Duncan Cree recently received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the Trades and Technology category. 

Duncan Cree (Civil Engineering) has been awarded with the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (NAAA) for 2011.

“This is a very competitive award, and I was really honoured to have been chosen as a recipient,” says Dr. Cree. “I hope it will encourage young Aboriginal students to also follow their dreams. Being acknowledged from your own people is something outstanding.”

Dr. Cree’s involvement with the Aboriginal community has been extensive. To encourage an engineering profession among youth, he was invited to assist in Aboriginal recruitment for the Queens’ March 2010 Aboriginal High School Student Recruitment program. He also volunteers at the annual Quebec Aboriginal Science and Engineering Association (QASEA) to act as a judge for high school science fair projects. In addition, he was a guest speaker for Aboriginal youth at the University of Saskatchewan’s first-year orientation day.

His current research is in the rehabilitation of concrete bridges using externally bonded fibre reinforced polymers (FRP), which is quickly becoming a viable option for repairing North American infrastructure. The research is funded by the National Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC).

The NAAA was established in 1993 and exists to encourage and celebrate excellence within the Aboriginal community. Each year, 14 recipients are recognized for their accomplishments in a variety of disciplines. Dr. Cree received the award in the Technology and Trades category.

Previously, Dr. Cree was also given the opportunity to be part of the 7th Governor General’s Canadian Leadership (GGCL) Conference. He has also received a scholarship through the International Space University (ISU) Summer Session Scholarship Program that was held in Beijing.