Civil Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering is proud to announce Dr. Ioan Nistor as the recipient of the 2021 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research.
Dr. Ioan Nistor has been with the faculty since 2004, the same year that he joined the reconnaissance team to evaluate the impact of the 2004 South East Asian Tsunami and Earthquake on tsunami-stricken regions of Indonesia and Thailand. Since then, he has done extensive research that focuses mainly on tsunamis, coastal storm surges, and dam failures which can cause high hydrodynamic stresses on structures.
He has celebrated many milestones between the years of 2014 and 2018 such as being the Chair of the Maritime and Coastal Division of International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), which is the world’s largest hydraulic research and engineering association. He has also been elected and now serves as the IAHR Council Representative for North America for 2019-2023.
Dr. Ioan Nistor’s research has helped him establish strong relationships globally which demonstrates his international reputation. He has published a total of 175 journal papers since 2013. He is continuously working on projects and has received many awards throughout the years for his strong work ethics.
Dr. Ioan Nistor has received many letters of recommendations from colleagues and researchers highlighting his passion for research and dedication to his work.
“Prof. Nistor is well known for his extraordinary efforts to raise awareness in the community at large of the economic and social impacts of catastrophic events to which Canada may be subjected (in his case, tsunamis), the great need for research on the topic, and the need to have plans in place to mitigate possible adverse consequences.”
– Dr. Ana Maria Ferreira da Silva, Queens University
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates Dr. Ioan Nistor his highly deserved reception of the 2021 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research.
Frank Giacobbi Award
France Brazeau
The Faculty of Engineering is proud to announce France Brazeau as the recipient of the 2021 Frank Giacobbi Award. France has shown to be an outstanding member of the faculty's support team, going above and beyond in her work within her role as Facilities Manager.
For just over 5 years, France carried out her duties with a high level of professionalism while always keeping a kind demeanour. Her hard work, leadership and dedication to the team are just a few of the qualities that have been highlighted by her colleagues in the numerous letters of recommendations received. She has been exceptional and the faculty would not be the same without her.
“France is competent, hardworking and always willing to fight for the faculty and its members. From working with us to navigate how the university functions and all the players and their roles to advocating for our projects and pushing things forward, France is an incredible asset to the faculty who makes my job easier.”
– Dr. Benoit Lessard, Professor, University of Ottawa
“France Brazeau has been an exemplary Facility Manager for the last 5 years with the Faculty of Engineering. She is highly regarded within her peer group on campus, even helping lead some key initiatives outside her own faculty, such as the specialized lab process development group, cleaning RFP and many broader FM communications. This is on top of assisting in the completion of major initiatives such as the STEM building, putting together the structures lab, massing hydraulics system and the large flume along with a myriad of other smaller projects. She helped bridge the communication gaps on multiple occasions that would have otherwise directly impacted the faculty. She is always professional, courteous and prepared for just about anything. “
– Marc-Antoine Joly, Associate Vice President, Facilities, University of Ottawa
The Faculty of Engineering congratulates France Brazeau for her well-deserved 2021 Frank Giacobbi Award.
