Three faculty members of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science have been appointed Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE).

Amir Fam, Richard Holt, and Yan-Fei Liu were inducted into the CAE during a ceremony in Calgary on Monday, June 18.

The CAE, comprised of many of Canada’s most accomplished engineers, is an independent, self-governing and non-profit organization established in 1987 to provide advice in matters of engineering concern.

“The fact that three of our faculty members have been named CAE fellows is a testament to the quality of our professors and researchers at the Queen’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science,” says Kevin Deluzio, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. “Drs. Fam, Holt, and Liu have contributed immensely to Queen’s as well as the engineering field in Canada through their hard work and enlightened research– and there is more to come as they continue their careers. I congratulate each of them on this fantastic achievement.”

Fellows of the Academy are nominated and elected by their peers, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession. Fellows work closely with the other national engineering associations in Canada, and with the other Canadian academies that comprise the Council of Canadian Academies.

Queen’s 2018 CAE Inductees

Amir Fam - Department of Civil Engineering

Dr. Fam is the Donald and Sarah Munro Chair Professor and Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. He is also co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, vice-president and treasurer of the International Institute for FRP in Construction, and a former Canada Research Chair. Dr. Fam research is focused in the area of structural engineering using fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) in bridges and buildings. He has received an Ontario Early Researcher Award, a Civil Engineering Teaching Award, and is a member of the Royal Society of Canada.

Richard Holt – Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Dr. Holt is recognized internationally for his contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms of radiation damage and deformation in nuclear materials, contributing significantly to the safe and efficient operation of both CANDU and light-water reactors. After a distinguished industrial career, he conceived and developed the program of the NSERC - UNENE IRC in Nuclear Materials at Queen’s where he has developed the Reactor Materials Testing Laboratory (RMTL) – a unique reactor simulation facility for the study of radiation damage. Professor Emeritus Holt's work has been recognized by prestigious awards from the American Society of Testing Materials.

Yan-Fei Liu - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Liu has advanced power electronics technology through a number of simple, practical innovations in digital control, driver technologies, high-efficiency resonant switching, and modeling of current-programmed control. He has collaborated with many global companies, such as the GE Global Research Centre and Huawei, has been the principal contributor to three IEEE standards, and holds 25 U.S. patents. Dr. Liu co-founded Potentia Semiconductor, a firm which developed power management integrated circuits, and whose products are used widely in LCD, LED and plasma TVs and monitors. Dr. Liu is also a Fellow of the IEEE.

Other inductees include Annette Bergeron (Sc’78) a former lecturer in Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and Smith School of Business, and current president of Engineers Canada, and Queen’s alumna Marilyn Gladu (Sc’84), Member of Parliament for the riding of Sarnia-Lambton.

Visit the CAE website for further information about the organization.