Two of Oshawa’s Ontario Tech profs honoured for contributions to Canadian engineering

Two professors at Oshawa’s Ontario Tech University have been inducted as fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) in “recognition of their distinguished contributions to engineering in Canada and their career-long service to the engineering profession.”

The professors, Dr. Hossam Kishawy and Dr. Igor Pioro, both serve as professors in Ontario Tech’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS). Kishawy also serves as the Faculty’s dean. Both are among 55 newly admitted CAE fellows from across the country and throughout the world.

The CAE is an independent non-profit which “that provides strategic advice on engineering matters of critical importance to Canada and to Canadians” per the University. Admission into its ranks is held among the highest honours a Canadian engineer can receive. Incoming Fellows are nominated and elected by other members.

Kishawy has been elected based on his contributions to research, education and academic leadership. His research achievements include bringing about “a new understanding of surface quality, integrity, and detection of residual stresses, particularly for hard-turning technology, a machining process used in automotive applications,” according to the CAE. He has also developed new nanoparticle-based cooling techniques which have led to more environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.

He joined Ontario Tech as a professor in 2008 and was promoted to Dean in 2020. Prior to that, he earned his Ph.D. at McMaster University with a thesis on Sustainable Machining of Difficult-to-Cut Materials in 1998, proving a career-long fascination with environmentally-minded practises.

Pioro is described by the CAE as a “leading world expert in nuclear energy” with studies in 500 publications and patents for 26 inventions. His research focuses on heat transfer, thermal hydraulics, and the development of Generation IV nuclear reactors.

Such reactors remain theoretical as yet, their development represents the future of nuclear energy. The Generation IV International Forum, a 30-nation group on nuclear experts, estimates these reactors will roll out in the 2030s.

Generation IV reactors will “feature more advanced and diverse designs aimed at making nuclear power plants more efficient, less expensive and safer through the incorporation of new technologies with passive-safety systems,” per the CAE.

Piorio earned his Ph.D. from the National Technical University of Ukraine in Kyiv in 1982 before embarking on a career as a scientist. He came to Canada in 2000 to work at the University of Ottawa and joined Ontario Tech (back when it was the University of Ontario Institute of Technology) in 2006.

“Congratulations to Dr. Kishawy and Dr. Pioro on this high honour. Ontario Tech University is exceptionally proud of their engineering leadership, and their innovative teaching and research contributions, all of which continue to push the boundaries of thinking and learning while improving the lives of humans and preserving our planet,” said Dr. Lori Livingston, Vice President of academics at Ontario Tech.