Spring Convocation 2016

Congratulations, Class of 2016!

The Faculty granted degrees and accolades at Spring Convocation 2016

After two successful convocation ceremonies, the Faculty of Engineering received hundreds of new alumni. On June 20, the two Faculty Spring 2016 Convocation ceremonies welcomed graduates and their families to the National Arts Centre. This year, 359 bachelor, 609 masters and 30 PhD graduands as well as 3 graduate diploma recipients joined the ranks of thousands of uOttawa engineering alumni. During the ceremony, the University also conferred a honourary doctorate to Richard L’Abbé, uOttawa alumnus and co-founder of Med-Eng Systems.

Each year, the Faculty of Engineering takes the time to recognize its most accomplished students, and this year was no exception. At the Spring 2016 Convocation, Prashanth Srinivasan—who completed joint undergraduate studies in chemical engineering and biochemistry—was presented with the Governor General Silver Medal in the science category. Each year, this award is presented to a student who has obtained the highest cumulative grade point average in an honours bachelor’s or equivalent program in engineering or science; after completing his studies with a perfect cumulative average of 10.0, he more than demonstrated his academic ability.  As well as receiving this honour, Prashanth will be presented with other awards from the Faculties of Engineering and Science.

Dr. David Taylor, Department Chair and Professor at the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, commented on Prashanth’s success: “This is absolutely fabulous, congratulations! To say that the entire Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering is proud would be an understatement.”

Karim Dahel, another student who completed joint undergraduate studies in computing technology and electrical engineering, received the University Gold Medal in Engineering for achieving a perfect 10.0 cumulative grade point average. After meeting the challenges he set himself, how does Karim sum up the secret to his success? “Really knowing the material was key,” he said. “I focused not only on solving many problems, but also making sure I had a solid understanding of the fundamental theory involved.” During the ceremony, Karim was also presented with other awards from the Faculty of Engineering.

During the ceremony, another deserving undergraduate student was recognized by the Faculty; Nicholas Alexander Zorn was this year’s recipient of the Faculty Plaque in Civil Engineering. Plaques are awarded to students having obtained the highest cumulative grade point average in each of the faculty's programs. Dr. Colin Rennie, Chair and Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, commented on Nicholas’ recognition: "Nicholas spent a co-op semester working as a research assistant for me one summer. Beyond his obvious academic aptitude, I was extremely impressed by his collegiality, ability to work independently, and diligence. He is highly deserving of this award."

For graduating students, convocation is a time to celebrate their accomplishments in front of family and friends. For members of the University community, it is a time to celebrate the efforts of students they have supported during their studies at the University of Ottawa. The Spring 2016 Convocation for the Faculty of Engineering took place on June 20 in the beautiful setting of Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre.